Justified

On Monday mornings I am involved in a great men's small group. We have been meeting for several years and we go through different books of the Bible verse by verse. It has been incredible for me to be a part of and I have learned a tremendous amount of information. I will probably leave a book off, but here are the books we have done so far: Philippians, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 3 Peter, Luke, Daniel, and we are currently in Galatians. We have been studying Paul and Galatians for a month or so now, and yesterday morning we go to some key verses where Paul introduces some very key concepts that he bases the rest of his writings on. More than likely, Galatians was the first book that Paul wrote (and remember he wrote a huge portion of the New Testament). In chapter 2:16-21 here is what he wrote:

16nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

17"But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!

18"For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.

19"For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.

20"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

21"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

These are some incredible verses to spend time on - dive in and read them. He talks about the law and faith. The concept that seems to be most important to me to grab onto is mentioned 5 times in these verses. It is the idea of justification - specifically justification by faith alone. Not legalism, not a faith by works system, but God's grace alone (the reason Jesus died). So what is justification? I will borrow John Macarthur's definition:
"It is the good news that sinful men and women can be brought into the acceptance of God, not because of their works, but simply through faith in Jesus Christ...to justify is to declare someone not guilty, innocent, righteous. In the Bible, justification refers to God's free and gracious act by which He puts a sinner right with Him, forgiving him/her, pardoning him/her and accepting him/her not on the basis of anything that sinner does but solely on the basis of the perfect work of Jesus Christ."
Wow! This is what saving grace is all about. It is not about me! The opposite of justified is condemned. Jesus declared me innocent when I was as guilty as OJ Simpson or Charles Manson! If I accept Him as my Lord and Saviour, I am justified! Not because of anything I can do, but because of what Jesus did! I am a fellow heir of the throne - adopted into the family with all access solely because of how much God loved me and the work that His Son Jesus Christ did. That is love.