Justified!

Sunday Worship 22 February 2009
Speaker: David Tan
Text: Galatians 2
Message: Justified

The morning’s message was framed by 2 stories: the first, regarding Peter and his vision, and the other illustrating the extent of God’s justification of sinners.

We were first introduced to Acts 10 which provides a little background about the spread of the gospel after Jesus’ ascension (to people other than Jews), and a comment on Paul’s public disagreement with Peter in Galatians 2.

In this story, a devout and generous centurion by the name of Cornelius is visited by an angel. The centurion is commended for his devotion and kindness and is told to send for a man called Simon. The implication is clear that God does notice the good that all people do, regardless of their religious persuasion. In this case, God arranges for Cornelius to hear the gospel.

Meanwhile, Peter who was praying on the roof at midday falls asleep and has a strange vision and learns an important lesson as events unfold and he meets Cornelius. Peter says:

"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” Acts 10:34-36

Defending freedom in Christ

In what has been called the ‘Incident at Antioch’ Paul rebukes Peter who had withdrawn himself from fellowship with Gentile believers when influential Jews sent by James arrives. These influential Jews were Judaizers who insist that all Gentile believers submit to Old Testament customs - such as circumcision and dietary laws - if they wished to be recognized as genuine followers of Jesus.

At the center of the disagreement was the key issue regarding salvation: If salvation comes to us on the basis of Jesus’ death on the cross, should not Old Testament rituals be set aside by now as incompatible with God's grace? People who insisted on such conventions were contradicting “our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus,” said Paul.

Justification by faith alone

Galatians 2:15,16 spell out Paul’s convictions:

"We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

Paul’s challenge of the Judaizers’ Faith + OT customs (works) formula for salvation would surface again in the days of Martin Luther (1483-1546). The great protestant reformer once struggled with God’s holiness and forgiveness until the letters of Paul opened his eyes to the truth. As Luther put it, today the church stands or falls on the doctrine of justification:

“This doctrine (justification by faith) is the head and the cornerstone. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist one hour...” Martin Luther

Back in the days of Paul, the apostle objected to legalists who demanded adherence to OT customs as prerequisite for salvation. Instead he referred to the language of the courts on one hand to explain how God by his grace declares sinners righteous. Elsewhere in Romans 10:10 Paul also wrote:

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Crucified with Christ

There is nothing humanity can do; there is only that which God has done – by sending Jesus to die in our place on the cross. We were identified with Jesus in his crucifixion, and Jesus became sin in our place. When Jesus died and rose again, his righteousness was 'imputed' on undeserving sinners. Such grace offers forgiveness freely to all Jew and Gentile, canceling out any requirement for performance good of works or legalistic rituals.

But if such forgiveness brings justification, does that mean Christians are free to live as they like? No, because the Christian who is justified is also one who has been crucified with Christ.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20

The person who has truly found forgiveness enters into a new relationship with the living Christ, and will desire nothing more than to let Jesus live in him. It will mean a new sense of direction – new ambitions, new desires, new passion, new priorities.

In conclusion, the story of Duch was told to illustrate the depth of God’s grace and how it justifies even the worse among us. Duch was the jailer and executioner at Cambodia’s infamous Toule Sleng Prison. According to reports Duch was personally responsible for the deaths of between 16,000 and 20,000 prisoners. But in 1995 he became a Christian, and became a lay pastor and was working with World Vision for a time before he was arrested in 1999.

The recently convened UN supervised Genocide trial saw Duch stand accused for crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge’s rule in Cambodia. Duch was the only Khmer Rouge officer to admit guilt and express remorse. He reportedly said:

"I have done very bad things in my life. Now it is time to bear the consequences of my actions. I thought that God was very bad. I did not serve God, I served communism. I feel very sorry about the killings. We killed them like chickens. . . . I guess I will go to jail now, but it is OK. The killings must be understood. The truth should be known."

God freely forgives and freely justifies. Whether Jew or Gentile, an ordinary person or a notorious criminal, God’s salvation is free, with no conditions attached - even for men like Duch. But the evidence of transformation will be seen in the life that is lived “by faith in the Son of God.”

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:9,10

More on Duch: Is there anything God can't forgive?