Justification and Joy

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Opening PrayerVindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; O, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! For You are the God of my strength; why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp, I will praise You, O God, my God (Psalms 43:1-4.NKJV). For Jesus’ sake and in His name, I pray.  Amen!

Today’s Bible Verses: Romans 5:1-5 (CSB)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Associated Scriptures:

Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39).

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone (James 2:23-24).

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice (Philippians 4:4 (CSB).

Correlative Quotes:

Referring to the chapter before us for a preface to our subject, note that after Abram’s calling, his faith proved to be of the most practical kind, for being called to separate himself from his kindred, and from his country, he did not therefore become a recluse, a man of ascetic habits, or an idealist unfit for the battles of ordinary life.[1] – Charles Spurgeon

…there is a happiness in hope, the glory of God, the glory which God will put upon the saints in heaven, glory which will consist in the vision and fruition of God. Those, and those only, that have access by faith into the grace of God now may hope for the glory of God hereafter. There is no good hope of glory but what is founded in grace; grace is glory begun, the earnest and assurance of glory. “He will give grace and glory,” Psalm 84:11. Those who hope for the glory of God hereafter have enough to rejoice in now. It is the duty of those that hope for heaven to rejoice in that hope.[2] – Matthew Henry

We are enabled to profit by life’s tribulations. So much is this the case that we are enabled to congratulate ourselves upon our tribulations; for through these we reach the power of patient endurance, and through the power of patient endurance we reach experience… and through experience we reach hope. …The hope can never be disappointed. We have a “present heaven” in our happy assurance of God’s love. We have passed out of the gloom into the gladness, and beyond us and awaiting us there lies the glory. Thus, our tribulations conduct us to assurances of Divine love…[3] – Spence and Exell

Author’s Notes:

  1. We have been Justified through Faith: Romans 4:1-5 (CSB), “What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, payment is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.”

Abraham was an ordinary man with extraordinary faith.  He did not stand out in a crowd.  He was humble and a peacemaker rather than a fighter.  He was a sinner, just like all of us.  Yet, Abraham is known as the father of our faith; amazing.  However, he listened to God and followed His instructs blindly, traveling to lands that were unknown to Abraham or his family.

He is one of the saints mentioned in Hebrews chapter eleven.  In fact, eleven verses are given to Abraham, which is more than twenty percent of the chapter. 

Abraham’s faith was displayed in his unusual patience.  He was called by God to leave his family and move from Haran when Abraham was seventy years old (Genesis 12:1-3).  God made his first of several promises to Abram while he was in Haran.  God said in Genesis 12:2: “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you.”  He was seven-five years old when God made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:1-21).  God promised him an heir (Genesis 15:4-5).  Except for an error in judgment with the birth of Ishmael, Abraham patiently waited for Isaac to be born.  He was one hundred years old when Isaac, the promised son, was born (Genesis 21:5). 

  1. We Rejoice in Our Hope: Romans 4:16-18 (CSB), “This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives the God who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. He believed, hoping against hope so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So, will your descendants be.”

Grace is God’s way of showing His love for us.  His Grace was demonstrated on the cross.  This fact is stated in John 3:16.  God’s love for us was so great, that without reservation, or hesitation, He went through a false trail, was beaten (Luke 22:63-65), humiliated (Philippians 5:2-8), and died (Luke 23:33) so that we could be justified.  As a result, Christ now lives in us (Galatians 2:20-21).  This same love manifests itself in our salvation.  An important product of this sacrifice is our hope of eternal life.

The same hope that empowered and motivated Abraham to live a life of faith also lives in the hearts of those who love and serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Abraham was not a perfect man.  We also are not perfect.  All who believe in God were disobedient to Him and will continue to be unworthy of His love and sacrifice in the future.  However, we have an assurance of our salvation that provides us with the opportunity to continually receive forgiveness for the sin we have committed (Matthew 6:9-13).

  1. We Rejoice in Our Sufferings: Hebrews 11:17-19 (CSB), “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.”

How can we, even in our wildest thoughts, understand the suffering of Abraham as he headed up the mountain with Isaac for the sacrifice of his only son (Genesis 22:5-7).  Even more, the suffering of all of Heaven as Jesus was beaten almost to death and then forced to carry His own cross toward Calvary (John 19:1-21).

Isaac was aware of what was about to take place.  In his innocence as a young teenager, he  asked the question: “Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, "My father." And he replied, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  In faith, Abraham answered in Genesis 22:8: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Then the two of them walked on together.

The extent of Abraham’s faith was now tested to the limit as he took the knife to stab Isaac.  However, God intervened.  The Angel of the Lord called out from Heaven and said in Genesis 22:12: “Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”  God’s final test of Abraham’s faith was completed at that moment.  He had passed the test that God had laid before Abraham.  He has passed.

That great moment in all of history has been completed.  The ultimate suffering of the father’s love for his only son was finished.  The rejoicing that must have filled Abraham’s heart when the Angel appeared.  The great comfort the he must have felt when seeing the ram caught in the thicket by his horns (Genesis 22:12).  That inconceivable moment was only surpassed by the suffering of Christ, at His beatings and blood that He shed at trial and on the cross.  The incredible picture of the future, when God the Father, would not send the Angel of the Lord to halt the sacrifice of His only Son.  No one who is a parent can possibly understand the pain and suffering of the Father, as well as the Son, in that trying moment.

Spiritual Application:

Justification is the action of God.  During justification, those who believe are made just or right before Him.  Justification brings great joy.  We rejoice in the understanding that our salvation was not an act of self but instead a gift from God (Romans 5:8).  We also rejoice that those who have made Christ the eternal Lord of their lives and have been sealed with the unbreakable seal of the Spirit of promise for eternity (Ephesians 1:13). 

We rejoice that we can live a life free from the doubt that comes with unbelief.  We know that there will be suffering in the world and for our faith.  However, we exult in the knowledge that our Lord will give us the guidance and strength to withstand the harshest days and the most perilous nights.  We say with the Apostle Peter, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4, CSB)

Lessons within the Lesson:

Why is Abraham called the father of faith?  Read Romans 4:1-8.

According to Romans 4:2, what precipitated Abrahams act of  righteousness?

Why did God wait to give Sarah a child until she was beyond childbearing age?

Why did God test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac?

[1] Charles Spurgeon, Justification by Faith, Illustrated by Abrams Righteousness, Public Domain, spurgeongems.org/sermon/chs844.pdf, P. 1.

[2] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, Ibid., P. 565.

[3] H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell, The Pulpit Commentary, Public Domain, Vol. 14, Ibid., P. 624.