Justified by Faith

These are simply notes from my quiet time this morning. I have chosen a verse for the week from Romans 4...verse 25...I am committing to write this word on my heart this week and wanted to share it with all of my dear family and friends.

“He (Jesus Christ) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:25

According to the Merrian-Webster Online Dictionary, the following is the definition of justify, justified, justification (the act of being justified)…

transitive verb1 a: to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable b (1): to show to have had a sufficient legal reason (2): to qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property2 aarchaic : to administer justice to barchaic : absolve c: to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation 3 a: to space (as lines of text) so that the lines come out even at the margin b: to make even by justifying intransitive verb1 a: to show a sufficient lawful reason for an act done b: to qualify as bail or surety2: to justify lines of text

An easy way to remember the definition of justification is this simple statement…just as if I never sinned.

I encourage you to read the entire passage (Romans 4) that comes before this scripture so you will have an understanding of the context of the scripture. The heart of the passage is this…

Abraham was justified by faith. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. David said, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will NEVER count against him.” (Ps. 32:1,2; Rom. 4:7-8). Abraham’s promise came by faith out of grace and is guaranteed to all his offspring. The awesome part is that according to scripture, “He is the father of us all.” (Rom. 4:16)

Even though Sarah’s womb was dead and Abraham was ~100 years old, he believed against all hope and became the father of many nations. “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness”. The words “it was credited to him” were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Rom. 20-24)

How incredible it is to know that we don’t have to strive to earn grace, to be righteous and worthy of salvation – our belief in the work of Christ has justified us and that belief is credited to us as righteousness. Therefore, WE ARE ALREADY RIGHTEOUS IN HIS EYES!

My prayer today is…

Lord help my unbelief. Help me to never waver regarding your promise. Help me to be strengthened in my faith and give glory to you in all things. Help me to act with the resolve of being fully persuaded that you have the power to do what you have promised. Thank you for crediting my belief as righteousness. Thank you that I do not have to strive to be worthy of your salvation. Thank you for this incredible gift of fresh, new, beautiful LIFE you have given me. I rejoice in the hope you have poured out to me. Use me to be a voice of that hope to others today and always!