Lately, the Holy Spirit has moved me to study more about the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, and the justification by faith alone.  My passion for this started when I was at a web forum and posted a thread talking about this very subject.  I was amazed at how many people, that not only denies the imputation of Christ's righteousness and justification, but also angrily denies it.  I was astonished!  For this is the type of doctrine, that has the degree of importance, that if you deny it you will go to hell for it.  By saying this I also understand, that there are people who although they might deny this doctrine verbally, they in their heart might still believe in it without knowing it.  Luke 18:10-14, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other."  Therefore, in this passage it is not legalism but justification, which is the issue for the Pharisee.  The Pharisee says, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men."  The Pharisee had a lot of doctrine right for he said, "I thank You."  Indicating to some degree, that he believed God was the Sovereign force behind his morality.  He appears to believe God was working this good morality in his life, and not just himself!  But the problem for the Pharisee was this: he believed that his justification before God Almighty was based on this righteousness, which God was working in his life.  Christ then says this man was going to hell for that presumption!  The tax collected went away justified because he believed only God by His free mercy, if He was willing, was able to justify his miserable life from the pit of sin which he was guilty of.  This humble man did not find it worthy to attempt justification before God, even by the good works that God had worked in him.  The tax collector did not mention any good he did nor any good, which He believed God worked in him, but only mentions that justification is purely on the bases of God forgiving by His mercy out of His own freedom to do so.  Some might say this is such a small difference.  But I would respond that Christ says it is still enough difference that Heaven and Hell are weighing in the balance.

          Our Lord will only exalt those to heaven who live their lives down in the dust hoping, trusting only in, that justification and righteousness which Christ purchased for them on that blood stained tree.  I fear for many in America for this reason.  There are some doctrines if you deny them will, for the most part, only harm the churches faith toward their good God.  But they still do not carry the weight that by denying them you will go to hell for it.  This doctrine of the justification and imputed righteousness of Christ is one such doctrine.  Almost all other Christian doctrines hang on this. Therefore, my passion has grown (as I began to discover how many are denying this) to help encourage the churches faith in that only secure rock, which is in the person, office and Glory of Jesus Christ. 

          Also the other day one of my favorite pastors, John Piper, came back from a 10 week sabbatical.  Upon his return stated that he spent half of those days studying on the imputed righteousness of Christ Jesus given to His saints.  Furthermore, those who believe on Him for that reason receive this righteousness of His.  Therefore, through this I felt the second confirmation, that God in fact desired me to study this and help encourage the churches faith in that awesome work of Jesus Christ crediting and giving His righteousness to our account as if we had lived it.

Galatians 3:11, "But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Galatians 2:16, "... we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."

Romans 10:10, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

pisteuo    eis      dikaiosune

Believe   unto    righteousness

Romans 3:24, "being justified freely by His grace."

Romans 5:9, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

          Before I get into the question: "what does it mean when the bible says we are justified by faith", I wish to dive into the bibles definition of faith itself.  My goal is that by understanding what faith means we will better understand what is means to be justified by faith.

          Hebrews 11:1,6, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen... for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."  Herein, we see the biblical definition for what faith is.  It merely believes God is who He said He is, and that through Christ He is every thing He promised to be and do for us.  Although this God is invisible we believe His good promises of grace are faithful and sure to the end.  For example Hebrews 11:11, "By faith Sara ...judged Him faithful who had promised."  Here we see Sara looking past the promise to the Promiser.  The Promiser is the object and heart of faith.  The action faith takes is looking away from yourself to the great and Faithful God, "[For] If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself", 2 Timothy 2:13.  Faith joyfully believes in the Lord Jesus and in His bleeding and intercession for being everything we need so that we are saved and brought into eternal life as adopted sons and daughters.  Furthermore, during all this faith has no confidence in what we can do in ourselves. "Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh", Philippians 3:3.  Also Romans 9:16, "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."  While looking away from oneself, Faith is the act of knowing and passionately believing that we are weak but HE is infinitely strong, we are quitters but Christ is boundlessly faithful, we are but dusty clay vessels while Christ is a most precious stone, that He the brightness of the morning Star, we are evil but Christ is gloriously perfect in obedience, we are hopeless while Christ is endlessly merciful, that shines as a most pleasant and glorious light into the darkness.

          "There is a determinate resolution of the mind and judgment, on a due consideration of the evidence given for its assent unto any truth.  Therefore, the nature of true faith in general does consist, namely, in the mind's judging and determination upon the evidence proposed.  Sarah's faith in this case was the issue of a temptation, a trial.  When she first heard the promise, she considered only the thing promised, and was shaken in her faith by the improbability of it.  She had lost all expectation and even desire of it.  But when she gathered her thoughts again, and took off her mind the thing promised unto the Promiser, then faith prevailed in her... She fixed her mind on God himself who had promised... The object of faith in the divine promises is not the things promised in the first place, but God himself in his essential excellencies of truth or faithfulness, and power... "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" This question God himself proposes as the foundation of our faith in our entering into covenant with him... Although the truth, reliability or faithfulness of God, is in an unusual manner the immediate object of our faith, yet it takes in the consideration of all other Divine Excellencies for its encouragement and proof.  All of them together is the "Name of the LORD," the place a believing soul places itself in all hardships, Isaiah 50:10.  Therefore, "the righteousness of God [is] revealed from faith to faith."  This means the righteousness of Christ as proposed in the promise is made known and communicated from the faith of God therein unto the faith of them by whom it is believed." - John Owen

          The reason I am taking time to remember what the scriptures say in regard to faith is for this reason: my generation seems to make faith the actual object (or foundation) of our justification and righteousness before the Almighty God.  But this would immediately seem contrary to reason in light of what we just learned faith is.  Faith believes God is doing something for us, which we cannot do.  It is a contradiction to say that faith is our actual justification itself, when faith believes that Christ's bleeding on the cross is our actual righteousness and justification.  It is blasphemy to strip the Lord Jesus of His rightful and honorable work of righteousness (perfect obedience) and say we by our own act of faith is the reason we are perfectly righteous before God, apart from Christ crediting His obedience to us. 

          I have heard by opponents against the crediting of Christ's obedience to His elect such as the following: Christ does not give us His righteousness but we by our act of faith itself is what makes us righteous before the immortal invisible God.  Also they say God justifies us by making our faith itself the object of our righteousness.  But this is both contrary to reason and to the scriptures and takes away one of chief and the most precious motivations why Christians should admire the Lord Jesus Christ for the endless ages to come, as we shall further investigate.

"Being justified freely by his grace . . . being now justified by His blood . . . being now justified by faith"-Romans 3:24; 5:9; 5:1

          It is very important to understand how all three of these statements are true at the same time, so that we might honor and worship God in truth.  This will help us understand how our Almighty God was able to justify guilty sinners and bring them to Himself forever.  Furthermore, to have these forgiven saints in Heaven surrounded by His beautiful unapproachable light, thus, giving them infinite happiness.  Lets consider the phrase "justified by faith."

          First, lets remember that faith is the act by a Christian where he or she believes that God is who He said He is and that He is faithful to all His good and perfect promises.  Additionally, faith believes it is by Christ Jesus bleeding on the cross for our behalf, that is the foundation for these good promises.  If it is said that we are justified by "faith" then the million-dollar question is this: "what is our faith believing in", so that it pleases God to the degree that He declares us justified, even being declared righteous by Him in His courtroom.  We must find what we are to believe in, so that we become justified in God's infinitely holy sight and judgment.  For this is the very notion of faith, not doing, but believing in something.  In our case it is Christ and His finished work on the cross for sinners, this is the object of our faith.

          "We are justified by faith, and not for faith; not because of what faith is, but because of what it receives.... In the application of justification faith is not a builder, but a beholder; not an agent, but an instrument; it has nothing to do, but all to believe; nothing to give, but all to receive." - A. W. Pink

          " Being justified freely by his grace . . . being now justified by His blood," Romans 3:24, 5:9.

          Now we are beginning to see what our justifying faith is to believe in.  We are to believe we have been "justified freely by His Grace" and that we have literally and tangibly been "justified by [Christ] blood."  Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."  Therefore, what is this "grace" and "blood" that our verses speak of?  First, we must start with the following premise.  If we are seeking to be justified then we are guilty, and particularly guilty before the Almighty God.  Therefore, we are in need of great mercy.  God's law requires perfect obedience, but who is perfect?  It is clear then that we have all trampled and blasphemed our Creator in an infinitely evil way.  This is why the scriptures say, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness," Hebrews 9:22.  "In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins", Colossians 1:14. Therefore, "even when we were dead in trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)", Ephesians 2:5 and "[God] who has saved us ... not according to our works, but according to His... grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began", 2 Timothy 1:9.

          Therefore, in this light we see what it means when the scriptures say His Grace and Blood have justified us.  Accordingly, in 1 Peter 2:24 it says, "[Christ] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree."  This is why it was early prophesied by the prophet Isaiah 53:11, "My righteous Servant [Christ] shall justify many."  Consequently, we see it was the actual tangible Jesus Christ living on the earth and dying on the cross for our sins, as God the Father poured His Almighty wrath on His Son that sinners become justified.  In other words it is Jesus Christ, who "justified" us.  This means at this point, the moment Christ rose again, the justifying is over, the Lord Jesus finished it.  At this point it cannot be added to.  Therefore, we see what faith believes: it believes Christ is our "justification" because Christ took the punishment for our sins in our place.  Faith or our belief in the effective act of our sins being forgiven by Christ bleeding on the cross is what unites to Christ.  Faith by believing in Christ's finished work on the Cross, Honors Him in what He did.  Therefore, by this act of honoring the Son in faith, God the Father honors us by uniting and grafts us in the body of Christ.  The act of God grafting us in His Son's body means for us that everything Christ accomplished in His life and death is ours to enjoy and participate in.  This includes the justification, which He purchased for us by the payment of His royal blood.

        Christ came "to give His life a ransom for many", Matthew 20:28.  What does ransom mean?  The Greek word for ransom means to: purchase back people or property so that it might be released from the person holding them.  The Person holding claim to the people that Christ said His blood is purchasing back is none other than our Heavenly Father.  We have sinned against Him alone, as David puts it in Psalm 51, and so God the Father is claiming us as His property, (just as a Government claims criminals in jail as their property) so that one day He might judge us guilty for our crimes of sin.  This is why Christ said He is dying on the cross, to ransom us from the condemnation that God our Judge will pronounce on us for our sins.  Acts 20:28, "The Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood."  Our sins made us guilty before God, therefore, if our sins were removed or paid for in full, then we would be justified before God our Judge!  Christ paid for, or paid the ransom that our sins accumulated.  As Jesus describes in Matthew 18:21-27 our debt was 10,000 talents, or in other words, we could not pay back the price of what our sin cost, it was to big.  Christ paid it for us in His precious blood.  His blood has infinite value in God's eyes.  Therefore, in paying for our debt or sin God the Judge releases us or declares us justified, because the Judge has nothing more against us!  It has been paid for in full.

           Faith is a spiritual act and can only be done by a person if God gives them the gift to believe.  Ephesians 2:8, "Faith, [is] not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."  This is why it is also recorded in 2 Timothy 2:24, "If God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth."  Also note Philippians 1:29, "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ... to believe in Him... for His sake."  This is simply to demonstrate that since faith a gift, which came from God and not us.  Therefore, there is no reason for one to conclude that our faith is the actual act itself that makes us righteous before God, since it is not even from us to begin with.  This is especially obvious since I have already proven it contrary to the very notion of faith, since faith is describe in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews as being that act of hoping in the Faithful Christ to provide for us that which we cannot.  Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross."  Thus, let all boasting be stopped and silenced in the mouths of men and be replaced by rejoicing and boasting in the Name of Jesus Christ who is the "Lord our Righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6

          But there is more to the story.  Being justified before God Almighty not only removes ours sins but also transfers us as adopted sons and daughters.  But this means it takes more than merely having our slate wiped clean from all sin and guilt.  Accordingly, to say that Christ by His death only purged our sin is to make Him a half savoir, it robs Him the Honor due His Name and great work, which He accomplished.

Matthew 5:48, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect"            

          The Law of God that we are judged against demands perfection.  This perfection is an actual positive display of perfect obedience lived out of love toward our Heavenly Father.  1 Peter 1:16, "It is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."  Yet not even the best saint after being converted lives in perfection!  Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins."  (NAU) James 2:10, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."  It is one thing to have yours sins forgiven, and it is another thing to have life actually lived in flawless perfection.  This is important because no one will have the right or access to be brought infinitely near the "Perfect", and "Holy" Father in ever-increasing enjoyment, if one is not flawlessly holy as He is.  To be perfect in that manner, which our scripture is referring to, is to positively live life without one little tiny mess up, ever!  Yes, our sins are forgiven and we are, therefore, sinless in the sight of God because of Christ.  Yet our track record will always show we did not have "perfect" obedience, because that is the very notion of forgiveness, sins being covered by mercy.  But this is a huge problem if we are going to be justified, in such a way, that God will admit us into the light and pleasure of His fellowship with His Glorious Son.  So the question that lays before us is this: "how are we going to display a life in perfect obedience if none of us can do so?"

"Romans 8:3,  "What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh... that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us"

          The verse before us reveals that Christ came and shed His blood not only for our sins to be forgiven, but also that the "righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us."  Again what is the requirement of the law?  "Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  Christ came and lived 33 years of perfect loving obedience to God for us in our place.  Additionally, He also died in our place, for our sins as a wrath absorber.  Romans 5:17, "The gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."  Note the clarity of Romans 5:19, "By the obedience of one [Christ] shall many be made righteous."  There is no obscurity in those words.  Notice it does not say by Christ suffering man has been forgiven.  Instead is says by the obedience of Christ many will be righteous!  This is in order that the "righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us."  The law of God that demanded perfect obedience from us is now by Christ's obedience "fulfilled in us."  The forgiveness of our sins is not being discussed here, but something entirely different!  What is being discussed is Christ living in perfect righteousness or obedience to God and then giving this righteousness to us as though we had lived it.  Therefore, by Christ doing this we become the righteousness of God through the life and sacrifice of our most precious Savior.  2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in [Christ]."  Christ actually became our "sin", as the verse so plainly states.  This had to be done in order for Christ to be in the position where He could truly be our propitiation of our actual sins (The sacrifice by the shedding of blood).  Therefore, God looked upon His Son in our place for committing our sins.  Mark 15:34, "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Observe Christ has "became a curse for us (Gal 3:13)", or in other words He took our sin on Himself, so much so that the Father poured His Wrath into His Son and thus, turns back to His only Son.  Furthermore, on the other side of he coin when Christ gives us His righteousness, God now pours His eternal kindness and turns His countenance to us.  This is what we call double imputation or crediting.  This trade is so dramatic that the Holy Scriptures say we actually, "Become the righteousness of God in Him[Christ]," the highest of what langue can afford.  Christ credits or imputes His righteousness to our account.  Example: just as if someone would freely credit his money to my bank account as if I had earned it, although I had not.  If we become the righteousness of God in Christ, then surly it is not our righteousness, that was produced from ourselves.  The verse says we became God's righteousness not ours, nothing could be more self-evident!  Romans 4:6,25-26, "David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.... God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Who was raised again for our justification."  Who can really understand the true wonder and depth of the mercy and glory given to us by, Christ Jesus the Eternal Son of the Living God, to people who were His enemies!

          "The Greek preposition is eis which never means "in the stead of," but always signifies "towards, in order to, with a view to": it has the uniform force of "unto." Its exact meaning and force is unequivocally plain in Romans 10:10: "With the heart man believeth unto [eis] righteousness," that is, the believing heart reaches out toward and lays hold of Christ [and the righteousness (perfect obedience) and forgiveness of sins He accomplish for us in His life, death and resurrection.]" - A. W. Pink

Romans 10:10, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

pisteuo      eis      dikaiosune

Believe     unto    righteousness

          Romans 10:10 gives one of the most definite pictures of how we are justified by faith, which is what has already been discussed.  By faith we "believe unto righteousness."  Faith believes that Christ lived out our righteousness for us, so that we might "become the righteousness of God in Him."  This is why we are justified by faith, for it is what faith holds on to.  Faith believes and rejoices in CHRIST, and what He did for us in our place.  This includes both the purging of our sin by his Blood, and also by His "obedience many are made righteous."  That is why God is so pleased with faith and so willing to reward those who Honor His Son, by believing on Him and resting in His finished work for us.  He rewards them by giving them eternal life and access to into the infinitely pleasurable fellowship of the Trinity forever.  Amen.

"Now Christ, by subjecting himself to the law, and obeying it, has done great honor to the law, and to the authority of God who gave it.  That so glorious a Person should become subject to the law, and fulfill it, has done much more to honor it, than if mere man had obeyed it.  It was a thing infinitely honorable to God, that a person of infinite dignity was not ashamed to call him his God, and to adore and obey him as such.  This was more to God's honor than if any mere creature, of any possible degree of excellence and dignity, had so done.  the righteousness of Christ is accepted for us, and admitted instead of that perfect inherent righteousness which ought to be in ourselves.  Christ's perfect obedience shall be credited to our account, so that we shall have the benefit of it, as though we had performed it ourselves.  And so we suppose that a title to eternal life is given us as the reward of this righteousness.  Faith is not, in any wise, on account of any excellency or value that there is in faith, that it appears in the sight of God a [good] thing, ...but purely from the relation faith has to the person in whom this benefit is to be had, or as it unites to that mediator, in and by whom we are justified"   -Jonathan Edwards

            I have said all what I have said to this point so that I might end in a meditation of worship and admiration upon the effective work which my Lord Jesus Christ, that was accomplished for me by His actual bleeding and sacrifice on the cross.

"Jesus Christ, according to the counsel and will of his Father, did offer himself upon the cross, to...make continual intercession with this intent and purpose, that all the good things so procured by his death might be actually and infallibly bestowed on and applied to all and every one for whom he died, according to the will and counsel of God."

The Father and his Son intended by the death of Christ to redeem, purge, sanctify, purify, deliver from death, Satan, the curse of the law, to quit of all sin, to make righteousness in Christ, to bring nigh unto God, all those for whom he died, as was above proved.  Therefore, Christ died for all and only those in and towards whom all these things recounted are effected." - John Owen

Conclusion:

          Lately while reading John Owen's book, "The death of death in the death of Christ" (book 2 chapter 3) I have been granted by God to better understand and, therefore, enjoy more deeply what Christ did while bleeding on the Cross.  Not what faith did, but what my Great God and Savoir Jesus Christ totally accomplished for me when He gave His body to be broken and His blood to be spilt.  Here are some verses (most of which I gleaned from reading J. Owens book), along with some of his same argument structure, to teach us about the actual accomplishment of the sacrifice and intercession Jesus Christ and what it really produced towards His church of whom this was done for.

          Hebrews 9:12, "With His own blood [Christ] entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption... how much more shall the blood of Christ, ...cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  There are two things here that are produced by the blood of Christ.  First, is "eternal redemption", which is granted by God the Father on the behalf of Christ's death and intersession for us.  The second effect that Christ's blood does is cleanse our "conscience from dead works", so that our justification with God is an immediate result of Christ's' sacrifice.  This act of cleansing of our conscience frees us from the slavery of sin and the power of guilt, and so enabling us to serve the Living God in joy.  These are both gifts purchased by the bleeding and suffering of Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 1:3, 9:26, "He had by Himself purged our sins...now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."  Christ has single handedly removed our particluar sin, not Christ plus something else, but Christ Himself, for all whom He was a sacrifice.  Therefore, He did accomplish for them complete spiritual sanctification and freedom from guilt and the punishment of sin, which the law required when it is breached by us. 

          Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree."  Our sins have been totally put away with, because Christ has himself "bore our sins" in His body.  Accordingly, God's wrath for all our sin has already been poured out on Christ as our punishment, for that is meaning of the expression "on the tree."  His cross was a symbol of punishment and cursing.  Christ became our curse in our place physically on that cross, "once and for all."  Isaiah 53:4,5,6,8,10,11, "He has born our grief's...was wounded for our transgressions...the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all...For the transgressions of My people He was stricken...His soul an offering for sin...My righteous servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities."  Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross as if He did them.  This is self-evident as we see the wrath of the Father being poured upon Christ's body in His horrific suffering and crucifixion.  We must note that all this was being done to Him who was innocent and infinitely worth of our honor.  Therefore, by the virtue of His death He did infallibly obtain actual salvation for those whom He died for.  This means the elect will go free, and will never suffer any of the things Christ undertook for them in their place. 

          Colossians 1:21, "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight." Ephesians 2:13, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace...that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity."  Now we see a deeper picture into the direct result of the blood of Christ, which are our reconciliation and our peace.  Furthermore, God's wrath against us is taken away, and our inner hostility toward God is taken away along with all obstacles that hindered us from enjoying the love and comfort of our Wonderful God.  The release from all these things were made by Christ, "with His own Blood", Acts 20:28.

          Daniel 9:24, " [Christ will come] to make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness."  2 Corinthians 5:21,  "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him[Christ]."  Christ's perfect life and bloodshed produced for His elected saints "everlasting righteousness", for in His death He was "to be sin for us."  Furthermore, by purging our sin He credited and imputed His righteousness, so that He freely gave it to our account so that "we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  The result of Christ crediting His righteousness to our accounts is eternal life, which is none other than John 17:3, "Eternal life is that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ."  In order words to have this "eternal life" (knowing God) you must have all sin forgiven and a perfect righteousness to present to God, your Judge.

           What joy it is to know that Christ is all this for us by His physical suffering for our sins over 2000 years ago.  "It is finished," was the final testimony concerning the result of the Cross and its Glory.  2 Timothy 1:10, "By the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, [He] abolished death and brought life and immortality to light."  John 10:15, Christ bleed to,  "Give them eternal life, that they might never perish", that they may "behold [His] Glory", forever because,  "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light," Revelation 21:23.  These are all direct effects irrevocably accomplished by the physical blood shed and loving obedience produced by the suffering of Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, this was totally effective for all to whom He intended to it to be so, in order that they might be brought to the place of rejoicing in full assurance forever.  "Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory", 1 Peter 1:8.

          Herein do the 3 greatest virtues consist, "faith hope and love," 1 Corinthians 13:13.  How evident it is to see why faith, hope and love are the greatest virtues a human creature can attain, when consider against what has been discussed.  All we can do is "hope" in our Redeemer Jesus Christ that He is faithful to bring into effect all the good His death and sacrifice purchased for us.  Therefore, let us love and admire the Father, Son and Spirit for all the wisdom, power, patience, mercy and suffering that They undertook to save their enemies.  Lastly we must trust and put our "faith" in the Holy One that His mercy towards us, which was produced by His death, will endure forever, that He is faithful to see to it.  1 Chronicles 16:34 "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

         The death and suffering of our Savoir did sanctity and purify everyone to whom it was a sacrifice.  Furthermore, His bleeding on that cross did purge and wash away our sin.  Additionally, by redeeming us from the wrath and curse of God and its power of guilt, Christ's suffering and perfect obedience did work for us peace and reconciliation with our God and credited to our account His everlasting righteousness.  His infinite righteousness credited to account brought in eternal life and adoption as legitimate children of God.   Christ being slaughtered on that tree did take on to Himself our sins and, therefore, healed us of all our diseases and redeemed His church, saved her, quickened her to spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit.   It was here, while we were still lost in darkness that His mercy found us and brought us into the fellowship, immortality and happiness of our Almighty God our Heavenly Father.  Herein do we hope, herein do we rest the anchor of our souls, the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ who is our Justification and Righteousness.  The Glory of Cross is the object of our faith hope and love.  CHRIST the Magnificent!

Prayer:

Oh Father of Glory, who has Creator rights over all that exist; I wish to come to Your Throne of grace.  Your Throne was sprinkled by the Blood of Your Son, so many years ago, and I know it pleads for the success of my justification, sanctification and glorification.  It is here I wish to learn to be humble and meek of spirit, at the foot of the Cross.

 I have far to often looked upon my hands and seen their sin and weakness.  My pride is all but spent and ruined by their weakness and shame.  How glaring it is, to see my need of a divine justification and righteousness from which my sin has forfeited me from ever obtaining. 

Christ You are my only hope!  You bore my specific sins and rode out horrific anguish for my wrong doing on your innocent body, as you spilled your blood and gave your body to be broken.  How can this be!  It frightens me to even think about it.  A mystery it is that my God and Creator would do such a thing out of His own freedom and love His enemy. 

Oh, grant me to see afresh and with greater intensity the Glory of the cross and the Glory of my risen Savoir, every day.  For I have come to know that Your Love is better than life.  I have no good thing apart from You, Father of Mercies.  Lord Jesus it was You who saved me by Your bloodshed and intercession, therefore, it is Your Arm I now cling to.  Your strength is so beautiful to me, and Your Grace oh so sweet; Your presence is better than all the world.

LORD, I ask that You would grant to your church, see her in Your pity, a reformation by cleansing Her from Her ignoble thoughts and lack of faith in You.  Pharisees in Your day sought to be justified by empty means and in my day well-off American daydreamers have picked up that broken clay pot and are running in vain to be justified.  Rise up leaders, pastors, elders, husbands, wives, and children to declare the righteousness of God found only in Christ, which would be ours if we would only trust in Him.  Teach us to lean on and learn form our Great Savoir, that we might trust in Him and in His finished and effective sacrifice for sinners.  Forgive us for our faults, have mercy on us, so that the Name of Christ would be exalted in the world through Your glorious Church as it should be.  Amen 

 

Psalm 11:7, "The LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness." God loves righteousness and therefore went out of His way and made us righteous.  Praise the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!