“Justified In the Blood”

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Many years ago, a gold prospector by the name of John, at last believed himself rich. But he was starving amid the shifting dunes of Death Valley.

On a scrap of paper John scribbled, “Died rich.” Then hugging a small boulder of mica, whose pyrites, resembling gold, apparently had deceived him, John passed away. Decades later, a party of motor tourists discovered the skeleton. An old miner’s pick lay nearby. A rusty watch was also found, but was not running.

The miner’s decision to justify his life with wealth gained only at the end would have been merely sad if it had been real gold that was clutched between his fingers; it becomes tragedy when one realizes that what he had sought and paid for with his life was worthless glitter [– a “fool’s gold”].
- Homiletics OnLine

Isn’t it interesting that humanity loves to put all of their hope and trust in things which, in the grander scheme of things, have no value whatsoever. We are so easily deceived by the allure of promise of wealth and an easy life style, while knowing full well that the things of earth are fragile and tentative, at best! And like the prospector, we fall for the lies and half-truths of this place, and pin our entire existence on nothing more than pyrite and rust and paper.

There ought to be a better way!

Read Romans 5:1-5

Justified by grace, and granted access into grace by faith, which then will bring us to the glory of God. This means that the Lord justifies by faith, and glory is bestowed on those he justifies – and these are concepts that are not easily understood. Some folks would say that this isn’t any different than the “fool’s gold” that lead the prospector to his doom. But the truth is that the hope and justification of Christ is completely different than the false hopes of earth.

The writer and theologian Frederick Buechner writes:
In printers' language to "justify" means to set type in such a way that all full lines are of equal length and are flush both left and right; in other words to put the printed lines in the right relationship with the page they're printed on, as well as with each other. The religious sense of the word is very close to that. Being justified means being brought into right relation.
--Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking (Harper & Row, 1973), 48.

Justifying Grace, therefore, is God’s offering a right relationship to us, and it is placed in effect when we accept that relationship. And it is all made possible through the suffering and death of Jesus, through the shedding of his blood. And if Almighty God endured all of this just so we could have a proper relationship with him, is it even possible that he wouldn’t see it through to completion?

Paul continues with this thought by showing that we are full partners with him in this life. But life doesn’t change much just because we place our life in Christ Jesus and his promise. Struggles will still come, and suffering will always be waiting right around the corner for us. But in Jesus, it doesn’t end there. With the power that comes from faith in him, we are able to endure the scrapes and skirmishes of life, and as we grow in faith and trust in the Lord, we move along the path that Jesus has prepared for us until we have the hope that will never disappoint us, the hope that will never let us down, the hope that leads to life in the Spirit, and never to death.

Read Romans 5:6-8

The first phrase in this passage to catch my eye was “at just the right time”. Jesus’ death wasn’t a random, accidental, unplanned happenstance. It came to be while the world was still embroiled in a sinful existence, and it was given exactly when and as Jehovah God knew it must be. And what was there about that timing? It wasn’t about a moment in history - it was all about our situation, our inability to do anything about our sin. The Cross wasn’t about God – it was about us – you and me.

We read of soldiers who died in battle while protecting their buddies, and we read of mothers and fathers who give their own life to protect the life of their young children. But how often do we read of someone giving their all for the benefit of someone who has taken a stand that is in direct opposition, direct conflict, to their own? I think that it is safe to say “ALMOST NEVER!” And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He endured the most abject cruelty and hatred that the world could throw at him, and he did it willingly, and lovingly, and unwaveringly, and patiently. And this incredible and unexplainable love wasn’t given only to those who would, one day, come to appreciate what he had done, for those who would give their lives to him. He gave his all for the entire world.

Jesus didn’t die for the righteous – they wouldn’t need it. He didn’t die for the “perfect” – there are none. Jesus died for the sinners of earth. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And don’t think that he died to make us perfect – because we aren’t! Remember the piece regarding justification in the printing industry? (It is also an option in the word processors of today!) We can choose to align our lives to the left, or to the right, or even to the center, but Jesus has made it possible for us to be aligned to him, and not to any other reference. He died to bring us into a right relationship with him, and it is all given in spite of our sinful ways.

Read Romans 5:9-11

We have been justified by the blood – by the suffering, the struggle, the humiliation, the death - of Christ. We have been reconciled – reunited, proven, made right - to God through his own justifying act at Calvary. We have been saved by claiming the cleansing, the realignment, the justification that only comes by the Blood of Jesus.
Note that there is nothing that we have to do here – no great act of righteousness, nothing to earn God’s pleasure, nothing to gain or prove our worthiness – all we need to do is to exhibit faith in Jesus Christ, to rejoice over the Holy Presence that has come to our lives - right here and right now.

Think of all the people in scripture who received Justification from Jesus – the disciples, Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-3), Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) , Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), the woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:1-42), the man controlled by the “legion of demons” (Luke 8:26-39), the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30), not to mention the thief on the cross (Luke 23:32-43). Every one of them were outcasts, living at the bottom of the societal ladder. None of them would be allowed 1 step inside the home of the elite and righteous of Israel, and yet, Jesus welcomed them all into his heavenly home.

The “justifying blood” of Jesus was given for all, but it only becomes a benefit for those who accept Christ by faith. Verse 1 – “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The right relationship with the Father is won and offered in the blood of Jesus, and it is received by all who believe in Jesus Messiah.

Are you washed in the justifying blood of our Lord? It is the only way to eternal victory.