Bill Rice Ranch - First Light Devotionals  

Romans 3:26  "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

 

Just and the Justifier

 

Have you ever done something that was wrong, but you tried to pass it off as right?  Maybe you tried to convince yourself or someone else that what you did was OK.  It's amazing the stories we tell ourselves and other people when we try to justify our actions!

 

Is justifying something or someone always a bad thing?  What does it mean when God justifies a sinner?  When you justify your wrong actions, you excuse your sin; when God justifies you, He deals with your sin.  Justifying yourself means sweeping your wrong "under the rug"; God justifying you means putting your sin under the blood of Jesus Christ.  There is a cosmic difference between your act of justifying and God's!

 

The more you justify yourself, the less just you are.  In contrast, God is both just and the Justifier!  All mankind hinges on the truth that God is just and that He can justify.  He is the only One who can be both at the same time!

 

God is just because He condemns sin, and He is just because He saves from sin.  Any man, woman, boy, or girl who will be justified must come to the Justifier.  If you are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, how could you boast or brag about any good that you have? (verse 27)

 

In life, you can be just or you can try to justify your actions, but you can't be both just and a justifier.  God is just and the Justifier, and we would do well to remember that in matters great and small.  What story will you tell yourself today?


 

 

 

Prayer Requests:

1. Services tonight in Kings Mills, OH; Tigard, OR; and Howard, PA

2. WB Men on the Move Conference in Fort Collins, CO, this weekend

 

 

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Navy