Justification can be likened to excuses in that everyone has a way to justify their actions. Being well versed in justification isn’t inherently bad as we all have a reason we can give for the things we do. But it can still be dangerous as a Christian. As there are a million ways to try to justify sin in your life many of which we can see throughout our Bibles. Yet, every time we learn the same lesson that we can’t justify sin.
Those in the New Testament thought by living in sin they could show just how great the grace of the Lord is. Seems like a pretty good justification for still partaking in sinful behavior. If it helps show just how loving and grace-filled our God is. But this was an issue that the Apostle Paul quickly addressed before it could spread throughout the early church. Pointing out that sin is still sin whether you are saved or not. Regardless of how good you may try to make your behavior seem if it goes against God’s word it is sin and shouldn’t be done for any reason. Paul makes it clear that as Christians we have no way to justify sinful behavior in our life regardless of the reasons we may be able to think of.
Romans 6:1–2 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:15–18 (ESV)
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
In the Old Testament Saul sinned against God by disobeying His commands. God had told Him to destroy the Amalekites and everything they had. But Saul disobeyed the Lord’s command. Choosing to instead spare the king and the best of the livestock. The justification he gave was that he wanted to offer the animals as a sacrifice unto the Lord. I truly believe that Saul was sincere in this and that as they went to kill the animals he began to think of how they would make a great offering. That being said though it doesn’t matter if his actions were sincere or not they still went against the direct commands of God. Causing God to reveal through the prophet Samuel that He desires obedience more than sacrifices.
1 Samuel 15:18–23 (ESV)
18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
It is easy to find a justification for sin in your life. A reason to believe that what you are doing or have done isn’t actually a big deal. In some cases, it is even possible to justify your actions from the scripture. If certain verses are used or twisted outside the context of others. But that doesn’t make your actions justified in the eyes of the Lord. Nor does it change the fact that an act is sinful and will result in an eternity spent in hell if not repented for. Scripture is clear that those who live in sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. We also read that those who make a practice of sinning don’t actually know the Lord. As well as that some will believe they know the Lord but will be told, depart from me I never knew you.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (ESV)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 John 3:6 (ESV)
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Sin is sin no matter how you try to justify it. Don’t look for a justification for sin in your life because that will only cause you to be deceived into believing you are saved when you aren’t. Saul had come up with a pretty good justification for his actions but that didn’t change the fact that he still did wrong. Ultimately causing him to lose favor with God. God hasn’t instructed us to keep away from and not do certain things for no reason. The wages of sin are death and sin causes innumerable problems in one’s life. Follow the instructions of the Bible and remove sin from your life. Don’t look for ways to make it seem like your sins are okay because you can clearly see sinful behavior is always wrong.
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Walking through life after receiving salvation without sin is nothing short of impossible though. Temptations will overtake us all at some point and cause us to fall in one way or another. When this happens don’t try to justify it by grace. Or by believing that it’s okay because it wasn’t a major sin. That’s not what we are taught in God’s word at all.
If you have fallen into any kind of sin it is time to repent no matter the reasoning you may have for it. Our goal as Christians should always be to not sin all the while knowing that when we do fail we can receive forgiveness through repentance. When we mess up our first response should be to seek the Lord’s forgiveness not try to cover up or explain away our sin. In a feeble attempt to somehow justify the actions we know in our heart were sinful in the eyes of our Lord.
1 John 2:1–2 (ESV)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
While it is possible to think up a way to justify your sins there is no true justification for sinful behavior as a Christian. You won’t be able to justify your way into Heaven. On the judgment day, only your actions will be weighed with no opportunity to give a testimony to sway the all-knowing righteous judge. God’s verdict of Heaven or hell will be determined by how you lived no matter the reasoning you may have created to feel better about your behavior. The behavior you knew very well went against God’s word which is the very reason you looked for a way to justify it in the first place. Those who enter Heaven will not be those who tried to justify their wicked behavior. No, they will be the very ones who accepted their downfalls and meet them in repentance.
Romans 2:6–8 (ESV)
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
Jeremiah 17:10 (ESV)
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Matthew 16:27 (ESV)
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Don’t fail into the same trap as King Saul and blindly stumble away from the Lord. Learn from his mistakes and see that you can’t justify sin in your life and serve the Lord. See the answer the Apostle Paul gave as the early church tried to justify living in sin after salvation. Know that it is not an option but that we must do our best to live free of sin daily. Trying to find a justification for sin is just a slippery path to destruction. Step off of it while you still can. Let go of your past and live a life free of sin dedicated fully to the Lord. The truth of the matter is that trying to justify sin is nothing more than cheating God but you must know that God won’t be cheated.
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