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by Nathan Buck

There is an incredible sense of relief and even joy whenever I leave the chiropractor.  I enjoy the friendship I have with my chiropractor, but that is not why I feel so good when I leave.  I feel good because my bones and joints have been re-aligned and my nerve endings, muscles, and blood flow are less restricted.  Often times I feel like my vision and thinking are improved, and tension is released.  The feeling of being fully re-aligned is a VERY good feeling.

  Recently I explained that no one has a special privilege or is exempt from God’s Law, and the Law simply shows us how “out of joint” we are from God.  In Romans 3:21-31 Paul talks about justification by faith.  To be justified is to be “fully aligned.”  Just like with the chiropractor, justification means everything is put back into its proper place and is able to work the way it was designed to.  In our relationship with God, we are justified with Him, fully aligned with Him, by faith.

  When we have faith in Jesus Christ, we accept that God justified all human brokenness through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  God Himself in the flesh (Jesus) overcame the pain of our brokenness, the separation of our rebellion, and the consequence of our rejection of His design for us – which is death.  God loves you that much, that he provided a way of rescue and re-alignment through Jesus Christ.

  And what’s more is that if you look at verse 31 in that passage, Paul makes an amazing statement.  He says, “Do we nullify the Law through faith?  May it never be so!  On the contrary, we establish the Law.” Having faith in Jesus Christ, becoming fully aligned with God, doesn’t destroy God’s Law and it doesn’t make us a “law unto ourselves” making it up as we go along.  Being justified by faith puts us in a position where our lives validate and reinforce the TRUTH of God’s teachings (Law).  Being fully aligned with God allows us to live even better than the Law and in ways that are impossible for us to do on our own.  Because He transforms and renews our hearts to bring about the fullness of the life he designed us to live.  We become living proof of His existence, our NEED for Him, and even a physical representation of His presence as we share His love and grace with others.

  Read through this passage carefully, and be sure to read some of the other blog posts from this week if you need to dig into this topic and understand more about what it means to be “justified by faith.”

  If you are not fully aligned with God – what are the questions/doubts you have?  How can you take a significant step in resolving those this week?

  If you have decided to follow Jesus Christ with your life – have you fully surrendered your life to Him and let him teach you what it means to be saved by grace and justified by faith?  How are others experiencing God’s grace and Truth through you?

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