Justified by Faith

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  — Romans 5:1

What does it mean to be justified by faith?  What are the benefits?  What impact does it have on your life as a Biblical Entrepreneur?

On October 31, 1517, a German monk and Catholic priest named Martin Luther wrote a letter to the Catholic Church which included a copy of what became known as the Ninety-Five Thesis, a list that expounded on the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  During this time, it was common practice by the Catholic Church to guilt believers into donating money to the church as a way to buy their status before God and ensure eternal life for themselves or their family.  Martin Luther challenged this practice, calling it manipulative and inconsistent with the teaching of the Scriptures.  This bold act sparked the Protestant Reformation which led to the development of what we know today as the Protestant Church, essentially all Christians who do not identify with the Catholic Church or Christian Orthodox Church.  Though the Catholic Church has adjusted its position over the years, the idea of being justified by faith alone is still something that many believers, including non-Catholics, still struggle with.

Justification by faith means that we accept the fact that we have been declared innocent of our sins and pronounced righteous by God as a result of Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross of Calvary. It has nothing to do with our own actions or behavior.  Consequently, nothing we do can add to or improve our standing before God.  All we must do is accept it by faith.  It is God working on our behalf to make us right before Him since we cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:21-26, 5:9).   Once we accept that we are justified, we have the following benefits (Romans 5:1-11, 6:1-23):

1. We are declared innocent of all past, present and future wrongdoings
2. We have peace with God
3. We are given grace to overcome life’s challenges and difficulties
4. A pure heart with a sincere desire to serve God and please Him in everything we do and with everything we have
5. We are free from the eternal  consequences of sin

The challenge with this concept for entrepreneurs is that they are used to paying for everything and therefore often struggle with the idea of getting so much for nothing.  You see, even if God did put a price tag on all these benefits, you could never afford it.  There is no amount of money or length of service you could give to make yourself right before God or to deliver yourself from the penalty of sin which we all deserve (Isaiah 64:6).   Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had to pay the price, thereby making us all beneficiaries of His sacrifice and victory.  Nothing you do adds to how God views you, not your acts of service, your good works, your good conduct or your giving.  In addition, if you do any of these things in an attempt to be right with God, your actions will actually result in just the opposite.  They nullify what Jesus did for you.  Did you catch that? Any good deed done to improve our standing before God nullifies or erases what Jesus did for us (Galatians 2:16-21).

The question you may ask then is what good is all that I’m doing to advance the Kingdom of God through business?  What profit is there in being a kingdom business steward or Biblical Entrepreneur?

All that we do when we have been justified by faith through Jesus Christ should be the result of a grateful heart for what God did for us.  They are all fruit or evidence of our righteousness, not deeds that make us righteous.  Being made innocent of all wrongdoing should make you want to shout God’s goodness for all to hear. Having peace with God should make you want to spend as much time as possible with Him and desire to be more and more like Him. Having God’s grace should give you the confidence that you can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you.  Having a pure heart should enable you to serve and give to advance His kingdom, not because you have to, but because you want to.  Our good deeds are an act of gratitude, not an act of obligation. Finally, being freed from the bondage of sin should make you want to be a slave to God, since He is the one who set you free.

Imagine doing the most heinous crime and going to court, knowing full well that you will get a heavy fine and the death penalty. When you arrive, the judge calls you up to the bench and whispers in your ear that you are free to go.   He declares you innocent.  You ask how?  He points to your defense attorney and says, “He turned his life in your stead.  He paid the price for you and nothing else is demanded of you.  You are justified.”  The judge continues, “He did that when he realized that even if you turn your life in today, it could never completely clear you of all wrong doing. Your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren would have had to turn their lives in as well.  That is how heavy the price was.  The only way to completely clear your debt is that someone innocent must pay the price for you. Not only will it set you free, but all your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will be set free as well.  All you and all your children, grandchildren, and others born in your family must do is accept the gift.”  How would you feel? What would that make you want to do?

For most of us, it would be hard, because we do not think we deserve the gift.  We have a hard time forgiving ourselves, because it is hard to let go of our past mistakes.  We want to do something to at least help pay for what we did.  The judge reminds us that anything you do to make up for your sins will count against you, because you simply are not capable of saving yourself from your past mistakes and sins.  You are free to go with no conditions.  All you must do is accept it by faith.  This is what Jesus did for you and me.  He paid a debt for us that we could not pay and gave us a new life of freedom instead of bondage.  Because of that freedom, we now choose to serve Him through our life and business, because we are so grateful for what He did for us.

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the grace to accept that you have been justified by faith and that you will choose to serve Him through your life and business as an act of gratitude for the price Jesus paid for you.