Discharged and Acquitted (Part 2)

DISCHARGED AND ACQUITTED: A LEGAL APPROACH TO THE BIBLIBAL CONCEPT OF JUSTIFICATION (Part 2)

There are so many things Christ wrought for us at salvation but one of the most important of all is our justification. In fact, the extent to which we can freely live out the life we have been given is hinged on knowing that we have been justified. What is “Justification?” or better still, “what does it mean to justify?” According to Merriam Webster dictionary, ‘justify is to prove or show to be just or right. It also means to judge, regard or treat as righteous!’

Under the criminal justice system, an accused person brought before the court of law, can either be found guilty and subsequently convicted, or not guilty and hereby discharged and acquitted. The process is such that the prosecution, which is the State, will present their evidence before the court. This involves calling of witnesses, presenting any documentary or real evidence to prove the guilt of the accused person. The judge, will then evaluate the evidence before it, and make a pronouncement on the guilt or innocence of the accused person. Justification, in this sense, therefore means that, God, the supreme judge, has looked at all the evidence before him, and he has declared a verdict of “not guilty” over us!

What is this evidence? The death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture we made reference to in part 1, that “God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us, so we can be adjudged righteous” (paraphrased) is the sum total of this justification (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ took upon himself, every sin we would ever commit, both past, present and future sins, and nailed it all at the cross. In Christ, God judged us of all our sins when he placed them upon him at the cross.

David prophesying about this day, when God would declare man justified, said:

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Psalm 32: 1-2; Romans 4:7-8.

It is important to note that this justification does not come by keeping the law but by faith in Christ Jesus. In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul draws an example from Abraham to explain how we are justified. Scripture makes us understand that Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Rom 4:3). Apostle Paul, in explaining this scripture, shows us that righteousness was imputed to Abraham even before the instruction of the law was given. Hence, Abraham was declared righteous because of his belief in God. A profound part to note in this passage is the concluding part, it says:

“But (the words), it was credited to him, were written not for his sake alone, but (they were written) for our sakes too. (Righteousness, standing acceptable to God) will be granted and credited to us also who believe in (trust in, adhere to, and rely on) God, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our Justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God.] Romans 4: 23-25 (AMPC).

Verse 25, in The Passion Translation, says:

“Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that he had made us right with God!”

Isn’t this wonderful, to know that Christ died for our sins and he was raised because of our justification. The implication is that if there was one more sin left unpunished on Jesus, He would not have risen from the dead. But his resurrection is evidence of our justification. And because he lives, we live also.

Justification, for us, therefore, has just one condition; it is our belief in Christ. Once we have believed, we are justified and absolved from any guilt that can be levied against us. God’s judgment over us as believers now, is that, we are discharged and acquitted. We have been absolved from all guilt of sin and He is declaring “not guilty” over us. Hallelujah!

Now, can God still punish us for the same sins that he has punished Jesus Christ for? Is it possible for God to undo what he has done? How secured are we who have fled to him for refuge?

To be continued….