Belivers
Justified
Pastor
Cornelius R. Stam
TRUTH
WITHOUT COMPROMISE
Our Lord’s appearance to Saul of Tarsus (later
called Paul) on the road to Damascus, changed the pitiless persecutor in a
moment into the docile, yes the devoted follower of the Christ he had so
bitterly hated.
This transformation took place not only because he
had now seen the risen, ascended Christ; it was caused also by what he had
learned from Christ. From heaven the Lord had revealed to Paul the glory of His
finished work of redemption and had sent him forth to proclaim “the gospel of
the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
This is seen in the closing words of the Apostle’s
first recorded sermon, delivered at the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. After
mentioning the death and resurrection of Christ, the Apostle said:
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and
brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins;
and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could
not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).
Paul never changed this message, but kept
emphasizing it wherever he went as well as in his writings. He saw in this truth
the answer to man’s condemnation for breaking God’s holy law. Thus he wrote to
the Romans:
“…by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested” (Romans 3:20,21).
“[We] declare, I say, at this time, [Christ’s]
righteousness; that [God] might be just and the Justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).
Mark well: He does not say, “believeth and is baptized.”
This was the message committed to the twelve (Mark 16: 16; Acts 2:38). With the
ushering in of the dispensation of grace God was manifested as “the Justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus.”
"For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:11).
The indwelling Lord Jesus is the source of our life of liberation; the Cross is the means to it. As we abide in Him and He in us, we are to reckon upon the finished work of Calvary to deal progressively with self. It is on this basis alone that the life of Jesus will be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:11) .
"God has taken the old creation and has condemned it in Christ, and is now working on the new creation. There is no place in the plan of God for the betterment of the old creation. He does not bring about some kind of transformation of the old man so as to produce some kind of resemblance to Christ in Christian character and conduct. There is only one place for the old creation, and that is the Cross.
"But it is not enough for us to say it is there crucified with Christ. Crucifixion was a lingering death, and while we stand once for all upon the fact of God, which is eternal and unchangeable, when our Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross He took more than our sins with Him; He took our old man and dealt with the source of all our sin, and dealt with it satisfactorily. While we stand on that fact, there has to be the daily working out of the victory which Christ has won for us; there has to be the daily dying to this old self. The Holy Spirit has to work into us the death of the Lord Jesus Christ in all its wonderful power and purpose."
"Being made comfortable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10).
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Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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