When we place our faith in Christ for our salvation we are justified from all of our sins by that faith. This initial act of faith is the only thing that is necessary to bring grace to work in our life, and we are considered as clean as if we had never sinned. This judicial act of justification brings us "peace with God", meaning that God is not mad and that we are secure because of our faith.
After having placed our faith in His finished work, we will find that our faith does not remain constant and unwavering. Like Peter, we may have faith to step out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus, but we shake and doubt when we notice how high the waves are, and we realize that we could sink. Jesus does not abandon us in that moment and let us drown for He loves us, and He knows our heart better than we do (1 John 3:20).
Since our faith wavers, we need something in our lives that is steady and constant, that can guarantee that our justification is a permanent thing and not a temporary thing. Without something so secure and stable, our salvation is only as good as our last church service; and eternity is more important than that! Thank God that the He has provided a better security than our shaky faith.
Paul advances us in our justification by faith on into the ninth verse of Romans 5, "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him". With "much more then" we see that now there is something justifying us that is rock solid and secure and it is "by His blood". While my faith may waver, His blood never does.
When the Israelites went into their homes to wait out the arrival of the angel of death in Egypt, they first marked the door posts and door mantles with the blood of a spotless lamb. As long as the people stayed in their homes, the angel of death would see the blood guarding the door and He would pass over them. This instituted the Jewish feast of Passover, celebrating the passing over due to the blood of the sacrifice.
As a believer, you have the precious blood of Jesus marking the door to your life; your heart. When God's wrath was poured out, it was exhausted in the body of His Son Jesus on the cross, so there is no anger left for those who are sheltered by that precious blood. Your daily justification is not wrapped up in whether or not you "maintain perfect faith", for that will quickly turn into a work within itself; but rather your justification is based upon the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. While you were originally justified by your faith in accepting Christ, your right standing is maintained by the fact that He has accepted Jesus!
No one can be justified by blood that is not first justified by faith. The blood of Christ is not the provision for "universal salvation" which states that everyone is saved in the world because of the cross, whether they accept it or not. That is a heresy against Christ's finished work! Faith is the hand that takes from God all that He has to offer. You must accept Him by faith, and then allow His precious blood to cover you over everyday.
One more thing that should thrill your soul as you go about this blessed day: Israel simply had to stay in the house and let the blood do the work. They could doubt that it would work; but it still worked. They could hide under the table in fear; but the blood still worked. They could go about their lives inside with little regard for the blood on the door; but the blood was still effective. Your works in the house are of no consequence to whether or not you are accepted. Thank God that the blood on the door is what makes us who we are. You are deeply loved believer, so rest in it!
After having placed our faith in His finished work, we will find that our faith does not remain constant and unwavering. Like Peter, we may have faith to step out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus, but we shake and doubt when we notice how high the waves are, and we realize that we could sink. Jesus does not abandon us in that moment and let us drown for He loves us, and He knows our heart better than we do (1 John 3:20).
Since our faith wavers, we need something in our lives that is steady and constant, that can guarantee that our justification is a permanent thing and not a temporary thing. Without something so secure and stable, our salvation is only as good as our last church service; and eternity is more important than that! Thank God that the He has provided a better security than our shaky faith.
Paul advances us in our justification by faith on into the ninth verse of Romans 5, "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him". With "much more then" we see that now there is something justifying us that is rock solid and secure and it is "by His blood". While my faith may waver, His blood never does.
When the Israelites went into their homes to wait out the arrival of the angel of death in Egypt, they first marked the door posts and door mantles with the blood of a spotless lamb. As long as the people stayed in their homes, the angel of death would see the blood guarding the door and He would pass over them. This instituted the Jewish feast of Passover, celebrating the passing over due to the blood of the sacrifice.
As a believer, you have the precious blood of Jesus marking the door to your life; your heart. When God's wrath was poured out, it was exhausted in the body of His Son Jesus on the cross, so there is no anger left for those who are sheltered by that precious blood. Your daily justification is not wrapped up in whether or not you "maintain perfect faith", for that will quickly turn into a work within itself; but rather your justification is based upon the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. While you were originally justified by your faith in accepting Christ, your right standing is maintained by the fact that He has accepted Jesus!
No one can be justified by blood that is not first justified by faith. The blood of Christ is not the provision for "universal salvation" which states that everyone is saved in the world because of the cross, whether they accept it or not. That is a heresy against Christ's finished work! Faith is the hand that takes from God all that He has to offer. You must accept Him by faith, and then allow His precious blood to cover you over everyday.
One more thing that should thrill your soul as you go about this blessed day: Israel simply had to stay in the house and let the blood do the work. They could doubt that it would work; but it still worked. They could hide under the table in fear; but the blood still worked. They could go about their lives inside with little regard for the blood on the door; but the blood was still effective. Your works in the house are of no consequence to whether or not you are accepted. Thank God that the blood on the door is what makes us who we are. You are deeply loved believer, so rest in it!
