Changed our Legal status
Then by His perfect life and sacrificial death, He satisfied all the demands of the Law on our behalf and thus changed our legal status from condemnation to justification.[1]
The following illustration below, presents this clearly.
Rom 5 (v. 18) 1st part....Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation....[ This is what Adam did for us ]
Rom 5 (v. 18) 2nd part....even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
....Entire justice was done in the atonement. In the place of the sinner, the spotless Son of God received the penalty, and the sinner goes free as long as he receives and holds Christ as his personal Saviour. Though guilty, he is looked upon as innocent. Christ fulfilled every requirement demanded by justice.[2]
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So, our legal status is changed, because of what Christ has done, not because of our own performance!!
In Christ, God has given humanity a new history that fully qualifies us for heaven,[1] because you are complete "in Him."
Col 2 (v. 9) For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; (v. 10) and you are complete in Him....
Christ took human nature that men might be one with Him as He is one with the Father, that God may love man as He loves His only-begotten Son, that men may be partakers of the divine nature, and be complete in Him.[3]
So, what have we learned so far: We are complete in Him, because of what Christ has done; and that has changed our legal status before God.
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Ok, what does that mean for each one of us individually, since we are not automatically saved as one corporate body of the church?
Let's read the comments right before the reason we were justified in Romans
chapter 5 verse 18.
Rom 5 (v. 15) But the free gift is not like the offense....much more the grace of
God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
What I have noticed right now, is that it is a gift that is free. I want you to count
how many times those two words appear as we read it together.
So far: ( Free = 1 time and Gift = 2 times ). Continue with the next verse.
(verse 16) And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned....but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. (v. 17)....much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Now the tally is at: ( Free = 2 times and Gift = 5 times ). But we are not finished yet, read the next verse.
(verse 18)....even so through on Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
Final total: ( Free = 3 times and Gift = 6 times ). What do you think that God is telling us here?
And we can't work hard enough to purchase it!
It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God’s law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.[4]
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But just because something is a "free gift" doesn't mean that you automatically have possession of it.
If you can't buy it and it is not automatically yours; then how can you
obtain it?
Find out in the next section: How you can obtain the free gift.
References:
1. Savior of the world Bible Course, (2000). Lesson 3.
2. Bible Commentary 7A (Appendix B), p.450
3. Selected Messages (book 1), p. 251, par.1
4. E.G. White, Steps to Christ, p.62
Image #1: QuotesFav.com, (n.d.). Saved by what Christ has done. Retrieved from http://quotesfav.com/19892/good-friday-meaning-quotes/
Image #2: “#GodsGraceEIF,” (n.d.). But the free gift is not like the offense. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.se/pin/201465783304289764/
Image #3: Bible Break, (2016). The free gift. Retrieved from http://biblebreak.me/the-gift/
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