Justification isn’t a word we throw around in our everyday conversations. But it’s something we’re all looking for. It means to be declared righteous. We want people to see us as righteous in who we are and what we do. We want to feel justified.
When you’re four years old and you draw something with crayons, why do you take it to your mom? Because you want her to say, “How beautiful!” You want to be justified in your art skills. When you’re twenty-four years old and you go for a job interview, you want them to say, “You have very impressive resume.” You want to be justified in your knowledge You want to be declared righteous in your experience and your abilities.
And then we come to God. I want him to say, “Matt, you’re so awesome. You’re amazing, just the way you are!” But he doesn’t. Paul says in Romans 3, “No human being will be justified in God’s sight.”
That’s pretty depressing, but I’m always up for a challenge, so I say, “OK, Paul, give me three things to put on my to-do list. Give me a 10-step program to complete. Give me something to do to make God like me more!”
Paul says, “You mean, like a law to follow?” I say, “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it, Paul. … A law.”
Paul’s response? “By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In other words, it’ll never happen. You’ll never be able to do enough to make God like you.
Which is why the gospel is such good news. As Paul continues, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it” (Romans 3:21).
So, Paul, what you’re saying is that the only way I can be justified … is to stop trying to justify myself? The way I become righteous … is to stop trusting in my own righteousness?
Yes. To stop putting your faith in your own knowledge, your own abilities, your own wisdom, your own work, and your own morality. You can only receive righteousness. From God!
No other religion or philosophy or worldview has ever said that. Nobody else has ever offered that. Your teacher says, “You want an A in this class? You’re going to have to work for it! Your boss says, “You want a raise? You want a promotion? You’re going to have to prove yourself!”
Only God gives away his own righteousness instead of demanding your righteousness. So you say, “That sounds great. I’m in! So … how do I sign up? How do I receive God’s righteousness?”
Paul says, “The righteousness of God comes through faith” (Romans 3:22).
You say, “I can do that. Have faith! I was raised on Disney movies. They all taught me to have faith. My basketball coach kept telling us to have faith in ourselves. I can have faith!
Paul says, “Actually, I wasn’t finished yet.” … “The righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
God’s righteousness only comes through faith in Christ, and the blood he shed to give it to you. But when you receive it, then everything in life changes. Tim Keller says justification will give you three big things:
1. A new kind of excitement.
You’ll say to yourself, “God accepts me and loves me? Because he himself paid the debt and took the wrath he owed to me? Incredible!” You’ll never get tired of thinking about it. It will be something exciting every day.
2. A new kind of freedom.
You know how much you hate receiving criticism? The annual performance reviews at work? When you’ve been given Christ’s righteousness — God’s approval — then it doesn’t matter anymore what other people think about you. You’ll remind yourself, “God loves me because of Christ, not because of what I’ve done.” That’s so freeing!
3. A new kind of courage.
You don’t have to be worried and anxious about the future anymore! You’ll say, “If God gave me his only son, the most precious thing in the universe, why would he hold back anything else from me? How could he kill his son for me, and then withhold what I really need? Impossible! … So I can trust him for everything.”
You need to be justified. What kind of life is there without it?