27. Justification of Life
Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Justification is Life; justification means declare righteous; righteousness is life. Once we are declared righteous for the sake of Christ by the decree of God we are made right with God; now that God is for us and with us and on our side we have life. We have the promise of justification of life: we are justified for life and for living; we have eternal life, and we have the joy of living this temporal life during this age as well, while we wait. Living right with God includes many great and wonderful blessings. God living in us and with us makes all the difference in the world, life or death; it means life that never ends, or without God it would mean death that ends life.
This wonderful free gift of life comes to us by the righteousness of One. Terrible death came upon all of us by the Offense of one: we were born with that Offense and its judgment unto condemnation of death. In other words, from the moment of conception we were under the sentence of death, and no one, myself or anyone else, can do anything to overturn that absolute verdict; I am a lost and condemned sinner and I can do nothing to undo that fact; I deserve the death sentence. Death is not a threat: “shape up or else; change your ways or die.” Rather, it is a settled truth and an unchangeable verdict, “DIE!”
But God still loves the condemned sinner, so He gave His Son. When you think about it there is no other way to lift the sentence of condemnation to death (eternal separation from God). The only way: the righteous God had to die for us and bear the just condemnation. Now death is turned into life, condemnation is turned into justification, the wrong is righted, and the offense is removed. The Greatest Reversal of All Time has happened to me, from the deepest depths to the highest heights I have been transformed by the justification of life. Now, today, in this minute I can live. Jesus is Alive = I am Alive.