The Bible is a book full of important words. In fact, every word in the original text was put there by God, for all scripture is given by inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). The very words that the inspired writers used were chosen by the Spirit of God. Paul made this clear when he wrote to the saints at Corinth on the subject of inspiration.

1 Corinthians 2:13 (ESV)
¹³ And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The Spirit was able to use words from the writer’s own vocabulary to express exactly what God wanted to communicate to us. We should see, then, the importance of every word in the Bible, and the value of studying words that are found in it. While our Bibles are translations of the original language, the most popular translations (KJV, NKJV, NAS, ESV, RSV, etc.), do a great job translating the manuscripts that are in the original language. Of course, using a Bible dictionary, encyclopedia, or lexicon is always a good idea in personal Bible study. Those resources are readily available today for us to use. Because of the value of Bible words, I want to spend the week looking at five different words in the Bible that we should know. Let us start by examining the word justification.

Justification is a forensic term meaning “to be pronounced just, or to be acquitted” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon). It refers to being declared not guilty in a court of law. In our case, it is heaven’s court, that is to say, we are justified by God. That is great news since God is the One to Whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13). It is a wonderful blessing to be justified by God. Never forget, being declared not guilty does not mean that we are innocent. In truth, we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). God, however, has forgiven us and covered our sins. David spoke of the blessing involved in this.

Psalm 32:1-2 (ESV)
¹ Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

The practical outcome is that we stand before God without sin. Some have made a play on the word justification, saying that it means, “just as if we have never sinned.” That is a pretty accurate way of thinking about it. It is because we appear before God as such that we can enjoy fellowship with Him. Since God is morally perfect and pure, He can have no fellowship with darkness (1 John 1:5-6). This is why the sinner cannot pray (John 9:31). God is too righteous to have any kind of relationship with sin. Be thankful that He was able to come up with a scheme that allow Him to justify us and remain just at the same time (Romans 3:21-26). Make sure you read this passage from Romans before you go to sleep tonight. It will remind you of the great price it took for you to be declared “not guilty.”

Our justification has not in any way been earned. It has been imputed to us by faith (Romans 3:28). Yes, it was an obedient faith that involved our response to the gospel call by repenting and being baptized (Acts 2:38), but we in no way deserved it. Now the righteous requirement of the law, that is, sinless living, is fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4). What a blessing! Because of the grace of God, we appear before Him every day just as if we have never sinned.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.