A Fable
The heaviness of guilt weighs upon your heart. As you walk into the courtroom, the whispers of others around you inflames your shame. The jury looks on in disgust—you are the one who deserves to be locked up forever. You are the one who people think of when they build prisons. You are the one who comes to mind when people ask what a “sinner” is. You have no lawyer because you couldn’t afford one. The crime is so heinous that no lawyer wanted to represent you. You know what you did. Everyone does. And now it’s time for the verdict.
As your head is lowered so as not to meet the piercing eyes of others, you sense the presence of the Judge entering the courtroom as everyone is told to rise. Here is the moment you’ve been dreading. It’s hard to imagine what’s worse: The anticipation or the actual sentencing? The Judge tells everyone to be seated. You stand alone in an orange jumpsuit with your hands cuffed and feet chained. You don’t only look like a criminal on the outside but you know the sin in your heart. Here you are, at the most dreadful moment you can imagine. You have the thought of wishing you had rather not been born than have lived this life.
The Judge begins to read the long list of charges and the jury’s decision. Every line increases the cringe of conscience. Panic begins to set in. Condemnation is not a far off idea—this is it! After this, no one will want anything to do with you. There are no phone calls you can make where someone will pick up. No visitors will come to you while in prison. Even the other inmates want you dead. People are calling for the death penalty for you (and if anyone deserves it, it’s you).
But then, something very “off” happens. The judge pronounces you “innocent”. But, that’s not right! Isn’t the ruling typically pronounced as “not guilty”? Not this time. It is positively pronounced as “innocent”, “pure”, “righteous”. You look up at the Judge in confusion, shock, and disbelief. But, when your eyes see the Judge, you immediately know why. This Judge bears scars—scars on His forehead, wrists, back, and feet. This Judge is not merely a Judge but He is a Priest, Lawyer, and Sacrifice. No one loves justice more than Him. No one hates sin and wickedness more than Him. No one has ever rightly accused Him of being unjust in His rulings. And now, in His court, in His ruling, in His presence, you have been declared forever righteous—as if you never had any sin nor committed any sin but only perfectly obeyed the Law with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (like the Judge has done).
Raised For Our Justification & Our Judgment
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the gospel of grace. This is what Paul preaches in Acts 17 to those at Areopagus. He proclaims in verses 30-31, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” Paul is calling these idol worshippers to repent of the way they think about God and to believe in Him as He is known in Jesus Christ. By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the Judgment Day that is coming for us all will be one where we hear the verdict of “righteous”.
Jesus is God and that means He is infinitely just. Jesus is the Second Adam and that means He came to live a just and righteous life in our stead (Rom. 5:12-21). Jesus is the Passover Lamb and that means He came to bear our judgment of wrath upon the Cross (1 Jn. 2:1-2). Jesus is the One by whom we are justified and that means that He imputes His righteousness to us by grace alone through faith alone (Rom. 3:21-26). Jesus is the Judge and that means that when He judges all people He will also judge us in light of His righteousness that He has imputed to us. This is what Paul means in Romans 3:26 when he says that God is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”.
This Judgment Is Good For You
In Christ, you are released of all sin. All charges have not only been dropped but answered. Justice was brought down—it wasn’t neglected. The wrath just didn’t come down on you. It came down in full force upon Christ. To be very sure, grace is not the opposite of justice. There is no such thing as unjust grace. Grace is justice fulfilled but fulfilled in a way where a sufficient substitute takes our place (Is. 52:13-53:12). All the wrath went upon Jesus and all His righteousness comes upon you (2 Cor. 5:21).
Now, dear brothers and sisters, what do you have to fear on that great Judgment Day? The one who justifies you is the same one who judges all people! Will He somehow forget that His righteousness is upon you? Will He somehow not remember taking eternal wrath on the Cross for you? Will His righteousness somehow not be enough to cover all your sins?
Rest. Trust. Depend. Oh, how hard it is to do this when sin lingers within! Yet, we must come back to the reality of our Judgment and our Judge. For all who come to Jesus Christ will be completely forgiven, washed of their sins, atoned for by the blood, and clothed in His righteousness. God justly pronounces you righteous solely because of Christ being your substitute. Live as one who is free (Gal. 5:1)!