Justification 8 What is the Current and Final Status of the Justified

Overview

The Current and Final Status of the Justified

The devil's chief strategy is to undermine our faith by accusing us of our sins—and many of his accusations are valid. When we honestly examine our lives, we see disobedience that deserves God's wrath. The sweetness of the gospel, however, answers every accusation with what Christ has done for us. Scripture gives us a multifaceted defense rooted not in our performance but in the identity God has given us in Jesus.

We are saints. Paul addresses ordinary Christians—people still struggling with sin—as "saints" (Philippians 1:1; Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:17-18). The word means "set apart." Sainthood is not achieved; it is given. As Luther put it, the believer is simul iustus et peccator—at the same time saint and sinner. God made you His saint in the waters of baptism and sees you as holy through the blood of Christ.

We are priests. Christ has fulfilled the Old Testament priesthood once and for all Hebrews 7:23-27. His single sacrifice has accomplished what daily sacrifices never could. Now believers together form "a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father" (Revelation 1:5-6; 1 Peter 2:4-5). Our priestly life is twofold: we present our bodies as living sacrifices in grateful response to mercy Romans 12:1, and we intercede for one another in prayer James 5:16. These works do not earn forgiveness; they express the faith we have already received.

We are children of God, reconciled to Him. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1; see also John 1:12). Hardships, doubts, and persecution can make us question whether we truly belong to Him, but our certainty comes from outside ourselves—from God's promises, not our merit. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. This same gospel unites people across every human division, since we are one in Christ.

The best is yet to come. Heaven is described in part by what will not be there: no tears, no death, no mourning, no pain, no curse (Revelation 21:1-4; Revelation 22:3-5). For the Christian, death is not the end but a transition into the glory and beauty of life with God forever. The doctrine of justification gives us certainty that this future is truly ours, because God has once and for all cleansed us from sin in Christ and made us worthy to live with Him. When the accuser comes, remember: you are justified, claimed, and you belong to Him.

Transcript

Father, assure us today that no matter what our hearts may tell us, no matter what the world may say to shake our confidence in the full and free nature of our salvation, that they're wrong. 0s

Renew our joy. Help us to know that our status as your children will stand firm in this life and will be experienced fully in eternity. 14s

Thank you for these wonderful blessings in Jesus' name. 25s

Amen. 29s

Last week we talked about the connection between justification and sanctification. 30s

Remember we studied that sanctification means to be set apart, and so God creates in us the new self, and we talked about the struggle that sanctification is. 35s

Remember how Paul talked about the good that I want to do? I don't. It's that struggle that is involved in our lives, but God through the means of grace is constantly at work to bring about that which is pleasing to him and to make us more and more like Jesus. 46s

Well in our last session today with regard to justification, I want to take a look at the topic of what's the current and final status of the justified? 64s

The devil's chief ploy is to undermine our Christian faith and to accuse us of our sins. 78s

It's chief ploys to undermine us of our faith and to accuse us of our sins. 89s

And the devil has valid accusations. 96s

Doesn't it? 99s

The devil. 100s

When we see that we have disobeyed God, we see that we are deserving of the wrath of God that we should not be loved or saved. 101s

Satan has valid accusations against us. 113s

The good news is, of course, it's the gospel of what the Lord Jesus has done for us, and it is that sweetness of the gospel in the face of the accusations of the evil one that is such a profound and deep comfort to us. 116s

Our defense then against the accusations of the devil are multifaceted. 136s

The first thing we want to highlight is, is that through Jesus Christ we are called saints. 143s

We are called saints. 151s

Let's take a look at what scripture has to say about that. 155s

Let's go to Philippians the first chapter, please. 159s

First and second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and then Philippians. 163s

Philippians chapter 1, verse 1. 169s

Philippians 1, verse 1. 173s

And here we read Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 185s

To all the saints in Christ Jesus. 204s

That word literally means to be set apart. 209s

So it's a very similar word to sanctification, isn't it? 212s

Sanctification means to be set apart, to be made holy. 215s

A saint then is one who is set apart, and what a comforting word it is to know that even though we still sin this side of heaven, 221s

we are called saints. 233s

Remember the phrase there that Luther had simultaneously, saint and sinner. 237s

That's who we are. 243s

And so even though we still sin, we are called the saint. 246s

No matter who I am or what I do, God sees me then as holy. 251s

God sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ as holy. 256s

Let's look at Romans, the first chapter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Romans. 263s

Romans chapter 1, verse 7. 270s

So when the devil comes accusing, well, a glorious scriptural response is to recall that we are indeed saints. 280s

Romans chapter 1, verse 7. 290s

To all gods beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints, grace to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 295s

Let's go to Ephesians, the first chapter, please. 309s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Romans. 312s

First and second Corinthians, Galatians and then Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11. 315s

No, I'm sorry, verse 17. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 17. 329s

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. 339s

So that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he's called you. 350s

What are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints? 360s

And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his great might. 368s

Verse 18 again, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what's the hope to which he's called you. 378s

What are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints? 384s

What's the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his great power? 390s

We are called his saint. 398s

God made you his saint in the water of baptism. 403s

St.hood is not something that is achieved. 407s

St.hood is that which is given. 412s

We are at the same time saint and sinner. 416s

God also calls us priests. 422s

He calls us priests. 427s

So we have been justified by him. 428s

We've been declared not guilty. 433s

That word of not guilty has been personally appropriated through the faith that we are given, that gift, and we are called his priest. 435s

Let's go to Revelation chapter 1, a very last book. 446s

Revelation chapter 1 will pick up in verse 5. 451s

And from, let's go a little bit earlier so we're not in mid-sentence there. 471s

Second part of verse 4, please. 475s

Grace you in peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seventh spirits who are before his throne. 478s

And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 484s

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 493s

Amen. 511s

Let's go to 1 Peter, the second chapter. 512s

So keep turning toward Matthew. 515s

You're going to cross over Jude and the John's there. 518s

You'll hit the Peter's. 521s

1 Peter chapter 2, verse 4. 523s

Come to him a living stone though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight. 534s

And like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. 542s

Let's go to Hebrews, the seventh chapter. 561s

So keep working your way toward Matthew. 565s

You're going to cross over James. 567s

You're going to hit it back to Matthew. 569s

Then you bump into Hebrews. 570s

Hebrews 7, 23. 572s

So we're a saint. 577s

We're a priest. 579s

And chapter 7, picking up in verse 23, furthermore, the former priests were many a number because they were prevented by death from continuing an office. 583s

But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever, consequently. 596s

He's able for all time to save those who approach God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. 603s

For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. 617s

Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people. 626s

This he did once for all when he offered himself. 635s

The function of the Old Testament priest was really too full. 641s

The function of the Old Testament priest was to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people and to intercede prayerfully before God for the people. 645s

So you had two folds. 656s

You were offering sacrifices for sins and then you are interceding for the people. 657s

That was a foreshadowing of the priesthood through Jesus Christ. 664s

So Jesus abolished then the need for the priests in the Old Testament since as a people that are simply going to be offering sacrifices and interceding for people. 669s

Let's go to Romans chapter 12, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans. 681s

Romans chapter 12, verse 1. 688s

Romans 12, verse 1. 693s

So you've got the Old Testament priesthood there that has been abolished through the coming of Jesus Christ. 699s

Then notice what happens. 705s

We're all priests. 706s

We're all priests. 708s

Romans 12, verse 1. 710s

I appeal to you therefore brothers and sisters by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly unacceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. 713s

So because our sins have been atoned for, because we have been declared non-guilty, because Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, because our sins have been paid in full, our response then as people of faith are to present ourselves, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God. 726s

Does that sacrifice effect the forgiveness of sins? 749s

Nope. 754s

It's simply an expression here of the faith that is ours through the Lord Jesus Christ. 755s

So you've got the Old Testament priesthood abolished here. 763s

It's not a sacrifice for sins, of which Scripture tells us day after day they would keep doing the same sacrifices and they could remember what Scripture says, never take away the sins. 765s

It's an acknowledgement of the sinfulness of people, but it was only through the blood of Jesus that the sins were atoned for. 776s

So now as Christians we are people that offer ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice unto God as an expression of faith. 784s

Then notice what James says. 793s

Let's go back to James. 796s

I head back for second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and you hit the T-books and then you bump into Hebrews. 797s

And then you hit James. 807s

James chapter 5 verse 16. 815s

So the role of priesthood then was to offer sacrifice for sins and to intercede to God on behalf of the people. 823s

Notice now, in light of Christ, how this has changed. 830s

James chapter 5 verse 16. 834s

Therefore confess your sins to one another. 839s

Now see this, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. 842s

Pray for one another. 849s

Why? 850s

Because we're all priests. 851s

We're all priests. 853s

We've been made a saint. 854s

We have been made a priest. 856s

We have forgiven through Jesus Christ. 858s

And now we make intercession to the Lord. 860s

All of us do as we pray for one another. 863s

Third, we have been made his children. 868s

We have been made his children. 872s

Let's look at first John chapter 3. 882s

Please, first John chapter 3. 886s

We'll go to Revelation. 888s

And then work your way slowly back to Matthew. 892s

You very quickly bump into the John's first John chapter 3 verse 1. 895s

First John 3 verse 1. 906s

See what love the Father has given us, 912s

that we should be called children of God. 916s

And that is what we are. 920s

The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 924s

Now remember, when you hear the phrase that everyone in the world is a child of God, 931s

it's not true, is it? 937s

We're all creations of God, 938s

but only the children of God are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. 941s

And so we have been made then a child of God. 946s

There are things in life, of course, obviously, that can make us wonder if we are children of God. 950s

Bad things happen, problems, sins, shortcomings, doubts, weaknesses, persecution for the faith. 956s

All of these things can make us wonder if we are really truly God's children. 963s

And yet the certainty that we are God's children comes not from within us, 970s

it comes from without. 976s

As we look outside of ourselves onto the promises of God, 977s

we can be sure we're God's children, 983s

because His love, not our merit, has made us His children. 985s

He has made us holy and therefore able to be considered His children through Jesus Christ. 990s

Look at 1 John 1 verse 12, please. 999s

Excuse me, not first John, the gospel of John. 1006s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John 1 verse 12. 1010s

John 1 verse 12. 1026s

But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, 1030s

He became power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, 1036s

or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 1042s

Hebrews chapter 2 says, both the one who makes people holy 1050s

and those who are made holy are of the same family. 1054s

So Jesus is not ashamed to call us brother or sister. 1059s

That's family language, isn't it? That's family relationship. 1064s

We are saints, we're made priests, we are made children. 1069s

The Scripture says that we have been reconciled unto Him. 1073s

We have been reconciled unto Him. 1081s

Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, please. 1085s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans, 1088s

1 Corinthians, and then 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 verse 18. 1093s

2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 18. 1100s

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, 1111s

and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 1119s

That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, 1122s

not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 1128s

You see there's that objective justification, isn't it? 1135s

The whole world has been declared not guilty. 1137s

We have been reconciled unto Him. 1143s

Galatians the third chapter says, there's neither June or Greek, 1146s

slave nor free, male or female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. 1149s

Romans 12 says, in Christ we who are many form one body, 1154s

and each member belongs to the other. 1160s

In other words, we don't let race, we don't let social status, 1163s

we don't let gender, we don't let age, we don't let education, 1168s

we don't let income levels, we don't let anything like that divide us. 1172s

Because we are one. 1179s

Is it not ridiculous that indeed there are so many divisions born out of sin in our world? 1182s

And we see in Jesus Christ there's neither June or Greek, 1192s

slave nor free, male or female, for we're one in Christ. 1197s

The basis then of profound and deep unity is Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. 1202s

So we're made saints, we're made priests, we're made as children, 1212s

we are reconciled unto Him and the best is yet to come. 1216s

The best is yet to come. 1227s

Let's go to Revelation, please 21. 1230s

Revelation chapter 21. 1234s

Verse 1. 1251s

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 1253s

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. 1257s

And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 1262s

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 1266s

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 1269s

see the home of God is among mortals, he will dwell with them, they will be his peoples, 1272s

and God himself will be with them. 1279s

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. 1282s

Death will be no more, morning and crying and pain will be no more. 1286s

For the first things have passed away. 1292s

Jump over into Revelation 22, please. 1298s

Verse 3. 1302s

Revelation 22, verse 3. 1303s

Nothing accursed will be found there anymore, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it. 1307s

And his servants will worship him. 1313s

They will see his face and his name will be on their forehead. 1316s

There will be no more night, they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, 1322s

and they will reign forever and ever. 1330s

Is that a glorious picture or not? 1334s

And notice how heaven can be described as what won't be there? 1336s

You know, when you look at this, what won't be in heaven? 1343s

There's not any tears in heaven, there's no death in heaven, there's no morning and crying and pain in heaven. 1345s

The first things have passed away. 1351s

We have been justified, declared not guilty, called his own in the waters of baptism. 1354s

He makes us his saints and priests and children, he's reconciled us, and he says, 1359s

and here's the glorious truth that the best is yet to come. 1365s

Somebody sent me a little thing. 1375s

If you're here today and you want to acknowledge that, please do so, so I can give you credit. 1379s

It was a wonderful example of this person that was buried with a fork. 1383s

Is that striking a memory to somebody here? 1389s

Okay, I can't remember who sent it to me, but it was wonderful. 1393s

Person buried with a fork, so the people are walking by the casket and they're kind of saying, 1397s

why is this person buried with a fork? 1402s

Well, then the family makes the witness to them. 1405s

Is that the person wanted to be buried with a fork? 1408s

Why? Because the best is yet to come. 1410s

You see, and it's one who understands that indeed the glorious truth is that death is not the end of us. 1414s

Death is just the transition of us, and that we go as the Christian into the glory and beauty of heaven itself, 1423s

and the best indeed is yet to come. 1433s

Why then does the doctrine of justification give us certainty that this wonderful life in heaven will really be ours? 1438s

Because God has once and for all, in Jesus Christ, cleansed us from all sin. 1445s

He has made us worthy of living with Him forever. 1450s

You are justified. You are claimed, and you belong to Him. 1458s

And that is the glorious and wonderful truth, is it not? Let's pray. 1465s

Heavenly Father, keep us firmly rooted in the teaching that we are justified through faith in Your Son. 1472s

Keep us from focusing on ourselves for our security. 1481s

Direct us back to Your Son, where we find that as perfect obedience, the righteousness we need, 1485s

and in His suffering and death, the freedom from guilt we long for. 1493s

As Your dearly loved and forgiven children through Christ, help us to honor You with our lives and serve others as You have served us. 1499s

Until You take us to live with You forever in the glory and perfection of heaven. 1509s

Here are prayer for the sake of Your Son in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 1516s