Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 185, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1913 — How Can God Declare One Righteous Who Is Not Righteous? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

How Can God Declare One Righteous Who Is Not Righteous?

By REV. H. W. POPE.

Ssparistaadm d M«s |agdlat«, CkiuQß

TEXT—Therefore being Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.—Romans S:L

The word justify means to reckon or declare righteous. Forgiveness is a negative term, meaning to pat away or remit. Justification Is a positive act, and means not simply forgiving the sinner, or letting him off from the punishment which he deserves, but declaring h i m righteous (Rom.

4:5). How can God reckon one righteous who is not righteous? This is a fair question and we must face it. Suppose a merchant in a small town hat. fallen into debt. He is not a good buyer, he is not accurate in his accounts, and he is shiftless. Suppose a rich uncle who has made a fortune in the same business, and has retired, should pay him a visit. After a few days he says to his nephew: "John, 1 hear bad reports about you; people say that you are sadly In debt and that your credit is poor. I have had a good year, and I believe I will help you. If you will foot up all your debts I will give you a check for the whole amount.” John accepts his ofTer and pays off his creditors. As they go out of his store they say to one another: "We are fortunate in getting our money this time, but we will not trust him again. He is the, same shiftless John, and he will soon be as badly in debt as ever." Now what has his unde accomplished for John? He has paid his debts, but he has not restored his credit Suppose, on the other hand, that the unde had said: "John, I have been oat of business a few years and I find that I am getting rusty. I like this town and I have about decided to go into partnership with you.” John is delighted, of coarse. The uncle says: "I will put In all my capital and experience, but I shall Insist upon be ing manager of the business. You can be the silent partner and work under my direction. And John, I think you had better take down that sign over the door, for your name does not command the highest respect in this town, Suppose you put up my name instead, ft Co. I think it will look better, and you can be the company." John gladly compiles with the conditions, and the business opens under new auspices. John goes out to buy goods, and what does he find? Instead of refusing to trust him, every merchant in town is glad to give him credit, because his rich uncle has become identified with the business. In the one case the uncle paid his debts, but did not restore his credit. In-the other case he restored his credit by going into partnership with him. God’s law says that the soul which slnneth shall die. When Jesus took our place on the cross and died for our sins, that paid oar debt, hut it did not restore our credit, it did not make us rlghtequs. Had there been no resurrection of Jesus we could not have been justified, though it is conceivable that we might have been forgiven. But when Jesus rose from the dead and identified himself with os by faith, coming Into our heart and taking possession of our life, then he not only paid our debts, but he restored our credit. He made it possible for God to declare us righteous, since we have gone Into partnership with • righteous Saviour, who has not only kept the law perfectly himself, but who is able to help us to keep it He ie the managing partner, and we simply obey his orders. Ws have even taken down the old sign, and now we bear his name —Christian. Martin Luther said: "If any one knocks at the door of my heart and inquires if Martin’ Luther lives here, I should reply, *Martin Luther is dead, and Jesus Christ lives here.*” Paul bad the same idea, for he said: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” "For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.” If Jeens lived a holy life in one body he is surely able to do it in another, if that body ie yielded to his control. God then can properly and justly reckon the believer righteous because of his union with the righteous Saviour who has atoned for hi* past Bins by his death o» the cross, and who guarantees his present and future conduct because that life has been committed to his keeping. If, as he says, he is "able to save unto the uttermost.” “able to keep us from falling" (Jade 24), and if he guarantees to present ns before the presence of God’s glory absolutely faultless, surely God can safely reckon us as righteous. The ground of our justification then is not what we are, but whose we are, not our owa good works, or our desire to be right eous, but our union with the Lord Jesus, who was “delivered for our of fences, and was raised tor our justl flcation” (Horn. 4:25), ~