Justified by His Blood

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:9)

Many would exalt faith as the key to the sinner's justification, just as some exalt election as the determining factor. And yet, neither faith nor election is our justification before a Holy God, as necessary as both are in the salvation of sinners, Isaiah 45:25, "In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified [forward looking to the cross]" and Matthew 1:21, "…he shall save his people from their sins.” Election is in the words: "his people," and yet election didn't deliver from sin's charges or earn righteousness, just as faith is not the Substitute, nor did faith pay the sin debt.

Neither election nor faith, is the deliverance. Election determined (named) those who should be justified from eternity, those whose names were written already in the Lamb’s Book of Life, Revelation 21:27,“And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” Faith is the Fruit of God’s justifying Grace. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, being justified (by the death of the LORD Jesus, Romans 4:25), by faith we have peace with God through the LORD Jesus Christ.” Faith is the revealed Truth in connection with Christ and His death by which the Spirit of God gives eyes to behold the Crucified One, Galatians 3:1. Forgiveness, redemption and reconciliation were accomplished upon completion of His death for those He chose from eternity and who, in time, HE grants faith to believe on His Son, Phil. 1:29.

We sing that great old hymn, ‘What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! This is ALL my righteousness, NOTHING but the blood of Jesus!’ It may be truer to the Word to sing, ‘What HAS washed away my sin?’ There is not an ongoing process of God forgiving the sin of His people conditioned on something in them to believe. He was raised for (because of) our justification.

Scripture is clear that when Christ finished the work and gave up His Spirit to His Father in death, salvation was accomplished, righteousness imputed and all for whom Christ died were justified in that one act, HIS obedience unto death, Hebrews 1:3.