Justification - Clean Record

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Romans 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Think

Justification is one of the most freeing truths of the gospel. While regeneration transforms our hearts and makes us spiritually alive, justification is God’s legal declaration that we are righteous in his sight. It’s not based on anything we’ve done, but solely on the finished work of Christ. When God justifies us, he wipes our slate clean—it’s "just as if I’d never sinned." This truth changes everything. We don’t have to live in fear or guilt because God no longer sees our sin; he sees Christ’s perfect record.

Justification is an act of grace where God forgives our sins and credits us with Christ’s righteousness. Picture standing in a courtroom, guilty of every charge, but the judge declares you innocent because someone else paid the penalty. This is what Jesus did for us on the cross. He was punished, and we are given his spotless record in exchange. God looks at us like we have never sinned, fully clean and accepted.

The story of rockstar Jimi Hendrix, as shared in Search for Peace, illustrates the emptiness of trying to find peace in the wrong places. After smashing his guitar on stage and basking in the crowd's applause, Hendrix fell to his knees and asked, “If you know real peace, I want to visit with you backstage.” No one responded. Days later, Hendrix died from a drug overdose, still searching for peace. His fame, indulgence, and success couldn’t bring him the peace he sought. True peace, like justification, can only come through Christ, giving us peace with God and a new, clean record (Romans 5:1).

In Christ, justification offers more than forgiveness—it’s an invitation to live in freedom, knowing that our past is wiped clean, our sins are forgiven, and God fully loves us. It’s a peace and freedom that fame, money, or self-indulgence could never bring. Are you embracing that peace today?

Apply

Write down one area in your life where you’ve been carrying guilt or shame, and then pray, thanking God for wiping your record clean. Remind yourself daily that in Christ, you are seen as completely righteous.

Pray

Lord, I praise you for wiping my record clean and declaring me righteous. Help me to truly grasp that I am fully forgiven and accepted by you, no matter my past. Where I have carried guilt or shame, I ask for your peace to fill my heart. Let this shape how I live. In Jesus’ name. Amen.