Discharged and Acquitted (Part 4)

DISCHARGED AND ACQUITTED: A LEGAL APPROACH TO THE BIBLIBAL CONCEPT OF JUSTIFICATION (Part 4)

In this final post, we will be looking at the implication of our justification. When an accused person has been discharged and acquitted by a court of law, what does this imply? It means that he/she has been set free! And so are we who have been justified, we have been set free to live! But, what is this freedom? What does it entail?

One popular scripture in the Bible that has been largely interpreted out of context is Romans 6:1. It says:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?”

People have used this scripture to preach that the presence of sin is the absence of grace. In fact, they go further to the beginning part of Romans 6:2 “Certainly not!” or “God forbid!” and end there saying that God forbid that grace abound where there is sin. Forgetting that Romans 5:20 says: 

“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”

The Amplified Classic Translation put the last part as: “…But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favour) has surpassed it and increased the more and super abounded!”

Hallelujah! So God’s grace is more than available in our moments of weaknesses, mistakes and failures. When we sin or fall short, we can always reach out to his grace for help in time of need. And we all need this grace.

So, what then was Paul saying? Let’s read verse 2 again, this time, in its context:

“Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

What Paul was saying is that we who have believed in Jesus have died to sin. How did we die to sin? Jesus’s death on the cross was not just a substitutionary death, it was also a co-death. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we were baptized also into his death, and when he rose, we rose with him to walk in the newness of life! We should consider ourselves dead to sin. Our old man has been crucified and the body of sin is destroyed. We should not let sin reign in our body any longer as sin no longer has dominion over us.

The implication of our justification is that we have been set free! You see, the concept of freedom has been abused. People think freedom is living as you please, but the truth is, that really is not freedom. Look at what Romans 6:15-16 (MSG) says:

“So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom…”

What then is freedom? Freedom is living as you should; living the life God has ordained for you since the foundation of the earth. It is in Christ we are really free. It is in him, we live, move and have our being. The moment we turn our eyes from him to live as we please, we become slaves to those things that once held us back.

One pertinent question that is now asked is what happens when we sin. I John 2: 1-2 (AMPC) has something to say about this:

My Little Children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God’s law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (one Who will intercede for us) with the Father, Jesus Christ the all righteous (upright, just, who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action). And He (that same Jesus Himself) is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not ours alone but also for (the sins of) the whole world. 

Dear child of God, God does not condemn you so let no one condemn you. Are you feeling guilty of sin or condemnation now, I declare healing right now, receive the overwhelming love from our father. He is not holding your sin against you; he said he will not remember them anymore. Christ has paid the price for our sins, and now, God’s verdict over us is “not guilty!” Put these truths in your heart and meditate on it till it become your reality. You have been discharged and acquitted! And if you are yet to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, what are you waiting for? Receive Him today! God bless you.

The end.