The Double Transaction!
"Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand."
Romans 5: 1-2
Dr. J. I. Packer wrote a book, God’s Words, about key
biblical terms, one of which was justification. As a noun,
this word occurs three times in the New Testament. As
a verb, it’s found 39 times, mostly in the writings of Paul.
“It is
his way of formulating the essential Gospel message,”
Packer wrote, “that through Christ’s death guilty sinners,
once justly under wrath, come into a new relationship with
God as His beloved children, under grace.”
When we’re justified, God takes our sins and places
them on Christ, and then He takes the righteousness
of Christ and places it on us. It’s a double transaction.
Our sins are imputed to Christ, and His sinlessness
is
imputed to us.
That doesn’t mean we're incapable of sinning.
It means when God looks at us, He sees us
wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Knowing this makes us want to live up to our
position and bring every habit under our Lord’s
control. Where do you need to start?
"Through one act of righteousness—
the life and death of the sinless
Christ—the
free gift came unto all."
J. I. Packer
