How are you Justified?

A man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:16

Some people today are justifying their own actions. Even Christians can fall right back into working for their justification and leaving Christ behind.  I pray that this does not happen to you, but when we read the Word of God, there are warnings about the subject of justification and how it is applied.  The apostle Paul, in his writings to the Galatians, gave warnings about mixing the purity of doctrine with conduct and distorting the Gospel of Christ.  The cleverness of some who exhort their authority to teach a different doctrine will, in part, go along with salvation is from Christ, but then insist that one should also work for their own salvation as well.  It is like saying, “let’s cover all our bases just in case. ” Just in case of what?  That our salvation is assured at any cost by what we do. No, this is not true. First of all, salvation is the gift of God to humanity. 

Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:6

The apostle Paul tells the Galatians that the works of the law shall no flesh[man] be justified.  We must consider how the law is established.  The do and don’t rules have been designated by God, starting with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. The Jewish people followed the “torah,” which is the law of God, providing instruction on behavior and conduct for everyday living.  Tradition is the discipline in how we live and treat each other that is handed down from generation to generation.  The customs that each nation has are derived from its indigenous population.  For the Jewish population, it is the establishment and the correct practice and interpretation of the “Torah.” The Jewish rule may become common law, even though it may seem codified.  In essence, it is a matter of interpretation and what is happening at that specific time.  Historians are at times baffled and continue to argue to this day on the understanding of the meaning of the Torah.  If we get down to the root of the problem in God’s eye, it will always be a matter of the human heart.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Proverbs 4:23-24

Have you ever wondered why you should guard and keep your heart? Because your heart will direct your course in life. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh,” [see Matthew 15:6].  This is the root of the problem, it is our heart.  We speak what is in our heart, what is in our mind as we personally perceived it to be. In Proverbs 23:7, it is said “as he thinked in his heart, so is he.”  What are you thinking about? Are you what you think?   Today, it may be hard to determine what direction a person is moving towards, for their speech does not match the direction they are going. This is why Jesus said;

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8

This is known as lip service, because they have already made up their mind to go a different way. We should give this some more thought, for many desire to follow their own way or another individual’s way. How we are being taught may put us back into legalistic ways. By adhering to a standard of rules, we believe God will accept us. This is done without acknowledging God’s son, Jesus, who died for all our sins.

The Hebrew root word for salvation is “Yeshua,” which means the Lord is Salvation, and its meaning is freedom from that which binds or restricts an individual.  Now, if we look at the Hebrew word for justifies “sadaq, it means that of condemnation that brings judgment.  We are not justified by the works of the law. The law reveals our sinfulness.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:23-24

Jesus is the only way that we can have freedom from that which binds or restricts us. Jesus is the answer for sin, where we will not be condemned [see Romans 8:1].  Our freedom from condemnation is only through Jesus Christ because He is the final sacrifice for all our sins.  We cannot earn God’s favor by keeping certain traditions or by any laws that man has made.  This is not God’s method for reconciliation, no matter how good it may sound.  We receive God’s favor through the finished work of Jesus Christ.  We receive salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and not by any efforts of our own.

If justification were by our works, then why did Jesus die for our sins?  Justification by our works nullifies what Jesus has done on the cross.  It also nullifies the ministry of reconciliation towards God and each other.  Did you know that nullify means to remove the force?  Would we deny the force of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save us from the oppression of the evil one?  Be careful to what you subject yourself to [such as any social movement], it could bring you under bondage.  Legalism within the church lacks joy, because they feel they deserve something from God by doing good works.  Legalism in the church compares itself with others. Those within the church claim they are more righteous and justified than other people. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known,” said Jesus to his disciples in Luke 12:1-2.   Pharisees followed strict observance of the traditional and the written law, claiming that they were more righteous than other people.  The truth was that they could not even follow their own traditions and the written law themselves.

That is why Paul stated that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us back to Christ.  Did you know that there is power in the blood of Christ?  That power gave us His righteousness, His faith, and His love.  He gives us the victory over the evil one and even death.  He also gives us eternal life.  Let us come to Jesus and place our faith in Him alone and not in ourselves.  Let us ask Jesus to keep us free from that which binds or restricts us in any way from His power and from who Jesus is, the Son of God, who came in the flesh, and arose to sit on the right hand of God, ever making intercession for us.  Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith.  Let us not nullify who He is or His power to save us all from the evil one, our sins, and our pride.  Jesus truly is our justification, and it is by our faith in him alone, not by anything we can do ourselves, that we are justified.  Let us praise God for providing us with the way to justification and reconciliation.