This past Sunday, we had another gathering as we talked about the topic of Justification: what is it and why it matters. We dissected 2 Corinthians 5:21, talked about the exchange that happened on the Cross (we don’t just become righteous, but righteousness itself, just as Christ was not made into a sinful person, but into sin itself), and then moved onto a very interesting passage of Scripture that I personally love, Romans 4:4-5:
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
If you are working for your own salvation, to ‘justify’ yourself before God, here’s the thing: you’re just giving God what He is already owed. You’re attempting to pay off a debt that you’ll never be able to pay off in your own power. But the flip side is the second statement: if you don’t work, and simply believe in Jesus, who makes the ungodly just, then we’re seen as righteousness before the Father’s throne. That being said, here’s how it applies. First, there are two ways to work: religion and rebellion.
Religion is work in the since that you are trying to satisfy God’s wrath, and therefore justify yourself before Him by doing x action. Some pray multiple times, some go on divine pilgrimages, some offer up sacrifices, etc. The list goes on of things you can try to do to satisfy God.
Rebellion says that God does not need to be satisfied because He’s not really God: you are. But you soon find out at least one of two things, and maybe both. One, you find out that He really is God. He controls things, and you don’t. Life’s circumstances are outside of your control. And the other thing is this: you suck at being your own God. You can’t give mercy, justice, joy, the list goes on. Half the time, your boxers are on inside-out and backwards. And so you soon find out that rebellion doesn’t work either. It just leads to prideful misery at best.
The right way to live is to not work, but rest, in the already accomplished work of Christ! You don’t have to do x action in order to satisfy God. And you don’t have to try to save yourself by being your own God, either. Both have already been done: God sent His Son in order to satisfy His own wrath, so that He can provide us with everlasting joy. And it’s all done justly…and mercifully.
That being said, religion is useless. Rebellion is ignorant. But faith in Christ provides for the Great Exchange (2 Corinthians 5:21), which makes us just before a Holy God.
