“That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’ . But the words it was ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:22-25)
Justification. It means something to the effect of, “just-as-if-I’d never done anything wrong.” Justification occurs in our lives when Christ’s righteousness (his right standing, goodness, moral and spiritual purity before God) is reckoned to us. It is reckoned to us when we place our trust in him as our Savior and Lord and receive the forgiveness of our sins This is an act of grace (unmerited favor) and the vehicle through which this grace comes to us is our faith. Our faith is counted to us as righteousness. Without faith in Christ, no one is righteous and nothing we can do on our own (works) can attain heaven for us. By way of illustration: A murderer may stand at the bottom of the deepest mine on earth and you on the top of Mt. Everest, but you are as little able to touch the stars as he. No good thing you might do is enough to merit heaven. You cannot attain the righteousness that God demands, no matter how far you climb. Salvation is by grace alone through faith and not by works.
It might be helpful to think about the process in reverse also. If we have no faith in Christ, we receive no reckoning of Christ’s righteousness to us, and therefore we are not justified before God, and this leaves us under God’s wrath and judgment because of our sin. The end result of that process is hell. Do you see why it is so incredibly important to tell others about Jesus Christ. Eternity rests upon knowing and believing on him.
And how can we know that Christ’s offering on the cross covers our sin, satisfies God’s just judgment, and averts his wrath and the due penalty of our sin? Because God raised Jesus from the dead! It is the resurrection that assures our justification and thus heaven itself. If the penalty for sin is death and hell, then the resurrection of Christ from the dead declares that the penalty has been paid. Death cannot hold him because it has nothing on him! The sentence is paid. The prisoner is set free. Those of us who are joined to him in his death are also joined to him in his resurrection from death. Therefore the resurrection is how we know we are justified!
When I look toward heaven and remember that the God who sits on his throne has condemned me because of my sin, I rightly despair. But then I see the One who sits at His right alive and ruling with him, holding up a wounded hand, and presenting his pierced feet and side. With these wounds Christ pleads for me and I have his own assurance that they are efficacious, sufficient to meet my needs. What gloriously good news!
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