What happens when we give our
lives to Jesus Christ? When Zacchaeus came
out of the tree and ran to the Lord Jesus, what changed in his life? Trying to put that into words is difficult
because how can we begin to fully explain what the Lord does for us with the
limits of human language?
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
tries to put it into words. These are
the questions and answers for this week. They are meant to teach us what happens when Jesus becomes the Lord of our lives. We are made right with God (made righteous), we are adopted by God (made
into renewed children of God), and we are made sacred (sanctified-made holy) by
the work of God. All of this is by God’s
free grace, through Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Q.
33. What is justification?
A.
Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein God pardons all our sins, and
accepts us as righteous in God’s sight, only for the righteousness of Christ
imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
Q.
34. What is adoption?
A.
Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the
number, and have a right to all privileges, of the children of God.
Q.
35. What is sanctification?
A.
Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the
whole person after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto
sin and live unto righteousness.
These questions and answers are a
means of instruction in the faith. If
you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, you know justification and adoption and
sanctification in your life. It is how
things change because of Jesus. As a
means of teaching us about our own faith, it might be better to ask the
question this way, “What is justification FOR ME?”
For our church, these are the marks
of change that occur in our lives when we truly accept Jesus. This is the cosmic change that occurs to the
Christian. To know this, to understand
it, it deepens who we are as Christians, and helps us to understand the
importance of what it means to share this gift of free grace with the world.
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