The Scriptures are all about God, and His power. In the epistle of Paul to the church at Rome, says in Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, both to the Jew first and to the Greek. Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
So here, in no uncertain way, the Scriptures, the very God-breathed Word, spells out very clearly that in the gospel of Christ, the righteousness of God is revealed, and that righteousness is the power of God to 'everyone who believes'. This is the summary statement of the epistle, which the apostle then proceeds to unpack over the course of the entire sixteen chapters.
This posting has to do more with the efficacy of the gospel for believers today, in light of this 'power of God unto salvation', an aspect of the 'alien' righteousness (which simply means a righteousness apart from human or natural origin or manipulation), as an existential reality for contemporary believers.
A mere cursory glance over the landscape of the contemporary evangelical church reveals that all is not well with it. Church leaders think that God has mandated 'nation building' instead of kingdom living for believers. The general lifestyle of the majority of people who 'go to church' does not appear to reflect the assembly of 'saints and faithful brethren in Christ' (Col 1:2). Theologians are more concerned with academic pursuits than the pursuit of God AW Tozer). And the paramount pursuit in academia is with the next big idea. And so, evangelicals buzz around NT Wright and his new perspective on Paul (I like to quote Pas Brian Borgman of Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada ... http://www.gracenevada.com/Our_Pastors.html..."what was wrong with the old perspective of Paul?").
Amidst all the frentic activity of church and ministries, celebrity pastors and their mega-churches (and mega-bucks!), and huge amounts of confused and hungry sheep, the amazing message of Christ, His Person and work of Justification, is sadly lost.
Which is why the Christian Fellowship of HELP College of Arts and Technology, after prayer and much planning, is organizing a half-day conference for young people, with the topic being, 'Recovering the Gospel in our Generation', scheduled for May 17 (a Saturday), from 8.30am - 1.00pm, at the premises of their institution.
http://instagram.com/helpcatcf
The promise of Christ through this message of justification is ably captured by the apostle Paul, very succintly, in 2 Cor 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
The implications of this truth is so enormously weighty and staggering that only the power of the Holy Spirit is able to make it experiential to us. Yet, the message of Scripture is that 'faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word' (Rom10:17). And this 'word' is the message of Christ's justifying work, as explicated by Paul in the Roman epistle.
This truth utterly changed my life. I feel as though I was truly 'born-again', had my 'heart strangely warmed' (John Wesley) experience, the side-car ride to the zoo experience of knowing that yes, I had truly believed, or know the Savior now (Clive Staples Lewis), only 3 short years ago.
Everything makes sense now. And it all coalesces into this glorious doctrine of Christ and His work of justification. No wonder it brought about a reformation in Europe, and to the world. No wonder Luther called it the article of a falling or standing church. No wonder Calvin referred to this doctrine as the 'hinge' (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehinge/) of all true religion.
Christ is the key and center of this glorious heart of the gospel. Continuous meditation upon this doctrine brings Christ in all His glory and beauty to the heart, and the heart then totally surrenders to His Lordship. Indeed, as Luther once said, this truth brings the riches and glories of heaven to the heart.
See why we do desperately need to recover this doctrine of justification? Ask yourself; when was the last time you attended a conference or seminar on justification, and your heart 'burned within you' (Luke 24:32)? When was the last time your pastor preached on Christ and His work of justification? When was the last time you read something by someone on justification?
Here's a gold-mine of resources on this vital topic ... http://www.monergism.com/search?keywords=justification&format=All
How does Christ justify you?
In your worst of sins and being a sinner, that's when Christ gave His life for you, and gave you, His life of righteousness. Whilst you were still dead in your sins (Eph 2:1), enjoying your sinful life-style, Christ not only died for you in your place, but then, glory of glories, gave you His place of glory in return! This is indeed good news! When we believe this good news, Christ, in His gospel, transforms us. We are 'united with Christ'. You can read all about it in Romans chapter 6.
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