Made Right With God

Recently I was called upon to reflect on Romans 3:20-25 as I considered the question, “How are we made right with God?” From the Apostle Paul’s words in the Romans passage, the answer seemed clear. It was the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3:24). I came to Christ by faith alone believing in his redemptive work. That conclusion seemed to flow naturally to a second question. “What role or response was required of me to be made right with God?”

The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to “receive” Him as Lord and Savior, and to “believe” on His name to receive eternal life are clearly taught in scripture. The curious element in that summation was the source for such “receiving” and “believing”.

What it was that disrupted my worldly, sinful life as a teenager that I might become aware of God?

As a new follower of Jesus in my teenage years, I spent a great deal of time contemplating what it was that disrupted my worldly, sinful life becoming aware of a rebellious heart against a God I really didn’t know. Many of my friends continued their earthly journey satisfied with what the world offered, but I could not. A seed had been planted in my soul; the soil of my heart seemed prepared for a spiritual transformation – a condition to which I made no contribution. In an emerging awareness of my corrupt state and separation from God, I exercised the gift of faith in the One who promised redemption – rescued from darkness and brought to the Light. Admittedly, I struggled with the suggestion that as the chief of all sinners (apparently in line right after the Apostle Paul) I had anything to bring as a contribution to being made right before God.

Far removed from my days as a teenager, I was called upon to again consider the deeper truths of this spiritual conundrum drawing upon a more mature understanding of spiritual matters courtesy of the Holy Spirit. As is often the case, God used my passion for writing as a means of properly framing the greater context. Before long, I had moved from Romans to Genesis. There was something God wanted me to explore that would provide insights into this struggle of what it meant to be made right with God.

the Greater Context

The veil of worldly pursuits fueled by a hard heart prohibits many from recognizing their broken relationship with God (2 Cor 4:3-4; Eph 4:18). The Bible articulates that we are born with a sinful nature possessing no desire to seek after God, lacking any sensitivity to His righteousness, nor feeling any compulsion to worship the One who created all things (Ps 14 & 53, Rom 3). Driven by a passion for autonomy, this self-centered world view testifies to such a natural bent away from God. The apostle Paul makes clear that the wages of this rebellion against a holy God is spiritual death (Rom 6:23). Such dissonance reveals the chasmic spiritual separation – a relational distance which is insurmountable when pursued by our own works (Is 59:2). Lost in this natural state, spiritually dead in transgressions against God’s righteousness, those called of God become aware of a desperate need to be rescued from this domain of darkness (1 Peter 2:9; Heb 4:12). The Holy Spirit brings a conviction upon our hearts that such deliverance requires the work of another, the bridging of the chasm such that our relationship with God might be restored (1 Peter 2:24).

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:24

Before the time of Adam’s sinful rebellion in the Garden of Eden, God’s sovereign plan was in place (Acts 2:23; 1 Pet 1:20). With intentionality, God made an investment in a gift of faith which would convey a powerful message – rich in mercy, great in love, made possible by an ineffable sacrifice (Eph 2:4). What was impossible for man, God accomplished by sending His Son to perfectly fulfill the Law, to pay the penalty for our sin by the shedding of His innocent blood (Col 1:19-20). To all who receive the gift of faith, who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who acknowledge the saving work of the cross, to them the righteousness of Christ has been imputed, our debt having been paid in full (2 Cor 5:21). The chasm has been closed, the veil of the temple torn in two that we might once again dwell in His presence having been declared righteous by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

What About Me

With the greater context of God’s plan of salvation in place covering how we are made right with God, I turned to the second question – “What role or response is required of me to be made right with God?” I translated the question to my own words contemplating how I participated in enabling God to establish my justification. This of course necessitated an inclusion of theological positions emerging from the disputation between John Calvin an Jacob Arminius. My writing continued with greater intensity as I attempted to articulate my understanding of this contentious issue.

When speaking with Nicodemus, Jesus declared that man must be born again to see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3). Even as I held no control over my physical birth, I recognized that my spiritual birth was not of my own initiative (2 Tim 1:9, 1 Pet 1:3). Similarly, in the adoption process, the parents choose the child – the child inherits the right as a son or daughter (Rom 8:15-16). Jesus made it abundantly clear that no man comes to Him unless he is drawn, unless it is granted by the Father (John 6:44, 65). I was called by God, chosen to be holy and blameless, predestined to adoption, redeemed through His blood, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph 1; 2 Thess 2:13).

“What is required of me that I might be made right with God?

So, what role or response is required of me to be made right with God? I am persuaded that there is nothing I can do to be “made right with God”. There is no decision I make nor any contribution to my righteousness before God for which I could boast (Eph 2:8-9). I understand the Arminian argument made for prevenient grace, the exercise of faith in Christ alone expressed in a free will decision of man that he might be declared righteous. But my inclination is to acknowledge that having been chosen by God before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:1-2), through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, I was declared righteous by God apart from anything I have done (Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3).

By the stirring of the Holy Spirit, I was awakened to my offensiveness toward God, a child of wrath in desperate need for a savior (Rom 3:23, Eph 2:3). Based on this sovereign choice of God, I exercised the gift of faith in the saving work of Christ realizing that He alone is the path to the Father (Jn 14:6). Christ was the propitiation for my sin that I might be imputed with His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 4:10). God delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son where I would dwell in His presence forever (Col 1:13). There is great comfort in the assurance of my salvation in Christ because of the Father’s gift to the Son.  No one can steal me away from my Father’s hand (John 10:28-29).

I rejoice in the rich mercy and great love displayed in the work of God who made me alive in Christ by grace alone (Eph 2:4-5). I was given the right to become a child of God having received and believed Christ, born again “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) Freed from the slavery to sin, I was now a slave to righteousness (Rom 6: 17-18) – sin was no longer my master and with such freedom, I was truly seeking first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33). I am moved to fall on my face before God in wonder at His mercy and grace, the forgiveness of my transgressions, the love expressed that I have been chosen to be His son. I rejoice that today I am seated in the heavenly places according to His “kind intention” (Eph 2:6). I am called to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit that brings Him great pleasure (Col 1:10); an authentic walk with God fixing my eyes on the things above – my life hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:1-3).

Who’s This About Anyway?

I think it is important to note that while I am “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3), my salvation is not really the point. This isn’t about me. Even as I live out this physical existence in the visible realm as His ambassador (2 Cor 5:20), in the spiritual realm where I dwell in God’s presence, I am convinced there is an unfolding story beyond my comprehension (2 Cor 12:4), the understanding of which will consume my attention for all of eternity. To that end, what really is in focus here is God’s glory – the declaration in the heavenly realms, for the ages to come, of the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:7). Yeah, this is all about Him – His will, His glory (Jude 24,25).

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 24-25

This investigation into the question of being “made right with God” challenged me with assembling and communicating my doctrinal positions based on my understanding of scripture. In the spirit of iron sharpening iron, I long for others to join me in the pursuit of a deeper understanding of the truths of God even as we discuss, debate, and deliberate on these spiritual matters. I am not a theologian. I am however passionate about continuing to learn about my relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I have a new appreciation for the importance of community, believers coming along side encouraging, challenging, and inspiring one another in this race that God has set before us. I live in the the dual realms of the spiritual/invisible and the physical/visible, longing to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord pleasing Him in all respects, bearing much fruit for His glory. I want to make the most of my time remaining in this temporary plane growing in relational intimacy with the triune God such that when the final curtain falls I will be able to say “I’m glad I did” rather than “I wish I had.”