JUSTIFIED BY CHRIST'S BLOOD

Great and sweet memories flood my mind when I remember the word, 'justification'. To be 'justified' in the sight of God is to be "declared righteous," or to be made right with God. The manifold grace of the divine came to us because of our justification (Romans 3:24). It is one of the amazing benefits that come with being declared righteous before God by faith. In Christ, God has made peace with us (Romans 5:1). We now stand in His grace, and rejoice in the assured reality of partaking of His glory.

Reference: Romans 5:9 New International Version (NIV) "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

In order to be reconciled to God, some blood transaction had to take place on the cross at the time of Jesus' death. In the process, we were forgiven and declared "righteous". This is what it means to be justified; to be declared innocent or guiltless. The basis or system requirement for our justification is the blood.

Why does God require the shedding of blood to justify us? Just as gold is considered one of the uncommon, precious commodities which have certainty of value or worth that endures, blood is of similar significance to God. Throughout the Bible, blood represents life. In short, Leviticus 17:11 (NIV) says, "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Creature here represents "living things". So imagine the blood of the Lamb of God. The greatest pillar of power is rooted in the blood of Jesus. Christ's blood transmits the integrity of the divine.

The altar that backs our justification is the blood of the Lamb. That's the secret behind our righteousness in Christ. When Adam's error was made, the tragedy that followed became great and in the process, mankind was rendered helpless to the point of incurring God's wrath. However after considering our justification by Christ's blood, Paul added, "how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" Watch this: Paul did not imply that there is a possibility that those who are in Christ will experience God's wrathful judgement on sin. We absolutely have no business with experiencing God's wrath as born again Christians. Instead, Paul was trying to communicate that our exemption from God's wrath is obvious, since the first (our justification) is true and confirmed. The verse is like saying, 'consider it done; you have no share in it.'

The only people who qualify for God's wrath are those outside Christ. John 3:36 records this: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Watch this: The just penalty of human sin against God is death (see Romans 6:23). That's the wrath of God concerning sin. So the death of sacrificial animals, under the old covenant, stood in temporarily for the requirement of death for sinners. Their blood sacrifice was presented by the high priest as sin offering, yet he had to return year after year, "regularly" to offer them. However when the fullness of time came, God proved His love for us in that, Christ died for us and shed His precious blood for our justification once for all. We are not only justified, we are saved from God's wrath and reconciled to God in Christ because of His powerful blood. Hallelujah!

Scripture Reading - Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; Romans 4:5; Romans 5:18-19.

Exuberant Declaration: I'm eternally grateful to God who imputed His righteousness in me, and the Lamb of God who poured out His life for me on the cross. Through the merciful and selfless sacrifice of Christ, I'm justified by His blood. Jesus truly paid the price for my salvation and removed the penalty of my sin. Thankfully, my justification and gift of righteousness are paid in full. Thus, Christ has become my perfection; my wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Glory to God!