JUSTIFICATION IS……
Romans 3: 21-28

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 3, verses 21 through 28, particularly these words: “Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. This righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” This is our text.
In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. What is “Justification?” It is a word which we as Christians, particularly Lutheran Christians, use a lot. We say that we believe in “Justification” by grace, through faith. We talk about the “Justification” which Christ won for us on the cross. We talk about being “Justified”. But do we really know what that word means?

“Justification” has to do with a “payment of a debt, and particularly the debt of a crime. When a bank robber comes before a judge and is found guilty, the debt for his crime might be six years in prison, and when he was spent those 6 years in jail and has “paid his debt to society” , he is said to be “justified” — his debt, his punishment has been paid in full.

“Justification” to a Christian is the price that we have to pay to God in order to pay the debt which we have built up by sin.

First of all, from our text, we find that NO ONE has any special favors from the court! Our text tells us, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

God doesn’t play favorites. Everyone is guilty. We are reminded in Scripture, “There is not one man on earth who does good and sins not, no not even one.” And our text for today reminds us again, “There is no difference because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All are sinners.

And since the Bible tells us that “The wages of sin is death,” justice — or justification — for our sins demands the death penalty. We deserve to die because of our sins. That is our penalty.

In this world, there are only two ways by which we can be justified by God. There are only two ways to pay our debt and to avoid that eternal death sentence. One way is doomed to failure before it begins. The other is guaranteed to bring victory.

The first method of satisfying God, and avoiding the death penalty is to keep the law perfectly. Once a young rich man asked Jesus, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus answered, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” And Jesus made it clear in the discussion that followed, that ALL the commandments had to be followed — not just some of them. The Bible says, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” Not just as good as your neighbor! Not just better than most other people! But perfect — like God! And like we said in our liturgy this morning from the book of Psalms, “If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We are not perfect people. We have sinned. We cannot earn eternal life through our good works, because we are not perfect people. “The soul that sins, it shall die.” Trying to be justified by keeping of the law is impossible.

But here is the good news! Our text tells us, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the prophets testify.” I like one of the modern translations better here. It reads, “Now God’s way of putting men right with himself has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with law.” The law shows us that we are sinners and that we cannot justify ourselves. And our text tells us that the whole Old Testament, and THE LAW, both point to God’s plan of righteousness in Christ Jesus.

So what is God’s plan of righteousness? How can we be saved? If asking Lutherans how they are going to be saved, the answer you will get most often is “BY FAITH!” Although I will not argue with that answer, it is not entirely correct. Our text tells us, “We are justified freely, by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Even though we are saved by faith, that faith itself is preceded by the grace of God. Faith itself is part of God’s grace — God’s gift, because the Bible states clearly, “No one can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.”

Our justification is NOT a bonus we have earned by our good deeds! Our justification is NOT a partnership in which we help God by doing our part of the work. Our justification is purely, a free gift of God, given to you and to me by grace, because God loved us so much and gave his Son to die for us.

And that grace — extended to all the world — becomes personally ours, through faith. It is faith which makes this universal grace our personal gift from God.

But faith in what you ask? Our text tells us real clear, “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Again, I like this translation better, “God offered Jesus Christ so that by his death he should become the means by which men’s sins are forgiven, through their faith in him.”

We are NOT saved by believing that a “Supreme Being” exists. We are NOT saved by having our “Consciousness” raised so that we recognize the “Oneness of the Universe”. We are saved only through faith, through trusting, solely in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Jesus said it well, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me!” We are right with God — we are justified — totally and completely through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and through the faith which trusts that gift, that grace of God.

What is faith? Faith is trust in the promises God has given us, promises like, “whosoever believes in HIM will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” Faith is hope — not a “maybe” hope, but a sure hope — knowing that because Jesus Christ lives, we too shall live. Faith is love — first of all love for HIM who first loved us, and then love for others around us as we point them to their Lord and Savior. And faith is life — a life lived in gratitude and thanksgiving to God for the grace, mercy, and blessings he has poured out into our lives.

Justification by grace through faith. Our text for today tells us specifically, “We are justified by His grace, as a gift, through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. And we are also told specifically that justification is not something that is earned by the keeping of the law. Paul told the Romans that we have nothing about which to brag — but rather, we trust solely and completely in the grace of God given to us through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Justified by grace, through faith.” That’s what it means to be a Lutheran — But far more importantly than this, that is what it means to be a Christian. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.