Justified Through Faith

“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:1 (NIV)

To have peace with God, you need to be justified. To be justified means to be made right with God—it’s “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.” No one is perfect—not by your own standards, let alone God’s standards—and the result is guilt. When you carry your guilt, you lose your sense of peace with God.

Wouldn’t you love to have a heart as clean as freshly fallen snow?

No matter how deep the stain of your sin, God can take it out—all of it. You need to ask to be justified. The Bible says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

You don’t have to be fearful or shy about approaching God for forgiveness. When you go to God and confess your sins, you will not be scolded, punished, or rejected. Instead, you will receive God’s mercy and grace. To have a relationship with God, you need his forgiveness.

You don’t need to beg for God’s forgiveness. God wants to forgive you more than you want to be forgiven. Don’t try to bribe him: “God, I promise I’ll never do it again! I’ll even tithe 20 percent!” God sees right through those kinds of empty promises.

Instead, come to God in faith and confess. You won’t be telling God anything he doesn’t already know. Just admit that you’ve blown it, and receive his mercy and grace. When you do, you, too, will be able to say, “It’s just-as-if- I’d-never-sinned.”

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This devotional came from the Open Doors: A Year of Daily Devotions by Rick Warren. You can get it HERE.