Why is justification important to my daily happiness?  

(By Rick Lambert)

As a follower of Christ, I understand that it is important, but on an experiential level, do I comprehend the vital role it plays in my relationship with God and the power it provides over sinful desires and actions?

The first thing that comes to mind is that in Scripture the word justification and righteousness share the same Greek word.  The word means to render perfect and therefore sinless. Obviously one must conclude that as far as this life is concerned, it is an imputed justification/righteousness and not imparted.  Our fragile desire to obey is indication enough that we don’t live perfect as Jesus did.

The idea that it is imputed reveals to us that in God’s eyes, our sins will not be held against us.  We have not been simply acquitted before God’s throne of judgment, but the violations against his righteous law, and the penalty demanded by it has been satisfied.  This describes the substitutionary atonement of Christ. In exchange for our sins, we were covered with his robe of righteousness so that as far as our standing before God is concerned, his righteousness has been imputed on our behalf. 

This means that we no longer live under the condemnation of God, nor does this imply that God has been merely pacified.  The truth of the matter is that the imputing of his righteousness pleases him.  It’s the fulfillment of a redemptive plan that was laid out before the world was ever brought into existence.  The plan of justification predates time.  This is the relationship all believers have with God.  But how does this help us in our daily struggle?  We love the thought of our righteous standing before God, but tend to crumble under the load of temptations and commit unrighteous acts.  As the Apostle Paul lamented, “O wretched man that I am…”

I believe that the first principle to note is that the work of justification was first a work of grace.  God lavishes us with his favor, making us what all along had been his plan.  Therefore, it is the same grace that continues to bring out the work of righteousness through us.  It is to be our pursuit on the one hand, but it is God that guides us in that pursuit.  What most fail to realize is his creative use of our temptations and even sinful failures.

A troubled conscience or inner grief is the first sign of his righteousness at work.  The tragedy is that many Christians never make it out of sin’s frustrations, and spend their lives fighting against sin instead of racing towards righteousness.  We fail to realize that the great work of Justification has not only liberated us to be forever with God, but also broke the chains of bondage to sin.  We are free to discover righteousness each day we live.  Our sins have been dealt with and forgiven, therefore freeing us up to explore the realm of righteous living. 

The best place to begin in this exploration is to start with what amazes you about Christ.  This answer to this will lead you in the daily pursuit of righteousness, and the joy of living in the reality of in your eternal security before God and your joy while living on Earth.

Romans 5:1-5, sums it up beautifully: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.