Readings: Joshua 3:1-3, 7-8, 13-17; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 3:13-17
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
“Let it be so for now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justification.” Our translation said righteousness, but justification is what it’s talking about.
Justification is a fancy word related to “justice”. It is a legal word. It describes what a judge does when he declares a defendant not guilty, innocent, just. He. Justifies. You. We are a people on trial, accused by our own consciences. Your conscience was given you by God. It was programmed with His righteous standards. But because of the sin-nature in you it does not judge things accurately. It is influenced by your experience, your culture, your choices, by your repeated, habitual sins. So it has been changed, its original settings altered. It is inconstant and changes from day to day, influenced by the society you live in, the peer groups you hang out with, and especially those you love and value, your family, your church, your close friends. And don’t underestimate how desperately your sinful nature wants to rewrite your conscience and make it sensitive to all the wrong things, rather than the right things!
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
“Let it be so for now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justification.” Our translation said righteousness, but justification is what it’s talking about.
Justification is a fancy word related to “justice”. It is a legal word. It describes what a judge does when he declares a defendant not guilty, innocent, just. He. Justifies. You. We are a people on trial, accused by our own consciences. Your conscience was given you by God. It was programmed with His righteous standards. But because of the sin-nature in you it does not judge things accurately. It is influenced by your experience, your culture, your choices, by your repeated, habitual sins. So it has been changed, its original settings altered. It is inconstant and changes from day to day, influenced by the society you live in, the peer groups you hang out with, and especially those you love and value, your family, your church, your close friends. And don’t underestimate how desperately your sinful nature wants to rewrite your conscience and make it sensitive to all the wrong things, rather than the right things!
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