No Condemnation
So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16
Charles Wesley grew up in a preacher’s home. His mother included Bible readings and Scripture memorization in her children’s daily routine. At age 8, he was sent to live with his older brother Samuel, who continued Charles’ religious education. As a university student, Charles developed a rigid regimen of Bible study, prayer, and charitable activities. He even went to America as a missionary.
However, neither his spiritual disciplines nor his good works provided the peace he sought. He still felt chained by his sinfulness and unworthy of God’s love. At age 31, while he was recovering from an extended illness, he read Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians. That’s when Charles realized what “justification by faith alone” meant.
The Greek word for “justified” is dikaioo, which means “to declare, pronounce righteous.” It doesn’t mean “just as if I never sinned.” As Thayer’s Lexicon says, it “never means to make worthy, but to judge worthy or treat worthy.”[1]
The whole point of justification is that we cannot meet God’s standard of righteousness on our own. The weight of our sins (past, present, and future) will forever prevent us from balancing God’s scales of justice. Nothing we have ever done or could do is able to compensate for their weight. Only the magnitude of Christ’s sacrificial death could balance those scales, and nothing can ever unbalance them again.
When Charles Wesley grasped that truth, he expressed his joy in the hymn “And Can It Be.” For the first time in his life, he could say, “I feel the Savior in my heart.” Stanza 6 is his shout of elation:
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
The fact that our salvation depends on Christ alone should fill our hearts with overwhelming joy too. We stand in right relationship with God because we wear Christ’s righteousness. When God the Father looks at us, he sees Jesus. That astounds me, humbles me.
Are you still trying to earn your salvation by doing good deeds? Or maybe you fear you’ll lose your salvation by displeasing God. Embrace the truth that you “have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Once for all. Forever. Period.
Live in the joy of justification.
Dig Deeper
The writer of Hebrews explains and celebrates Jesus’s once-for-all sacrifice in chapter 10, verses 14–18. How can you celebrate the “remembered no more” forgiveness God has given you?
Psalm 32 is one of David’s hymns. It also celebrates the completeness of God’s forgiveness. What is his advice to those who want to experience the joy of forgiveness (vv. 5–7, 9–11)?
Romans 5:1–11 is Paul’s explanation of justification. What benefits of justification does he list in verses 1–4? How does he describe the process in verses 6-10?
To read all the lyrics of “And Can It Be,” go to https://hymnary.org/text/and_can_it_be_that_i_should_gain.
You may also want to read Sanctification and Glorification.
Denise K. Loock
[1] “G1344 – dikaioō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv).” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 9 Apr, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1344/kjv/tr/0-1/.