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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Guilty is such a terrible verdict. This is not to say that such a verdict is not correct at times, just that it is not ordinarily that which we desire. “Not guilty” has a much more pleasant ring. No right thinking person wishes to be found guilty of crimes and subsequently to be sentenced as payment for such crimes. Yet, the sad truth is this: All humanity is guilty before God! This may not be what I want to hear, but it is reality. The somewhat lengthy text that follows captures this awful truth and expresses it in such a way as to give hope to otherwise lost humanity.
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 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, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3.19-26).
Of particular interest today is the statement that by the law we would all be guilty before God. “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” This is not what God wants; He desires another outcome as regards justification. God wants “…all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2.4). Though through the Law of Moses, all men would become guilty before Him, that is not the final end that He wills to occur.
Guilty may not be a pretty word, but by the same token, it can become a word which aids us in transitioning from such a condition to one of not guilty (i.e. justified). That outcome, i.e. not guilty, is the outcome that God desires and which all right thinking people desire. Had God not provided a remedy for the condemnation that came with the Law, all would indeed be hopeless! It was and is God’s wish to see man saved that keeps, even to this moment in time, Him in a condition of forbearance and longsuffering. As Peter put it, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3.9). If a guilty verdict is what it takes to shake me from my lethargy and to embrace the righteousness that is found in Jesus, then I ought to be thankful for the fact that “…all the world may become guilty before God.” He planned it just that way; He planned to move me from rebellion to obedience by the knowledge of judgment that awaits apart from Messiah.
We will have much more to say on the subject of justification and redemption, however, suffice it to be said at this moment in time that God put forth the Gospel system for the express purpose of saving us from the penalty that a guilty verdict demands. Yes, we have hope because of Him! Apart from the gospel, we live in a world of darkness and despair; with the gospel, we have the hope of eternal life and the joy that such a hope begets. Praise God for this gift!
Questions:
1. What does it mean to be guilty before God? How does that compare with being found guilty in a human court?
2. According to Paul, how may who live by the Law will be justified by the Law?
3. What does the fact that He still remains faithful to His promises have to do with my hope of salvation?
4. How might being declared guilty help me in seeing the need for justification?
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