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With man this is clearly impossible. Man, with all his boasted wisdom, could not devise any plan of justification. For instance, a prisoner stands before the judge, really guilty of the crime charged to him. The judge might forgive him, but he cannot justify him—he cannot make him not guilty.

All men are guilty before God. The Scriptures declare, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). God says so. Conscience says so. You know, we all know, it is so. All guilty! “Yes,” you say, “that is what confuses me: I know I am a sinner; how then can I be justified in God’s sight?”

First let us see how this cannot be done, and then let us see how God justifies the sinner.

The law—the Ten Commandments and such—cannot justify anyone, for all have transgressed it. “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in [God’s] sight” (Romans 3:20). “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them’” (Galatians 3:10).

We have all broken the law; it then can only curse us. We cannot even have forgiveness by all our efforts to keep the law, much less be justified by it. Do you say, “We must do our best to love God and keep His commandments,” hoping He will forgive you and justify you? Nowhere does God say, “Do your best.” No man shall ever be justified on the “doing” plan. God has said it, and it is useless to fight against God!

Now let us look at God’s way of justifying the ungodly. God alone can justify the guilty, and He is righteous in doing it. He Himself has provided this righteous way. It is Christ that died. He was God’s Lamb, come into the world as a sacrifice for sin—our precious Substitute. Oh, wondrous answer to all my sins! “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith … who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is God that justifies on the ground of Christ having suffered in our place! (See Romans 3:19-28; 4:25; 5:1.)

My reader, let your thoughts dwell on the cross of Christ. Blessed are the eyes that see and the ears that hear God’s testimony about the death of Jesus—the satisfactory sacrifice for sin. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8,9).

What you could never do, God has done! He has laid your sins on Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. God has raised Him from the dead. When you repent of your sins and believe He has done this for you, you are then justified from all things (Acts 13:38,39). Thus God is not only just in forgiving your sins, but righteous in justifying you! Though once a guilty sinner, you are justified—so completely justified by the death of Jesus that not one charge can be laid to you! (See Romans 8:33,34.)

All has been borne by Jesus! Is this not enough to give you peace? Yes, on the basis of Christ’s work accomplished on the cross of Calvary, and upon the authority of the Word of God, peace with God is yours—yours forever, the moment you believe Christ died for you and rose again. —Charles Stanley (1821-1888)

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