"And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." - Acts 13 vs 39 {KJV}

  • justified from all things
  • from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses
What's he talking about? What does the Apostle mean here by the word 'justified'? Let's find out. The word justified used in the above verse was translated from the Greek word dikaioō, which means To render (i.e show or regard as) just or innocent. This means to be cleared of all charges and punishment related to sin(s). Meaning, to be declared not guilty.

In this verse, Apostle Paul informs us that all who believe the Gospel have been justified from all sin. Meaning, every sin that they were held guilty of by their conscience, they've been cleared of all of them, making them not guilty of any sin. This is powerful! Glory to God.

Under the law of Moses, there were sins which were not pardoned—if any one committed them and was caught, death was his fate! Example of such sins was adultery {Deuteronomy 22 vs 22} amongst others. But we are informed now by the Apostle Paul that in Christ, we have received justification from all sins, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. O Hallelujah!

Now, Question: This justification that we have in Christ, is it only for our past sins which we did before we became born again, or does it cover future sins also now that we are born again? Let's do this study right now:

"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God..." - Romans 3 vs 25 {KJV}

  • sins that are past
So, the remission (which also means Justification and Forgiveness according to the Gospel) took care of our pasts sins. So, the moment a man comes to Christ, his past record of sin are wiped away. Apostle Paul establishes this fact again in 2 Corinthians 5 vs 17:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." -  Corinthians 5 vs 17 {KJV}

  • old things are passed away

"

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

" - 2 Corinthians 5 vs 17 {AMPC}

  • the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away


The moral condition speaks of the man's sins; the spiritual condition speaks of the wages/punishment of the man's sins, which is death:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6 vs 23 {KJV}

So, what Paul said here is, If a man comes to Christ and is now born again, his sins which he committed before he received salvation are passed away; he called it the previous moral condition. Also, the punishment/judgment for sin which was hanging on him are passed away; he called it the previous spiritual condition.

Now, what about sins we might commit after being born again? Are they also passed away? Well, the answer is No. Let's look into the Bible:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1 vs 9 {KJV}

  • If we confess our sins
  • He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

These words clearly show to us that forgiveness/justification is to be received for sins committed after being born again.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4 vs 16 {KJV}

  • that we may obtain

Again, we are seeing clearly that for sins committed after being born again, forgiveness/justification is to be received.

"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." - Romans 8 vs 33 {KJV}

  • It is God that justifieth

Pay attention to the tense of the word 'justifieth', that's a present continuous tense. This reveals to us that justification is an ongoing work in the Believer—it's both a past work, a present work, and an ongoing work in the Believer. This again clearly interprets to us that for sins committed after being born again, forgiveness/justification is to be received.

Remember, according to the Gospel, the words 'justification' and 'forgiveness' carry the same revelation, they carry the same meaning.

HOW DO I RECEIVE FORGIVENESS FOR MY SIN?

Maybe this is your question right now. Okay, let's get to it, let's see how forgiveness of sin or justification from sin is received by the Believer.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace..." - Ephesians 1 vs 7 {KJV}

The epistle to the Colossians puts this verse in a more precise rendering:

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins..." - Colossians 1 vs 14 {KJV}

  • In whom (that is, in Christ)
  • we have the forgiveness of sins

The redemption through His blood simply means the forgiveness of sins. See how the Amplified Bible Translation puts it:

"In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins." - Colossians 1 vs 14 {AMPC}

  • which means the forgiveness of our sins

You see... So the "redemption through His blood" is another way of saying 'the forgiveness of sins'. They are the same communication/revelation.

As a Believer, you need to understand that the forgiveness of sins or justification from sin is an inheritance we came into in Christ at salvation. In Christ, we inherited the forgiveness of sins/justification from sin. He said "In whom we have!" We have! Brother we have! He didn't say we will have, but We have! That means, the forgiveness of sins or justification from sin is a present tense possession of the man in Christ, it's a present tense reality of the Believer. Hallelujah! We have it now. Glory to God forevermore.

So, if we sin, what do we do?

  1. We acknowledge sincerely before God that we have sinned

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1 vs 9 {KJV}

The word confess as used in the above verse was translated from the Greek word homologeō, which means To acknowledge, to agree, to assent. See how the verse is put in the Message Bible translation:

"On the other hand, if we admit our sins - make a clean breast of them - he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing." - 1 John 1 vs 9 {MSG}

  • make a clean breast of them

This is sincerity! Sincerity before God. Sincerely acknowledge to God that you have sinned.

      2. We acknowledge that we have the forgiveness of our sins; we acknowledge that, in Christ we have been given justification from our sins

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins..." - Colossians 1 vs 14 {KJV}

  • In Christ we have the forgiveness of sins

When these two (2) acknowledgements are upheld, you are free! In that instant that you acknowledged these two acknowledgements, healing begins to take place in your heart. Yes. Then you'll find out that you are free! You are healed! Peace is in your heart! The guilt and depressing weight on your heart is  no more there. Glory to God!

When you understand that in Christ you have received the forgiveness of sins, when you are in need of forgiveness of sin, you won't be looking too far for it, you won't be looking for it in God's hands, because you've come to know and understand that in Christ God already gave you the forgiveness of sins. So what you have to do is Acknowledge what you have! Acknowledge your sin, and acknowledge your justification from that sin, and you are healed. Glory to God!

So when we say "I have eternal forgiveness in Christ", what that means is that our previous sins are passed away, and now in Christ, there's forgiveness available for our slips and shortcomings.

Hallelujah! Glory to God.

Jenning Uweye
Teacher,
Global Bible Study Community

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