#96. Romans 3:24 – Sin will be Justified, Part 1 (Justification Series, Part XIX)

Being justified gratuitously in His grace…

The sins of all mankind – the irreverence, injustice, and everything in between – will be justified.

This may come as a shock to all “sinners” reading these words, but it is nevertheless true (and, truly, would you want something called the “evangel of God” to be anything less than shocking?)

Every action deemed “bad” will be seen as “good” – not by the one who acted it, but by the One Who caused it. A “sinful” act could hardly be understood as such unless the grandest context in which the act is committed is revealed. Almost every conceivable deed can be placed in two opposite environments. In one environment, the act may be a great heresy, while in the other, the act may deserve great commendation.

Good storytellers already know this. Think of that rush of adrenaline you get when the good guy decides to break the rules of the crooked establishment. See Harry Potter being sent to Hogwarts and fighting old No-Nose. Or perhaps Neo learning to bend the spoon. Even your anti-heroes, such as Tyler Durden, doing… well, what Tyler Durden does (I’m not allowed to talk about it.) These are phenomenal examples of breaking the rules in a right context. Yet if those establishments were the most upright and well-meaning? Surely, we would not root for Harry if the Ministry of Magic were composed of goody-two-shoes! They must be stubborn mules for the story to be compelling!

Let us think about it practically. Yes, I know many of you are shouting at the page, “What about rape?” Someone always brings this up. Rape, of course, is up there with the greatest of evils. Yet what is the act committed in the rape? If you say something like, “Penetration,” or “Kissing!” or “Hitting!” Well, congratulations – you are now weighing three individual acts which, when desired by two wanting and consensual partners, become the source of intense pleasure.

See, the act itself is not the issue. “Rape” is not solely an “act,” but a series of them performed in a horrific context which fulfill specific law-breaking pre-requisites. An act is not sinful in itself. The morality of an action does not lie in the action itself, but around the circumstances in which said action is committed.

There are many more examples of this principle which you could consider. In one context, punching your father is shocking and disturbing. But if your father were beating your mother, you laying your hands on another in defense of a victim is justifiable in many regards. In one context, taking a shot with a few friends at a bachelor party be a pleasure. But if you are an alcoholic, just out of rehab, this could not be a more terrifying notion.

The point I am making is not that morality is relative. Morality needn’t gain a bad rap from anything I’ve said for the past twenty chapters. I am saying that sin is relative – not absolute. The relative concept of rape is horrible, and yes, must be corrected (three hips for Judgment Day!) But just as importantly, when the victim is liberated, the aggressor corrected, and the matter dealt with, then the context becomes a product of antiquity. A lesson, completed. And the underlying motivation for the aggressor, being sin, will have been repudiated. No longer will the aggressor be the aggressor, for he will be unable to return to such a master.

Sin’s power, through every event great and small such as this, will be negated. It will lose all of its steam, and cease to grip anyone. Its existence is relative. Not absolute.

Only God is Absolute

Since sin is not some permanent pock, to perpetually persecute creation, we must perceive sin through the prism of the Absolute if we are to gain some perception of its passage, purpose, and repudiation in the plan of a loving, all-powerful Placer.

For starters, this means we do not need to look at sin from the perspective of man, its environment, its motivations, and more. We have been down this road before, and we see its conclusion (Rom. 3:10-20.) Instead, let us disregard sin’s impression as the “great calamity” of our lives, and instead zoom out, viewing sin in God’s divine environment.

What a difference! With this shift in perspective, sin in its relativity is seen, under the scrutiny of Christ’s sacrifice, as acts which are not merely “covered,” or even “condoned,” but used by God properly, regardless of our intent, to effect a greater good.

Joseph’s Account

Thankfully, we are not made to fantasize longingly about how this dynamic between God and sin works. God gives us plenty of records as demonstrations of His inner workings. Let us first look at the last account in Genesis, concerning Joseph and his brothers. Then we will turn again to the cross of Christ, to see the concept explained.

On the larger scale, Joseph’s brothers had no clue that a famine would sweep the inhabited earth. They had no clue that, in a short time, the world would be starved, and in great need. No, these men were pre-occupied with personal issues – that of jealousy and covetousness. “Good old Joseph has a dream!” they conspired. “We’re getting sick and tired of that guy.”

Why were their britches in a bunch? Joseph’s dream was rather… conspicuous, let’s say. “Guys, I had this dream that we were all binding grain-sheaves in a field, and all of a sudden, my grain-sheaf stood on its hind-quarters! Then your guys’ grain-sheaves bowed down to my grain-sheaf! Also, you guys are going to bow down to me, and I’m my father’s favorite, and he gave me a coat so that you don’t forget it.”

…Okay, perhaps I’m editorializing (sinning, if you will.) For the full account, read Genesis 37-50. Nevertheless, the drama was set – no self-respecting older brother would begin to dream of bowing down to their younger, especially not one with a fancy coat and special treatment! Their brilliant solution was to kill Joseph and leave him for dead.

They realized quickly that this was a bit radical (come on, guys, it’s a dream, not sliced bread.) Neither was it in the foreknowledge of God that Joseph should die, since he is one of the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel (‘twould be a rather ugly state of affairs if God’s nobility were killing each other!) So God inspired Reuben (the oldest) to instead sneak Joseph back to his father, and spare him his brothers’ wrath.

Yet this, too, was not God’s plan for Joseph. So He further inspired Judah to assert his anger again, whilst also inspiring the Midianites to travel by during their council. Judah sold his brother into slavery, leaving Joseph to become the servant of Potiphar’s household in Egypt.

Every step of the way, the brothers’ actions are mired in sin and hatred. There is clearly no love here, especially none guaranteed between the group of murderers. These men plotted the murder of one of their own because of a dream. A dream! Even if the dream were not destined to come true, we are speaking of murdering another simply because of some haughtiness. If you tried this in most countries now, you would be called crazy (a “psycho killer,” run, run, run…)

Worse still, they hid this from their father by bringing a prop – that much maligned coat, dipped in the blood of a wild animal they had killed. Jacob’s outcry is one of the most emotional passages in scripture. “For I shall go down mourning to my son, to the unseen.”

So Joseph’s story, on its surface, is one of unfair cruelty and malice at those who were supposed to have his back in everything. This is, indeed, how all of us feel at one point or another in our lives. We may even fool ourselves into thinking said calamities are deserved, for whatever we may guilt ourselves over. Tragedy inevitably strikes us all, subverting our friends, robbing us our wealth, crippling our health, and leaves us with naught but to bitch and moan about it. As we have discussed, from the manward side, all appears hopeless.

A Change in Perspective

Now, we know how the story goes. Joseph is falsely framed for making advances upon Potiphar’s (sheisty) wife, is imprisoned for some time, and correctly interprets the dreams of one who ends up working in Pharoah’s court. Pharoah then has two troubling dreams, upon which this one remembers Joseph, and recommends his interpretation to Pharoah. Pharoah heeds the meaning of these dreams – that seven years of prosper would be followed by seven years of famine – and appoints Joseph as the right hand of the king to plan accordingly.

Wait, wait, what? What happened just now? Indeed, all of Joseph’s brothers did not know of their imminent jeopardy! Yet God did. He designed their sins to deliver the most hated brother to the principal power on the earth at the time, with a view to save it.

All of us – whether Greek or barbarian, from the wise to the foolish – have a great future in store for us. Our trials prepare us for this future; different trials preparing for different relative goals on God’s end. Preparing also for the final goal of the universe (Rom. 5:18, 1 Cor. 15:22-28, Eph. 1:10, Phil. 2:9-11.) Our sins are, relatively, abhorrent. Yet in God’s hands our sins are clay. He molds us into salvation. We cannot look at an unfinished display and laugh at the Artist!

How different this is from the “god” of Christendom! Their god cannot make these ends meet, for their god only sets out to complete his goals and bless his creatures wherever his creatures comply. With our permission, their god sets to work. Such cramped breathing room hardly enables opportunity.

In truth, we can clearly see, from an example at the Bible’s entryway, that God does more than “fool” His enemies, or “beat” them, as the lesser gods of Homer or Virgil may do. No, this God actively harnesses His unsuspecting enemies, weaving their agendas into His purpose, using their opposition via this “spiritual jujutsu” technique, to further His plans.

During the seven years of famine, Joseph is finally paid a visit by ten of his eleven brothers. None of them recognize him. They bow down in recognition of his authority as the King’s Hand. What does Joseph, the type of a believer, see in this situation? Indeed, he has not been embittered by his experiences, having experienced the flip side of his journey, to Pharoah’s throne room. He disguises himself, eventually getting them to bring Benjamin, the youngest brother, to Egypt. Joseph lies, here, claiming that it is to make sure the brothers’ story is legitimate (that is, Joseph fails to tell the truth.)

When they are all gathered before him, Joseph reveals his identity, weeping tears of joy. “Be not grieved,” he cries, “nor let it be hot in your eyes that you sold me hither; because Elohim has sent me on before you for the preservation of life” (Gen. 45:5.)

Here rests the divine side of “sin.” We would do well to call this the real truth regarding the sin. His brothers, relatively, are indeed accountable for sending Joseph to Egypt. Yet if they had known that this would only enable God’s prophecy, they never would have done it. “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.” Their motive to enslave Joseph was completely wrong – their sin worse so. Yet the act, divorced from Joseph’s situation and their motivation, was extremely good, since it provided the salvation of the earth from starvation.

This makes the sin against Joseph so good, in fact, that God proclaims the act as His own! Here is Gen. 45:7, Joseph speaking–

Elohim sent me on before you to set up for you a remnant on earth and to preserve lives for you in a great deliverance. So now, not you sent me here, but the One, Elohim.

From here, we can clearly see that if Joseph had not been sold into slavery, and brought into Egypt, the lives of all, from his own brothers to all the nations of the inhabited earth, would have been lost. This would have most shown God to be a great liar, given His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be revealed as falsehoods.

You may think that I’m making mountains out of molehills. But no! The more you think about this, the more you will realize that God’s storytelling ability far exceeds that of Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin, Stephen King, and many more. His precision is executed flawlessly, and His ability to show the importance of every little action to progress the overarching plot is incredible. Most of all, that the decisive action which fulfilled the dream’s prophecy was not dictated by some “chosen” one who had to “make” a decision, but by a bunch of criminals who were delighted to sell out their brother.

The true thought, then, rings loud and clear. Joseph’s placement in Egypt was God’s act. It was right because it was necessary for the salvation of Joseph and his brothers, as well as the whole human race. Yet the act, from the manward side, was a sinful one, rife with poor intent and savagery. As a sin, it dishonored God, their Elohim, tortured Joseph, and moreover tortured their father. Yet, as an act of God, it deemed Joseph one worthy of glory, as the means of salvation, preserving Jacob, and all of his progeny, and the earth, from death.

The Above is Meant to Be Applied, Actually

No, you’re not getting out of here that easily. Many can look at the above example and interpret it as I have. But when it’s time to apply the same logic to their own sins, they seem to shrink back from the inspired word of God, backtracking on His points. “My sin didn’t make me the ‘savior of the world,’ Stephen,” they say. And this is true; indeed, not everyone’s sin serves the same function on God’s end. There are countless individual situations which serve as variables for which God progresses His purpose at present. But this is no reason to latch on to your sins, and continually apply them to yourself, as if they define you.

Still others get snippy, and retort, “You are just saying ‘We should be doing evil, that good may be coming!’” Indeed, this is the same idea Paul was charged with (Rom. 3:8.) Yet in practice, “sin,” in the “moralistic” framework of our opponents, is actually prevented via justification. Intentionally “sinning more” does not make a righteous verdict sweeter. Wherever the grace and wisdom of God is given and applied, those who receive it intelligently do not rationally go looking for more sin. With the love of God poured out in one’s heart with this just verdict (Rom. 5:1, 5,) there is no real desire on our part to “do” what justification allegedly gives you the freedom to “do.”

The whole point is that we cannot justify sin, for we do not see the greater purpose for all, as God does, to recognize the veiled, larger context in which a sin has occurred. The larger purpose becomes apparent especially with the cross of Christ, for the reversal of sin’s mark upon us is some of the greatest evidence to its redaction.

For most, at present, believe that sin is an eternal malady, with no true resolution. Sin is claimed to be as everlasting as God! We think that the effects of evil will eternally infect that creation which is aimed to be good, but which God failed to make good. According to religion, all our dead relatives who are saints happen to still be alive, just in heaven, looking at the earth in woe and misery, bemoaning the fact that sin ever crept in to that which God has strived to make “good.” In fact, some are so beleaguered by sin’s presence that they have likened this “heaven” to some utopia, where instead the saints say “Forget about it!” and put anything that isn’t the bliss in front of their face out of their minds forever! To them, heaven is a dreamy, escapist landscape where they can sip mimosas and pretend that all their sufferings earned them a spot away from this irredeemable place.

Thankfully, God has far more in mind in the way of blessings for the believer, and far more in the way of resolution for the earth, than this sordid state of affairs. Toward the end of these times, when God’s purpose is fulfilled, God proclaims that the life of all mankind is justified on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice (Rom. 5:18,) His act is included, and not limited, by our sins. Not only some sins are to be justified, but all sins. Instead of bemoaning sin’s prospects, we will be able to look back at every individual sin, and say, “Wow. As terrible as this was, I see its necessity and purpose. Without it, we would not be able to stand here today with understanding.”

Better still, the justification of mankind’s sins will not be like Joseph’s, in that we are saved from a famine. It will rather be from a greater lack – an ignorance to God – giving us a realization of Who He is (1 Tim. 2:4.)

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Interlude: The silly alliteration: a proper profession of the problem of evil

Since sin is not some permanent pock, perpetually planted to plague, poison, pervert, pollute, provoke, punish, persecute, and prey upon the present, past, and prospective creation, we must perceive, ponder, probe, penetrate, parse, pursue, and profoundly ponder sin from the perspective of the Prime, the Primal, the Preeminent, and the Perfect, if we are to procure a precise, profound, penetrating perception of its provenance, presence, propagation, persistence, perversity, purpose, place, position, progression, process, and promised passing. For only by proceeding from the proper perspective of the Prime can we properly perceive the peculiar place and purpose of this present problem within the preordained, providential, purposeful, progressive, and perfect plan of the Placer, whose profound prescience permits its presence, preserves its purpose, and promises its purging—not as a permanent plague upon the populace of creation, but as a passing phase, a preparatory period, and a providential process preceding its prescribed prohibition, purgation, purification, and permanent passing. Thus, what presently appears pernicious, painful, perplexing, and purposeless proves to possess a precise place within the panoramic program of the preeminent Placer: sin is permitted, not as the perpetual principle of creation, but as a passing parenthetical within the progressively perfected purpose of the One Who ultimately puts every principality, power, possession, and problem beneath the feet of the Prince, producing perfect peace, praise, pleasure, and reconciliation throughout the whole of creation.

- GerudoKing