Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
To be justified by faith means to be pardoned, with pardon and justification being one and the same thing that frees from condemnation and prepares the heart for sanctification. God pronounces the believer just and treats him as just because Christ's righteousness is imputed and credited to him as his own, and only that righteousness avails. This is received by faith alone, not by keeping the law or by good works, humiliation, penance, or feeling. Through Jesus Christ alone this gives peace with God, reconciling the soul to Him, quieting conflict and giving rest in His love. That faith does not abolish the law but establishes it, working through love to purify the soul and always bearing fruit in repentance, obedience, and good works.
Words and Meaning
To be justified means to be pardoned, for pardon and justification are one and the same thing, the opposite of condemnation. The heart purged from dead works is thereby prepared to receive sanctification, and those who are justified stand before the throne of God both justified and sanctified, emptied of self with Christ abiding in the heart through the sanctification of the truth, because God imputes Christ's righteousness to those He justifies since Christ has taken away their sin. Through faith the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus received as His child by adoption, not because of inherent goodness. The sinner receives forgiveness because his sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety, who has taken his place and suffered for his sins, reprieved him from the condemnation of death, imputed His own righteousness to him, clothed him with Christ's righteousness so he stands faultless before God, and given him eternal life. God's boundless mercy is exercised toward those wholly undeserving, forgiving transgressions and sins for the sake of Jesus as propitiation, whose sacrifice fully satisfies justice, so the guilty transgressor is brought into favor with God and into strong hope of life eternal, and though the sinner may err he is not cast off without mercy, with repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ remaining his only hope, joined with contrition and a will conformed to God's will.
God pronounces those justified by faith just and treats them as just because Christ's righteousness is imputed and credited to them, becoming their own righteousness, not because they are righteous in themselves. Standing justified in His presence comes only by whole trust in Christ and receiving the righteousness He wrought out for the sinner through reliance on the merits of a crucified, risen and ascended Saviour, requiring conversion and not half-conversion, a new heart and new mind yielded to the divine light of the gospel, instead of trusting self, own mind, own ideas and own judgment as supreme. Faith rests in the righteousness of Christ accepted as a free gift, with His blood seen as the atoning sacrifice; no other righteousness will avail, and righteousness based on anything other than the righteousness of Christ means the golden opportunity is missed and the sinner is lost, for all that a guilty and lost sinner needs is found in Jesus Christ, whose righteousness fully acquits the believer from the condemnation of the law. Through His atoning blood the sinner is freed from bondage and condemnation and made just before God, while without Christ the sinner remains under the law's condemnation. The true believer has firm faith and rejoices because the truth is glorious, a priceless treasure precious every hour, while sin is a hateful thing to be hated with intense hatred, and this imputed righteousness belongs to the plan of salvation made clearer through Bible study. Living belief works by love and purifies the soul and changes the atmosphere surrounding the soul.
This is possible because Jesus as Substitute bore the sinner's guilt, took his place and suffered for his sins, and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice that fully satisfies justice. He was delivered for offenses and raised for justification, and His redemption frees the fallen race from the law's curse, His grace being sufficient to free transgressors from bondage, so that those obedient to God's commandments are made free by that grace. Peace and pardon rest on Christ's ample atonement and atoning blood and on God's work in Christ to reconcile the world to Himself, made effective through Christ's work as mediator in the heavenly sanctuary, where the Old Testament sacrifices find their fulfillment. The Father and Son planned this redemption together, and the cross reveals both God's love and justice while upholding the holiness of His law. The Holy Spirit then purifies the heart and gives enduring new views of God as heavenly Father.
Justification is by faith, not by keeping the law, not by personal good works, humiliation or penance, and not by feeling. In and through Christ alone is found relief, rest and peace by walking by faith and not by sight, so one who has confessed sins and surrendered to God must believe God has forgiven and Christ receives him whether feeling is present or not, turning from self to the might of the grace of God and the compassion of Christ. Forgiveness is promised to the one who repents and justification to the one who believes, and faith receives the free provision made in Christ's blood and trusts God's promises of righteousness, sanctification and redemption, bringing peace with God because of what Christ is to the believer. The law cannot justify because sinful nature leaves people unable to keep it, but God sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh so that the law's righteousness may be fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit, and faith does not abolish the law but establishes it. Salvation cannot be earned but comes as free gift through repentance toward God and faith in Christ, so that looking to the crucified Redeemer rather than relying on self brings peace and joy, and those who follow Jesus and walk in the light carry cheerfulness into a life of obedience. Justification by faith is plain, distinct truth that can be laid out with marked simplicity so that no one need be in darkness about it, yet many do not know what it really means and are amazed when they hear it; darkness about it comes only from a decided heart of unbelief that resists the workings of the Spirit of God, while those who walk out upon the light it gives are on the Lord's side.
Faith is not the ground of salvation but the means of receiving it, not the end. It is the great blessing, the eye that sees, the ear that hears, the feet that run, the hand that grasps, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, and it is to increase with years and with knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. It is found only in preaching Jesus Christ — His love, His forgiveness, His grace — which gives ministry life-giving, heaven-sent, awakening power with no uncertain sound. It means sinners need Christ Himself presented in the Spirit and with power: His humiliation, meekness, and lowly life of poverty by which every son and daughter of Adam might be made rich, His death as their Sacrifice, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension to heaven where He intercedes for man to bring him to believe on Him whom the Father has sent. Resting and believing in Jesus Christ, who gave His life to save sinners, brings peace with God as faith takes that blessing by grasping it.
Setting in Romans 5
Therefore being justified by faith brings peace with God through Jesus Christ and opens access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. This standing is not hidden, for it carries an attraction that unbelievers do not understand, surrounding the soul with an atmosphere of faith. That atmosphere is decisive, for eternal destiny is settled day by day by the choice to remain in faith and grace.
Those who stand in grace can glory even in tribulations, because tribulation works patience, patience proven character and experience, and character hope. That hope does not disappoint and does not make ashamed, because the love of God is poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit given to believers. This peace and access to grace give strength to face hardship without fainting or despairing. Where unbelief rules, trials are kept from producing patience, experience and hope, and instead produce faultfinding and despair.
The ground of this peace is that when people were without strength, ungodly, sinners and enemies, Christ died at the right time for them, commending the love of God. Those now made right by His blood shall be saved from wrath, those reconciled to God by the death of His Son shall be saved by His life, and they now joy in God through Jesus Christ by whom they have received reconciliation and atonement.
The chapter presents law and gospel bound together in a perfect whole, as truth to go throughout the length and breadth of the world. Impressed upon every heart opened to receive it, it gives light and understanding to the simple and contrite in heart. It leads not to nominal faith, theory or legal religion, but to purposeful belief that appropriates God's richest gifts, pleads for the gift to give to others, and receives of His fullness grace for grace unto sonship with God. The same righteousness credited to Abraham applies to all who believe in God who raised Jesus from the dead, who was delivered for offenses and raised for justification.
How Justification Is Received
Being justified by faith begins when a person repents of breaking God's law, confesses sin, and receives Christ as personal Saviour and Redeemer. The moment true faith claims His costly atoning sacrifice as substitute, the sinner is justified because he is pardoned, the law's penalty of death being met by God's gift of His Son. Jesus alone can pardon transgression and justify the repenting sinner, restoring the moral image of God in him and binding the humble, contrite soul to Himself in peace. Those dead in trespasses and sins who so believe gain access by faith into the grace wherein they stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, with Christ's constraining love entering the heart to make an end of sin and wash the robe of character white in His blood as propitiation and reconciliation. Genuine conversion thus makes the forgiven one a child of God, a member of the royal family, an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ to an immortal inheritance, with Satan's power broken into sacred unity and complete identification with Christ. Even children and youth who give their young hearts to God, surrendering will, way and affections and seeking Him with the whole heart, are accepted, blessed, saved and forgiven, their transgressions removed far away and His anger turned to comfort.
It comes by looking only to Jesus as righteousness and sacrifice and by opening the door of the heart to let Him in. As a look to the brazen serpent brought life and healing to those dying from fiery serpents, so the look of faith to the Lamb of God brings life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins. That look heals the deadly sting of the old serpent, the devil, ends self, gives a new heart, brings hope, courage, pardon and life, and gives peace with God. It is a daily converting power for those in responsible positions above all, received by looking to Christ every moment and believing, so eyes are opened, hearts are made new, sin is ceased from, Christ's righteousness is possessed, and the divine similitude is borne that others may be sanctified.
This peace belongs to those who give themselves to God, come into harmony with His conditions, and through faith in Christ's power to save claim His righteousness. By nature every person weighed against God's holy law is found wanting, enlightened by its precepts but unable to be justified by them and altogether wanting unless cleansed by Christ's blood, and no one can claim to be without sin. Escape comes by looking to Christ, who at infinite cost covenanted to be representative in the heavenly courts and Advocate and Mediator before God, so that by His acceptance the promise of justification and peace may be claimed. Standing justified requires whole trust in the merits of a crucified, risen and ascended Saviour whose wrought-out righteousness becomes the sinner's, received by reliance rather than by trusting self, mind, ideas and judgment as supreme. It requires conversion and not half-conversion, a new heart and new mind yielded to the divine light of the gospel, trusting the immutable Word above feeling, hiding in Christ as the Rock, longing for His righteousness instead of tattered self-righteousness, with living belief that works by love, purifies the soul and changes the surrounding atmosphere. That righteousness, woven in heaven and presented by the Advocate bought with His own life-blood, gives entrance into the kingdom and an inheritance among the sanctified, showing itself in rejoicing, rest, Christ formed within as the hope of glory, and readiness if Christ should come today.
It belongs to those who renounce sin, open their hearts to Christ and His love, and share through His grace in a heavenly peace that reconciles the soul to God, quiets sinful passions, conflict and strife, and gives the heart rest, with no other ground of peace. It belongs to those who become spiritually minded, redeemed by sovereign grace and drawn closer to Christ to reveal Him to the world. It is received by throwing oneself on the royal clemency of Him who gave His life to save, rising in the strength of noble purpose to honor God instead of managing matters alone, so that in His strength past mistakes can be redeemed.
Peace with God is to be made now and kept, with Christian character perfected, so that if death comes suddenly or Christ comes today the person is not found unready. Every soul must make this peace and know it with certainty, for it is of highest importance since life is as a vapor appearing for a little time and vanishing away and no one knows how soon death may come. It is found by keeping the eyes fixed upon Christ and His teaching, discerning what is of supreme importance, acting in harmony with that discernment, desiring to please Christ, asking what shall be done to be saved, and leaving nothing unsaid that might influence another soul to make that peace before the judgment seat. Being made right by faith gives rest that takes away fear of death, so that even the sick who cannot live can face death unafraid and die in perfect peace with the path of salvation made plain. This peace is to be experienced here while trusting God, faithfully doing appointed work, and fighting the fight of faith to overcome skepticism and unbelief, being at peace whether life or death comes.
Nature of Peace with God
Peace with God comes through Jesus Christ alone, and there is no other ground of peace. It is received by grace through faith in His power to save, by giving the self to God, coming into harmony with His conditions, giving Him the heart, and claiming His righteousness and approval. By nature every person weighed against the holy law is found wanting and unable to be justified by its precepts, but escape comes by looking to Christ, who at infinite cost became representative in the heavenly courts, Advocate and Mediator before God, so that the promise of justification and peace can be claimed. This peace is a precious privilege worth more than houses and land and gold and silver and precious stones, and the world can neither give it nor take it away. It is known by personal experience, and where it is present heaven's light is revealed in the life.
This peace reconciles the soul to God, bringing those who renounce sin and open their hearts to Christ's love into harmony with Him. It quiets sinful passions and the inner conflict and strife of human passions, so that the heart rests in God's love even amid fierce turmoil. It marks the heart's harmony with God, removes enmity, leaves a conscience that does not condemn, and lifts the heart above life's trials. That inward harmony is reflected outward in peace with other people, leaving no room for envy, evil suspicion, hatred, faultfinding, or discord.
It is felt as light and comfort and hope and joy and assurance of His presence, holding even in restlessness and sleeplessness and suffering and bodily pain. It turns the mind away from the dark side to face the light, to face the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness shining into the heart. It moves the believer to praise God in affliction from realizing His presence is near, and to shine abroad and shed abroad the grace Christ imparts so its brightness is reflected to others.
This peace is emancipation from bondage to sin and Satan, and mastery over Satan and self through the ransom Jesus paid with His precious life. His substitutionary redemption frees the fallen race from the curse of the law, and through His atoning blood the sinner is freed from bondage and condemnation and made just before God, while without Christ the sinner remains under condemnation. Those covered with Christ's righteousness and striving to fulfill God's holy precepts through faith in the Redeemer are free from the curse, walking at liberty rather than in the bondage that belongs to the transgressor, which proves that keeping God's law is not hard bondage.
Peace with God through Jesus Christ begins the true experience of a child of God, for being justified by faith brings the sinner to God through Christ to learn to know Christ by experience, and that is true conversion. It comes when a person honest in heart reads, marks, learns, and inwardly digests Bible truth, prays, sees Christ despised and wounded and bruised and laid with iniquity in his behalf, feels conviction and trouble under condemnation, receives light from the Spirit upon the mind, and by faith is brought into right standing and peace, with truth received into the heart spreading through the inner man as blood from the heart spreads life through the body until thoughts, affections, and powers are brought into obedience to Christ. Genuine conversion brings this peace when the sinner repents and confesses and is forgiven, passing from rebel and child of sin to loyal subject and adopted child, member of the royal family, heir of God and joint-heir with Christ to an immortal inheritance, with the power of Satan broken and the believer brought into sacred unity and complete identification with Christ in which He shares with him all that He is. It heals the deadly sting of the serpent, ends self, and gives life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins by opening the door of the heart and letting Jesus in as righteousness and sacrifice, looking to Him every moment and believing until the eyes are opened and the heart is made new.
Law Works and Judgment
Faith does not make the law void but establishes it, for peace with God comes by accepting Christ's righteousness rather than by earning standing through law-keeping. To be justified by faith is to accept Christ's righteousness instead of seeking to establish one's own, belonging to the new covenant built on better promises of forgiveness and grace to renew the heart into harmony with God's law. The same law once engraved on stone is written by the Holy Spirit on the heart, so that the renewed heart brings forth the fruits of the Spirit and lives in obedience, walking as Christ walked in delight to do God's will. The law cannot justify because sinful nature leaves people unable to keep it, yet God sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh so that the law's righteousness may be fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit. Those who strive to fulfill the holy precepts through faith in the Redeemer are covered with Christ's righteousness and freed from the curse, walking at liberty rather than in the bondage of the transgressor, with repentance and effort to obey accompanying faith because Christ supplies the righteousness they lack.
Being justified by faith stands alongside being judged by works, for at the final judgment each gives account for gifts and responsibilities entrusted. Each is held responsible for the work placed in his hands, not for talents or duties never given, and must apply the measure of perfection to himself, serving diligently and fervently, setting a better example than the one he faults, and speaking few well-chosen words about others' defects instead of complaining and faultfinding. Faith is joined with a consecrated, surrendered heart and faithful action, and in the final reckoning when the Lord gives to every man according as his works have been, faith will face the test of works done with opportunities and privileges entrusted. Every person has heard the call to go work in the vineyard, and the day of trust with its burden of record ends in a day of reckoning where what was done determines the reward, even as wrath comes upon the guilty world.
To be justified is to be pardoned, with Christ's righteousness imputed because He has taken away sin, so that the justified stand before God's throne both justified and sanctified, emptied of self with Christ abiding in the heart through sanctification of the truth. Faith bears the fruit of sanctification in renewal after Christ's image, with no priest or pope able to replace Christ as mediator, and this living gospel truth centers on His death as sacrifice, resurrection, and heavenly intercession. Such faith leads to conversion and holiness rather than continued sin, shaping character toward perfection prepared for eternal life through refining harmony with Christ.
Justification by faith is precious, all-important truth, the third angel's message in verity, to be dwelt upon much without needless fear and laid out with marked simplicity so none need remain in darkness. Darkness about it comes only from decided unbelief resisting the Spirit, and many who do not know what it means are amazed when they hear it, while those who walk in its light are on the Lord's side. It must be restored to its proper place with Christ's righteousness and taught so children and youth understand the way of salvation, awakening love and gratitude, though hearing without practice can leave hearts unresponsive. It is to be received as living gospel truth, not a lifeless idea, found only in preaching Christ in His love, forgiveness, grace, humiliation, poverty, death as sacrifice, resurrection, and intercession to bring belief, giving ministry life-giving power with no uncertain sound and clear light that elevates personal experience.
Life of the Justified
Genuine faith that receives justification and peace through Jesus Christ works through love and purifies the soul from selfishness, serving as the remedy for those who hunger and thirst for freedom from the law's condemnation. It does not excuse neglect of duty but motivates action, for looking to Calvary creates a working faith and taking hold of Christ begins the struggle to overcome corrupt and sinful habits. Such living belief requires whole trust in the righteousness Christ wrought out, received so that His righteousness becomes the sinner's own, with conversion and a new heart and mind yielded to the gospel rather than trust in self, mind, ideas and judgment, and it changes the atmosphere surrounding the soul. Repentance and faith bring justification, and divine grace then enables obedience to the commandments, for without Christ's righteousness becoming the believer's own the law cannot be kept. This obedience springs from supreme love to God and love for neighbor, not mere acknowledgment of truth or ceremonious worship, and practicing the truth bears fruit in true repentance followed by good works, with peace, courage, joy, harmony, cheerfulness and a conscience that does not condemn and is no longer at enmity with God.
This life comes through connection with Christ as chief cornerstone and foundation, with believers as living stones resting on Him for support, and He has placed Himself under obligation to make them worthy to serve God acceptably. It is possible because Jesus is risen and no longer in the tomb, and His risen life works as life-giving power in the life, to be shown to the world as proof of a risen Lord. By nature every person weighed against the holy law is found wanting, enlightened by its precepts but unable to be justified by them unless cleansed by Christ's blood, and escape comes by looking to Christ who at infinite cost covenanted to be representative in the heavenly courts and Advocate and Mediator before God, so that His acceptance allows the promise to be claimed. Peace and pardon come through Him as Advocate to whom all appeals are made, made possible through His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary where the Old Testament sacrifices find fulfillment, and those who receive it rejoice in hope of salvation and bear the glad tidings to others. His imputed righteousness goes before all who accept Him as personal Saviour, bringing them into conformity to God's will and bidding them follow in obedience to the law, because sin and holiness cannot unite.
The justified find in and through Christ alone relief, rest, peace and assurance, walking by faith and not by sight, for justification is by faith and not by feeling. One who has confessed sins and surrendered to God must believe God has forgiven and Christ receives him whether feeling is present or not, turning from self to the might of God's grace and the compassion of Christ. Even when recognizing sin and unworthiness, the believer may rely on Christ's atonement and cleansing blood rather than personal merit or efforts to become worthy, and steady trust brings peace to the soul. Salvation cannot be earned by works, humiliation or penance but comes through repentance toward God and faith in Christ whose grace is a free gift, and looking to the crucified Redeemer rather than self brings peace and joy. This peace is experienced as God's pardoning love revealed to the heart, when darkness and the gloom of a troubled mind give way to assurance of Jesus' love, the sense of being forgiven, praise and thanksgiving, changing how life and the world appear.
Christ has made full provision for spiritual strength to possess this peace, giving His Holy Spirit to bring His promises to remembrance, received by keeping the eyes fixed on the Saviour and trusting His power. Being made right by faith brings a sweet sense of forgiveness and security because His righteousness becomes the believer's own, with assurance of pardon through His atoning blood. The message of the Saviour's love inspires immortal hope, and those who live as the Lord desires speak the truth with joy, their hearts sounding praise and gratitude to the Redeemer sent to take away sin, singing His mercy and telling His power. The gloom gives way to assurance that transforms outlook, with darkness giving way to peace, joy, praise and thanksgiving as pardoning love is revealed to the heart.
This peace together with access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand and rejoice in hope of God's glory gives strength to face hardship without fainting or despairing. Tribulation can then produce patience, experience and proven character, and character hope, and hope does not disappoint because God's love is poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit given to believers. In trials discouragement and giving up reflect unbelief, while looking to God for strength enables endurance and growth in patience. With this faith the soul lays hold on the unseen and on evidences of forgiveness, and a single ray of undeserved favor outweighs every trial however severe, even sufferings caused by others, leaving a trustful soul with no faintheartedness, murmuring or complaining, as carnal security is broken up and the contrite heart rests in God. The peace lives as a joyful hope animating life, received through the gospel's words of life, and those who receive it remember with love and gratitude the one who brought it and reflect Christ's image in fellowship with him.
Experience and Witness
Being justified by faith brings peace with God through Jesus Christ, and those who have that peace are to deal tenderly with others who are striving for eternal life. They help souls in need in love, expecting in turn to need compassionate help themselves, praying daily to bear one another's burdens, encouraging the young to seek a deeper Christian experience, and helping all to know Christ by experience as peace and joy and strength and shield and Guide and Counsellor, the source of all comfort and all in all, which is true conversion. The righteousness of Christ is the source of the cheerful, loving spirit needed in such dealing with others. This peace marks the heart's harmony with God and is reflected in peace with other people, leaving no room for envy, evil suspicion, or hatred and lifting the heart above life's trials. When Jesus abides in the heart, self is broken and the spirit is shaped by heavenly peace, which removes harshness and envy and brings joy into the home. Strength gathered from the word gives this peace with God and also helps God's children live peaceably with others and become a blessing to those around them.
Lacking this peace puts a person in danger of becoming irritable, and fretting, scolding, cheating, and lying are inconsistent with being a Christian and exert a counterinfluence. Without Christ's peace the heart is unhappy and discontented, finds fault, and spreads discord.
Peace with God is an important requisite for health, with consciousness of right-doing as medicine for body and mind and the Lord's blessing bringing life to the one who receives it. When the mind is at peace with God and reconciled to Him, bodily conditions are more favorable, a peace linked with recognizing sin, accepting the truth, and obeying conscience. The knowledge, fear, and love of God are its fountainhead, and daily growth in grace restores God's image in humanity.
Knowing sins forgiven, placing all upon the altar, feeling the sanctifying power of sacred truth in heart and life and character, striving to live with a conscience void of offense toward God and man, and often pleading with God for friends and neighbors fits a person for profitable soul-winning service. Those who receive this peace and pardon through Christ, who is Advocate in the courts of heaven to whom all appeals are to be made, rejoice in the hope of salvation and are to bear the glad tidings of pardon through Christ to others. Jews and Gentiles who repent and believe the gospel are joined to Christ and receive peace with God, a sanctified conscience, and unity with one another, with belief in Christ transforming character, renewing love to God and producing kindness and good works through the Spirit. The soul is to be surrounded with the atmosphere of faith, because eternal destiny is decided every day in harmony with the atmosphere around the soul, each person is accountable for the influence exerted with unseen consequences following words and actions, and if God would have saved Sodom for ten righteous persons, great influence for good would go out if all who profess Christ were also clothed with His righteousness. Those who teach God's Word carry the solemn responsibility not to try to work the Holy Spirit but to be worked by the Holy Spirit.
When children give their young hearts to God, and when a young person surrenders will, way, and affections to Jesus and seeks the Lord with the whole heart, God accepts the offering, blesses and saves, forgives all sins and removes transgressions far away, and the forgiven one has peace with God, praising Him because His anger is turned away and He comforts. Peace of mind follows earnest prayer for forgiveness of sins and a desire to become a Christian, accompanied by love for others and a wish that they too receive forgiveness and love Jesus. Young people who study the Bible, quiet their impulsive desires, and heed their Creator and Redeemer can be at peace with God and become ennobled and elevated. That peace is entered by taking His word and studying it and by taking His yoke, which grows easier the more heaven is brought into daily life, and as Jesus who was tempted in every way as people are yet never sinned becomes precious to the soul, believers are moved to bring happiness into the lives of others and to bear rich clusters of fruit in His name. The young are urged to understand the true meaning of justification by faith, alongside the perfection of character that prepares them for eternal life, while God's grace and holiness are to be valued as precious and attractive.
Being justified by faith gives peace with God with access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, a standing in grace that carries an attraction unbelievers do not understand because their spiritual understanding is blinded, they do not lay hold of the hope set before them, and they are not in living touch with Christ. It means standing openly under the banner of Prince Emmanuel without shame and without begging pardon of the world for being a Christian, following the light of the world, living in His eternal love, seeing Christ in His matchless charms in the kingdom of glory, and revealing to the world that God's people are the happiest people in the world. Through faith human nature is able to grasp the divine nature, having overcome, because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for Christ in His humanity to grasp divinity. The righteousness of Christ is freely given to all that believe, and this precious light brings courage and hope to hungry, starving souls in ignorance of it, giving peace and assurance of the love of God in the soul as a blessing full and abundant for each person individually. Being made right with God through faith is blessed light to be received and cherished, delivering from bondage, bringing the rich blessing of God in labor, giving clearer and more distinct views of the love of Jesus, and making hearts joyful in God with thanksgiving for His preserving and protecting care and matchless love and encouraging all who love God and keep His commandments. The person who lays hold of Christ by faith has peace with God resting on Christ's ample atonement, and the Holy Spirit purifies the heart and gives enduring new views of God as heavenly Father. Justification by faith is the basis of a person's true standing before God.
To be justified by faith means to be pardoned, with pardon and justification being one and the same thing that frees from condemnation and prepares the heart for sanctification. God pronounces the believer just and treats him as just because Christ's righteousness is imputed and credited to him as his own, and only that righteousness avails. This is received by faith alone, not by keeping the law or by good works, humiliation, penance, or feeling. Through Jesus Christ alone this gives peace with God, reconciling the soul to Him, quieting conflict and giving rest in His love. That faith does not abolish the law but establishes it, working through love to purify the soul and always bearing fruit in repentance, obedience, and good works.
Words and Meaning
To be justified means to be pardoned, for pardon and justification are one and the same thing, the opposite of condemnation. The heart purged from dead works is thereby prepared to receive sanctification, and those who are justified stand before the throne of God both justified and sanctified, emptied of self with Christ abiding in the heart through the sanctification of the truth, because God imputes Christ's righteousness to those He justifies since Christ has taken away their sin. Through faith the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus received as His child by adoption, not because of inherent goodness. The sinner receives forgiveness because his sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety, who has taken his place and suffered for his sins, reprieved him from the condemnation of death, imputed His own righteousness to him, clothed him with Christ's righteousness so he stands faultless before God, and given him eternal life. God's boundless mercy is exercised toward those wholly undeserving, forgiving transgressions and sins for the sake of Jesus as propitiation, whose sacrifice fully satisfies justice, so the guilty transgressor is brought into favor with God and into strong hope of life eternal, and though the sinner may err he is not cast off without mercy, with repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ remaining his only hope, joined with contrition and a will conformed to God's will.
God pronounces those justified by faith just and treats them as just because Christ's righteousness is imputed and credited to them, becoming their own righteousness, not because they are righteous in themselves. Standing justified in His presence comes only by whole trust in Christ and receiving the righteousness He wrought out for the sinner through reliance on the merits of a crucified, risen and ascended Saviour, requiring conversion and not half-conversion, a new heart and new mind yielded to the divine light of the gospel, instead of trusting self, own mind, own ideas and own judgment as supreme. Faith rests in the righteousness of Christ accepted as a free gift, with His blood seen as the atoning sacrifice; no other righteousness will avail, and righteousness based on anything other than the righteousness of Christ means the golden opportunity is missed and the sinner is lost, for all that a guilty and lost sinner needs is found in Jesus Christ, whose righteousness fully acquits the believer from the condemnation of the law. Through His atoning blood the sinner is freed from bondage and condemnation and made just before God, while without Christ the sinner remains under the law's condemnation. The true believer has firm faith and rejoices because the truth is glorious, a priceless treasure precious every hour, while sin is a hateful thing to be hated with intense hatred, and this imputed righteousness belongs to the plan of salvation made clearer through Bible study. Living belief works by love and purifies the soul and changes the atmosphere surrounding the soul.
This is possible because Jesus as Substitute bore the sinner's guilt, took his place and suffered for his sins, and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice that fully satisfies justice. He was delivered for offenses and raised for justification, and His redemption frees the fallen race from the law's curse, His grace being sufficient to free transgressors from bondage, so that those obedient to God's commandments are made free by that grace. Peace and pardon rest on Christ's ample atonement and atoning blood and on God's work in Christ to reconcile the world to Himself, made effective through Christ's work as mediator in the heavenly sanctuary, where the Old Testament sacrifices find their fulfillment. The Father and Son planned this redemption together, and the cross reveals both God's love and justice while upholding the holiness of His law. The Holy Spirit then purifies the heart and gives enduring new views of God as heavenly Father.
Justification is by faith, not by keeping the law, not by personal good works, humiliation or penance, and not by feeling. In and through Christ alone is found relief, rest and peace by walking by faith and not by sight, so one who has confessed sins and surrendered to God must believe God has forgiven and Christ receives him whether feeling is present or not, turning from self to the might of the grace of God and the compassion of Christ. Forgiveness is promised to the one who repents and justification to the one who believes, and faith receives the free provision made in Christ's blood and trusts God's promises of righteousness, sanctification and redemption, bringing peace with God because of what Christ is to the believer. The law cannot justify because sinful nature leaves people unable to keep it, but God sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh so that the law's righteousness may be fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit, and faith does not abolish the law but establishes it. Salvation cannot be earned but comes as free gift through repentance toward God and faith in Christ, so that looking to the crucified Redeemer rather than relying on self brings peace and joy, and those who follow Jesus and walk in the light carry cheerfulness into a life of obedience. Justification by faith is plain, distinct truth that can be laid out with marked simplicity so that no one need be in darkness about it, yet many do not know what it really means and are amazed when they hear it; darkness about it comes only from a decided heart of unbelief that resists the workings of the Spirit of God, while those who walk out upon the light it gives are on the Lord's side.
Faith is not the ground of salvation but the means of receiving it, not the end. It is the great blessing, the eye that sees, the ear that hears, the feet that run, the hand that grasps, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, and it is to increase with years and with knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. It is found only in preaching Jesus Christ — His love, His forgiveness, His grace — which gives ministry life-giving, heaven-sent, awakening power with no uncertain sound. It means sinners need Christ Himself presented in the Spirit and with power: His humiliation, meekness, and lowly life of poverty by which every son and daughter of Adam might be made rich, His death as their Sacrifice, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension to heaven where He intercedes for man to bring him to believe on Him whom the Father has sent. Resting and believing in Jesus Christ, who gave His life to save sinners, brings peace with God as faith takes that blessing by grasping it.
Setting in Romans 5
Therefore being justified by faith brings peace with God through Jesus Christ and opens access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. This standing is not hidden, for it carries an attraction that unbelievers do not understand, surrounding the soul with an atmosphere of faith. That atmosphere is decisive, for eternal destiny is settled day by day by the choice to remain in faith and grace.
Those who stand in grace can glory even in tribulations, because tribulation works patience, patience proven character and experience, and character hope. That hope does not disappoint and does not make ashamed, because the love of God is poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit given to believers. This peace and access to grace give strength to face hardship without fainting or despairing. Where unbelief rules, trials are kept from producing patience, experience and hope, and instead produce faultfinding and despair.
The ground of this peace is that when people were without strength, ungodly, sinners and enemies, Christ died at the right time for them, commending the love of God. Those now made right by His blood shall be saved from wrath, those reconciled to God by the death of His Son shall be saved by His life, and they now joy in God through Jesus Christ by whom they have received reconciliation and atonement.
The chapter presents law and gospel bound together in a perfect whole, as truth to go throughout the length and breadth of the world. Impressed upon every heart opened to receive it, it gives light and understanding to the simple and contrite in heart. It leads not to nominal faith, theory or legal religion, but to purposeful belief that appropriates God's richest gifts, pleads for the gift to give to others, and receives of His fullness grace for grace unto sonship with God. The same righteousness credited to Abraham applies to all who believe in God who raised Jesus from the dead, who was delivered for offenses and raised for justification.
How Justification Is Received
Being justified by faith begins when a person repents of breaking God's law, confesses sin, and receives Christ as personal Saviour and Redeemer. The moment true faith claims His costly atoning sacrifice as substitute, the sinner is justified because he is pardoned, the law's penalty of death being met by God's gift of His Son. Jesus alone can pardon transgression and justify the repenting sinner, restoring the moral image of God in him and binding the humble, contrite soul to Himself in peace. Those dead in trespasses and sins who so believe gain access by faith into the grace wherein they stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, with Christ's constraining love entering the heart to make an end of sin and wash the robe of character white in His blood as propitiation and reconciliation. Genuine conversion thus makes the forgiven one a child of God, a member of the royal family, an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ to an immortal inheritance, with Satan's power broken into sacred unity and complete identification with Christ. Even children and youth who give their young hearts to God, surrendering will, way and affections and seeking Him with the whole heart, are accepted, blessed, saved and forgiven, their transgressions removed far away and His anger turned to comfort.
It comes by looking only to Jesus as righteousness and sacrifice and by opening the door of the heart to let Him in. As a look to the brazen serpent brought life and healing to those dying from fiery serpents, so the look of faith to the Lamb of God brings life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins. That look heals the deadly sting of the old serpent, the devil, ends self, gives a new heart, brings hope, courage, pardon and life, and gives peace with God. It is a daily converting power for those in responsible positions above all, received by looking to Christ every moment and believing, so eyes are opened, hearts are made new, sin is ceased from, Christ's righteousness is possessed, and the divine similitude is borne that others may be sanctified.
This peace belongs to those who give themselves to God, come into harmony with His conditions, and through faith in Christ's power to save claim His righteousness. By nature every person weighed against God's holy law is found wanting, enlightened by its precepts but unable to be justified by them and altogether wanting unless cleansed by Christ's blood, and no one can claim to be without sin. Escape comes by looking to Christ, who at infinite cost covenanted to be representative in the heavenly courts and Advocate and Mediator before God, so that by His acceptance the promise of justification and peace may be claimed. Standing justified requires whole trust in the merits of a crucified, risen and ascended Saviour whose wrought-out righteousness becomes the sinner's, received by reliance rather than by trusting self, mind, ideas and judgment as supreme. It requires conversion and not half-conversion, a new heart and new mind yielded to the divine light of the gospel, trusting the immutable Word above feeling, hiding in Christ as the Rock, longing for His righteousness instead of tattered self-righteousness, with living belief that works by love, purifies the soul and changes the surrounding atmosphere. That righteousness, woven in heaven and presented by the Advocate bought with His own life-blood, gives entrance into the kingdom and an inheritance among the sanctified, showing itself in rejoicing, rest, Christ formed within as the hope of glory, and readiness if Christ should come today.
It belongs to those who renounce sin, open their hearts to Christ and His love, and share through His grace in a heavenly peace that reconciles the soul to God, quiets sinful passions, conflict and strife, and gives the heart rest, with no other ground of peace. It belongs to those who become spiritually minded, redeemed by sovereign grace and drawn closer to Christ to reveal Him to the world. It is received by throwing oneself on the royal clemency of Him who gave His life to save, rising in the strength of noble purpose to honor God instead of managing matters alone, so that in His strength past mistakes can be redeemed.
Peace with God is to be made now and kept, with Christian character perfected, so that if death comes suddenly or Christ comes today the person is not found unready. Every soul must make this peace and know it with certainty, for it is of highest importance since life is as a vapor appearing for a little time and vanishing away and no one knows how soon death may come. It is found by keeping the eyes fixed upon Christ and His teaching, discerning what is of supreme importance, acting in harmony with that discernment, desiring to please Christ, asking what shall be done to be saved, and leaving nothing unsaid that might influence another soul to make that peace before the judgment seat. Being made right by faith gives rest that takes away fear of death, so that even the sick who cannot live can face death unafraid and die in perfect peace with the path of salvation made plain. This peace is to be experienced here while trusting God, faithfully doing appointed work, and fighting the fight of faith to overcome skepticism and unbelief, being at peace whether life or death comes.
Nature of Peace with God
Peace with God comes through Jesus Christ alone, and there is no other ground of peace. It is received by grace through faith in His power to save, by giving the self to God, coming into harmony with His conditions, giving Him the heart, and claiming His righteousness and approval. By nature every person weighed against the holy law is found wanting and unable to be justified by its precepts, but escape comes by looking to Christ, who at infinite cost became representative in the heavenly courts, Advocate and Mediator before God, so that the promise of justification and peace can be claimed. This peace is a precious privilege worth more than houses and land and gold and silver and precious stones, and the world can neither give it nor take it away. It is known by personal experience, and where it is present heaven's light is revealed in the life.
This peace reconciles the soul to God, bringing those who renounce sin and open their hearts to Christ's love into harmony with Him. It quiets sinful passions and the inner conflict and strife of human passions, so that the heart rests in God's love even amid fierce turmoil. It marks the heart's harmony with God, removes enmity, leaves a conscience that does not condemn, and lifts the heart above life's trials. That inward harmony is reflected outward in peace with other people, leaving no room for envy, evil suspicion, hatred, faultfinding, or discord.
It is felt as light and comfort and hope and joy and assurance of His presence, holding even in restlessness and sleeplessness and suffering and bodily pain. It turns the mind away from the dark side to face the light, to face the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness shining into the heart. It moves the believer to praise God in affliction from realizing His presence is near, and to shine abroad and shed abroad the grace Christ imparts so its brightness is reflected to others.
This peace is emancipation from bondage to sin and Satan, and mastery over Satan and self through the ransom Jesus paid with His precious life. His substitutionary redemption frees the fallen race from the curse of the law, and through His atoning blood the sinner is freed from bondage and condemnation and made just before God, while without Christ the sinner remains under condemnation. Those covered with Christ's righteousness and striving to fulfill God's holy precepts through faith in the Redeemer are free from the curse, walking at liberty rather than in the bondage that belongs to the transgressor, which proves that keeping God's law is not hard bondage.
Peace with God through Jesus Christ begins the true experience of a child of God, for being justified by faith brings the sinner to God through Christ to learn to know Christ by experience, and that is true conversion. It comes when a person honest in heart reads, marks, learns, and inwardly digests Bible truth, prays, sees Christ despised and wounded and bruised and laid with iniquity in his behalf, feels conviction and trouble under condemnation, receives light from the Spirit upon the mind, and by faith is brought into right standing and peace, with truth received into the heart spreading through the inner man as blood from the heart spreads life through the body until thoughts, affections, and powers are brought into obedience to Christ. Genuine conversion brings this peace when the sinner repents and confesses and is forgiven, passing from rebel and child of sin to loyal subject and adopted child, member of the royal family, heir of God and joint-heir with Christ to an immortal inheritance, with the power of Satan broken and the believer brought into sacred unity and complete identification with Christ in which He shares with him all that He is. It heals the deadly sting of the serpent, ends self, and gives life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins by opening the door of the heart and letting Jesus in as righteousness and sacrifice, looking to Him every moment and believing until the eyes are opened and the heart is made new.
Law Works and Judgment
Faith does not make the law void but establishes it, for peace with God comes by accepting Christ's righteousness rather than by earning standing through law-keeping. To be justified by faith is to accept Christ's righteousness instead of seeking to establish one's own, belonging to the new covenant built on better promises of forgiveness and grace to renew the heart into harmony with God's law. The same law once engraved on stone is written by the Holy Spirit on the heart, so that the renewed heart brings forth the fruits of the Spirit and lives in obedience, walking as Christ walked in delight to do God's will. The law cannot justify because sinful nature leaves people unable to keep it, yet God sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh so that the law's righteousness may be fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit. Those who strive to fulfill the holy precepts through faith in the Redeemer are covered with Christ's righteousness and freed from the curse, walking at liberty rather than in the bondage of the transgressor, with repentance and effort to obey accompanying faith because Christ supplies the righteousness they lack.
Being justified by faith stands alongside being judged by works, for at the final judgment each gives account for gifts and responsibilities entrusted. Each is held responsible for the work placed in his hands, not for talents or duties never given, and must apply the measure of perfection to himself, serving diligently and fervently, setting a better example than the one he faults, and speaking few well-chosen words about others' defects instead of complaining and faultfinding. Faith is joined with a consecrated, surrendered heart and faithful action, and in the final reckoning when the Lord gives to every man according as his works have been, faith will face the test of works done with opportunities and privileges entrusted. Every person has heard the call to go work in the vineyard, and the day of trust with its burden of record ends in a day of reckoning where what was done determines the reward, even as wrath comes upon the guilty world.
To be justified is to be pardoned, with Christ's righteousness imputed because He has taken away sin, so that the justified stand before God's throne both justified and sanctified, emptied of self with Christ abiding in the heart through sanctification of the truth. Faith bears the fruit of sanctification in renewal after Christ's image, with no priest or pope able to replace Christ as mediator, and this living gospel truth centers on His death as sacrifice, resurrection, and heavenly intercession. Such faith leads to conversion and holiness rather than continued sin, shaping character toward perfection prepared for eternal life through refining harmony with Christ.
Justification by faith is precious, all-important truth, the third angel's message in verity, to be dwelt upon much without needless fear and laid out with marked simplicity so none need remain in darkness. Darkness about it comes only from decided unbelief resisting the Spirit, and many who do not know what it means are amazed when they hear it, while those who walk in its light are on the Lord's side. It must be restored to its proper place with Christ's righteousness and taught so children and youth understand the way of salvation, awakening love and gratitude, though hearing without practice can leave hearts unresponsive. It is to be received as living gospel truth, not a lifeless idea, found only in preaching Christ in His love, forgiveness, grace, humiliation, poverty, death as sacrifice, resurrection, and intercession to bring belief, giving ministry life-giving power with no uncertain sound and clear light that elevates personal experience.
Life of the Justified
Genuine faith that receives justification and peace through Jesus Christ works through love and purifies the soul from selfishness, serving as the remedy for those who hunger and thirst for freedom from the law's condemnation. It does not excuse neglect of duty but motivates action, for looking to Calvary creates a working faith and taking hold of Christ begins the struggle to overcome corrupt and sinful habits. Such living belief requires whole trust in the righteousness Christ wrought out, received so that His righteousness becomes the sinner's own, with conversion and a new heart and mind yielded to the gospel rather than trust in self, mind, ideas and judgment, and it changes the atmosphere surrounding the soul. Repentance and faith bring justification, and divine grace then enables obedience to the commandments, for without Christ's righteousness becoming the believer's own the law cannot be kept. This obedience springs from supreme love to God and love for neighbor, not mere acknowledgment of truth or ceremonious worship, and practicing the truth bears fruit in true repentance followed by good works, with peace, courage, joy, harmony, cheerfulness and a conscience that does not condemn and is no longer at enmity with God.
This life comes through connection with Christ as chief cornerstone and foundation, with believers as living stones resting on Him for support, and He has placed Himself under obligation to make them worthy to serve God acceptably. It is possible because Jesus is risen and no longer in the tomb, and His risen life works as life-giving power in the life, to be shown to the world as proof of a risen Lord. By nature every person weighed against the holy law is found wanting, enlightened by its precepts but unable to be justified by them unless cleansed by Christ's blood, and escape comes by looking to Christ who at infinite cost covenanted to be representative in the heavenly courts and Advocate and Mediator before God, so that His acceptance allows the promise to be claimed. Peace and pardon come through Him as Advocate to whom all appeals are made, made possible through His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary where the Old Testament sacrifices find fulfillment, and those who receive it rejoice in hope of salvation and bear the glad tidings to others. His imputed righteousness goes before all who accept Him as personal Saviour, bringing them into conformity to God's will and bidding them follow in obedience to the law, because sin and holiness cannot unite.
The justified find in and through Christ alone relief, rest, peace and assurance, walking by faith and not by sight, for justification is by faith and not by feeling. One who has confessed sins and surrendered to God must believe God has forgiven and Christ receives him whether feeling is present or not, turning from self to the might of God's grace and the compassion of Christ. Even when recognizing sin and unworthiness, the believer may rely on Christ's atonement and cleansing blood rather than personal merit or efforts to become worthy, and steady trust brings peace to the soul. Salvation cannot be earned by works, humiliation or penance but comes through repentance toward God and faith in Christ whose grace is a free gift, and looking to the crucified Redeemer rather than self brings peace and joy. This peace is experienced as God's pardoning love revealed to the heart, when darkness and the gloom of a troubled mind give way to assurance of Jesus' love, the sense of being forgiven, praise and thanksgiving, changing how life and the world appear.
Christ has made full provision for spiritual strength to possess this peace, giving His Holy Spirit to bring His promises to remembrance, received by keeping the eyes fixed on the Saviour and trusting His power. Being made right by faith brings a sweet sense of forgiveness and security because His righteousness becomes the believer's own, with assurance of pardon through His atoning blood. The message of the Saviour's love inspires immortal hope, and those who live as the Lord desires speak the truth with joy, their hearts sounding praise and gratitude to the Redeemer sent to take away sin, singing His mercy and telling His power. The gloom gives way to assurance that transforms outlook, with darkness giving way to peace, joy, praise and thanksgiving as pardoning love is revealed to the heart.
This peace together with access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand and rejoice in hope of God's glory gives strength to face hardship without fainting or despairing. Tribulation can then produce patience, experience and proven character, and character hope, and hope does not disappoint because God's love is poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit given to believers. In trials discouragement and giving up reflect unbelief, while looking to God for strength enables endurance and growth in patience. With this faith the soul lays hold on the unseen and on evidences of forgiveness, and a single ray of undeserved favor outweighs every trial however severe, even sufferings caused by others, leaving a trustful soul with no faintheartedness, murmuring or complaining, as carnal security is broken up and the contrite heart rests in God. The peace lives as a joyful hope animating life, received through the gospel's words of life, and those who receive it remember with love and gratitude the one who brought it and reflect Christ's image in fellowship with him.
Experience and Witness
Being justified by faith brings peace with God through Jesus Christ, and those who have that peace are to deal tenderly with others who are striving for eternal life. They help souls in need in love, expecting in turn to need compassionate help themselves, praying daily to bear one another's burdens, encouraging the young to seek a deeper Christian experience, and helping all to know Christ by experience as peace and joy and strength and shield and Guide and Counsellor, the source of all comfort and all in all, which is true conversion. The righteousness of Christ is the source of the cheerful, loving spirit needed in such dealing with others. This peace marks the heart's harmony with God and is reflected in peace with other people, leaving no room for envy, evil suspicion, or hatred and lifting the heart above life's trials. When Jesus abides in the heart, self is broken and the spirit is shaped by heavenly peace, which removes harshness and envy and brings joy into the home. Strength gathered from the word gives this peace with God and also helps God's children live peaceably with others and become a blessing to those around them.
Lacking this peace puts a person in danger of becoming irritable, and fretting, scolding, cheating, and lying are inconsistent with being a Christian and exert a counterinfluence. Without Christ's peace the heart is unhappy and discontented, finds fault, and spreads discord.
Peace with God is an important requisite for health, with consciousness of right-doing as medicine for body and mind and the Lord's blessing bringing life to the one who receives it. When the mind is at peace with God and reconciled to Him, bodily conditions are more favorable, a peace linked with recognizing sin, accepting the truth, and obeying conscience. The knowledge, fear, and love of God are its fountainhead, and daily growth in grace restores God's image in humanity.
Knowing sins forgiven, placing all upon the altar, feeling the sanctifying power of sacred truth in heart and life and character, striving to live with a conscience void of offense toward God and man, and often pleading with God for friends and neighbors fits a person for profitable soul-winning service. Those who receive this peace and pardon through Christ, who is Advocate in the courts of heaven to whom all appeals are to be made, rejoice in the hope of salvation and are to bear the glad tidings of pardon through Christ to others. Jews and Gentiles who repent and believe the gospel are joined to Christ and receive peace with God, a sanctified conscience, and unity with one another, with belief in Christ transforming character, renewing love to God and producing kindness and good works through the Spirit. The soul is to be surrounded with the atmosphere of faith, because eternal destiny is decided every day in harmony with the atmosphere around the soul, each person is accountable for the influence exerted with unseen consequences following words and actions, and if God would have saved Sodom for ten righteous persons, great influence for good would go out if all who profess Christ were also clothed with His righteousness. Those who teach God's Word carry the solemn responsibility not to try to work the Holy Spirit but to be worked by the Holy Spirit.
When children give their young hearts to God, and when a young person surrenders will, way, and affections to Jesus and seeks the Lord with the whole heart, God accepts the offering, blesses and saves, forgives all sins and removes transgressions far away, and the forgiven one has peace with God, praising Him because His anger is turned away and He comforts. Peace of mind follows earnest prayer for forgiveness of sins and a desire to become a Christian, accompanied by love for others and a wish that they too receive forgiveness and love Jesus. Young people who study the Bible, quiet their impulsive desires, and heed their Creator and Redeemer can be at peace with God and become ennobled and elevated. That peace is entered by taking His word and studying it and by taking His yoke, which grows easier the more heaven is brought into daily life, and as Jesus who was tempted in every way as people are yet never sinned becomes precious to the soul, believers are moved to bring happiness into the lives of others and to bear rich clusters of fruit in His name. The young are urged to understand the true meaning of justification by faith, alongside the perfection of character that prepares them for eternal life, while God's grace and holiness are to be valued as precious and attractive.
Being justified by faith gives peace with God with access by faith into the grace wherein believers stand and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, a standing in grace that carries an attraction unbelievers do not understand because their spiritual understanding is blinded, they do not lay hold of the hope set before them, and they are not in living touch with Christ. It means standing openly under the banner of Prince Emmanuel without shame and without begging pardon of the world for being a Christian, following the light of the world, living in His eternal love, seeing Christ in His matchless charms in the kingdom of glory, and revealing to the world that God's people are the happiest people in the world. Through faith human nature is able to grasp the divine nature, having overcome, because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for Christ in His humanity to grasp divinity. The righteousness of Christ is freely given to all that believe, and this precious light brings courage and hope to hungry, starving souls in ignorance of it, giving peace and assurance of the love of God in the soul as a blessing full and abundant for each person individually. Being made right with God through faith is blessed light to be received and cherished, delivering from bondage, bringing the rich blessing of God in labor, giving clearer and more distinct views of the love of Jesus, and making hearts joyful in God with thanksgiving for His preserving and protecting care and matchless love and encouraging all who love God and keep His commandments. The person who lays hold of Christ by faith has peace with God resting on Christ's ample atonement, and the Holy Spirit purifies the heart and gives enduring new views of God as heavenly Father. Justification by faith is the basis of a person's true standing before God.