"Justification conquers Fornication" - John Piper

Something interesting happened yesterday that really helped me in my battle against sin. As I was sitting in my room, thinking about how I am nothing, unworthy to be called a child of God and thinking I'm such a loser for sinning, I found this message by John Piper.The title is "How to Deal with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause". This message was really something else. Through the message I was realizing how gracious God is for sending His son to die for my sins.

John Piper turns to two texts: Colossians 2:13-15 and finishes with Micah 7:8-9. In the coloassians passage he shows the doctrine of substituionary atonement. (He also refers to Romans 8:3.) In this beautiful doctrine we see our sins being payed for by Christ, taking our place, and defeating satan through the nailing of His hands on the cross.

Colossians 2:
13When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Not only did Christ defeat satan, but the most beautiful thing about the substitutionary atonement is that Christ took our certificate of debt; our sins, and nailed them to the cross through His hands and feet. Romans 8:3 says "3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh".

(As Piper kept clarifying, he stated that anyone who was thinking this was a warrant for them to sin, that their condemnation was just(Rom 3:8). He told them to repent of their sins and turn to Christ.)

When trying to help the audience understand why Justification conquers Fornication, he referred to verse 15"15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." Satan has no power over you.. satan was destroyed by Christ on the cross. He clarified that, to understand the full aspect of the substituinary atonement, you must understand justification as well. He stated that Justitification "is the act by which God declares you not only forgiven but righteous." He went further to say "God requires two things of you: 1) that your sins are punished and 2) that your life be righteous." Christ did both for you. Your sins were punished by God, condemned in the flesh of Christ and you are declared righteous before a holy God by the precious blood of Christ. This reminded me of that hymn "My sins were nailed to the cross, and I bear them no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul".

Finishing up in Micah, just remember these words
"8Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy
Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.
9I will bear the indignation of the LORD
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me
He will bring me out to the light,
And I will see His righteousness."

Even though you did fall, you will rise again.