Sonship Conference #2: Justification

Overview

Rev. Rico Magnelli presents justification as God’s legal decision to acquit believers of guilt and declare them acceptable through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. The teaching contrasts grace with works, explains the faith of Jesus Christ, and urges believers to reject self-condemnation and live as more than conquerors.

Transcript

Justification: God’s Legal Decision

Wow. Titus chapter 3, please. The only reason why I'm back is I'm doing the first teaching.

I'm not trying to… Titus chapter 3, please. Justification. God's legal decision.

His legal decision to acquit man of guilt and sin and declare man acceptable to him. Ever wonder why God had the right to get Jesus up from the dead? He had the legal right. The reason why is because Jesus Christ fulfilled the law.

He never sinned. So he was illegally, unjustly executed. That's why God says, well, you did that? Guess what? I'm getting him up from the dead, never to die again.

That was a surprise for the adversary. He had the legal right to do that. We're justified by grace.

Titus chapter 3, in verse 7. That being justified by his what? Now, grace is unmerited divine favor. It's unmerited divine favor. You cannot work for it.

You cannot pray for it. You cannot beg for it. You can't give God an apple like you give to the teacher for it.

You can't do anything for it. It's unmerited divine favor. I remember talking to a minister once.

And I was doing a meeting and I needed some chairs for my meeting. And I went to his church. And I said, you know, we're talking the word in his office.

And I asked him, I said, so can I borrow the chairs? I need about 120 chairs. He said, sure. And we started talking about grace.

And I said, you know, grace means unmerited divine favor. And he said, that's right. That's what it means.

And I said, why are you teaching then works? If salvation is by grace, then why are you teaching works? And he said, I'll lose my job. That's what he said. I can see his face sitting in his office behind his desk saying that to me.

I said, okay, thanks for the chairs. Grace is unmerited divine favor. It says we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

That we are justified by his grace. We should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. See, our inheritance in Jesus Christ is eternal life.

Our inheritance in Adam is death. There's the choice. It's that simple.

It says, this is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, Paul wrote Titus, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. Because we've been justified, legally set free by the grace of God, we continue to perform good works.

But we don't do good works in order to be saved. There's the difference. It's so simple.

You don't do good works in order to be accepted by God. You do good works because you already are accepted by God. Does that make sense? Now, I know that's easy to say, but be honest and take a look around you and talk to people, and you will find people that are doing good works all the time in order to be accepted by God.

And people teach that stuff, like the man I mentioned earlier. They teach it all the time. Christians all over the world, that's what they teach.

You've got to do works. And make no mistake about it, any work that you do is work. Even if you don't do anything, you're doing nothing in order to be accepted.

You know, people that just sit and pray or meditate, it's works. And Paul wants this constantly affirmed. Let's keep repeating it.

Let's keep doing it. It's because we're justified by grace. Look at 2 Timothy 1, please.

2 Timothy chapter 1. Now, when did this grace that justified us come about? We'll find out. People tend to gain a sense of who they are when they learn a little bit about history that directly relates to them. Have you ever noticed that? There's websites out now these days that you can find out your ancestry and all that.

It's real popular. So people tend to find out about themselves when they learn history that relates to them. Does that make sense? Well, I'm going to show you history before history from the Word.

That's right. Look at this. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 9. Who has saved us, talking about God, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our what? Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose.

That means you weren't a mistake. Oh, I'll let Rico in. God, what a joke.

Come on. No, you weren't a mistake. It was a deliberate decision.

It was a purpose for you and me. To His own purpose and what? Grace. Verse 9, 2 Timothy 1, 9. Which was given us.

We reading the same? Given us. You and me. Given us.

In Christ Jesus, when? Before the world began. That means grace was given you and me before the world began. That means God already had this justification idea before the world began.

Grace Given Before the World Began

That means before you threw that window, the rock through the window, before you drop your phone in the toilet, before you skipped out on class, or before you called in sick when you weren't sick, and all the things that people spend a lot of time thinking about. This is before the world began. Talk about history.

And it says, which was given who? Us. It's plural. Us.

It was given to you, it was given to me, it was given to us. In who? Do you see how deep this is? This goes beyond any bloodline. This goes beyond any geographical boundary.

This goes beyond any education. Before there was any educational institution. Before there was any corporation.

Before there was anything called money. Everything. This is before the world began.

And this phrase, before the world began, is really interesting. It means before the times of the ages. Really? It's before the beginning of time.

That means before the beginning of time, he gave you unmerited divine favor. And with that unmerited divine favor, he knew he would justify you. Before the beginning of what? Time.

What's the what's the only point man is aware of that could actually start to identify the beginning of time? Genesis 1. In the what? Beginning. We can't get anything before that. Right in the beginning.

When was that? We don't know. But we know it was in the beginning. So before the beginning, before he instituted the first heavens and earth in Genesis 1.1, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning, as time began to progress in the first heaven and earth, before time. This is when this unmerited divine favor was given to you. But yet, like I said before, people will fight for what they value.

If you value that, you'll fight for it. And you won't let people push you off your seat next to the right hand of the throne of God. People will fight for their sandwich more than they will fight for the right that God has given you to sit at the right hand of his throne.

I didn't write the book. People put more effort in their sandwich. That's right.

Not me, not you. Oh no, we're not doing that. This is before time began.

It says his own purpose, his deliberate resolution. So it wasn't a mistake. The adversary is always trying to tell you that you're a mistake.

That's the old nature. You're following that same train of thought that came from Adam. Stop that.

We get on the other track. We want to follow Jesus Christ, where that leads us to eternal life and the power that's in us, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. You know, it says in Isaiah 46, 10, I love this verse, Isaiah 46, 10, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.

Isaiah 46, 10. God declares the end from the beginning. He declares the end from the beginning.

Every matter that's before you in your life right now, he already knows the conclusion of. Every matter you and I are dealing with, whether it's financial, whether it's physical, whether it's emotional, whether it's relationships, whether it's, you know, should I do this? Should I do that? He already knows the end of it. Why not ask him? He already knows the end.

It says right here in Isaiah 46, 10. You can look it up. It's there.

It says from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. So he already knew he was going to justify you. He already knew by his grace, he would give you unmarried divine favor, you and me.

That's why we got to come to the word, the word, the word, the word. We got to come to the word. My counsel shall stand, God says in Isaiah 46, 10.

I will do all my pleasure. That means he really likes it. He really liked that he made grace available to us back before time began.

And with that grace he had already had in his mind, he was going to justify his children. He was going to legally acquit his children of all guilt and sin based on what Adam did. Please turn to Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Remember we talked about how people tend to gain a sense of who they are when they learn the history, how it directly relates to them.

I just read you two sections of scripture that directly relate to you and me. It's whether we believe it or not. Really.

I'm in the same boat as you, by the way. I got to believe it too. When I get up in the morning and I look in the mirror, I'm saying, oh, you know, I got to think of myself as a son of God.

I've got to confess what that word says. I've got to remember when that challenge comes up that God already knew. He knows the end from the beginning.

He already gave me that grace that I need, that unmerited divine favor to deal with any situation. And this is powerful because you'll see where this goes in our justification. It goes to the more than a conqueror mindset.

That's where it goes. And I'll show it to you later. Galatians chapter 2, verse 16.

Knowing. Knowing. Again, here's another knowing word.

Now we're going to have a quiz. Again, this is the schoolteacher in me. We've had this before.

Justified by the Faith of Jesus Christ

What does knowing mean? Knowing means knowing. You guys are awesome. A. Knowing that a man is not justified by the what? The works of the law.

Now, again, don't get mixed up with the law. The law is the Old Testament law, but people put themselves under a law all the time. I know that they had to sacrifice animals and do all these, you know, unbelievable things, but people put themselves under a law.

Usually it's their own law that they come up with in their own mind. You know, a set of criteria that will make them acceptable before God. So they, you know, do whatever they have to do to become acceptable to God when it's already done.

So it says here in Galatians chapter 2, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of who? Even we have believed in Jesus Christ. Yes. When you confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, you now have eternal life because you've accepted what God did.

You accepted it. So he accepts you. That we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law.

For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. We're justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. You know what the faith of Jesus Christ is? The faith of Jesus Christ is all the believing he put into our redemption.

For him, it was believing. For us, it's faith because he's not believing for it anymore. When he said on the cross, it is finished, that's what he meant.

It is finished. Your redemption and mine was done. Now it becomes packaged and we have the faith of Jesus Christ.

We have the, that's why I said his achievement is our salvation and potential. Both. Salvation, that's the eternal life.

Potential is Christ in you and walking in that maturity and doing the works of Jesus Christ. This is powerful stuff. Can you imagine if Christians really rose up to this? It'd be a different world.

Wow. Well, we can do it. So we are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ, not by our own works.

And see, that's what leads to the household of faith. The household of faith is the common faith of Jesus Christ we all share as brothers and sisters in the family of God. In other words, you have the faith of Jesus Christ.

That's what got you born again. That's what got me born again. I didn't work for it.

It was given to me by God's grace. Then what happens is God puts us together in a family, his family. And then we share the same faith, the faith of Jesus Christ.

And that brings respect. That's right. It's respect.

That's the basis for any relationship in the Bible is respect and a two-way street. You'll see that in every relationship in the Bible. Even God himself with you and me is always respect.

And when those people got born again on the day of Pentecost, man, they started to really respect one another because they realized that old Judah Ben-Hur, he got born again. Same as I did. He didn't do anything.

I knew him before. I seen him down at the tavern down there. And look, he's born again now.

So am I. Wow, this stuff is pretty cool. Yes, it's by the faith of Jesus Christ. Please turn to Romans chapter three.

Our justification is so powerful that it will release you from every judgment this earth can throw at you. Doesn't that sound nice? Romans chapter three, please. This is how we one way we manifest our identity in Christ is through our justification.

Romans chapter three. Simple verse, but boy, is it deep. Romans chapter three, verse six, to declare, I say at this time, and that's the right time, his righteousness, that he God might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in who? That he might be the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

See, God is just and he's the justifier. How can he justify you if he's not just? That means every decision that he makes is right. He's just.

He's the just and he's the justifier. That's so important. See, because if you and I subtly attribute folly to God, or we subtly attribute that he's not just, or he wasn't fair to me, he was fair to that really good person over there, but he wasn't fair to me, then we'll never realize this verse, because God has got to be just in your heart.

Same with me. He is just. He cannot make a mistake.

It's impossible. He's just and he is the justifier. You know, we live in a great nation, a great nation.

Even the founding fathers understood the Supreme Judge. I want to read you something from the Declaration of Independence. This is a quote.

Quote, we therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress, assembled appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, due in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United States are and of right ought to be free and independent states, end quote. The founding fathers understood who the Supreme Judge of the world was, and they appealed to him. He is the judge.

When he dropped the gavel on your deliverance and mine, there's no one that can overrule him, except one. Guess who that is? You. You can overrule him, but it's not fun.

We're no longer on trial for sin. God has ruled with a decision of acquittal. Why do we put ourselves through this torture of judging ourselves? Why do we do that? We need to help people that do that.

There's people that live with secret sin and people that live with condemnation and that I didn't do enough and I didn't rise up to the level of what I was called to be. Come on. Get over it.

Move on. God has judged and made you justified in Christ Jesus. I didn't write it.

That's what it says. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 4. If I get too intense, somebody kind of wave a hand or throw some water at me or something. I'm half kidding.

I am kind of serious. There's my wife. She'll let me know.

Honey, there it is. I see the hand go up and I'm looking this way. You guys do this.

And then Robin will tell me, honey, tone it down, tone it down. You know, I'm not trying to be intense or anything and I'm not trying to make a show of anything, but God, I believe this stuff. There I go again.

God Is Just and the Justifier

There's the hand. Great to have fun. Oh, God.

See, God is just and the justifier of God's decision to quit or set free man. His decision cannot be appealed. You cannot reverse it.

It's good for all eternity. He is God, but people act as if he's not. 1 Corinthians 4. Our God given justification through Christ gives us peace now and access.

We know this into his grace. I want to show you something here. Here's where the attacks are going to come from.

1 Corinthians chapter 4. By the way, the adversary, remember he has masks, kind of hides behind the curtain in life because he's not up front. So we'll see three of them in here. He does.

He hides so he can trick us. He's subtle. Hear the apostle Paul in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Let a man so account of us logically conclude as of the ministers of Christ and the stewards of the mysteries of God, which certainly includes the mystery of the one body of Christ.

Moreover, it's required in stewards that a man be a good person, that a man have a great smile. That a man is a good golfer. That can get you a long way, though.

Be honest. Good golfer. You can open some doors.

Everyone wants to play with you or then no one wants to play with you. It depends on what their handicap is. It says here, moreover, it's required in the stewards that a man be found faithful.

Now, I want you to see in the context what it is that God is talking about in terms of someone being found faithful. Sometimes people think faithful is showing up somewhere. You know, you walk in.

You sit down. You walk out. And sometimes people think that's being faithful.

I don't know. Depends what's going on in here, really. But look at the context here in terms of being faithful and a steward of the mysteries and, most specifically, the mystery of the body of Christ.

But with me, Paul writes, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment, yea, I judge not mine own self. There's three judgments in here. It says, but with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you.

You know what he's talking about? He's talking about the Corinthian church. And if anybody has read the book of Corinthians, you know what these people were like. They were Gentiles.

Man, they were doing some really wild stuff. I won't get into the details. Again, it's a family show here.

But man, they were out there. And he would not allow himself to be judged by carnal Christians because they were walking by their five senses. They couldn't even get to the power of the mystery and the knowledge of the mystery because all they could do is get to the crucifixion.

Here, I'll keep your finger here. I'll just show it to you. It won't cost you anything more.

First Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 2. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him, what? Crucified. He couldn't get to the knowledge of the mystery.

He couldn't get to it. Because they were carnal Christians. So back to First Corinthians 4. It talks about that I should be judged of you.

That means carnal Christians. And they'll judge you all the time. But they're walking by their five senses.

See, if you look at me and you judge me by the way I'm dressed or my education or anything by the five senses, that has a limitation to its profit. But what God says is that I have Christ in me. Christ says that about you too.

God says that about you. You have Christ in you. We can't judge by what people look like.

Got to get off that. It's so last year. What did the kids say? I mean, you know, I don't know.

Last year? They say something funny. It's, you know, when I was teaching school, they'd say these funny things. My son helps me sometimes with those things, what the kids say.

But see, we got to get off that. We can't look at what people look like, their ethnicity or their education, their socioeconomic status. That's all five senses.

Do you know that Jesus is never described in the Bible? Do you think if God really wanted to describe him, he would have? Like God didn't know what he looked like? Because he didn't want it in there. Because then people would gravitate to that. And then there'd be statues more than there are now.

It probably would not be blonde haired and blue eyes because he was more of a Middle Eastern man. He's probably very dark skinned. But we don't even know because it's not important.

It's not important. But people judge you all the time by what you wear, everything. I should be judged of you.

Or of man's judgment. Here's the second one. Of man's judgment.

This word judgment is the word day. Man's day. Who does the judging today? Oh, you're not kidding.

I mean, you've got these shows that judge the best movie, you know, the best pose, physical thing. You know, Mr. Universe, Mrs. Universe. They judge everything.

They judge you up and down. They have magazines that tell you what you're supposed to look like. I can look in the mirror and I can tell what I look like.

And then they have shows that tell you what you're supposed to look like and sound like. See, it's all judgment. But Paul would not subject himself to that.

Why? Because it's Christ in him. And that supersedes everything. So, he wouldn't fall prey to man's judgment either.

Here's the third one. Yea, I judge not mine what? Oh, that's the big one. Self-judgment.

Freedom from Self-Condemnation

Condemnation. Put yourself on trial. I didn't do enough.

I have these regrets. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, God already justified you.

Why are you judging it again? And you know, that's exactly what it says. I'm going to show it to you. The words, I should be judged, and the words, I judge, actually literally mean to judge again.

To judge again. How many times are you going to go to trial when God already justified you? How many times are you going to allow people to put you on trial? How many times? Paul says, I won't do it. I won't let carnal Christians judge me.

I won't let the world judge me. I'm not going to even judge myself. That's how powerful this stuff is.

Now, it doesn't mean that we don't take reproof and correction and people help us. Oh my goodness, all the time. See, I checked.

The hand. But it means that we don't condemn ourselves based on what God did for us in Christ Jesus. We understand if we do something wrong, we forgive and we change and we move on.

But we don't judge ourselves. How many people do you honestly think go through trials in their own minds about their life? Oh my gosh. I mean, it's staggering.

When God already dropped the gavel, that's our justification in Christ Jesus. That's how powerful this stuff is. Every time you're in condemnation, you have overruled God.

Every time. Every time. You have overruled the Supreme Judge.

You have. Every time you listen to the world and you judge yourself and you accept that judgment, you have overruled the Almighty. Every time you allow sincere, and I mean sincere.

There's so many wonderful people. Sincere Christian believers like the Corinthians. I mean, they were good people.

They needed help. But anytime you allow them to judge you and you accept it, you've overruled the Almighty. Because in Christ Jesus, he's dropped the gavel.

Romans chapter 8. Please. Romans chapter 8. We're winding down. We're getting closer.

Romans chapter 8. Remember I told you that the practical, one practical way to manifest your justification in Christ Jesus is to be more than a conqueror. Not just talk about it, but to really be more than a conqueror. I'm going to show it to you.

Right here in Romans chapter 8. Stuff you've already, most of you know. Romans chapter 8. Verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good.

To them that love God, to them who are thee called according to his purpose. For whom he did what? That means he knew ahead of time. That's his foreknowledge.

Remember where we started out in Titus? Before time he gave you his grace. He justified you and gave you his grace. Purposed it before time began.

So he has foreknowledge. That's one of the real cool things about God. There's plenty, but that's a real cool thing.

That he knows things ahead of time. Like he's known things like a long time ago. And he doesn't get confused.

He doesn't like get into the moment and say, now what was I going to do? I know I want to help this person, but goodness. I just had a lot of prayers today. He doesn't get confused.

He's not like us. He is God. He doesn't tire.

He doesn't relax in the sense that he takes his feet up and gets back with you in a few minutes after he's chilled out. He's not like us. He's not in that five senses box.

And in Christ Jesus, neither are you. Look, for whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate. That means he set the bounds beforehand.

He knows you and I were going to believe in Christ Jesus. To be conformed to the image of his son. Absolutely.

It's Christ in you. You put Christ in you. Whether you're 12 years old or you're 90 years old.

Put Christ in you. Doesn't matter. It says that he might be the firstborn, speaking about Jesus Christ, among many brethren.

So that means Jesus Christ is our brother. That's pretty cool. He's our brother.

God's our father. That's kind of cool. I think it's great.

Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also what? And whom he called, them he also what? And whom he justified, them he also what? He glorified. That means manifested power. He justified you to the end that you will be glorified at the return of Jesus Christ.

Glorified. Can you even imagine the amount of power that's going to take to raise the dead in Christ Jesus at one time and transform everybody that is mortal into immortal at the same time and not mess it up? You know, get the right body with the right spirit. I don't know where he's got them all, but I know it says in Ecclesiastes that the spirit goes back to God.

The body and soul has decayed. The soul life is gone. The body's decayed and he doesn't mess it up.

He's got this big clipboard. He's God. Unbelievable.

Justified. Without the justification, the legal acquittal from guilt and sin to be acceptable to God, we never get to the more than a conqueror mindset. We consistently succumb to the circumstances, consistently become servants to circumstances, consistently without our justification, because it all starts with those judgments that I read to you in 1 Corinthians 4 and they're just the adversary hiding behind all that nonsense.

What shall then we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? If he's already justified you, why are we going on trial again? Why get judged again and again and again? It's like your to-do list. Apples, bananas, condemnation. I know that sounds funny, but people live that way.

More Than Conquerors Through Christ

I've got to remember that incident. Back I go. On trial.

It's over. It's over. As of this moment, if you want it to be, move on with the word.

You've been justified in Christ Jesus. You want to talk about walking in newness of life. Wow.

Living one day at a time. Look. Look what else it says.

He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Now, on top of being justified, he's going to give us all things freely. All things according to his word. Everything you need is already here.

God doesn't have to run to another solar system to figure out what you need. It's already here. It's already here.

Everything you need till you take your last breath or the return of Christ happens is already here. Everything. But that's a tall order for some people to believe because they don't read the book.

God has already prepared for you and me. We just need to walk. Move.

And that oftentimes is when you and I realize the sufficiency of God. Oftentimes it doesn't happen because people just stop in their tracks and they don't go anywhere. They know mentally it's true.

God supplies my need, but they don't do anything. They just sit there and wait for God to push him off the log. When God says, son, I've already moved in Christ.

Just take a step. I'll be right there. That's our God.

Look, it says, who is he that condemneth? Verse 34. It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. In other words, is Jesus Christ going to condemn you? No.

He died for you. Why is he going to do that? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? It's a question. No.

Shall tribulation, that's mental pressure, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, all these potential calamities and challenges? No. Then God throws this in. I mean, this never ceases to amaze me.

As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. That's the victim.

And God contrasts the more than a conqueror. I understand this section more now. God contrasts more than a conqueror with the victim.

And there's victims everywhere. Don't be one. Just choose not to be one.

Choose the more than a conqueror. The victim is if you follow Adam and his heritage of the old man, which the inheritance is death. If you follow Jesus Christ, the heritage is Christ in you and eternal life.

One is the victim, one is the conqueror. You choose. And it only comes by building this word deep in our hearts.

Verse 37. Nay, in all these things we are more than what? We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded.

Paul didn't doubt it. He was persuaded. I am persuaded.

What is it going to take to persuade you? What is it going to take for you and I to make up our minds? I don't know. Free will is an interesting thing. But what's it going to take for you and I to make up our minds to stop putting ourselves on trial and accept the declaration of our justification in Christ Jesus? What is it going to take? Well, let me ask you something.

If you really want it, you fight for it. You fight for whatever you need to get to the point where you are justified in Christ Jesus and you live like it. No more condemnation.

No more victim. No more, you know, I'm under the thumb of the world or this or that. No.

You're more than a conqueror through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice it doesn't say the past.

It says the present and the what? Future. Because we lost in the past. You lost.

I lost. We lost in Adam. But God fixed it in Christ.

The past is over. This is a line of demarcation. Our justification draws the line between the past and right now.

Right now. Not tomorrow. Not, well let me think about what Rico's talking about.

No, right now you're justified in Christ Jesus. And God already set that before time began. We just need to decide.

We need to make up our minds. Because he foreknew us, he predestinated us, he caused, he justified us and he glorified us in Christ Jesus. And that's the truth.

And when that becomes a reality deep within our souls, you know what's going to happen? You and I are going to walk as more than conquerors in this life. Every day. Sure you're going to get hit with stuff.

Come on. Who hasn't lived life and not been hit by something? You're going to get hit. But you've got wonderful believers to help you.

You've got wonderful ministers to minister to you. You've got the love of God and you've got the word. The word is more powerful than any circumstance you and I will ever face.

Because it's already been conquered in Christ Jesus. Every situation. Every circumstance.

That's why we can be more than a conquerors. And it starts in a very foundation fundamental way in claiming our justification in Christ Jesus. We've been legally set free from all sin and the consequences of sin.

And we have been made acceptable to God in the beloved. Heavenly Father, thank you for the abundance of your word and the heart that has been taught to us. Father, there's a heart to this word and we are discovering it fresh each day because you're not a calculated strategist.

Father, you are our Heavenly Father and you have a heart for us that is so far beyond anything that we can comprehend. But we get a glimpse of it because you sent your only begotten son to die. And then you raised him from the dead.

And because of this, we've become your children because we believed on him. And one thing that you've made clear in your word is that we've been justified, legally set free from all sin and guilt. Father, may we continue to claim and walk out on that justification as your sons and daughters and declare to the world that we are justified.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Key Takeaways

• Justification is God’s legal decision to acquit believers and declare them acceptable to Him.
• Salvation and justification are given by grace rather than earned through works.
• Believers are justified by the faith and accomplished work of Jesus Christ.
• Because God has rendered His verdict, believers do not need to keep putting themselves on trial.
• Living from justification supports a more-than-conqueror mindset in the face of accusation and condemnation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is justification in this teaching?

Justification is described as God’s legal decision to acquit a person of guilt and sin and declare that person acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ.

Is justification earned by good works?

No. The teaching emphasizes that justification is given by God’s grace and rests on the accomplished work and faith of Jesus Christ, not human works.

How should justification affect self-condemnation?

Because God is just and has justified the believer, the teaching urges believers to stop putting themselves on trial and to live from God’s verdict rather than accusation or condemnation.

Scripture References

Titus 3:7-8; 2 Timothy 1:9; Isaiah 46:10; Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:26; 1 Corinthians 4:3-4; Romans 8:31-39

This text was prepared from the source transcript. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.