This week during my church meetings I was reading in Luke 10, re-discovering a scripture chain I must have made at some point (seriously, I love re-discovering those things and figuring out what my train of thought was in creating it). I was reading the story of the lawyer who was asking the Lord who his neighbor was. This seems like an innocent question, but there is a key phrase in verse 29 that shows the true intentions of the lawyer.
29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
It's at this point that the lawyer starts reminding you of that weedy boy in 10th grade who liked to argue with everyone. And the reason for this is because he was "willing to justify himself". Wanting to justify yourself often means you want to explain yourself to make a bad deed you did seem not so bad, or even good. If this lawyer could justify himself in being unkind to someone because he wasn't his neighbor, then he could cock and bull reason his way out of all kinds of commandments. Real justification, however, is not something you can do to yourself, you can try, and you can be willing, but if you do, it shows that you don't understand the true meaning of justification.
Justification is when something is made right, and something can't be made right without a perfect knowledge of it. You can't correct your own math homework, you have a teacher who does that because the teacher, in his or her knowledge of math, is above you. We can't justify ourselves because we don't have a perfect knowledge of things. We think we do. We wish we did. But if we really were the ones in charge of justifying ourselves, every day would be like an I Love Lucy episode. Cringing side effects and bad laugh tracks. But Ricky won't make everything better at the end of the episode, because you decided to take all responsibility.
Justification for our poor deeds can only be done by someone with a perfect knowledge. Justification for our mistakes can only be done by someone above us. Justification can only be done by (in, through, etc.) Christ. Ever. Through faith in Christ. Through hope in Christ. Through using and understanding his Atonement.
Justification for our poor deeds can only be done by someone with a perfect knowledge. Justification for our mistakes can only be done by someone above us. Justification can only be done by (in, through, etc.) Christ. Ever. Through faith in Christ. Through hope in Christ. Through using and understanding his Atonement.
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.
I for one am very glad it's not my job to justify my sins.
Resources on justification:
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