The Bread that Justifies

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Certainly appreciate the music. I know we all do. Beautiful music for the offatory, as well as the ensemble singing. Beautiful words, beautiful music. What a fantastic day it is. A day that we can appreciate so many different things. You know, one of the things I appreciate about the days of Unleavened Bread, you can recycle old jokes because people have forgotten them from a year ago, which works really well. You probably heard why people don't like to work in a matzo factory, right? You know why they don't like to work there? It's a crummy place to work. You probably also heard why the man quit his matzo-making job. He couldn't make enough dough. Well, the other reason he quit was he couldn't get a raise, either. So you probably heard about the man who got fired from the matzo factory. Do you know why? He was constantly loafing around. And here's one you'll remember. What's the best kind of cheese to put on Unleavened Bread? Mazzarella. Mazzarella. All right, sorry. Those jokes are just a little flat. So this is a great time of the year to recycle all these wonderful jokes. Well, maybe not so wonderful, but you will hate yourself when you actually repeat them. That will be one of the challenges. Of course, during this time, there is just amazing spiritual meaning that goes far beyond bad jokes, far beyond just getting physical leavening out of our homes. Certainly these days point to a fundamental truth because we recognize our calling. We've been given a calling by God to live godly lives. This lifestyle we're to live is not just for seven days, but we live a godly lifestyle by faith in Jesus Christ. Now, as you consider that, there's one word that describes this very thing, this godly lifestyle, something that's at the very core of Unleavened Bread. One word that could describe a critical principle of these days and really ongoing from here. What is that key word that comes to mind? It's a word that permeates the New Testament. It's at the very foundation of salvation. It's at the heart of eternal life. It shapes how we relate to God Himself. And really, it touches every aspect of our life as a Christian. Now, it involves God's unbelievable, merciful grace that He pours out on each and every one of us. It's something that's made possible by what the Passover symbolizes, the sacrificial death of our Savior. What is that one key word?

Justification. Justification. It has a profound and transformative reality to each and every one of us as a child of God. If we claim to be a converted Christian, justification has to be at the core of our existence. And yet, it sounds kind of abstract. Sounds kind of theological, doesn't it? What exactly is this ethereal thing? It seems kind of vague if I had to actually describe what that means. So, let's take a little bit of time this morning to better understand and explore the bread that justifies. The bread that justifies. Let's look at justification and how it fits into the days of unleavened bread. What it really means? What exactly is justification? And how do we achieve it? What's the role of faith and grace and the connection to how we go forward from these days of unleavened bread?

So, as you begin to think about that term, justification, does it sound like anything familiar to you? Maybe a little bit like justice. Justice. So, let's first and foremost, number one, think about what is justification. It is like justice. The word in English certainly sounds very similar. And justification, when you think of justice, has a legal connotation, doesn't it? It sounds like a legal term, and actually, it is a legal term. It's one that we are legally declared, we're right. You know, in a courtroom, that's what happens if you receive the justice. They describe someone who is in the right. And so, justification refers, biblically speaking, being in line with God's standard of justice, lining up with His standard. So, it refers to this idea of God declaring us righteous in His sight. Now, it's not about a person being perfect. It's not about that. It's about being vindicated. It's about being acquitted before God. And that's a whole different thing than being perfect. It's not about the process. Oftentimes, we hear about this process of conversion. But justification is not about the process of making someone righteous. It's declaring them righteous. It's a way that God deals with sin and our guilt before Him. Yes, it's a legal pronouncement, biblically speaking, from God, that God pronounces this. And what does He base that pronouncement on?

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He bases it on Christ's sacrifice, not on our doing. So let's think about that and this legal foundation for justification.

Since we're talking about a legal term, let's give this point 1, or let's say 1.1. We talked about what is justification. Let's take it a step farther. 1.1, let's look at the legal foundation for righteousness. Justification is an act of God, and it's an act of His grace, His mercy that's poured out upon us. And we are guilty of sin before God. Anyone argue with that? That would be a pretty tough defense to argue with that. But it's by true repentance. It's by seeking forgiveness before God and faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that we're justified. So when we come before God, truly repentant, seeking His forgiveness, what is His reaction? He declares us righteous. He imputes righteousness. He accounts us as are we truly righteous? No, we're not. We are sinners. But He declares us righteous. He says, okay, I don't hold you guilty any longer. And so justification involves forgiveness. He forgives our sin. He acquits us of the case of sin before us. You can think of it as pardoning us. God pardons us. And when He does, now we're brought back into a right relationship with God, not by the things we're doing, but because God is gracious. And so it's important to recognize this kind of justification doesn't really change us. It doesn't really change us in the sense of transforming our nature. We are human beings and we are subject to human nature. So what good is it?

Well, there's this distinction between changing our nature and transforming us and changing our standing before God. Justification is about our standing in God's eyes. He acquits us of sin. And it all comes down to the basis of justification. How do you base justification as we think of it in this religious connotation, in this biblical view?

Well, let's look at point 1, point 2. So we're still in this discussion of what is justification, but let's look at the basis for justification. If you'll turn with me over to Romans chapter 3.

We'll spend a little bit of time this morning in Romans. So if you've got a marker, you might want to put it in the book of Romans here. Take a look at Romans chapter 3 and we'll begin in verse 24.

Romans 3.24 begins to describe for us this basis of justification. What is it based on?

How is it that God declares us righteous? How is it that He acquits us of sin?

Well, Paul talks a lot about this in the book of Romans. So in Romans chapter 3 verse 24, notice what we find here. It says, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness. Because in His forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness. That He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So as we consider this passage, what is it emphasizing?

Justification is a gift from God, not something that we earn, not something that we deserve, not something that is merited. God is not obligated to justify anyone.

But because of grace, because of His love, because of His mercy, we find that it's through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He paid the price so that we could be declared righteous, so we could be accounted in God's eyes by what Jesus Christ has done. So it's through His grace that it makes possible justification. And how does that happen? He says here, by an atoning sacrifice, by propitiation, by His blood, by the sacrifice of Christ. Propitiation, there's another gigantic theological term.

This word only shows up in the New Testament twice, here and in Hebrews 9.5. Only two places you'll find this word in the New Testament. Hylasterion is the Greek term, and here it's translated propitiation. Over in Hebrews, they give it the literal translation. Literally, it means mercy seat. Mercy seat. Now that's interesting when you think of that in terms of justification. God set forth as a mercy seat by His blood. So the sacrifice of Christ satisfies God's justice.

Because as we think about that, it's through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it's by that atoning sacrifice of Christ that our sin is then acquitted when we repent before God. And God's wrath then is turned away. And sinners are declared righteous when they repent. And as we see here, by faith, they believe. They have absolute confidence in God's promises to declare us righteous. So consider that in a courtroom scene for a moment. When we think about this propitiation, we are throwing ourselves on the mercy of the court. Because are we innocent?

No. Is there any defense for us? No, we are guilty as charged. We are guilty as charged. And so here we see God gives mercy, a mercy seat. And it's interesting, that takes us back to the Old Testament. Where was the mercy seat? It was part of the Ark of the Covenant. It's part of the Ark of the Covenant. In fact, it was the cover, it was the lid of the Ark. And so if you imagine Old Testament times, especially on the Day of Atonement, where the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat, and we have that image of an atoning sacrifice. And staying with that image, I think Paul uses that imagery here in Romans chapter 3 to really recognize this fact as in a courtroom, we need mercy. Why do we need mercy? Because we are sinners before God as violators of His law. We violated the law of God. We've fallen short of that law. And we, because being sinners, we deserve death. But staying with this idea of a propitiation and an atoning sacrifice and the mercy seat, we're reminded of the Old Testament. Well, what was it that was inside of the Ark? The tablets. The tablets of God's law. What was it that covered law? Mercy. Mercy covers law. And so this courtroom scene is what Paul is envisioning here, that we are lawbreakers and we need the grace of God and His mercy to cover our sins because there is nothing we can do to earn that forgiveness. Nothing. Nothing. So you imagine this courtroom scene. We stand before the Supreme Court of Heaven. And what is our status?

Guilty as charged. We are guilty as charged. But because of the sacrifice of Christ, what is the declaration?

God doesn't say innocent and throw out the case. No, He doesn't do that because we are guilty. We are guilty as charged. So He doesn't pronounce us innocent. No, He doesn't say not guilty and lay down the hammer. No, He doesn't do that either. We are guilty as charged. But instead, this is where justification comes in. He drops the charges and acquits us of sin. He accounts us as righteous because He applies the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us. When we come before that Supreme Court of Heaven, as you might imagine, in repentance, seeking God's forgiveness, He acquits us. He drops the charges, even though we are guilty, and gives us justification.

And so when we think about the basis of justification, it is the sacrifice of Christ that covers our breaking of the law. So imagining this court scene, Paul talks about it a little bit more in chapter 5. If you turn the page just a little bit over to Romans chapter 5, if you're keeping track, this could be point 1, point 3. It's weird to say point, point, point, point, point, point 1, point 3. Notice here how grace and faith are the path to justification, to being acquitted of sin, to being declared righteous in God's eyes. Romans chapter 5 verse 1, it says, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Boy, there it is in a nutshell, isn't it? We're justified by our faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and God doesn't account us as sinners any longer. We are righteous in His eyes. So faith is the means by which we receive justification. Now, it's not the cause. It's not the cause of justification.

What's the cause, the reason of justification? Grace. Because God is graceful. His grace, His free gift, His favor that He pours out on us by means of the sacrifice of Christ. That's the cause. That's the cause that God can see us as righteous before Him. If we back up just a little bit to chapter 4, Romans chapter 4 verse 1, further expounds this concept.

Verse 1 in Romans chapter 4, it says, what shall we say that Abraham, our father, has found according to the flesh? Well, what about this? Well, verse 2, it says, for if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does Scripture say? Abraham believed God. Or in other words, Abraham had faith in God. Abraham believed God's promises. Abraham could foresee the sacrifice of Christ and how it applied to Him. And so we see, Paul says, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to Him for righteousness. Of course, accounted means it was put on his account. He was acquitted of sin and declared righteous before God.

And so verse 4, it says, now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. So here he's contrasting these two things, faith and works. Faith and works. And so he points out this pattern of justification through Christ. The righteousness that Abraham received was not his own righteousness. It was what was given to him by God based on his faith.

And so similarly, we are justified by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We notice verse 5, it says, to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. So if we're to have our sin forgiven, we go before God in true repentance, seeking that justification by means of God's grace through faith. We have faith in the sacrifice. It's not by works. It's not by actions. It's not by something we deserve that God sees us righteous.

It's not about commandment keeping. It's not about Sabbath observance. That does not make us righteous before God. It's not because we're carefully, diligently, willingly trying to obey perfectly that makes us right before God. It doesn't. What do we earn? What are our earnings?

We know the wages of sin, the earnings of sin, is death. And we can turn back a little bit. Romans 3, 23 says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all do. We all do. And so it's significant. It's significant to recognize. Now that doesn't mean we don't do those things.

We'll talk about that in just a moment. But those aren't the things that acquit us of sin. Those aren't the things that we find forgiveness in. Those aren't the things that we find proper standing in God's eyes through. No, that's not how we're forgiven of sin. It's through truth repentance. It's through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Maybe we can imagine this just a little bit for a moment. If you could picture, you're standing on the edge of a massive canyon, huge chasm. And yet on the other side, there's peace with God.

You can see in the distance the kingdom of God. But between you and the promise is this vast, impossible gap, this unbelievably deep canyon that's been caused by sin.

How do you get across? Well, you try building a bridge. Well, good works ought to do it. Let's be kind to people. Let's keep the commandments. Let's observe the Sabbath, the days of unleavened bread. Let's get all the possible physical leavening out we can. And you pile this plank of Sabbath keeping or unleavened nature in our kitchens. We pile these planks one by one, but they fall short. They don't reach. But you're sincere. You're committed. You're devoted. But no matter what you do, there's still a gap. There's still a gap.

But then God steps in. God steps in. Now, He doesn't hand you more planks and say, try harder. Is that what God does? No, He doesn't do that. He doesn't step in to help you finish your bridge. He provides His own. He provides the perfect bridge. He lays down the bridge of the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. And that spans the gap. Goes the entire distance perfectly, securely, completely. But you didn't build it. And you can't improve it either. And this is grace.

Grace is the bridge that spans the gap. God doing what you couldn't do. Offering what you could never earn. Now, is that the end of the story?

No. No. Now, it's your responsibility to walk across that bridge.

You have to take that first step and believe it's going to hold. It is not going to give way. And that's faith. Faith is the decision to trust God so deeply to take that first step, to take that step in faith and then keep walking. That's placing full confidence and trust in the sacrifice of Christ. And you can't carry those old planks along with you either. Faith means letting go of self, letting go of the past, and stepping fully onto the bridge that God has provided. And so, you see, justification doesn't come by building better boards.

That's not how it happens. It comes by stepping by faith into the bridge of grace that Jesus Christ has laid down. Now, of course, that brings us to an important consideration.

I wrote down point number two. Finally get to number two. How do I do it? How do I achieve that kind of justification? God initiates it. It's a divine act of grace. But how do I achieve it?

It's that genuine repentance. It's seeing ourselves for who we truly are and having that absolute confidence that God has provided the solution for sin. It's my faith in the sacrifice of Christ. It doesn't have to be vague. It doesn't have to be some undefined idea of faith. It doesn't have to be that at all. It's just having that certainty that God promised to apply that life of Christ to me and forgive my sin. Psalm 103, as far as east is from west, he promises to remove our sin. He promises to throw them in the depths of the sea and put up a sign that says, no fishing. That's what he does. And so it's by this genuine repentance and absolute confidence, resting that faith in God, knowing, knowing, having that rock solid trust that God promised it. And that settles it. We trust in our Lord. We trust in our master. We trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ, that that sacrifice, the Father will apply to us. And if we truly believe, God's going to do what He promised.

He will do that. No doubt. Absolutely no doubting. In fact, if you hold your place here in Romans, go over to Galatians 2 for a moment. Galatians 2, notice verse 16. Galatians chapter 2 verse 16 speaks to this concept.

Galatians chapter 2 verse 16, here Paul again writes, knowing that a man is not justified, now we're talking about justification, how we are acquitted of sin, how we are declared righteous before God. We're not justified by the works of the law, or literally we're not justified by works of law, not by actions, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Him and not by works of law, for by works of law, no flesh shall be justified. So by observing Sabbath, Holy Day's commandments, that doesn't justify us in God's sight. In fact, what Paul is saying here, it's not just that, it's any law, any actions of any law. There is no possible means by any law keeping that we can be justified before God. Just can't happen. So the law can't justify us. You know why?

Because we can't do it perfectly. We can't keep it perfectly. We just can't do it. The whole little testament is a statement of that very fact. You just can't do it. So God makes a way. God gives a solution. And maybe part of that is thinking about the law's role in justification. If you're taking your legal notes, this is 2.1. 2.1. How do we achieve justification? Well, we've got to have a right perspective of the law. What's the law's role in justification? Well, we have to think about what's the purpose of God's law? What's the reason He gave His law?

Well, if we go back to Romans, let's look at Romans 3, verse 20. If someone asks you that, what's the purpose of God's law? How would you respond? How would you answer that question? It's important that we know. It's important that we recognize the purpose of God's law, because we recognize it's not done away. But how does it fit? How do we see it in this means of what God's plan and purpose is all about? Romans 3, verse 20. Romans 3, 20, it says, therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified. Oh, we've already read that several times, haven't we? Okay, it's not by law keeping we're acquitted of sin or we're forgiven. Nope, it's not by that. But, He says, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

So the law shows us what sin is. It reveals sin. In fact, if you look over a couple pages, notice chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, verse 20. Romans chapter 5, verse 20 adds to this perspective. What is the purpose of the law? Well, we can understand what sin is by the law. Chapter 5, verse 20 says, moreover the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So here the Apostle Paul is telling us we can see the fullness of sin. We can really get a concept of how massive sin is by understanding God's law. We can identify it. We recognize it. We become aware of the offenses that are a result of law breaking. So here Paul is saying, hey, it's obvious. The law makes sin obvious. But of course, he's also saying grace through faith through Jesus Christ is much greater than the sin that's revealed by law. In fact, we turn the page here. How about chapter 7, verse 7 of Romans? Romans 7, 7, it tells us here, what shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not. No way. Couldn't be possible. No, the law is good. It's just. In fact, James talks about the royal law. But here Paul, having this concept of justification in mind, he says on the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet. So here we recognize, okay, the law is good, but it is a tool that exposes sin. It reveals sin. It shows us what it is. It doesn't save us, but it shows us the need for God's grace. And God's grace, then, is fully realized by our faith in Jesus Christ. And so there's a beautiful connection that begins to come into view as we think about this connection to unleavened bread. The days of unleavened bread point to the bread that justifies, the bread that justifies. Jesus Christ is the bread of life.

And as you think about this whole concept of justice and this very legal term, it's not just a legal status that we achieve through justification. Just because we're acquitted of sin as we repent before God and He applies the blood of the sacrifice of Christ to us and we're forgiven of sin, that's not the end of the process. You see, that's where most Christianity mistakes this idea. Oh, I have the faith of Christ applied to me and I'm cool and that's it.

But unleavened bread reminds us of the bread that justifies. So it's not just our status before God. It is about what comes next because justification is a summons, there's a legal word, it's a summons to a new way of life, to a new way of life. And these days that we're just finishing up today are a calling to walk in righteousness.

Justification is being declared righteous, forgiven of sin, we're acquitted of sin, we are forgiven, we are righteous now before God's eyes, but the process isn't done. Now the process we have to walk in righteousness after being justified by faith in Jesus Christ. So that's talking about a transformation. We've been set apart for God's plan, for His purposes, and we've been given the solution for sin. And that solution, we certainly recognize that at the Passover. It's a sacrifice of Christ and our faith in that sacrifice. And we recognize that God has empowered us through His Holy Spirit so that the process now of being a new creation can take place. Because Jesus Christ is not only our Passover sacrifice, He's our role model. He modeled unleavened, sinless living. And where is Christ today? Oh, we can picture Him, you know, at the throne room of God. You know, oftentimes we say that sitting at the right hand of God or sometimes standing there. But think about where Christ is personally. He's in you. He's in you. Christ is living His life in you and through you. And we live our life by not just faith in Jesus Christ. We've been given the faith of Christ. And so we, as Unleavened Bread pictures, we get ourselves and our sin out of the way. And now we have the summons to live a Christ-like life. Our Passover has been sacrificed for us. And so we keep this feast. Paul reminded the Corinthians, with the Unleavened Bread, by the bread that justifies, we walk forward in sincerity and truth. Because we've been freed from the death penalty. We're free from that penalty of sin. It's been removed. We've been declared righteous. And now we're called to imitate His life, a life of purity, a life of sincerity, a life of obedience. And the days of Unleavened Bread direct our thinking and our attention to that very calling. Because He is the bread that justifies. And now, since being declared righteous, we go forward living righteously by the faith of Jesus Christ, reflecting and building on His character in our life every single day as we take that next step forward. We do move forward. We must move forward. And when we think about that, I had a thought come to mind as I was thinking about the sermon. It seems to always happen at this time of the year. There's advertisements I see for the movie that's probably more often played at this time of the year than any other. The Ten Commandments, right? And you think of Moses, Charlton Heston, right?

We heard about, and I envisioned Charlton Heston as Moses, right? What's his most famous line in the movie? Most famous line, we read it a little bit earlier. You could turn back there if you'd like to Exodus 14.13. Boy, you see them standing at the sea, and the storm is about to hit, it looks like, and Moses cries out to the people. And that just iconic phrase that he says is straight out of the Bible. Charlton Heston says, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And then the sea rolls back. I mean, it's phenomenal, just absolutely iconic. But verse 15 is what's really important.

It's interesting. Moses says, stand still. But what does God say?

God doesn't say, stand still and watch me. Watch me do this great work. No, God answers Moses. Quit being a crybaby. Why are you crying to me? You tell the people to go forward. How do you walk forward? You've got to cross that bridge. You've got this chasm of the sea before you. And now there's a way, there's a solution to sin. You have to walk by faith. What a pivotal moment. What an amazing parallel to our journey of justification. It's an amazing connection to the days of unleavened bread. Israel delivered from Egypt this type of sin, now faced with the red sea, right dab in their way. What are they going to do? Well, God sees them and says, go forward. You left sin behind. You've been justified in my eyes. Now you've got to move ahead. Get away from sin. Egypt is representative of this way of the world. We've got to get away from that way. And you don't need a bath. You've already been cleaned up. But you have to go forward into this continual life of obedience. So that command to go forward is our active response to justification. Justification isn't the end. It's the beginning. It's the beginning of walking in faith. Days of Unleavened Bread reinforced that fact. We've been justified as we're acquitted before God. That sin has been forgiven when we go before God every time, any time. You don't have to wait for Passover to be justified before God. No, every time we get down on our knees in true repentance and trust God to apply that sacrifice to us, we are justified. We're forgiven. The penalty is removed and we are declared righteous. And so now we have to answer that calling. Like Exodus 14, 15. It's not just trying to take that next step. It's representative of a forward-moving faith. A forward-moving faith. Israel left Egypt completely behind.

We must leave sin completely, totally behind and walk forward in faith and embrace the righteousness that's made possible through Jesus Christ. And so it's just a great reminder that as we go forward, it represents the fact that justification leads to transformation. Justification leads to transformation. As we recognize this, you can turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Notice verse 17. The days of unleavened bread, seven days of completeness. That number seven oftentimes represents completeness. We're ultimately to be transformed into the image of Christ, which means we have to continually, actively respond to God's grace. And so if we have died in the waters of baptism with Christ, we get up out of that water and we're told to walk in newness of life. And like ancient Israel who had that pillar of cloud or that pillar of fire, we've been given God's Holy Spirit. We have Jesus Christ not just before us or behind us. We have Christ in us. And so God makes it possible to walk in newness of life. And so what we read here in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, it says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. And so on 11 bread pictures, that newness, we've left it behind. Now let's not let it back in. Yes, symbolically these days come to an end. But this points to the fact it's so much bigger than this. This is, I think you can think of it as a cornerstone verse about our identity. And it's not what we used to be. We've been given an entire identity shift because our past doesn't define us any longer. We are made new. As we are justified in Christ, we're a new creation. And so we move forward. And so justification in the days of 11 bread are just intrinsically connected together through this concept of the separation of sin and then walking forward in sincerity and truth. And so we've been called to live this life that reflects the status that we achieve through justification as we walk forward in righteousness through Jesus Christ. So it's a new identity. We've been given a clothing exchange, I suppose you could say. But it's not like, okay, well, maybe we've been called to an amazing banquet. Yeah, we've been called to the kingdom. But before we're justified, before we have that status with God, we are wearing filthy, worn-out, tattered clothes.

But the king has invited us to a banquet. Yet before we can enter, he gives us a clean, white robe. He acquits us of sin and justifies us, not by taking our clothes and washing those old garments. No, he gives us the righteousness of Christ, the robes of Christ to wear, as our new identity. And so this feast pictures a life that is no longer enslaved to sin.

It pictures a life that is completely committed to walk forward in righteousness. And we're not just walking to a physical land. We are walking toward the kingdom of God, being justified, not by our own righteousness, by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, working in us through God's Holy Spirit. And so since we are unleavened, we are unleavened by being justified.

We are a new lump. We're a new creation. We're a new batch. And so we walk forward, striving in every way to keep that leavening of sin out and achieve that calling of moving forward.

And so let's keep that in mind, continually renewed. And as we see those blemishes, we go before God seeking His forgiveness, seeking that acquittal from sin, and then striving to live His way. And the awesome thing is we have Christ in us. He's given us the solution to sin through the sacrifice of Christ and the means to accomplish it through the Holy Spirit. So these days of unleavened bread become, yes, a time of reflection, but a time of renewal as well, and a commitment to a life of purity. And justification is at the heart of this, that God declares us righteous by the act of divine grace that is available to all, the free gift given to those who are repentant and trust in God the Father and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so being righteous before God, being forgiven of sin, it's like those Israelites. It was just the beginning of their walk to the Promised Land.

Not just putting out sin, but now the duty of keeping it out kind of transforms the goal. So the good news is we've been given the bread that justifies, and now we must put him on. Because he removes the penalty of sin, we are declared righteous, which then makes us unleavened. And as we recognize this fact, let's be sure we're committed to honor God and the righteousness that he's given us, and go forward in renewed dedication with the power that God has freely given us to live a way that reflects the glory of the amazing character of our Savior, because God has blessed us and given us Jesus Christ, the bread that justifies.