God did his most
deadly work to destroy hopelessness and futility and provincial
cowardice. He gave up his Son to torture and death. A perfect life, a
perfect death, and the decisive work was done.
But there are
millions who are numb to hope because of the God-belittling things
they have done and how ugly they have become. They don't lift lofty
arguments against God's Truth; they shrug and feel irretrievably
outside. They don't defy God consciously; they default to cake and
television. Except for the periodic rush of sex and sport and cinema,
life yawns. There is no passion for significance. For many, no
passion at all.
There is a Christian
version of this paralysis. The decision has been made to trust
Christ. The shoot of hope and joy has sprung up. The long battle
against sin has begun. But the defeats are many, and the plant begins
to wither. One sees only clouds and gathering darkness. The problem
is not perplexing doctrine or evolutionary assaults or threats of
persecution. The problem is falling down too many times. Gradually
the fatal feeling creeps in: the fight is futile; it isn't worth it.
Along with this
hopelessness and futility, especially since 9/11, provincial
cowardice captures many Christian minds. They fear that it may sound
conceited to call every people group in the world to trust Christ or
perish. It seems too global. Too sweeping. Too universal. To say it
takes their breath away. And, worse, it brings down the wrath of the
tolerant. What could be more arrogant than to think that the infinite
variety of need in all the cultural groups of the world could be met
by a single Savior!
It is astonishing
that the biblical gospel of justification by faith alone answers
these three human failures: the hopelessness of unbelievers, the
feeling of futility from falling down, and the fear of making global
claims for Christ.
To the numb and
listless sinner, feeling beyond all hope of godliness, the Bible
says, "To the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans
4:5). God justifies the "ungodly." This truth is meant to
break the back of hopelessness.
The connection
between the sinner and the Savior is trust, not improvement of
behavior. That comes later. It's this order that gives hope. "For
we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law"
(Romans 3:28). The basis of this wild and wonderful hope (the ungodly
justified) is "Christ for righteousness to everyone who
believes" (Romans 10:4, literal translation). Through faith
alone God counts the ungodly as righteous because of Christ. "For
our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians
5:21). Let all who are paralyzed by the weight of sin and the
powerlessness to change turn in here.
To the fallen saint,
who knows the darkness is self-inflicted and feels the futility of
looking for hope from a frowning Judge, the Bible gives a shocking
example of gutsy guilt. It pictures God's failed prophet beneath a
righteous frown, bearing his chastisement with broken-hearted
boldness. "Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall
rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will
bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring
me out to the light" (Micah 7:8-9). This is courageous
contrition. Gutsy guilt. The saint has fallen. The darkness of God's
indignation is on him. He does not blow it off, but waits. And he
throws in the face of his accuser the confidence that his indignant
Judge will plead his cause and execute justice for (not against) him.
This is the application of justification to the fallen saint.
Broken-hearted, gutsy guilt.
For the squeamish
fellow afraid of making global claims for Christ, the biblical
teaching on justification explodes his little world. It says: the
deepest problem to be solved is the same for every human being,
because every human is a descendant of Adam. And the problem to be
solved is that "by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners." "One trespass led to condemnation for all men."
The only solution to this universal condemnation is a "second
Adam" who provides "the free gift of righteousness" to
all who hear the gospel and believe (Romans 5:17-19). Therefore
Christ, the second Adam, the giver of righteousness, is the only
global Savior.
Embrace as your
treasure the gift of justification. There is no part of your life
where it is not immeasurably precious.
By John Piper. ©
Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org
