“JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ACCORDING TO ST PAUL AND THE
REFORMERS” (PART 2 of 2)
but is credited to him. It’s a spiritual bank
account in Christ himself and is external to man.
They wrongly suppose the wafer is the actual
body of Jesus that must be eaten and taken internally.
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
1.
The
gospel is the good news that man no longer has to look within
himself
and his own experience for anything on which to base his acceptance
with God.
This was done in Jesus Christ.
2.
The
gospel is the good news that a man no longer has to gauge his
acceptance with
God, that is dependent on his own internal purity of body and mind.
3.
The
gospel is the good news that God has done everything for men in
Jesus
Christ.
4.
The
gospel is the good news that God has liberated men in the
person of his
Son Jesus Christ.
5.
The
gospel is the good news that God, while we were ungodly, without
strength and
enemies of God, God accomplished our complete salvation in
Jesus Christ
our new Father.
6.
The
gospel is the good news that God has placed all our sins, past, present
and
future upon Jesus Christ, and punished Christ in our place.
7.
The
gospel is the good news that God “…delivered him (Jesus
Christ) for
our offences and was raised again for our justification.” (Rom 4:25)
8.
The
gospel is the good news that God had forgiven all men in Jesus
Christ.
9.
The
gospel is the good news that God has liberated you from the penalty
from all
sin in Jesus Christ.
As St Paul
says “Therefore as by the offence of
one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation;
even so by
the righteousness of one (Jesus Christ) the free gift
came upon
all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)
We must
keep remembering that as we became sinners
external to ourselves in Adam, then we are justified by the man Jesus
Christ,
who is also external to us. Reading Romans chapter 6, we have been put
into the
death of Christ who was then resurrected. This means we have died in
Christ and
now are risen with him in heaven. We have been justified, our old man
has been
put to death in Christ and we now live with him in heaven.
This the
good news for the poor struggling sinner.
He now no longer needs to look within himself for his own purity to
please God,
as Christ pleases God and all those that believe on him! This is
not the
wafer Jesus, but the real historical Jesus of 2,000 years ago! Your sin
debt
was paid then. THERE REMAINS NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS (Heb
10:26).
Will you believe this Dear Reader?
It
is by believing this that every sinner can
possess this peace and assurance in the certainty of right standing
with God on
the basis of what God’s grace in Jesus Christ has already done for all
men. The
following is the only basis that a man can stand before God and say:
“I
am justified God. I am “just-as-if-I’d” never
sinned.
Christ has paid the full debt
for all my sins and put his goodness into my spiritual bank account.
The
exchange has been made. My burden of sin has been lifted from me and
Christ’s
right standing with you God, is now my right standing with you. I am in
Christ.”
Will
agree with the prophet Isaiah in the Old
Testament when he said “Surely, shall one say, IN the LORD
have I
righteousness and strength: …” (Isaiah 45:24)
All
the Roman Catholic can say is “I have to get
Christ in me by eating him.” Their sin debt still remains.
**** ****
Harley Hitchcock
This
website’s front page is:
www.
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Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
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