Justified Sinner

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." - Romans 3:23-24 What does it mean to be a justified sinner? It sounds like a contradiction. If you're a sinner, how can you be justified? This one verse gets at the heart of an idea the Bible teaches called justification. Protestant theologian Martin Luther once called it "the great exchange". It's the idea that once someone trusts in Jesus Christ by faith, God as judge declares them righteous or justifies them because of who Jesus is and what he has done for them. In other words, as the one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus reconciles us through his life, death and resurrection. Through faith in him, God exchanges our sin for His righteousness as a gift! So what does all this mean? This means that if you are trusting in Jesus Christ, he is all you need to be made right with God. Jesus is enough. Good works like going to Sunday services, serving on a team, giving generously to the church and more are all highly encouraged but none of that makes you right with God. Only by faith in Jesus Christ are sinners justified in God's sight. All the good works you'll ever do in this life show your justification but they don't justify you before God. This good news then motivates you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). As Luther once said, "God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does." Though you are a sinner, through faith in Christ you are now justified fully and forever. Good news indeed! For Jesus, Pastor Mark