Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

— Romans 5:1

One of my seminary professors said, “Gentle­men, justification and sanctification must always be distinguished, but they can never be separated.” There is no man who is justified, pardoned by God, who is not in the process of being sanctified. If you are not being made holy, you are not justified. You are not saved. You are not a Christian and you are not going to Heaven.

Justification is an act; it happens instantaneously the moment we trust in Christ. It is perfect. It is complete. It is forever. Fifty years later, we are no more justified than we are in the first moment after we trust in Christ. The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ never changes. It is finished. It is complete. It is done.

Justifi­cation deals with the guilt we have incurred because of our sin. It is a judicial, legal term. It is something a judge does. Sanctification is the work of a physician cleansing us from the corruption in our life.

It has been said that justification by faith alone is the article of a standing or falling church, of a standing or falling nation, of a standing or falling soul. Sanctification is the lifelong process of becoming more like Christ.

Question to ponder:
Can you see God’s work of sanctification in your life? Are you more like Jesus than you were five years ago?

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

— 2 Corinthians 5:21

The judgment of God is to come upon this world. Mankind has been convicted and condemned. There is only one place of escape, and that is Calvary. There is the fire of God’s retributive justice. His wrath for sin fell upon His own dear Son Who took upon Himself our guilt and endured the capital punishment we deserved, suffering the wrath of God in our stead.

When I was in seminary in Atlanta, I preached in a jail to some men in a harsh cage who were there for various crimes. I had preached for no more than a min­ute when a great big burly fellow stepped up to the bars and said, “Preacher, you just go tell that God of yours that all I want from Him is what I deserve.” I looked at him and said: “Sir, if you got what you deserve, the floor would open up beneath you this instant and you would plunge into Hell, because that’s what you deserve. I’m not saying that be­cause you’re behind those bars and I’m in front of them, because if I got what I deserve, that’s exactly where I would go too.” All of the saints down through the centuries have said the same thing.

We all need God’s mercy. Thankfully, He is a merciful God.

Question to ponder:
Why is it that in our natural state, we all deserve God’s displeasure?

…I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless.

— Isaiah 13:11

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

I trust you remember the story of the publican (i.e., tax-collector) and the Pharisee. Publicans were low caste Israelites who collected taxes from other Israelites for the Romans. They were hated by the people. It seemed on this particular day a Pharisee—Pharisees were religious rulers who judged Israel—and a publican both went into the temple at the same time to pray. One went in the front and the other one went in the back door.

The Pharisee self-righteously thanked God that he was not like that sinner, the publican. Whereas, the publican, we are told, “would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner'” (Luke 18:13). He prayed to God; the Pharisee did not.

The publican didn’t say, “God, be merciful to me, one of many sinners,” but “God, be propitiated unto me, the sinner.” In his mind, he was the only one. And we read that the publican—not the Pharisee—went down to his house justified.

No one will receive salvation from God until he realizes he is a sinner, needing His grace. There is no place for arrogance in the Kingdom of God.

Question to ponder:
Why is it so hard to be humble?

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

— Psalm 20:7

Our trust should be in the Lord and not in the tools or weapons at hand. Joshua learned this lesson.

God told Joshua, “Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with thee wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). The Lord told Joshua that he was to be strong and courageous. To face the giants? No. Rather, he was to be strong and courageous “to observe to do everything I have commanded you, and this is so important that you are to meditate upon it day and night” (paraphrase of Joshua 1:7-8).

God did not say, “When the Hittites come out, you want to use the spear, so you should have your spears. They should all be seven feet long, sharpened to a point. When you are facing, however, the Canaanites or the Philistines, the sword is more effective.” He didn’t tell Joshua how to deal with those problems at all.

Why? Because God was going to deal with them. “No man shall be able to stand before you,” Joshua was told. He put his faith in the Lord; he obeyed Him. And the rest is history.

Question to ponder:
What tool in your hands are you possibly tempted to trust in, as opposed to trusting in the Lord?

But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.

— Galatians 5:15

One of the commandments God has given us is found in the Sermon on the Mount and it should be familiar to most of you: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured again for you” (Matthew 7: 1-2). Most of us, I suppose, have heard that, but many of us have not heeded it, and that to our own hurt and detriment.

Christ said that we are not to be fault-finders for we will be judged. One New Testament scholar has said that this means that if we judge others we will receive judgment from them upon our lives here. That is true. But also, in the final Judgment of God, He will judge us at that time for trying to take His place as the Judge of all the earth. God’s judgment is perfect and righteous. Ours is frequently anything but that.

We should look for ways to encourage and build others up, not to tear them down. God doesn’t want us to be fault-finding busy-bodies. Self-righteousness is miles apart from real righteousness.

Question to ponder:
Are there any areas in your life where you could be less judgmental?

Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.

— 1 Peter 5:7

Our age has, very properly, been called the “Age of Anxiety.” It seems that worry, tension, and fear are endemic in modern society. We had thought that by conquering the forces of nature and bending them to the will of man, we would deliver ourselves from our problems and enter into a golden age.

Unfortunately, it did not quite work out that way. Rather, like Dr. Frankenstein, we have produced a monster. He hoped that the creature he made would be a helpful one. But, you may recall, it went wild, terrorized his life, and finally brought him to a horrible and untimely end.

Do you have a problem today? Well, I have a problem solver. Do you have a big problem today? I have a problem shrinker, and it never ever fails. I don’t care what your problem is. You may be worrying about what you are going to do. Is that merger in your business going to work out? What about that balloon payment you have on your mortgage? What is going to happen in your marriage? How will you get your kids through college? Will he ever call me again for a date?

I don’t care how big your problem is, try this problem solver: Jesus Christ, the One who conquered life’s only real problem—the problem of death.

Question to ponder:
What do you perceive as your biggest problem right now?