Justification - Session 2 - Justification Promised In Christ

The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) Sunday morning adult bible study group is in a study on justification. These posts are my notes for each session. Please study with us. You can participate by asking your questions or making comments in the comments below. We welcome your thoughts and prayers.

Foundation Scripture

Romans 3:21-30 (HCSB)21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets22 —that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction.23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.25 God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.26 ⌊God presented Him⌋ to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.29 Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too,30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Review

Definitions from Dictionary.com

Justify

1. to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right:

2 to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded:

3. Theology. to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.


Justification

1.the state of being justified.

2.Also called justification by faith. Theology. the act of God whereby humankind is made or accounted just, or free from guilt or penalty of sin


Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal. 

Justification is tied to grace. We are justified through God’s grace or favor. Again it’s not earned because we had nothing to do with it.

Justification is Instant

Justification is instant it is not a process. The moment that do what it says in  Romans 10:9-10 you are saved and justified.

Romans 10:9-10 (HCSB) ⁹  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰  One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 

When one of the thieves crucified with Jesus acknowledged Him Jesus told Him that at that instant he would be with Him in paradise.   

Luke 23:40-43 (HCSB) 40 But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? 41 We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.

I found this on gotquestions.org;

We are justified, declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice covers our sin, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Because as believers we are in Christ, God sees Christ's own righteousness when He looks at us. This meets God's demands for perfection; thus, He declares us righteous—He justifies us.

It is because of justification that the peace of God can rule in our lives. It is because of justification that believers can have assurance of salvation. It is the fact of justification that enables God to begin the process of sanctification—the process by which God makes us in reality what we already are positionally.

Romans 5:1 (HCSB) Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:18-19 (HCSB)18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone.19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Justification is Promised in Christ

Here is another definition of justification, this one from Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible:

“the act of pronouncing righteous, justification, acquittal”; it is used twice in the Ep. to the Romans, and there alone in the NT, signifying the establishment of a person as just by acquittal from guilt. In Rom. 4:25 the phrase “for our justification,” is, lit., “because of our justification” (parallel to the preceding clause “for our trespasses,” i.e., because of trespasses committed), and means, not with a view to our “justification,” but because all that was necessary on God’s part for our “justification” had been effected in the death of Christ. On this account He was raised from the dead. The propitiation being perfect and complete, His resurrection was the confirmatory counterpart. In 5:18, “justification of life” means “justification which results in life” (cf. v. 21). That God “justifies” the believing sinner on the ground of Christ’s death, involves His free gift of life.

That last sentence in the Vine’s definition is the basis of my statement that justification was promised in Christ.

Most Protestants believe that justification is a singular act in which God declares an unrighteous individual to be righteous, an act made possible because Christ was legally "made sin" while on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (HCSB)  He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

A little background first.  Let's go to Isaiah.  

Isaiah 44:28 (HCSB) who says to Cyrus, “My shepherd, he will fulfill all My pleasure” and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”

Isaiah 45:1 (HCSB) The LORD says this to Cyrus, His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him and the gates will not be shut:

The one that God is talking about in Isaiah to redeem his people is Cyrus. Cyrus is a type of Messiah; and many of the promises to Cyrus in Isaiah have a spiritual fulfillment in the ministry and life of Jesus. In fact God identifies Cyrus as His shepherd in Isaiah 44:28 and then as His anointed  in 45:1. Both these titles, shepherd in 44:28 and anointed in 45:1, are used for Jesus.

Acts 4:27 (HCSB) “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, (emphasis mine)

Acts 10:38 (HCSB) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the Devil, because God was with Him. (emphasis mine)

John 10:11 (HCSB) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (emphasis mine).

Now let’s look a more direct reference to justification promised in Christ

Isaiah 53:11 (HCSB) He will see ⌊it⌋ out of His anguish, and He will be satisfied with His knowledge. My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will carry their iniquities.

This is a specific prophetic reference to Christ or the Messiah. To see that we need to go back to Isaiah Chapter 49. Verses 1-6 of the chapter is one of what many students of the Bible call ‘Suffering Servant Songs’

Isaiah 49:3 (HCSB) He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel; I will be glorified in him.”

In this verse God says that Israel is His servant however nowhere else in the Bible does it say that God will be glorified in a person (servant), so I believe, as do many others, that in this context ‘Israel’ is a name for Jesus, the Messiah. Now reading 53:11 we see that Jesus the Messiah (My righteous Servant) will justify many. The many here refers to Jews and Gentiles.   How do we know?  Go to

Isaiah 49:6 (HCSB) He says, “It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Then we come to the final ‘Suffering Servant Song’ in Isaiah starting at Chapter 52:13 and ending at 53:12 which reads;

Isaiah 53:12 (HCSB) Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

Yes our justification was promised in Christ the anointed. What Cyrus did thousands of years ago for Israel Jesus has done for the world!!

Next week Justification is the Act of God

If you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you have not been justified, pardoned or accepted by God. He loves you and has provided a way for your justificationand acceptance but it's your decision. The way to justification is simple, as simple as "TNT" (Romans 10:9-10). If you're ready just repeat this prayer in all sincerity, if it's not sincere then you're really not ready, but if you are this is all you have to ask God;

“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Savior.”

Once you pray this, or a similar, prayer in all sincerity your salvation and justification is instant.

If you have just prayed this prayer call, text, email, Tweet, change your Facebook status and tell somebody, and leave me a comment or email me at donald@donjake-strategicadviser.com. Then find a bible believing church and start to fellowship with other believers. Welcome to the family of God.

<====IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BIBLE OR WANT ANOTHER ONE CLICK HERE====>

MORE INFORMATION ON JUSTIFICATION

Justification - Session 1

The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) Sunday morning adult bible study group is in a study on justification. These posts are my notes for each session. Please study with us. You can participate by

asking your questions or making comments in the comments below. We welcome your thoughts and prayers.

The last three weeks we have been talking about God’s grace, His unmerited favor on mankind. Here’s what we have learned.

The dictionary defines grace as

1. unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
2. a virtue coming from God
3. disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency

We compared Adam and Jesus who both represented mankind.

Adam introduced sin and with sin death and they were passed on to his descendants.
In the sight of God Adam represented mankind and when he sinned it was as all
of mankind that sinned because we are his posterity.

But Jesus came as a second Adam and he also represents mankind, and with Him came
the grace of God and with grace righteousness. . Through His sacrifice God
gives His grace to all who believe.

We identified some of the forms of God’s grace

Common grace - The kindness or favor God give to all mankind believer or not.

Saving grace - The provision of salvation on the cross of

Securing grace - The favor of God by which Christians are kept secure in spite of sin.

Sanctifying grace - Sanctifying grace works within the true believer causing them to grow and mature and progress becoming more Christ-like.

Serving grace -The Spiritual Gifts that believers have been given by the Holy Spirit.

Sustaining grace - Grace given at special times of need, especially during adversity or suffering.

Last week we talked about the nature of God’s grace

It is undeserved - If it could be earned, it would not be grace.

God's saving grace can be received only through the Son of God.

Grace has appeared to all men.

Grace is pure never a mixture of divine benevolence and human effort

Grace is sovereign.

Grace is the source of righteousness.

Grace is given only to the humble.

Grace is never to be an occasion for sin.


Grace is always granted in harmony with God’s other attributes.

Romans 3:24-26 (NKJV)24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.Grace, then, meets the demands of justice and holiness rather than to set them aside. Grace is never granted at the expense of any of God’s attributes.

Introduction to our study on Justification

One of God's attributes is that He is righteous which means that He is morally right or justifiable and virtuous.  If he is then He can't lie and He said from the very beginning that the wages of sin is death and as scripture tells us we all sin.

Romans 6:23 (HCSB)  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 3:23 (HCSB) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 

1 John 1:8 (HCSB) If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

Since God is righteous and just then he must levy the punishment for sin which is death to the sinner.  As we found out in our study on grace that God's solution to this was to sovereignty grant us His grace by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, through which God gave His grace to those who believe.  That brings us to this study which is Justification.  Let's go to our Foundation Scripture.  

Foundation Scripture

Romans 3:21-30 (HCSB)21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets22 —that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction.23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.25 God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.26 ⌊God presented Him⌋ to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.29 Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too,30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.

The Oxford Dictionary defines justify as:

1) Show or prove to be right or reasonable and 

2) Declare or make righteous in the sight of God.

Here's the definition of justify from “Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible” 

“the act of pronouncing righteous, justification, acquittal”; it is used twice in the Ep. to the Romans,

and there alone in the NT, signifying the establishment of a person as just by acquittal from guilt. In Rom. 4:25 the phrase “for our justification,” is, lit., “because of our justification” (parallel to the

preceding clause “for our trespasses,” i.e., because of trespasses committed), and means, not with a view to our “justification,” but because all that was necessary on God’s part for our “justification” had been effected in the death of Christ. On this account He was raised from the dead. The propitiation being perfect and complete, His resurrection was the confirmatory counterpart. In 5:18, “justification of life” means “justification which results in life” (cf. v. 21). That God “justifies” the believing sinner on the ground of Christ’s death, involves His free gift of life.

Remember in our study on grace we said that God's solution the sin of mankind was His grace by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, to those who believe and in granting his grace for salvation He also justified or acquitted us.

So as a result of Jesus' death on the cross everyone who believes is shown or proved to be right or reasonable and declared or made righteous, or justified,  in God’s sight.

Justification is Instant

Justification is instant it is not a process. Sanctification is a process but acquittal or justification is instantaneous.  The moment that you sincerely make that confession in Romans 10:9-10 (

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation) you are justified instantly.

Just as the thief on the cross acknowledged Jesus his joining Him in paradise was instant.

Luke 23:40-43 (HCSB) 40 But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? 41 We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.

Here is what Charles Spurgeon says in one of his devotions;

"We are now-even now pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” There is not a sin in the Book of God, even now, against one of His people. Who dareth to lay anything to their charge? There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing remaining upon any one believer in the matter of justification in the sight of the Judge of all the earth. Let present privilege awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus."

In the next few weeks we are going to be talking about

· Justification – Promised in Christ

· Justification – Is the Act of God

· Justification – Under Law – Is that Possible?

· Justification – Under the Gospel

If you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you have not been pardoned or accepted by God. He loves you and has provided a way for your pardon and acceptance but it's your decision. The way to pardon and acceptance is simple, as simple as "TNT" (Romans 10:9-10). If you're ready just repeat this prayer in all sincerity, if it's not sincere then you're really not ready, but if you are this is all you have to ask God;

“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Savior.”

Once you pray this, or a similar, prayer in all sincerity your salvation and justification is instant.

If you have just prayed this prayer call, text, email, Tweet, change your Facebook status and tell somebody, and leave me a comment or email me at donald@donjake-strategicadviser.com. Then find a bible believing church and start to fellowship with other believers. Welcome to the family of God.

<====IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BIBLE OR WANT ANOTHER ONE CLICK HERE====>

MORE INFORMATION ON JUSTIFICATION

Grace - Lesson 3 - The Nature of God's Grace

The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) Sunday morning adult bible study group is in a study on grace. These posts are my notes for each session. Please study with us. You can participate by asking your questions or making comments in the comments below. We welcome your thoughts

and prayers.

Foundation scripture Ephesians 2:8-9 (HCSB)8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

Before we start today I want to read one of the devotions that I had this past week from Charles Spurgeon's  Morning and Evening Devotions

Isaiah 49:8

I will give thee for a covenant of the people.

Jesus Christ is Himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts. He is the property of every believer. Believer, canst thou estimate what thou hast gotten in Christ? "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Consider that word "God" and its infinity, and then meditate upon "perfect man" and all his beauty; for all that Christ, as God and man, ever had, or can have, is thine-out of pure free favour, passed over to thee to be thine entailed property forever. Our blessed Jesus, as God, is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. Will it not console you to know that all these great and glorious attributes are altogether yours? Has he power? That power is yours to support and strengthen you, to overcome your enemies, and to preserve you even to the end. Has He love? Well, there is not a drop of love in His heart which is not yours; you may dive into the immense ocean of His love, and you may say of it all, "It is mine." Hath He justice? It may seem a stern attribute, but even that is yours, for He will by His justice see to it that all which is promised to you in the covenant of grace shall be most certainly secured to you. And all that He has as perfect man is yours. As a perfect man the Father's delight was upon Him. He stood accepted by the Most High. O believer, God's acceptance of Christ is thine acceptance; for knowest thou not that the love which the Father set on a perfect Christ, He sets on thee now? For all that Christ did is thine. That perfect righteousness which Jesus wrought out, when through His stainless life He kept the law and made it honourable, is thine, and is imputed to thee. Christ is in the covenant.

My God, I am thine-what a comfort divine!
What a blessing to know that the Saviour is mine!
In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am,
And my heart it doth dance at the sound of His name."

Last week we talked about the Forms of God’s Grace

They were:

Common grace - The kindness or favor God give to all mankind believer or not.

Saving grace - The provision of salvation on the cross of

Securing grace - The favor of God by which Christians are kept secure in spite of sin.

Sanctifying grace - Sanctifying grace works within the true believer causing them to grow and mature and progress becoming more Christ-like.

Serving grace -  Spiritual Gifts that believers have been given by the Holy Spirit.

Sustaining grace - Grace given at special times of need, especially during adversity or suffering.

This week's lesson is the Nature of God’s Grace

First a quick summary then we will get into specifics.

1. Grace is God acting freely with no obligations to fulfill
2. Grace wholly in the giver, God.
3. Grace is sovereign. It can can be given to whomever and however it pleases. 
4. Grace cannot act when it is deserved.   o

It is undeserved

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If it could be earned, it would not be grace

Ephesians 2:7-9 (NKJV)7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Titus 3:4-7 (NKJV)4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God's saving grace can be received only through Jesus

Ephesians 1:6-7 (NKJV)6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Grace has appeared to all men

Titus 2:11 (NKJV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men

It is no secret and it’s available to all men, but only through Jesus.

Grace is pure

Grace is never a mixture of divine benevolence and human effort:

Romans 4:4-5 (NKJV)4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Romans 11:6 (NKJV) And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Grace is entirely the work of God, unprompted by man, undeserved by man, and without regard to anything that man can accomplish later.

J. I. Packer describes grace this way:

In the New Testament grace means God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. Grace means God sent His only Son to the cross so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven. To make even the slightest contribution to our salvation is to rule out the possibility of grace. For one thing, any contribution on our part would be exaggerated in our own minds.

Grace is sovereign

Since we have no claim on God’s grace and cannot contribute anything to it, then grace must be sovereignly bestowed.

Romans 9:15-16  (NKJV) For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.  "

Some people have a problem with that but again it’s God’s favor and He gives it to whomever He will based on the requirements that He set and they are His requirements not ours.

Grace is not looking for good men but for condemned, guilty, and helpless men whom it will save, sanctify and glorify.

Grace is the source of righteousness

While the Law defines righteousness, only grace delivers it. The Law was never intended to be a means of obtaining grace; it was given to demonstrate to men that grace was desperately needed:

Romans 3:19-21 (NKJV)19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Here is something that I read written by Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh who has contributed Bible studies to a website that I use from time to time,  Bible.org

No matter how pious legalism appears on the outside, it dishonors God by revealing a deep-seated distrust of God. Stop and think about it for a minute. Why do men insist upon putting agreements in writing? Why are legal contracts necessary? For only one reason—men are fallible. At best, we tend to forget the things we have committed to do. At worst, we never intended to do them in the first place. A legal contract gives one man a basis for forcing another to do what he has promised.

Do you really believe God is so unreliable that we must create a contract which binds Him? All of the biblical covenants are those which were initiated by God, not man. And most of these covenants are unconditional; that is, they are not conditioned by any action on man’s part, but only on the faithfulness of God Himself. Legalism by its very nature implies that God is so untrustworthy that we must be sure to get it down in contractual form. Far better it is to leave blessings in the hand of the One who is gracious.

Grace is given only to the humble

When our Lord came to the earth, He came to minister to the poor, the suffering, the needy. To the “poor in spirit” Jesus offered the riches of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus had come to this earth in order to minister to those who were in need and knew it. When Jesus chose to associate with the needy rather than with the elite of His day, it greatly offended the Jewish religious leaders:

Mark 2:16-17 (NKJV)16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Here is what Jesus said about another proud person.

Luke 18:11-14 (NKJV)11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

James 4:6 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

1 Peter 5:5 (NKJV) Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Grace is never to be an occasion for sin

Romans 5:20 (NKJV) Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

That doesn’t mean that we should sin more so that God will show more grace. That’s a crazy thought.
Romans 6:1-2 (NKJV)1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

We who have died to sin cannot casually and carelessly persist in sin, for it is inconsistent with our new life in Christ.

Grace must never be used as an excuse for sin:

1 Peter 2:16 (HCSB) As God’s slaves, ⌊live⌋ as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.

Grace is always in harmony with God’s other attributes

It is possible at this point to misunderstand the grace of God by supposing that grace somehow is granted at the expense of God’s holiness or His justice. Grace does not set aside the requirements of justice; it satisfies them. The Christian is no longer guilty before God and need not stand under the condemnation of God for sin. But someone does have to pay the penalty for sin. For the Christian that person is our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 3:24-26 (NKJV)24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.


Grace, then, meets the demands of justice and holiness rather than to set them aside. Grace is never granted at the expense of any of God’s attributes.

I don’t remember where I found this, I forgot to copy the website,  but I want to share it with you:

The Place of Man under Grace 

• He has been accepted in Christ, who is his standing!
• He is not “on probation.”
• As to his life past, it does not exist before God: he died at the Cross, and Christ is his life.
• Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all human exigencies beforehand: His action was independent of them, not dependant upon them

The Proper Attitude of Man under Grace

• To believe, and consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.
• To refuse to make “resolutions” and “vows”; for that is to trust in the flesh.
• To expect to be blessed, though realising more and more lack of worth.
• To testify of God’s goodness, at all times.
• To be certain of God’s future favour: yet to be ever more tender in conscience toward Him.
• To rely on God’s chastening hand as a mark of His kindness.

What We discover When We Really Understand Grace

• To “hope to be better” is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.
• To be disappointed with yourself is to have believed in yourself.
• To be discouraged is unbelief – as to God’s purpose and plan of blessing for you.
• To be proud is to be blind! For we have no standing before God in ourselves.
• The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of devotion.

Real devotion to God arises, not from man’s will to show it but from the discovery that blessing has been received from God while we were yet unworthy and undevoted.

To preach devotion first and blessing second, is to reverse God’s order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man’s blessing dependant on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so , in proper measure.

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