“Your Honor, I place into evidence these documents recording all the debts this lawless individual has accumulated in his life.” The Judge flipping through the large stack of papers became increasing annoyed. “Is this a joke? You gave me a pile of blank papers. Nothing is written on them!” The prosecution team gathered around their so-called evidence and were astonished wondering what happened to all the charges that had been detailed on the pages. The man’s defense attorney stood and addressed the court, “Your Honor, someone came and paid all of my client’s debts and fines. The records were expunged.” The Judge asked the accused to rise. “I declare you justified in the eyes of the law and free to leave since no evidence can be found against you.”
A similar scene takes place in the spiritual realm every time the devil accuses believers of their past sin. The Father is the judge; the prosecutor is the devil; the attorney is Jesus; and Christians are the accused. The word devil literally means a false accuser and slanderer. Even though God has forgiven our sins, the devil never ceases accusing us before God and reminding us of our past sins. John’s record of the devil’s demise as the accuser clarifies this activity against believers. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “. . . the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night “(Rev 12:10). John also assures us we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1Jn 2:1). The word translated Advocate is the same word he used for the Holy Spirit in John 14:16. It means advocate, comforter, or intercessor and often referred to a lawyer who was a friend that stood next to an accused individual in court and pleaded his case. Our Advocate is seated next to the Father the Judge.
Until believers understand two biblical elements of salvation, ‘cancel and justify’, Christians can struggle against the devil hounding them with guilt for past sins. Paul wrote to the Colossians. He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, v14 having canceled out the certificate of debt . . . and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col 2:13, 14 NASV). Note two other versions: the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross (MSG); by canceling the record of debt (ESV).
In the first century, paper as we know it did not exist. Instead, a writing material called papyrus was made from bulrush and people also used animal skins. Both were expensive. Ancient ink contained no acidic chemicals and did not penetrate the surface of the papyrus or skins. Instead, it lay on the surface and could easily be wiped off with a sponge allowing the writing material to be reused. When people purchased something ‘on credit’, the seller issued a certificate of debt. When the debt was paid, the lender wiped the record clean. This is the imagery behind Paul’s declaration that the record of our sins or certificate of debt has been wiped clean. As Jesus was dying on the cross He said, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30). When the final payment of a debt was made, the lender wrote on certificate of debt ‘it is finished’ indicating the debt had been paid in full. Then he wiped the record clean. Jesus declared our debt had been paid in full and God wiped the record clean leaving a blank page.
The second term the Bible uses in reference to the process of salvation is justify, justification, or justified. Justification is used over 40 times in the New Testament and is a forensic or a legal term indicating the legal binding verdict of a judge when a person is acquitted of a crime. Justification does not make a believer sinless or righteous in himself—that’s the process of sanctification. Rather, God puts Christ’s righteousness into our account (A. T. Pierson). As one writer said, God now sees us through Christ-colored glasses just as if we had lived a perfect life as Jesus did! So how do you receive this legal declaration? Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:24). Much more then, having now been justified by His blood (Rom 5:9). Jesus paid the debt and wiped the certificate debt clean. It is a free gift received by faith.
We all probably have seen someone that the general public knew committed a crime but a judge acquitted them. That person received no punishment or loss of rights, and can never be tried again. I personally know and lots of other people know that I have sinned. Yet, I have been acquitted by God because Jesus paid my debt and wiped my certificate of debt clean. Justification is not something we feel; it is a reckoning in the mind of God. The devil will continually accuse and torment us with guilt if we allow it. Yet, we know the truth of our justification through multiple scripture that reassure us. So, not by feeling or works, but by faith that all God sees are blank pages.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Don’t live in torment and guilt. The devil knows I was guilty, I know I was guilty, and others know I was guilty but all God sees are blank pages. Your record is clean.