From the PASTOR
Justified by Grace through Faith
On Sunday 29 Oct we celebrated 500 years of the Reformation. We heard a sermon from Bishop John Henderson based on Romans 3:19-28; “... a person is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.” Some of the questions in his sermon were: How am I justified before God? How can I know that I have a loving God? Do these questions still mean anything to us in the 21st Century? And why should this anniversary be so important? A hard copy of the sermon can be downloaded from the following website:
http://www.lca.org.au/projects-events/projects-events-dialogues-consultations/reformation-anniversary/
Justification. Justice. Just. Pretty much sums up the reformation. The word justification is a legal term used in a courtroom setting. When a person is justified, they are declared “not guilty”, they are “totally innocent” of any wrong doing. It really is a no-nonsense term and you can’t be any clearer than that. This how God sees sinners who have received faith in Jesus Christ! And you cannot make the gospel any clearer than that!
A number of times, St Paul proclaims to readers that a person can never be justified by “Works of the Law”. But why so much emphasis? I’m sure you could come up with a number of reasons, but the
main reason is because we are the ones who need to hear it! As sinful Christians we are constantly battling that little voice in our heads that tell us that there must be something we can do to be saved! This goes without the extra pressure and high expectations, of many people who aren’t Christian, yet point the finger and say, “They ought to know better...”. Sinful humans (whether they acknowledge God or not) desperately want to save themselves; they want credit for their own good. They want to pat themselves on the back every time a so-called good deed is done. That is why the Bible constantly tells us that we are NOT justified by the works of the law and to remind us over and over again, to turn us, again and again back to Christ!
That’s why the emphasis. St Paul (and others) say the truth, that a person can only be justified by faith (believing in Jesus Christ) through the gospel message of Christ crucified for sinners, and the Holy Spirit works in your heart to create this “faith” – that is a faith which truly does indeed justify you. You are declared not guilty and completely innocent because of God’s incredible and immeasurable love which sent Jesus Christ on the cross to be the perfect sacrifice for all the worlds sins.
This message, “Justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ”, never gets old. It never dates. It never gets old and tired and worn out. It’s never boring and is always relevant, and it’s always for us. To quote Bishop John Henderson’s last few lines of his sermon:
“... if you’ve ever felt unjustly treated, inadequate or unworthy, then the Reformation is for you. If you’ve ever been afraid of failure, or that you aren’t good enough... If you’ve ever thought that if people really knew what you are like on the inside then they could never like you or love you, the Reformation is for you. Today we need the gospel of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness as much as we ever did, for we are still ‘… put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands.’ That’s what this Reformation anniversary means and why it is important for us today. It’s all about faith in Jesus, and God’s free gift of forgiveness, justification and salvation in him”.
As sinners, we are constantly tempted to sinfully trust in our own works to save. But remember, “Where sin abounded, GRACE abounded much more” (Romans 5:20). No matter our failures in this life, God's grace more than makes up for them! You can go about your daily life, having full confidence that because of your God-given faith in Christ, you truly are innocent before God, justified of all your sins, and destined for eternal life in heaven with Him and all believers!
Thanks be to God!
On Sunday 29 Oct we celebrated 500 years of the Reformation. We heard a sermon from Bishop John Henderson based on Romans 3:19-28; “... a person is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.” Some of the questions in his sermon were: How am I justified before God? How can I know that I have a loving God? Do these questions still mean anything to us in the 21st Century? And why should this anniversary be so important? A hard copy of the sermon can be downloaded from the following website:
http://www.lca.org.au/projects-events/projects-events-dialogues-consultations/reformation-anniversary/
Justification. Justice. Just. Pretty much sums up the reformation. The word justification is a legal term used in a courtroom setting. When a person is justified, they are declared “not guilty”, they are “totally innocent” of any wrong doing. It really is a no-nonsense term and you can’t be any clearer than that. This how God sees sinners who have received faith in Jesus Christ! And you cannot make the gospel any clearer than that!
A number of times, St Paul proclaims to readers that a person can never be justified by “Works of the Law”. But why so much emphasis? I’m sure you could come up with a number of reasons, but the
main reason is because we are the ones who need to hear it! As sinful Christians we are constantly battling that little voice in our heads that tell us that there must be something we can do to be saved! This goes without the extra pressure and high expectations, of many people who aren’t Christian, yet point the finger and say, “They ought to know better...”. Sinful humans (whether they acknowledge God or not) desperately want to save themselves; they want credit for their own good. They want to pat themselves on the back every time a so-called good deed is done. That is why the Bible constantly tells us that we are NOT justified by the works of the law and to remind us over and over again, to turn us, again and again back to Christ!
That’s why the emphasis. St Paul (and others) say the truth, that a person can only be justified by faith (believing in Jesus Christ) through the gospel message of Christ crucified for sinners, and the Holy Spirit works in your heart to create this “faith” – that is a faith which truly does indeed justify you. You are declared not guilty and completely innocent because of God’s incredible and immeasurable love which sent Jesus Christ on the cross to be the perfect sacrifice for all the worlds sins.
This message, “Justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ”, never gets old. It never dates. It never gets old and tired and worn out. It’s never boring and is always relevant, and it’s always for us. To quote Bishop John Henderson’s last few lines of his sermon:
“... if you’ve ever felt unjustly treated, inadequate or unworthy, then the Reformation is for you. If you’ve ever been afraid of failure, or that you aren’t good enough... If you’ve ever thought that if people really knew what you are like on the inside then they could never like you or love you, the Reformation is for you. Today we need the gospel of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness as much as we ever did, for we are still ‘… put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands.’ That’s what this Reformation anniversary means and why it is important for us today. It’s all about faith in Jesus, and God’s free gift of forgiveness, justification and salvation in him”.
As sinners, we are constantly tempted to sinfully trust in our own works to save. But remember, “Where sin abounded, GRACE abounded much more” (Romans 5:20). No matter our failures in this life, God's grace more than makes up for them! You can go about your daily life, having full confidence that because of your God-given faith in Christ, you truly are innocent before God, justified of all your sins, and destined for eternal life in heaven with Him and all believers!
Thanks be to God!