This past week we spent time slugging our way through another section of Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia (most likely the churches founded by Paul in the southern Galatian cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe; see Acts 13:14–14:23). During this teaching we reconnected with the Gospel message that must be the basis for any and all Thanksgiving activities.

How exactly does a person get right with God?

God’s acceptance of us comes only when we become justified in His sight. The word “justification” (dikaiosis), comes from the Greek verb dikaio which means “to acquit” or “to declare righteous.” The word is used by Paul in Romans 4:2, 5; 5:1 as a legal term used of a favorable verdict in a trial. The word depicts a courtroom setting, with God presiding as the Judge, determining the faithfulness of each person to the Law as THE standard for guilt or innocence (not my effort. my good deeds, religious acts, etc.). The Law is God’s instrument for proving our guilt by exposing our actions as sin – not measuring up to God’s standard (3:9–20). To remedy this horrific situation, God sent His Son to die for our sins in our place. When we repent of our goodness and ability to satisfy God’s standard on our own and trust only in Jesus’ ability as our Savior, God forgives our sins and imputes the righteousness of Christ to us. We are then declared righteous (“justified”) before God on the basis of faith/trust/hope in the finished work of Jesus.

In this way, God is both a righteous Judge, with standards that are never minimized, and, at the same time, the One who declares us righteous – our Justifier (3:26). Bottom line: my hope is that God will accept me on the basis of His Son’s worth. I believe God will do this in the fact that God, with inexpressible joy, shows this acceptance of Jesus when the Father raised the Son from the dead!

Can you think of ANYTHING more amazing than this? Do you have anything in your life right now that is of greater weight to thank God for?

We have an amazingly loving and holy God!