2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 22:1-24:23 ESV, Galatians 2:17-3:9 ESV, Psalm 60:1-12 ESV, Proverbs 23:15-16 ESV
Daily Verse: “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!’ (Galatians 2:17 ESV)
DIAKAIOO (1344): “As a verb, means primarily “to deem to be right,” and signifies, in the NT, “justification” being the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as Judge, the pronouncement of the sinner as righteous, who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1]
Formal acquittal.
Paul addresses the issue of continued sin. As Christ-followers, we gain justification from our sin, which means God forgives us. But to place faith in Jesus, we must first admit we do and have sinned, and yes, we will sin again.
“So, I can get drunk on Saturday night and show up in church on Sunday?” Another way of describing the topic Paul’s discussing. If Jesus forgives us our sins, what’s to stop us from continuing in our sinful ways?
New Creation.
When we confess our sins to Jesus, He gives us a new heart. With a clean slate, we get to start again. Instead of handling the situation as we did in the past, Christ gives us a fresh direction that leads to a life-giving path.
While teaching in the Temple, the Pharisees brought a naked woman before Jesus, dragged from her adulterous bed. Knowing the penalty for her sin meant death by stoning, the religious leaders wanted to see how Jesus would handle the situation.
Bending, Jesus began to write in the dirt before rising and challenging the leaders, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her!” One by one, the crowd dispersed until Jesus, and the woman stood alone.
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?
“No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11 ESV)
Jesus cleans our slate and gives us a second chance. When He does, Christ asks one thing of us, “Go and sin no more.”
Like the adulterous woman, once you’ve acknowledged your sin, stop doing it. Before judging someone else, take the plank out of your eye. Jesus forgave you so you could have life to the fullest, not so you could sin more. Sin leads to death, Jesus leads to life.
[1] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p.69) Thomas Nelson
