24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

— Romans 4:24-25

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

24 and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

— Romans 3:22, 24

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

— Romans 8:1-2

19b … so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

— Romans 6:19b, 22

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Hallelujah! The apostle Paul in Romans 8:1 proclaim, “There is no condemnation!” In other words, the original sinners-turned-believers of Jesus Christ are justified by God, I.e., are called the righteous ones! They are free from the penalty of sin. How could that be?! Believers are called righteous and justified because they believe that God, from the dead, has resurrected Jesus whom was delivered up for our trespasses and resurrected for our justification. By God’s grace, to believe in the redemption in Jesus Christ is to be justified unconditionally.

Justification is God’s work in saving us from the penalty of sin, while sanctification refers to our salvation from the power of sin. In other words, justification speaks to our legal standing of complete righteousness in the sight of God, whereas sanctification has reference to God’s giving us a life that looks more and more like our legal standing of being justified. The Holy Spirit who applies in our hearts the life of Christ Jesus is an authority and power greater than that of sin. He is able to set us free. we are indeed free from condemnation, and free from sin’s power. This is the fruit we get leading to sanctification and to its end – the eternal life.