The Result of Justification (9):

God's Confirmation of His Love for Us

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,

 Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

In Romans 5:8, the Bible says, "while we were still sinners," and here, this "time" refers to the past, before we believed in Jesus and were justified by faith (v. 1). Currently, we, as believers in Jesus, have been justified by His blood (v. 9).

The Bible also refers to us as "sinners" (v. 6). But what does "sin" mean? The Bible defines sin in four ways:

1. Sin is lawlessness. In other words, sin is breaking the law.
   Let’s look at 1 John 3:4: "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."
   For example, the first human, Adam, sinned. He broke the law. God's law was: "You shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17). However, Adam and his wife Eve disobeyed this command and ate from the tree. This was the first sin of humanity (original sin).

2. Sin is knowing the good and not doing it.
   Let’s see James 4:17: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
   In the three parables in Matthew 25, we see people who knew the good they should do but didn’t do it:

   (1) The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13):
   In this parable, the five foolish virgins sinned because they knew what they should do but did not do it. They had lamps but didn’t prepare oil (v. 3). As a result, while they went to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and the five wise virgins, who had prepared oil along with their lamps, entered the wedding feast and the door was shut (vv. 8-10). Later, the five foolish virgins came and cried, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" But the bridegroom answered, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you" (... "I do not love you") (vv. 11-12). In this parable, the Lord’s command is: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (v. 13). If we are disobeying this command right now, we are committing sin.

   (2) The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30):
   In this parable, those who knew how to do good but did not do it committed sin, and these are the ones who received one talent (v. 18). The sin committed by the one who received the talent was that he went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money (v. 18). More specifically, the sin he committed was that, unlike the one who received five talents (vv. 16, 20-21) or two talents (vv. 17, 22-23), he was neither good nor faithful. He was not faithful in small things (vv. 21, 23). In short, he was a wicked and lazy servant (v. 26). He committed the sin of being lazy and not doing what he was supposed to do. He did not work with the one talent given by his master to produce another talent. The command of the Lord in this parable is to be a good and faithful servant, and to be faithful in small things with the talents entrusted to us by the Lord, bearing fruit (vv. 21, 23).

   (3) The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46):
   In this parable, those who knew how to do good but did not do it committed sin, and these are the “goats” (vv. 32-33). Here, “goats” refers to the “cursed ones” (v. 41). The sin committed by these “cursed ones” (the “goats”) was that they did not do what they were supposed to do. They did not give food to the Son of Man when He was hungry, they did not give Him drink when He was thirsty, they did not welcome Him when He was a stranger, they did not clothe Him when He was naked, and they did not take care of Him when He was sick or in prison (vv. 42-43).
   The command of the Lord in this parable is to do what is necessary. What is necessary is to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick, and visit those in prison (vv. 35-36). These righteous ones (v. 37) are those blessed by God the Father (v. 34), and the Lord tells them to “inherit the kingdom prepared for you” (v. 34).

   The common theme of these three parables is ‘did and did not do’. That is, they are divided between those who knew how to do good and did it, and those who knew how to do good but did not do it. We should be those who know how to do good and do it. We must be diligent and faithful, working hard for the Lord.

   Thirdly, sin is not acting by faith.
   Look at Romans 14:23: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” Even good works must be done in faith; if they are not done in faith, they are sin. Therefore, we must do good works and the Lord’s work by faith.
   Look at Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
   Saying “Lord, Lord” (or “Amen,” “Hallelujah”) without faith is sin. One can prophesy in the Lord’s name, cast out demons in His name, and perform many mighty works in His name, but if done without faith, all of these actions are sin. Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (v. 23).  What is there that the Almighty does not know? The Lord’s message is: “I do not love you.”

   Fourth, sin is to act in faith, but not to reach the measure.
   Sin is a lack of obedience. The “Shorter Catechism of the Korean Presbyterian Church in America, Question 14” states: “What is sin?” The answer is: “Sin is the lack of obedience to or the violation of God's law” (1 John 3:4; James 4:17; Romans 3:23; James 2:10).
   Look at what the Bible says in James 2:10: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” [(Modern Bible) “Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at one point is guilty of breaking all of it”].

   There is no one who is exempt from these four sins [(1) violating the law, (2) knowing how to do good but not doing it, (3) not acting by faith, (4) lacking obedience].
   Look at what Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.
   “By one man,” Adam, the representative of humanity, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12). Even though there were fallen angels in the angelic world, there was no sin in the human world until Adam's sin brought sin into the world. And because of Adam’s original sin, all people have sinned (v. 12). Everyone has violated the law, everyone knew how to do good but did not do it, everyone did not act by faith, and everyone lacked obedience.
   Through this sin, death entered the world. Death came to all people (v. 12). Adam, by disobeying God's command, experienced spiritual death (the separation from fellowship with God) (Genesis 3:9-24). Then, at 930 years of age, he experienced physical death (Genesis 5:5). When Adam died, his body and soul were separated; the body returned to the dust, but his soul went to the eternal world (eternal hell). At the second coming of Jesus, his decayed body and soul in hell will be united, and he will be punished forever in hell.
   Because of Adam’s original sin, all people have sinned (Romans 5:12), and thus we became sinners (v. 8) and also enemies of God (v. 10).
   Therefore, originally, at the second coming of Jesus, we would have faced spiritual death (death of the soul) like the first Adam and would have been punished eternally in hell.
   But “one man, Jesus Christ” (v. 15), or “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), Jesus Christ, died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ took all our sins (original sin, past sins, present sins, future sins) upon Himself and bore all the eternal punishment that we deserved. Thus, God confirmed His love for us (v. 8).
   The holy and righteous God, who hates and destroys sin, clearly showed His love for us, the sinners who were bound to receive eternal punishment and die eternally, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
   Therefore, when we look at our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross with a believing heart, we must realize God’s love and offer thanksgiving, praise, and worship to God.
   In the new hymnbook, hymn 150, "On Calvary's Hill", we sing:
   (Verse 1) “On Calvary's hill, the cross stands, the sign of the Lord’s suffering. I love the rugged cross, for in it, the Lord shed His precious blood.”
   (Verse 2) “My heart is drawn to the cross of the Lord, despised and rejected, the precious Lamb who bore the sins of the world and carried the heavy cross.”
   (Verse 3) “As I look at the cross and the blood He shed, I believe that He forgives me and that His precious blood was shed to cleanse my sins.”
   (Verse 4) “On the day the Lord calls me to my eternal home, I will be faithful to the end with our Lord, who lives in glory.”
   (Chorus) “Until the final victory, I will love the cross of the Lord, and until I receive the shining crown of glory, I will cling to the rugged cross.”

   Also, hymn 293 from the new hymnbook, “When the Love of the Lord Shines”, says:
   (Verse 1) “When the love of the Lord shines, joy comes, worries and anxieties fade away, and joy fills my heart. It makes me pray and drives away the faint.”
   (Verse 2) “When the love of the Lord shines, the world becomes beautiful and vibrant. In peace, my soul finds new life, and the great love of God fills me.”
   (Verse 3) “When the love of the Lord shines, all the darkness and sorrow of this world disappear. He lights the path we walk and blesses us with the great love of God.”
   (Verse 4) “When the love of the Lord shines, its radiant glow surrounds us. Even when we live in heaven after overcoming the world, His love will shine on us eternally.”
   (Chorus) “When the great love of God fills my heart, I will sing praises to it. This great love gives peace and joy to my soul.”

   In this moment of crisis, as the love of God shines in our hearts, all worries, darkness, sorrow, and fear fade away, and we are filled with peace and joy that the world cannot give. May we be those who reflect God’s great love to the world.