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Reformation
October 30, 2022 A+D
John 8:31–36
In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Intro
Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Creator of all things, God and God and Light of Light. He has become a Man while still being fully God. He has a body and soul. He became a mortal creature who could die. This He did in order to be our Mediator and Redeemer. In all this He is just and He is the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
His justice and His justifying of us has been accomplished by His becoming the propitiation of our sins. He, Himself, is the mercy seat. He stands between us and the accusations of the Law. He is the fulfillment of all that the Temple pointed to and every promise ever made by God to sinful men. We are guilty. We have sinned. We deserve death and punishment. But His sacrifice and love shield us from those consequences. He stands in our place and has given His life as an atoning sacrifice and ransom thus reconciling us to the Father and sending us His Holy Spirit who sanctifies and enlives us. He made Himself to be sin for us. He was cursed for us and forsaken by His Father for us. He has taken upon Himself the punishment of our sins, met every demand of the law and justice, and poured His holy Blood over our sins, bleaching them clean, stopping the spread, removing the shame. His patience is an act of purest love and His Blood causes Him to pass over our former sins for He has erased our debt and credited us with His righteousness. He has freed us from the curse of the Law and from death. He has delivered us from the wrath of God and eternal damnation. We now live before Him in righteousness, innocence, and purity and we will do so forever just as He is risen from the dead and lives to all eternity. (paraphrased and expanded from Gerhard XIX, On Justification, 57).
This is grace. We receive it by faith and not under compulsion. It is not a law but a promise. He gives it freely as a gift, apart from works of the law. It is His redemption and our salvation. For He is just and He is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Just and Justifier
Let us briefly consider the two-fold reality that He is just and He is the justifier.
He is Just. The Law is holy and must be upheld. Every mouth must be stopped, even His.
He is the Justifier. His mercy endures forever. He is moved by compassion, tempered by wisdom, driven by obedience.
III. Peroration
His justice and His justifying of us has been accomplished by His becoming the propitiation of our sins. He, Himself, is the mercy seat. He stands between us and the accusations of the Law. He is the fulfillment of all that the Temple pointed to and every promise ever made by God to sinful men. We are guilty. We have sinned. We deserve death and punishment. But His sacrifice and love shield us from those consequences. He stands in our place and has given His life as an atoning sacrifice and ransom thus reconciling us to the Father and sending us His Holy Spirit who sanctifies and enlives us. He made Himself to be sin for us. He was cursed for us and forsaken by His Father for us. He has taken upon Himself the punishment of our sins, met every demand of the law and justice, and poured His holy Blood over our sins, bleaching them clean, stopping the spread, removing the shame. His patience is an act of purest love and His Blood causes Him to pass over our former sins for He has erased our debt and credited us with His righteousness. He has freed us from the curse of the Law and from death. He has delivered us from the wrath of God and eternal damnation. We now live before Him in righteousness, innocence, and purity and we will do so forever just as He is risen from the dead and lives to all eternity. (paraphrased and expanded from Gerhard XIX, On Justification, 57).
This is grace. We receive it by faith and not under compulsion. It is not a law but a promise. He gives it freely as a gift, apart from works of the law. It is His redemption and our salvation. For He is just and He is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
