Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Freely, what a concept. We come to one of the greatest statements of grace in all the scriptures.
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Justification is to be declared righteous in the eyes of God. Righteousness is to obey God’s law perfectly. We are justified freely. We are classified by God as having perfectly obeyed His law. How can we obtain something freely that requires work? It is by grace. It is by another’s work. Grace has been described as God’s unmerited favor. It is favor that you did not earn. It is free. Freely we are declared just. This comes by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. His grace and the redemption are synonymous. The redemption was unmerited on our part. We did nothing to earn it, we did nothing to achieve it. If God required one condition then grace is no more grace. If faith is required, then we are under a condition. You can see how man has changed this free grace into a conditional grace. Ask anyone how I am made right or just before God and most will tell you it is by believing. Here grace and works have been mixed.
Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Paul spoke to the Galatians and warned them of placing conditions on man, mainly circumcision in the letter to Galatia. To completely trust in the finished work of Christ is to fully lean upon His work. To add anything to this is to partially trust at best.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Our redemption occurred while He hung on that tree being made a curse for us. We are justified by that redemption. There was no justification without the redemption and there was no redemption without that justification. They occurred at the same time. That justification was free, it was of grace. Looking at the original text the verb used here is passive in regard to the recipient. What that means is the act of justification has nothing to do with the one who is being justified. They are passive in the process. The verb also shows us that it has already taken place. For us today it is an act completed in the past that had not input by us who are justified. There was no condition on our part to be justified.
Some may not see the importance of the timing of salvation but let me ask a series of questions to illustrate my point. When and where did Christ bear our sins? When was sin put away/discharged? When did God see the blood? When was propitiation made? When was the law fulfilled in its entirety? When was God’s justice satisfied? When was righteousness earned and established? When did God accept the righteousness earned by Christ? When were we declared righteous? Would God require anything to be added to the work of Christ? If nothing was left, if God was satisfied and could ask for no more then where do we look? I think the answer to these questions is right in front of us. It is by and at the cross of Christ. Remember when He cried those words, “it is finished!”