The Unconditional Gospel, Part 4

Reconciliation – Justification – Forgiveness of Sins

According to Paul, reconciliation and justification are parallel to each other, both accomplished by Christ for our salvation. That is clear from the parallelism in Romans 5, verses 9 and 10:

We have now been justified by his blood (v 9a)

We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (v 10a)

2 Corinthians 5:19 also shows the parallelism between reconciliation and justification. Through Christ, all sins are covered, forgiven: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” The rest of the verse makes clear what that means: “Not counting their trespasses against them.”

Bound up with the fact all sins were laid on Christ, all people were redeemed from the guilt of sin and thereby declared righteous, sin-free. To not have one’s trespasses counted is the same as having one’s sins forgiven and to be given Christ’s righteousness instead. Paul emphasizes this in Romans 4:6-8 by citing Psalm 32:1f: “This is exactly what David says about the blessed state of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

Long before Paul, John the Baptist had proclaimed: “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). By the blood of the lamb, the sins of the world are removed, atoned for, forgiven. It is an accomplished fact which may be received by faith, resulting in eternal life, or rejected in unbelief, resulting in eternal destruction.

In Romans 4:25, Paul emphasizes that if “our justification” had not taken place, Jesus would not have been “raised to life” from the grave. For just as certain as our sins were the reason that Jesus had to die (v 25a), so certain is it that our justification is the reason Jesus was raised from the dead (v 25b). The original Greek text uses the same preposition, dia, to indicate the cause in both cases. Dia means “through, as a consequence of, because of, for the sake of.”

Jesus truly atoned for the sins of all people, cancelling them in the sight of God. Bound up with those facts is the truth that all people in Christ Jesus have become righteous, acquitted of all sin before God. Through Christ’s resurrection, both our reconciliation and our complete justification have been validated, confirmed, and sealed. This is to be proclaimed to troubled sinners for their life and salvation. The good news of the gospel is: “Christ is risen, you are justified, Christ’s righteousness is credited to you, your sins are forgiven.” The one who receives this gift finds all his comfort and joy in Christ and his righteousness. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies” (John 11:25).”