Our Justification

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Romans 3:20-22a: For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Think about it for a minute. Many think that they are "justified" in their posts on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest and the other social media sites to say whatever they want. After all, "I live in a society that is governed by my interpretation of 'free speech.' I can share my angst. I can share my joy. I can share what I feel is appropriate for me. If you don't like it, ignore it."

But, God says we cannot "self justify." We cannot post anything mean toward someone and say I have "free speech" to justify our words. There is a commandment against that. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16). Luther's explanation of this in the "Small Catechism" is applicable today. He writes, "We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way." (p.13 "Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation" Concordia Publishing House 2006) We cannot justify being mean about people on Social media. God's Law is clear.

At the same we have Jesus who saves us from ourselves. We have Jesus who died as the one time sacrifice for all our sins. We have Jesus who rose to give us a NEW LIFE. And in that new life, we have peace with God and peace with people. We speak well of people. We speak the truth in love. We share that truth with grace and dignity. After all, we've been redeemed. Let's pray.

Father God, thank You for Your Law that sets us straight with ourselves. Thank You for Jesus who sets us straight with You. Lead us by the Holy Spirit to use Social Media with love, faith, grace, and dignity. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's children say...