Becoming a Christian involves much more than receiving a new label. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for our sins, God gives us a new and permanent position before Him.
In our previous blog, we discussed two of the four secure positions believers receive through salvation: spiritual baptism and becoming God’s possession. In this article, we will explore two more important positions in Christ: justification and adoption.
For a complete overview, read the Teleios e-book chapter, Positions in Christ.
Position 3: Justified
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).
- It’s as though Christ acted as a courtroom judge, found us guilty of our sins, sentenced us to death, but afterward, 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!
- 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!
Position 4: Adopted
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, MD
1. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=wmborj
2. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Adopting+parents
3. http://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/adoption.html
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