Fait Accompli

In my continuing read through St Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome, this morning I mused over chapters four and five. I urge you to take the short time to read those chapters yourself. Even read them today. 

Anyway, here is an amazing thing I re-learned: The last verse of chapter four reads: 25 [Christ] was delivered over because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification.” 

The word ‘justification’ in Greek means ‘God declares the penitent to be righteous in His eyes.’ But that’s not all. The Greek word for ‘righteous’ can also be translated as being found by God as innocent. Without guilt. 

Let that sink in for a moment. These definitions can easily be confirmed by doing a word-search through a Greek lexicon such as BlueLetterBible.org.  

Okay, now let’s move on. Here is the very next verse (Romans 5:1) where Paul continues: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

In other words, and to paraphrase Romans 5:1, “Now that God has declared the repentant sinner to be righteous and without guilt, we have peace with God because of our faith/trust/confidence in what Jesus did for us on the cross, taking our place, receiving the Father’s wrath against our sin.  

No wonder Paul assures the penitent Christian that he/she can have peace with God – because we are not always striving to be saved. We’re not always straining to follow rules after rules after rules for God to declare us righteous. We’re not always wringing our hands, terrified that we haven’t done enough to earn God's forgiveness. 

We simply confess our sins, repent (i.e. turn from our sins) – and God's grace alone metes out forgiveness and the remission of our sins. 

As some of you already know, the Greek word translated as remission (or forgiveness) means God obliterates our sin from His memory. He CHOOSES to totally, completely, finally, and eternally forget every sin for which we truly repent.  

Whoa. Think about THAT for a few more moments. God, by and through His unmerited favor and graciousness not only decrees that the penitent sinner is ‘righteous’ and ‘without guilt’ – but God CHOOSES to never again remember our confessed sins. 

Never. Ever. 

Reader, have you confessed your sins and repented? If yes, then God promises you that you are now justified by your faith in His promises. He has declared you to be INNOCENT by and through that faith in God's promises.  

THAT is why you can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why you can stop always struggling to ‘be saved.’ You can stop always longing to be declared righteous by God.  

Such things are already a fait accompli for the penitent.

Why? It’s all because of God's grace toward you and me. It’s all because of what Jesus did for us on that cross. As St Paul also wrote to the Christians at Ephesus (and I paraphrase Ephesians 2:8): “Because of God’s incomprehensible grace and kindness, He saved us through our faith in Him and His promises. We could never earn our salvation. Our salvation is His gift.”  

Christian – be at peace with God. He’s not out to ‘get you.’ He’s not just waiting for a chance to whip you back into line. He’s only waiting to embrace you. That’s not my opinion. It’s God's inerrant, infallible, and inspired word of promise to you and to me.