THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. Pt.12

Man is a free moral agent. That is, God created man with the ability to make choices and exercise the power of will to make decisions. Man is not a robot controlled with programming and buttons. The power to say 'yes' or 'No', act rightly or wrongly, believe or not believe in the vicarious substitution of Christ, lies within the will of man. God could have made all men to accept Christ by using His sovereign power but He didn't because man is created to make choices by himself. He is not a robot. In God's scheme for justification, there's a role that man must play or we say a condition man must fulfill to be justified. FAITH is the CONDITION for Justification. Apostle Paul says, "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the FAITH of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, 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"(Galatians 2:16 KJV). Hallelujah!!! Faith in Christ is the only man-ward condition for being justified. If you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be justified. Your sins will be forgiven and you'll be declared innocent. Romans 4:5 (NLT) says, "But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners". Your duty in justification is to believe in the sufficiency of Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross. You must look up to the man of Calvary and believe in the sufficiency of the work He wrought on the cross to be justified. The finished work of Christ on the cross is enough for me and you to be justified. All God expects from us is FAITH in what Christ has done for us. Religion will always prevent man from believing in the sufficiency of Christ work on the cross. The cross is so important to Paul and he said: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14). To be justified, just believe in what Christ did on the cross- He died for your sins. That death is enough. The chorus of a hymn says, "I need no other argument, I need no other plea;It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me". The death of Jesus is enough to justify you just believe. If you're burdened with guilt often, and the enemy never ceases to accuse you of the wrongs in your past, all you need do is press your faith button and put your trust in the sufficiency and efficacy of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Apostle Paul says, "WE ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD BY PLACING OUR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are" (Romans3:22).