God Doesn’t Make Us Good—He Justifies Us

MICHAEL PURSLEY

There are many so-called Christians who firmly believe—even if they are ashamed to admit it—that they serve a God of wrath. That is to say, they serve a God who comes to them and demands that they must keep his Old Covenant, Siniatic Law—and even some of the dietetic Laws—or go to hell. That is, they serve a God who demands total obedience to the Old Covenant for salvation.

Why do they say this? Well, they reason how can God justify the wicked? How can God declare holy any sinner who is breaking His commandments? To do so, they argue, God would have to turn his back upon his own law; He would have to turn his back upon his own holiness. This, they shout, God cannot do! God must remain true to Himself!

But God does do this. God does justify the wicked. Listen to these words from Paul that come from Romans 4:4-5: “Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work BUT BELIEVES IN HIM WHO JUSTIFIES THE WICKED, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

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God does justify the wicked. But how does He do this? This justification of the wicked sinner comes about because Jesus has broken the power of the law.

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Yes, that is right; God does justify the wicked. But how does He do this? This justification of the wicked sinner comes about because Jesus has broken the power of the law. And He did this by satisfying it in Himself up on the Cross. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 By going to the cross, He took upon himself sin’s curse. That is, He took your curse and my curse upon himself. Listen to this part of Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…” Yes, he did that so that we might simply trust in Him for salvation. No, Christ’s salvation is not for those who are trying to make themselves right before God by keeping the law. “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago” (Romans 3:20).

But why did He do this? Why is He so against people trying to make themselves better so God will be pleased and accept their efforts for salvation? 

What the new covenant does

Well, for those who are trying to keep the commandments so that God will like them and accept them—God is really upset about that understanding. Accordingly, the apostle has some very harsh words to say about the matter: “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: ’Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’” In other words, you are cursed if you don’t do everything written in the “Book of the Law” all the time. And my dear friends, Paul is making his point perfectly clear and plain; while you are here on earth, you cannot keep the law perfectly all the time. “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” (Romans 7:21).

Notice what John has to say to those perfectionists who say that they can keep the law without sin; “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8).

The work of the Holy Spirit is not to help us become perfect or to help us consistently keep God’s law; the work of the Holy Spirit is to point us to Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us to renew our minds in Christ Jesus. That is how God works in us. 

Listen to this; “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 

When is the day God’s good work in us will be finished? “At the day of Jesus Christ.” And when is that day? At the second coming of Christ!

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There is no personal perfectionism taught in the Bible—not while we are here on this earth.

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There is no personal perfectionism taught in the Bible—not while we are here on this earth. Perfection, fortunately, is for glorification. But also, fortunately, God doesn’t come to us like that.

No, you see, God comes to us, and He says to us, “Be born again.” And we respond. Yes, we who were dead in our sins are now spiritually born from above—just as if we had been brought back from the dead. 

And do you know what His first words to us are? They are, “You are my child! I love you! You are perfect! It is as if you had never sinned.”

So you see, God comes to us in love. He melts our heart with His grace. He plants His seed of grace in our hearts, and then He waters our hearts further with His grace, for it is His grace that is the might of His persuasion. 

My friend, His strength is made evident by His quiet forbearance with our feverish ways. And the new force of His attraction to us is His compassion. His love—all of it—woos us to follow Him.’This love that we now have for our new husband, Jesus, fills us with the desire and longing to follow Him in all things. For where the seeds of holiness are planted, there is a loathing for all that is unholy. His new covenant has sealed us forever with His own blood. Yes, He gives to us, His wife, the framework to know Him and how to love Him. 

The old covenant is obsolete—it never worked anyway. That is why He brought us in and gave us a new covenant with better promises. Furthermore, He admonishes us not even to try to put the new wine of the new covenant into the wineskins of the old covenant. It just won’t work.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4).

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Michael Pursley has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He completely and humbly rests upon the fact that God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ who has blotted out all of his sins. Because of Jesus he has hope, peace, and joy, and his prayer is that all who do not know Jesus will trust Him who calls the dead to life. You may contact him at michaelpursley@gmail.com.