Week 9 Doctrine: Our standing before God Day 1 - What is Justification? Scripture - Psalm 32:1, Romans 3:28, Romans 5:1, & 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 Devotional - Justification is the doctrine which states that God sees His children as perfect and sinless. Not because anyone can be absolutely perfect or sinless in this life; but because God sees us as hidden in Christ. One day we will be perfected, but until then, God looks on His children as though they are already perfect. Justification is a legal word. It is the proclamation of God’s ruling. We as sinners are made righteous by Christ's finished work on the cross. As God's gavel falls in the courts of heaven, He shouts "righteous"! Questions - 1. What is the justification? 2. How does God see His children as perfect? 3. What kind of word is Justification? Day 2 - What is Glorification? Scripture - 1 John 3:2, Romans 8:29-30, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:4 Devotional - We have already learned about the process of sanctification; when we slowly, over the course of our life, become more holy and like Christ. Although a Christian is always growing in sanctification, we have our promised Glorification to look forward to. Glorification will happen when God brings the new heavens and the new earth! God will remove all of the remaining sin in us. No longer will we have to fight against our sin nature because it will be gone. On that day, we will be perfectly transformed and made into Christ's likeness. When we are glorified, our sin nature will be purged and our physical bodies will be made perfect. Questions - 1. What is glorification? 2. How is sanctification different from glorification? 3. Aside from sin being removed, what else is fixed in our glorification? Day 3 - Adoption Scripture - Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:17, Hebrews 12:6, & 2 Corinthians 6:18 Devotional - You probably know someone who has been adopted. Maybe you have been adopted by your parents. Adoption is something that Christians rejoice in because God has adopted all of His children. Remember, we were once all enemies of God. We hated Him in our hearts. He has graciously changed our hearts and adopted every one of His elect into His family. We are no longer God's enemies, but God's children. As His children, we have access to Him whenever we want. We can talk with Him, and enjoy all of the blessings that Jesus secured for us. Questions - 1. What is adoption? 2. Are we naturally friends of God? 3. Who does God adopt? Day 4 - Perseverance of the Saints. Scripture - Philippians 1:6, John 10:28-29, Jeremiah 31:3 Devotional - Some people believe that it was their own decision that brought them into a right relationship with God. We know that is not true. It is God who pursues and saves His elect sheep from the wages of their sin (even from before creation). Because it is God who does the miraculous work of saving us, then it is also true that it is God who keeps us safe in His fold. Jesus can't lose any of the sheep that He died to save. Because God cannot fail and is all-powerful, none of His purposes or plans can fail. Can the creation prevent the Creator from accomplishing what He set out to accomplish? Certainly not! None that Jesus bought with His blood will ever be lost. Questions - 1. What is the perseverance of the saints? 2. Can we lose the salvation that Jesus won for us? 3. What did Jesus save us from? Day 5 - The Last Judgement Scripture - Matthew 11:22, Psalm 96:13, Acts 17:31, & 2 Timothy 4:1 Devotional - The thought of God judging all of His creation might be somewhat scary to us. That is because we know that we cannot stand before God and answer for all of our sins. There could never be an excuse for our sin that would be good enough for God. The Bible tells us that everyone will face a final Judgment for their sin. Jesus will be the Judge, but He will also be the advocate or lawyer for His elect. Jesus won perfection for His people, so they have no need to fear. For God's elect, the judge will rule in their favor. They will inherit eternal life and blessed fellowship with God. Everyone that is not found to be in Christ's family will be sentenced to eternal Hell and torment. This is also where Satan and his fallen angels (demons) will be sentenced for eternity. Questions - 1. Who will Judge the world? 2. Who won right standing for God's elect? 3. What will happen to all of God's enemies?