In the midst of terrible anguish, Job asked the most important question, “How can a man be right before God?” (Job 9:20) He already knew about God, His perfection, mightiness, and holiness. How can we stand before this perfect God? Millions of people since Job, have asked the same question. After hearing John Baptist’s fearful warnings about Gods judgments, the multitudes questioned John, “Then what shall we do?” (Luke 3:10) The rich young ruler asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? (Luke 18:18) Lying blinded on the road to Damascus, Saul cried out to Jesus, “What shall I do Lord?” (Acts 22:10) The Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30) Job’s question is timeless.
VIEWED AS RIGHT BEFORE GOD
The answer comes in Romans 3:21-28: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. We fall desperately short of the mark of God’s holiness. G. E. Ladd writes, “The root idea in justification is the declaration of God, the righteous judge, that the man who believes in Christ, sinful though he may be, is righteous—is viewed as being righteous, because in Christ he has come into a righteous relationship with God.”
DECLARE RIGHTEOUS BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE
As a child, I learned the simple saying “Justified means just as if I never sinned.” After my conversion at age 12, God looked at me as His child, as one who has been made right. Because of Christ, I entered into a right relationship with God. I am justified; declared to have the righteousness of someone else: Jesus Christ. He declares me right and for that I will be eternally grateful.
DECLARED HOLY
This doesn’t mean I stopped sinning at age 16. Justification has to do with God’s declaration about the sinner, not any change within the sinner. That is, justification, per se, does not make anyone holy; it simply declares him to be not guilty before God and is therefore treated as holy. This is how God looks at me. I am declared holy. The working out of that holiness is an entirely different topic: sanctification.
MARTIN LUTHER’S AGONY
Martin Luther, the great theologian of Germany, was tormented by his sin prior to his conversion. His intense struggle with sin and guilt tortured him for years, leading to a deep fear of God’s judgment and a desperate quest for peace. He spent hours in confession, sometimes days, confessing every sin he could think of. Still, he remained anxious about the unknown sins he might have missed. Those who knew him feared for his total sanity. His search for relief was fruitless until he studied the Book of Romans and learned that salvation is not earned through good works or confession. It is a free gift received through faith in Jesus Christ.
A FREE GIFT?
A free gift? This is what Luther searched for during all those painful years of anguish. The key is understanding that justification has to do with God’s declaration about the sinner, not any change within the sinner. That is, justification, per se, does not make anyone holy; it simply declares him to be not guilty before God. God, therefore treats the sinner as holy. This understanding turned Luther’s life trajectory around. It eventually tumbled the religious world on its heals. It was the spark for the Protestant Reformation.
Luther learned that all people who accept Christ as their Savior, are saved only through faith. Thus, we become justified before God. “How can a man be right before God?” Only by being justified before God through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. We are declared Holy before the One and only Holy God. I can become overwhelmed by my sin and my arrogance toward the things of God. At this point, I remember the beautiful gift of justification from God. “Just as if I never sinned!”