My trusty dictionary tells me that "justify" means "to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable." I went a step further with this one though: the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It’s a four-inch thick book that’s been sitting on my desk waiting for me to have the time to write this blog post (sorry folks, I’m a college student. I’m aiming for at least one post a week, but as demonstrated, it isn’t always going to happen). Anyway, according to Strong’s, the word that is translated as "justified" comes from the Greek word "dikaioo." It talks about how it means to prove, show, render, or regard as just, innocent, or holy. So what does that mean for our identity?
Homework and midterms aren’t the only thing that have delayed the posting of this identity. It turns out, summing up our justification through Christ in a couple of concise verses isn’t so simple. I would encourage you to read Galatians 3:1-25. I know, I know, that’s quite a bit, but it walks you through the process, and does so in God’s words, which are infinitely more valuable than mine.
In simple terms: we all sin. We’ve been over that. If you need a refresher’s course, Romans is located in the New Testament and the Ten Commandments are in Exodus 20. We’ve also discussed how that sin separates us from God, but how He desires to have a relationship with us anyway. Which still blows me away; God’s patience will never cease to amaze me, but beyond patience, He still wants to love us and talk to us and have us come to Him? Wow.
Before Christ, God gave us (specifically the Israelites) the Law. The Law is a whole slew of rules and regulations: don’t do this, you must do that, when you mess it up you have to do this, that, and the other thing in payment for it. Here is an example: "When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands…" [then God breaks it down for them: it’s different for the anointed priest, the whole Israelite community, a leader, etc., so let’s see how it goes for "a member of the community"] "…When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering," [which is a whole ‘nother procedure]. "Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the alter. He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering," [which is yet another different procedure] "and the priest shall burn it on the alter as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven." (This whole thing is in Leviticus 4).
That was the way God gave them to maintain a relationship with Him. They were bound to a set of rules and there were specific forms of sacrifice to atone for the ways that they fell short. Usually, this was done in the form of blood. So let’s check out Hebrews 9:22: "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
But this wasn’t God’s final plan. God’s final plan was for Christ’s blood to pay for all of our sins. As Galatians told us in those 25 verses that I still strongly encourage you to go take a look at, we are no longer held to the law, because our sins are paid for with the blood of Christ and through our faith in Him, we are justified.
So now we’re back to this question: what does that mean for our identity? Well, let’s break it down. What are your sins? No, you don’t have to tell me, just think about it. What lies do you tell on a regular basis, to yourself or to others? Do you commit adultery through the lusts of your heart against your spouse (whether you’re married yet or not)? Are you disrespectful to authority? Do you disrespect God? Are you a poor steward of anything that God has entrusted to you (finances, property, spiritual gifts, your body)? Take a look at the Ten Commandments… an honest, in-depth look.
Guess what? If you have placed your faith in Christ, then the Bible tells us that through our faith (not the Law), His blood atones for your sin. Christ’s blood atones for my sin. It’s paid for. We are proven, shown, rendered, and regarded as innocent and holy. God doesn’t see our sin anymore, because we are justified.
