Our sure positions in Christ – Part 2
Last episode we covered the first two positions that we received after coming to salvation by faith alone and the death of resurrection which is Christ. These two positions are our possession by God as shown by the sealing of the Holy Spirit to the day of our redemption and that we were regenerated into a new person identified with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Please review these first two positions if you did not hear last week’s podcast. This week we discuss positions number three and four!
Justification
We are innocent! There is a vital result of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Let’s examine in some detail the meaning of this great promise.
- Meaning of the New Testament word – This word is key because the complete meaning in Greek of the word, “justification” (δικαιος, dikaios) is not fully conveyed by the English. The word dikaios carried a legal sense that still exists today in modern Greek. In the ancient Greek and Roman worlds the term signified that someone who was found innocent in a court of law of all charges against them, just like now, there was no double jeopardy (1). This important legal concept means once you have been found innocent you cannot be charged again for the same crime.
- Christ’s work in justification – The Bible indicates that each of us has sinned and “fallen short” of what God requires of us (Romans 3:23). Because God is just, He demands punishment for our misdeeds. However, because He is loving, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment in our place (Romans 3:24-26).
- It’s as though Christ acted as a courtroom judge, found us guilty of our sins, sentenced us to death, but afterwards, stood up, removed His judicial robe, came around in front of the judge’s bench and took the punishment for us, our past present and future sins!
- Christ’s death satisfied God’s demand for righteousness but also showed His great and gracious love for us.
- No other work or sacrifice is required – Importantly, Christ is a sufficient sacrifice for our sins as He is perfect, holy and without sin (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 7:26; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, Christ satisfied God’s righteous demand for judgment. Accordingly, He died once for all sin, for all time, and He does not need to do this again as did the Old Testament priests (Hebrews 6:1-14; 10:10-18).
- Our legal position before God was pronounced “innocent” when we trusted Christ for forgiveness of our sins. We do this only once and our sins are forgiven for all time. Since Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all our sins for all time, nobody can charge us again (Romans 8:31-34). There is no double jeopardy!
Adoption
This concept is important in our society because when a family legally adopts a child the new family member gains all the rights and privileges of a naturally-born child (2). In other words, their new status in the family is permanent and cannot be overturned. What a great promise of security to the child!
Likewise, in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, as in our own society (with some differences), adoption provided permanent legal status for a child that could not be overturned (3). The Apostle Paul states our status as adopted children into God’s family in four separate places in his epistles, indicating the importance of our new position following accepting Christ as Savior through faith (Romans 8:15; 23; Ephesians 1:5; Galatians 4:5). Consequently, we are children of God, adopted into His family with legal protection and a permanent status. What a great promise!
In summary, we have four great positional promises as a believer because of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, resulting in either legal or morphological irreversible changes. These positions indicate our secure status with God: spiritual baptism, justified as innocent, God’s possession and adopted as His children. God’s actions in our lines at salvation allow us to be holy and provide us the capacity be priests in His service.
Next week we will begin an important dialogue about security of salvation. Please join us again!
- https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=wmborj
- https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Adopting+parents
- https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/adoption.html
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