“If
repentance is acknowledgement of our profound spiritual need, justification is
one facet of God’s gracious provision for that need.”[1] This is that “come to
Jesus” moment. Our journey of faith has been leading here through the working
of God’s grace in our lives. Prevenient Grace pushed us along, filling or sails
and helping us move closer and closer to God. As we do, our faith grows and
then God, in his perfect time, sends his Justifying Grace to us. It drives us
to our knees, believing with our hearts and confessing with our mouths that
Jesus is Lord, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture
says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[2] At last we are saved, delivered,
and healed.
The
immediate results of our justification are peace, joy, and hope. It is a whole
new life. We have been born again or born of the spirit. We are a new creation.
God has internally renewed us; our spirit is transformed. The love of worldly
things is diminished, and our earthly mind begins to change into the same mind
“which was also in Christ Jesus.”[3] We experience God’s love
and are given a desire to share it with others. We feel wonderful. Wesley tells
us that it is natural, at this point, to feel as if even the inclination to sin
has been removed from our nature, but that is not the case.
For
many, Justification, or Salvation, is the goal. We have been delivered from our
sins and now we have nothing more to worry about. Where others believe that
once we are saved, we are always saved, Wesley believes that that is not the
case. We cannot relax now. Standing still is not an option. Now begins the
process of Sanctification, of becoming Christlike. We are only partway through
our journey of faith. We climbed the foothills, now comes the mountain proper. There
is no time to rest.
Next
time we will be digging into the process of Sanctification.
[1]
Randy L. Maddox, Responsible Grace: John Wesley's Practical Theology (Kingswood
Series) Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition. (p. 166).
[2]Porter
L Barrington, The Christian Life Bible: With Old and New Testaments, the New
King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985. Romans
10:10-11.
[3]
Porter L Barrington, The Christian Life Bible: With Old and New Testaments, the
New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985. Philippians
2:5.
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