The halfbaked Bard

Rom:5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ. Justification is a legal declaration - a one time event. Which happened, but which has continuing results. Yet it is not an ongoing process. Sanctification is a process. Justification is not just a once and for all declaration free of guilt. It is imputing Christ's righteousness upon you. Just as your sin has been imputed upon Christ. We were alienated from God, because of sin. That same sin Christ bore it upon Himself so that we can have access to God, based on His righteousness, not ours. Enemies of God we were. But now we have peace with God. Peace with God is an initial step of restored relation with God. Outcasts and rebels and abominations we were. But now we are friends with God. Overwhelmed by this thought. That God loved me while I was yet an enemy of His and He bought and brought me back. Image credit: https://www.pickpik.com/moon-age-man-person-bank-sit-6123...

Rom:4:22 Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Till now we were talking about the saving faith of Abram, which is credited to him as righteousness. Now Paul talks about faith in the promise of God. That also was credited to him as righteousness. So faith is progressive and increasing in Abram's case. First the saving faith, and then faith in his daily challenges. Yet faith is not about the promise. But the promise maker. The promise keeper. Because that promise came from the One and only faithful and true God, it is trustworthy. While claiming a promise, you give importance to the promise perse. Not the person who gave it. What Abram believed is that God said something, therefore I am sure it will happen. When you read the Word of God and as you receive a personal promise, see it as God communicating to you. And because it came from God, it is sure to fulfill. But even if He doesn't communicate beforehand, we are sure of Rom:8:28, Jer:29:11 and Is...

Rom:4:7-8 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven. And whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. Quoted from Psalm 32. Written by King David. Immediately after being caught redhanded after the adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. David realised he has failed. He recognized that there is utter absence of his personal merit. He sighs inwardly to begin with, if at all God would cover my sin, how blessed I would be. He acknowledged the enormity of his sin, but it is also true that the imputed righteousness is even bigger. The compassionate love of his God is even greater. There is no sin dark enough. That God can't save you. There is no pit deep enough that God can't reach out to you. All you need to do is to just look back to Him helpless. If David would be forgiven. If Peter would be forgiven. If Paul would be forgiven. There is hope for you too, dear one. May be you would have done a more ...

Rom:4:3 Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness. Justified by faith. Not by works. Faith is the only thing that clears you. Rom:4:4-5. Now to the one who works his wage is not credited as a favour, but as what is due. But to the one who believed in Him, who justified the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. This is called grace. Image credit: https://www.vietnam.vn/en/credit-card-la-gi

Rom:3:28 A man is justified by faith. All have sinned. We all stand guilty, before the righteous and holy God.  But through faith in Jesus Christ, we stand justified.  Just as if I never sinned. Not by my good works. But by faith alone. Doctrine of sin is pretty heavy. But the doctrine of justification is so releasing. Not by any of my good deeds. But through faith alone. In Jesus Christ alone. So it is not something which you can gain. The Father has seen you, has declared you righteous with the righteousness of Jesus the Son, through your faith in Jesus.  It is very simple. The 'but' in v:21 is probably the biggest and the most significant in the universe.  But now apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested..... through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. God has already done it. There is nothing you could do more to be more justified. There is nothing you could do less. Because of His love to you, He has declared your accou...

Rom:3:9. All under sin. Under sin. Yoke of sin. Slaves to sin. We were under sin. Not able to come out of it. Being forced to do only sin. Our only option was to sin. Helpless, grappling in the darkness. Rom:3:23. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Unless we realise this helpless state of ours, we will not recognise, from where we have been saved. Unless we realise this helpless estate, we will not completely depend on Him, for a life designed for us. Only then will we recognize that Christ our Redeemer is our only hope. His pure and blameless blood is our only hope.  We cannot gain salvation by obeying the Law. For we cannot obey it fully. God looks at our heart's motive. And the Bible says the heart is the most deceitful of them all. The Bible also says, if you have faultered in one of the Law, it is equivalent to breaking them all. We have to understand it in God's perspective. The only hope is in Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth to die ...