Welcome back. We have been discussing that after we become a Christian by faith in Christ’s sacrifice for us we are not simply labeled a Christian, but there is so much more! Our precious salvation gains us four wonderful, irreversible morphologic and legal positions in our standing before God.
These positions are linked also to the security of our salvation which is covered at https://teleiosresearch.com/security-summary/.
Last time we discussed the first two positions, spiritual baptism and God’s possession. Please review in the prior blog below. Now let’s consider two more positions resulting from our salvation.
3. Justification (we are innocent) – This 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 for justification (δικαιος, dikaios) is not fully conveyed in 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 of all charges against them in a court of law, just as today, is forever innocent. There was no double jeopardy (1). This important legal concept means once a person has been found innocent, they should not be charged a second time with 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).
o 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, for our past, present and future sins!
o 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 transgressions 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, nobody can charge us again (Romans 8:31-34). There is no double jeopardy!
4. 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 position 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. Further our wonderful inheritance, guaranteed as a member of the family, Is eternal life What a great promise!
Thank you for joining me today. Please visit next time while we continue this wonderful journey about our salvation.
William C. Stewart
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Email info@teleiosresearch.com
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