When you’ve done the wrong thing, have you ever tried to justify your actions – in your own mind and before others? It’s called self-justification. You have to ask yourself … why do we do that?

An interesting question that. Why do we try to justify ourselves when we’ve done something wrong? Because actually, we have a strong affinity with doing what’s right. We want to see ourselves and be seen by others to have done what’s right, even when we haven’t.

Why are we chatting about this in the days leading up to Easter? Because the gift of that blood-drenched Cross on which Christ was crucified … is justification. Here it is:

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

Whenever you see the word “therefore” in Scripture, we need to ask ourselves what the “therefore” is there … for? And in this case, the Apostle Paul, who’s writing this, is pointing back to the earlier chapters where he’s explained how, by putting our faith in what Jesus did for us on that cross, our sins are completely forgiven because His sacrifice paid the price that justice demanded.

When we’ve done wrong we don’t have any peace, do we? That’s why we go the self-justification route, in an attempt to claw back that peace by putting ourselves on the right side of right and wrong. Truth be known, we hunger for justification – a right-standing if you will – and the peace it brings.

But if we want true justification, a true right-standing before God, true peace … there’s only one way: By putting our faith in Jesus, who paid the price of our sin.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.