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“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;” (Romans 3:23-24)

When Jesus returns to Earth, there will be a great judgment of everybody who has ever lived. Think of it as a court of law. Those who break God’s laws are guilty, and are sentenced to spiritual death. The bible tells us in the verse above all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, we’re all deserving of the spiritual death penalty and an eternity in hell.

But, look at the second part of that scripture. It tells us that we are “justified” as a gift by His grace. What does it mean to be justified?

The word “justified” in the greek is “dikaio,” and literally means to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be. That’s a cool definition, because it tells us that through Christ and his blood, we are literally declared righteous, despite the fact that the bible just told us we are all guilty of sin and worthy of death. It’s as if the court has convened, the jury has come back with a verdict of guilty, and when it comes time for sentencing, God can’t see past the blood of Jesus to condemn you for your guilt. Instead, He sits on the His throne and declares you to be innocent and righteous!

“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— “ (Romans 3:25)

The sacrifice of atonement is the only thing that can cause God to pardon sins. In the Old Testament, the Israelites sacrificed a spotless lamb and sprinkled the blood on the alter once per year, and God forgave them of their sins for that year. Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins once and for all, the spotless lamb of God for all eternity.

This verse actually shows us that God, through his forbearance, had left the sins that we previously committed unpunished so that we might have the opportunity to know Jesus. “Forbearance” means that God literally postpones his right to punish us for our sins. What a merciful God we serve!

Self Study: Check out these additional verses and leave us a comment with what you learn from each one. We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Romans 4:1-22

Romans 5:1

Galatians 3:24

Titus 3:7

Check out the other Basic Training Articles:

Basic Training: Faith

Basic Training: Grace

Basic Training: Sanctification

“Sanctification” is a word that is used frequently in the church and often in the bible. To “sanctify” something is to set it apart for a Holy use. A good example of Old Testament sanctification is the anointing oil and incense used in the temple.

Exodus 30:31 says, “And say to the people of Israel, ‘This will always be my holy anointing oil. It must never be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you must never make any of it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who blends scented oil like it or puts any of it on someone who is not a priest will be cut off from the community .”

God gave the children of Israel a special formula for anointing oil. Then, he commanded them not to use if for common purposes. The oil was special. It was set apart for God’s use.

In a similar way, God expects his children to be set apart for his use. That is, He expects us to be holy, without sin, and set apart to the purposes that He has established for our lives. He will not be accepting of Christians who try to live half way between the world and the word. He will not tolerate those who do not continually strive for holiness.

Revelation 3:15-16 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

This verse talks about “fence riders” who are neither firmly in the camp of God, or firmly in the camp of the world. These are people who claim to be “Christians” but make no effort to live a holy life. The Lord, in the end, will spit them out of his mouth. You don’t want to be that guy.

Hebrews 13:12 says, “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.”

From this scripture we begin to see that Jesus has made us holy through his blood. This process is called “justification.” We’ll cover the subject more in depth at a later date. For now, it’s just important that you know that one of the things that happens when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is that he will impart into you a supernatural desire to live a Holy life. You’ve probably noticed it. You feel bad when you don’t do the right things. You feel good when you do. This is God gently calling you to set yourself apart from sin and unholy things, and live for the purpose for which He has called you.

The Following Jesus blog gives us a cool look at the idea of sanctification with this quote: ” But what is the work of sanctification? What does it practically mean to be “set apart”? Sanctification can be described as an inward spiritual process whereby God brings about holiness and change in the life of a Christian by means of the Holy Spirit.”

Once we make a commitment to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to point out areas of our life where we could be more holy. This is a progression where by we are constantly being perfected through the Spirit. This process is called “conviction.” It means exactly what it sounds like. The Spirit is literally telling us that we are guilty of something.

The appropriate response when you are “convicted” of sin by the Holy Spirit is to repent. To repent literally means to turn away from sin and to dedicate one’s self to the amendment of one’s life.

Here are some other cool scriptures about sanctification. As always, read them and leave a comment so we can see how well you understand what you’ve read.

Hebrews 10:10

Romans 15:16

1 Peter 1:2

Acts 20:32

Check out the other Basic Training articles:

Basic Training: Faith

Basic Training: Grace

Basic Training: Justification

Our first post of the cornerstone series was entitled “Faith.” This post, as a natural progression, is about the Grace of God.

The word most commonly used for “grace” in the Greek is “charis.” It’s most literal interpretation is “Unmerited favor (good will and loving kindness) from God.” The basic idea is that God gives us things because of our relationship with Jesus that we could never earn or deserve, but that these things are free gifts.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” As you can see, you’re saved by Grace, and not by going to church or doing the right thing or being a good person. It is only by the free gift of God that we can call ourselves his children. This verse could just as easily say “It is by God’s unmerited favor that you have been saved.”

In Ephesians 1:7, Paul says “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” This verse tells us that we have been redeemed by the Grace of God. The word “redemption” in this verse is “apolytr?sis” in the greek, and it literally means “a release effected by the payment of ransom.” In other words, Jesus has paid the price in order for you to be released of your debt to God incurred because of your sinful nature. That’s powerful stuff.

Ephesians 2:8 sums it up nicely: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

The beauty of salvation, and the thing that makes it so valuable, is that you could never have earned it in a million years, even if you did your best to do good deeds every day of your life. It’s only by the free gift of God, bought and paid for by Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, that you are able to be saved. When the bible talks about works, it’s talking about the things that you do. A more practical interpretation of this verse might read “You are saved by grace, which is accessible to you by faith-and it is a free gift from God-it’s not something that you can earn by doing good deeds, otherwise you would be able to brag.”

The Grace is good for more than just your salvation. Check out these other verses and leave a comment telling me what other cool stuff God’s grace is used for:

Ephesians 3:7

Ephesians 4:7-12

Romans 12:6

When you’re ready for a little bit more on the subject, read this article.

Then, check out the other Basic Training Articles:

Basic Training: Faith

Basic Training: Justification

Basic Training: Sanctification

Basic Training is a group of teachings designed for the new Christians who are in our midst to get a firm grasp on the most powerful, and most fundamental doctrines of the church. It’s a guideline by which we may use the relationships that we forge with these new converts to disciple them and lead them into the fullness of their spiritual authority in Jesus.

We’re going to start by examining what is arguably the most important tool in your tool bag as a Christian: faith. What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Faith is believing that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for your sins, that he was resurrected and taken to heaven by God, despite the fact that you’ve never seen him and all of this happened two thousand years ago.

Faith is knowing that God will do what the bible says that he will do.

Why do we need to have faith?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

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