Basic HTML Version
Justified by Faith, April 14
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1, 2
.
When God pardons the sinner, remits the punishment he deserves, and
treats him as though he had not sinned, He receives him into divine favor,
and justifies him through the merits of Christ’s righteousness. The sinner
can be justified only through faith in the atonement made through God’s
dear Son, who became a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty world. No one
can be justified by any works of his own. He can be delivered from the guilt
of sin, from the condemnation of the law, from the penalty of transgression,
only by virtue of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Faith
is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained, and faith
includes not only belief but trust....
The sinner is represented as a lost sheep, and a lost sheep never returns
to the fold unless he is sought after and brought back to the fold by the
shepherd. No man of himself can repent, and make himself worthy of the
blessing of justification. The Lord Jesus is constantly seeking to impress the
sinner’s mind and attract him to behold Himself, the Lamb of God.... We
cannot take a step toward spiritual life save as Jesus draws and strengthens
the soul, and leads us to experience that repentance which needeth not to
be repented of....
The faith that is unto salvation is not a casual faith, it is not the mere
consent of the intellect, it is belief rooted in the heart, that embraces
Christ as a personal Saviour.... When the soul lays hold upon Christ as
the only hope of salvation, then genuine faith is manifested. This faith
leads its possessor to place all the affections of the soul upon Christ; his
understanding is under the control of the Holy Spirit, and his character is
molded after the divine likeness. His faith is not a dead faith, but a faith
that works by love, and leads him to behold the beauty of Christ, and to
become assimilated to the divine character
[111]
21
Selected Messages 1:389-392
.
111