“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. ... [H]e did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:25-26).
Due to our rebellion, humans were in an apparently hopeless state. So how did God rescue us?
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood....” The “sacrifice of atonement” was how human sins were forgiven by God under the old covenant. Human sin was placed on an animal, which was killed because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22).
Is that petty? “Why can’t God just forgive sin?” Why can’t the president just pardon everyone? It would send the message that crime was not that big a deal. God’s “just forgiving” would mean that sin is not that bad. And it is. “If you understand a surgeon’s ‘wrath’ against contamination in a hospital operating room, you understand God’s wrath against sin.”1 Sin is a big deal. It had to be dealt with, not winked at. So at the cross, God made Jesus the final sacrifice for human sin. How did that happen?
“God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21). On the cross, God placed the guilt of human sin on the sinless Son. Therefore, when the Son suffered, he suffered as a guilty person. He suffered through all of the wrath humanity deserves all at once (cf, Is 53:5-6). Then he died, his death paying our debt (Heb 9:12). Now, because of his sacrifice, God places on the believer the righteousness of Christ. Our guilt was exchanged with his righteousness.
We are said to be “justified” (Rom 3:26) — that is, our sins have been paid for. Our balance sheet is all assets because Christ took all of our debts and gave us his righteousness. “Here we must distinguish between two senses of the word righteous. One could be righteous by virtue of never having violated the law. Such a person would be innocent, having totally fulfilled the law. But even if we have violated the law, we can be deemed righteous once the prescribed penalty has been paid. ... I am righteous not in the former sense but the latter.”2
Who is justified? God “justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Does that mean people only need to believe? That depends on what you mean by “believe.” The words rendered “believe” pack a lot more of a punch in the biblical languages than we get in English. It means more than believing that Jesus existed, that Jesus died on a cross, or even than he rose from the dead. Yes, you have to “believe that,” but there’s more to it. “Trust” is a better word, but I think it still falls short. It’s more of a “confident resting or leaning upon someone or something.”2 I prefer “hang all your hopes on.” “Believing in Jesus” in the biblical sense means to place all your hope on his death and resurrection.
It has been likened to believing a man can fly a plane. Believing a man knows how to fly a plane while you’re on the ground is very different from getting in his plane. You are now totally dependent on his ability to fly. On the ground you can believe that he can fly; in the air you trust in his ability to fly. When you are willing to be totally dependent on Christ’s death for your righteousness, you get the benefits of it.
And the immediate result is a new nature. “[I]f anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Cor 5:17). God gives us “a new heart and put[s] a new spirit in you;” he removes “your heart of stone and give[s] you a heart of flesh” (Ez 36:26). The heart that hates God is replaced with a heart that wants to please him (Rom 8:7-11).
It’s a good gut-check moment. Do you “believe that” or do you “put your hope in” Jesus?
James says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (2:19). “Believing that” is not enough. In a culture that has watered down the meaning of the word “faith” until it’s barely recognizable, we need to be able to commend real biblical faith in Jesus to the lost world around us as we tell them the story of the price that was paid.
To go into more depth on this topic, see “Justification” in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.
1 Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On
2 Millard Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine
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Part of Christianity 101
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