What Is Justification By Faith?
Lineage Of Faith
I love hearing stories of faith that have transpired through generations. My husband’s grandfather found Jesus during the Welsh revival. He became a pastor, and his son became a pastor, and then my husband became a pastor. This lineage of faith inspires me so much.
Remember the great-grandmother I told you about last week? If not, you can read it here. Her daughter, my sweet grandmother, went to church every Sunday without fail. She never spoke about her faith, but her actions were a witness to me. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with both of them.
My young mind was curious why my family rarely went to church, my grandmother went every week, and my great-grandmother never darkened the doorway of a church. I looked across the table at her and asked, “Granny, why don’t you ever go to church?” Her eyes flared at me and she responded, “Because they kicked me out!” Never had I heard of a church doing such a thing, and I wanted to know more. I inquired and in her same bitter tone she said, “I got a divorce therefore, I was told to leave.” I knew the conversation was over.
Worthy
Last week, I shared of a different encounter I had with my great-grandmother and the effect it had on me for many years later. I took the harsh words she said to me and carried them with me for far too long. I believed her when she said I was undeserving. Another result from that encounter was that I worked as hard as I could to be worthy of her praise. When she would ask me to do things, I would do them as best as I could, hoping to get her to tell me I did a good job. It never came.
Not getting the approval I so desired from her left me striving to get approval from anyone willing to give it. To this day, I still ask my husband, “Did I do good? Were you proud?” It amazes me how words spoken over us can affect us for years without our awareness. Then one day we see the actions for what they are and we’re appalled by that behavior.
God Has No Favorites
I found this also trickled over to my faith. I would try to do more things for God, or be better, or follow the rules the best I could because if I did, maybe God would notice me. Have you ever done this? If so, here is the fantastic news. According to Romans 2:11, God does not show favoritism. There is nothing we can do to shine brighter than the person standing next to us. All God desires is for us to accept His Son as our Lord and Savior.
Justification By Faith
This brings us to a term we find twice in Romans and three times in Galatians, ‘justification by faith.’ What does justification by faith mean? Let’s break it down. Justified or justification can be used interchangeably with righteous. Righteous means to be right with God. You can read more about that here.
Faith is believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we accept Him as our Savior. So, to be justified (or right with God) by faith, all we have to do is accept Jesus as our Savior.
Some religions believe we must do works, meaning serve one another, to be saved. To spend eternity with Jesus, we have to accept Jesus plus do works. That is not what I read.
To make it as simple as possible, Jesus + nothing = everything.
All we need to do is accept Jesus into our heart and we will have a place with Him for all of eternity. However, works are a way we live out our faith. They result from our love for Him.
When we come to the beautiful understanding of what Jesus has done for us, there is nothing more we should desire than to serve Him better. Our response to this gift of salvation should be to do all we can to bring glory to His kingdom.
Romans 2:6 says, “God will repay each person according to what they have done.” Did we say thank you, Jesus, for this gift of salvation and leave it there? Or, do we take the gift and pay it forward so others will get to share in this gift?
Securing Eternity
My husband and I came from completely different backgrounds. He came from generations of believers and I did not, but God will use whoever will say yes to Him. In Romans 2, Paul reminds his readers that lineage, heritage, place of birth, or works will not secure a place for us in Heaven. It’s only through justification by faith that we will find our eternal home with God.
This gives me absolute peace. If it were dependent on my efforts to get into Heaven, it would be a miserable failed attempt, but with God, He makes it simple. If you have never accepted Jesus into your heart, I would love to talk more with you. You can always email me here. If you have, I want to challenge you. What are you doing to live a life that would bring glory to the One who gave it all to you?
Study Romans With Me.
Your message touches me deeply, Jen. My authoritarian father contributed to my need to be perfect to get the approval of others. Like you, I’ve struggled with that compulsion for years. Yet, I know that all I truly need is Jesus. I’m so happy for you and proud of you for signing up for a marathon. Praying for you!
So many people impacted my faith walk along the way. Once, through a Bible Study, I looked at each decade of life and noted those who had. Most of them probably don’t even know it. I tell them when I have the opportunity. I’ve been thinking about the legacy I’ll leave my children and grandchildren. This helps me be more intentional about it with my young grandkids.