19)
Now we know that what
things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God.
20)
Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the
knowledge of sin.
21)
But now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets;
22)
Even the righteousness of
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
for there is no difference:
23)
For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
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e can say that we are "justified
by the redemption in Christ Jesus" because we have been redeemed
("justified"—means "just as if we had never sinned") by
what Jesus and Jesus alone, has done. Therefore, we "owe" no one but
God our very lives.
Man frequently feels indebted to other
humans for the help they have offered in their lives. But, whatever any man has
done for us in our natural existence is outside of what we really
"owe" for who we are. It is God Who has
given us life and what He expects from us is according to His Word.
Our justification is a result of Jesus'
death at
An alternative to the Law had to
be conceived in the mind of God from the beginning. You see, the Law is a list
of "things" to do and not to do. If it were
as simple as that and if that were all there is, every man achieving salvation
could take credit for his accomplishment. Also, those without the discipline or
understanding necessary to be able to "follow rules" would have an
excuse for not living saved. Therefore, the great "plan" of salvation
and redemption was implemented by a God wise enough to set every man on the
same "footing." By "equalizing" all of us under the
"umbrella" of the Holy Ghost, He assures that all have the same
power, same authority—same "chance."
When one insists upon operating in the
flesh, he insists upon condemning himself to sin—and the Law. For the Law is
not applicable to those who are law—abiding. That man has nothing to fear. The
only reason that there was ever the recognition of the Law is because sin had
to be exposed in order for Man to see what a sinner he is.
The world is in the state that it is
largely due to the mentality of
The "creature of habit" that
he is. Man needs to "practice" doing right. Only by living the
victorious life will we be able to fulfill our obligation to God. That
"obligation" is to win souls to Him. Living for Jesus works
and men are won to that which works. Therefore, we must allow Jesus to
"work" for us.
Too many of the redeemed live as if we
have no assurance of victory from day-to-day. How could this
be, when we serve a God "...the same yesterday, and to day, and for
ever?" This means that God is not just a God of history, but is
still moving—in the past, present and future.
If we have been invested with the best
that God has to give, if we have tasted of His Spirit and experienced His
glory, we have no choice but to show others that no matter what, we are
dedicated to our responsibility to the Lord.
Jesus has done what no other being
would ever have been able to do—He has brought us from sin and restored us
"just as if we had never sinned." Only He was equipped to do
this. There are, undoubtedly millions of people in this world who do not know
that there is hope of being worry-free, drug free, disease free, illicit-sex
free—sin free. They must know and those of us He has freed,
need to be the ones to be vocal. "False saints" are a
dime-a-dozen today—people with no power, but much zeal. They can get people to
come into their assemblies, yet once there, can offer them no permanent
solutions. Jesus is the only Solution. He has come to do the same thing
for all people. The price He had to pay was the same for all. None of us
were "cheaper" to save than any other. Therefore, we must be willing
to give the same hope we have been given to all.
We have been redeemed that we might
have joy. Not only does He want to deliver us, but He wants us to have joy in
our deliverance. It is only the "joy of salvation" that keeps men
going. Because after salvation, the devil fights us
even harder, but God bestows the unspeakable on us that we might be able to
withstand anything.
The redemption of Jesus change lives in
minutes. Just as we needed help to change; to escape from our lifestyle,
we must care enough about others to show them the way. Otherwise, our "justification"
benefits no one but our self.