Justification

By Odon Bulamba (23 August 2002)

It is true that the love of God is so great towards us. I don’t know anybody who could give his or her life for someone else because it is not easy to suffer for others. When a child makes a mistake they blame it on others to justify their own actions, making themselves look good. Jesus Christ accepted to give His life for us without any justification because His love is so great. He was judged, condemned and bore our sins, but He said nothing. Who do you know that can accept that?

One day my mother was arrested. A man had been drinking and was beaten up by some people outside my mum’s house, and the man was bleeding heavily. The Police made an enquiry to the incident and it happened that my mother had to justify herself as is to why this man had been bleeding outside her house. The Police accused her of being an accomplice and as a punishment she was to be put to death if the drunken man was to die. So my mother said to us, “be at peace in this world and never justify yourself or take revenge for what is going to happen to me”. The justification my mother made didn’t change anything in front of the Police, so the Police put her in jail. They didn’t worry about my mother’s situation at home and that her children needed to be looked after, but all they wanted was revenge for the one who was beaten up.

Sometimes our justifications are useless because the way we get out of trouble doesn’t please God. Often we get out of trouble when God wants to do something (I speak specifically to Christians). When God pushes you to the limit and you know there are tests in front of you; this is the time when justifications come, “this is hard Lord and I won’t be able to do that, please find another solution”. It is at these times where God wants to bless you and talk to you.

As Christians we are like water put on fire (fire being God), so what happens to water on fire? The water changes its temperature and when it is on the fire for some time it starts to boil, and we all know what happens when water boils, it evaporates. As Christians we are compared to this water. When God wants to visit us He puts something in our hearts and the word that we hear becomes alive and we feel that we need to change. When you hear the same message every time telling you to repent and change, you will come to a stage where everything is hot and when someone touches you they will get burnt, “Peter what you are doing is out of God’s will”, Peter then replies, “I don’t care”, and at this stage Peter becomes like vapour, he is losing something without knowing it.

When God pushes us and justifications start, this is the time where we start losing. When God talks, He talks kindly through other people. When someone tells you to change you think that it is just their thoughts and not from God, because you doubt that God can speak through that person, and when God speaks we as Christians have a problem with justification.

Our justification is just a defence but God’s justification is forgiveness, God’s justification is redemption, God’s justification is love and to bear our burdens, but our justifications are the opposite to God’s.

Last time we spoke about Onesimus, which means useful. Philemon threw out something useful for his house because he didn’t care about the meaning of Onesimus. It is the same with us, what is useful for us we just throw outside and neglect it.

So what is useful for your life? Peter what is useful for your life? Meat is useful for Peter’s life, so we are going to look at this example of meat. Peter says that meat is useful for him, what does the Bible say about meat? What would the sacrificed meat in Leviticus do? The priest ate part of the meat and the other part was burnt, so why did the priest eat this meat?

Why do we eat meat? Meat gives us iron and protein. What good is protein for your body? Muscle growth. Meat plays an important part for our lives, and when you look at meat in the Bible you’ll see that it is important for God. When God created animals he knew that they would provide food for mankind, and it is something that God has given us as a blessing.

Jesus Christ also has good meat to eat, He said take My body and eat it. To eat a man in some countries is normal but not in New Zealand. What is the difference between eating Paul’s body and a lamb’s body? It is the same thing with Christians, we reach a certain stage in the Bible where we can’t accept it and don’t take it into account. However Jesus pushes us to eat His body, imagine what His disciples were thinking. Both meats are red and have blood, but when you are asked to eat the meat of someone else justification comes in, but to eat the meat of a sheep is no problem, so why justify yourself? For God’s love as Christians we must accept everything and be tolerate towards other people, what is useful we keep and what is not we reject it, and if you are wrong accept that your are wrong without any justification.

When Peter eats meat he has to know why he is eating meat because you don’t always eat meat when you’re hungry. How many times do we as Christians feel like reading the Bible? When our bodies are thirsty we go to the tap for a drink of water, and when we are sick we go to the doctor. As Christians we must have this feeling or desire to have the word of God in us, but often when we are thirsty we are too lazy to get a drink, and when we are hungry we are too lazy to eat, so are we normal? Are we on a spiritual diet? Many people don’t have the time to put the word of God into practice.

In Africa there is a disease called malnutrition, you find a twelve year old child weighing seven kilos, and his body is just bone, if you look at this child you see death. Many Christians are like this, we are alive physically but spiritually we are dead, and even though God gives us food everyday we refuse to eat it. When Sylvie prepares Nathaniel (her son) a meal but he refuses to eat it, how do you think Sylvie feels? She won’t be happy, and if Nathaniel refuses to eat three meals a day that has to tell Sylvie something; he is sick.

When Michael comes home and finds out Nathaniel hasn’t eaten, Nathaniel has to justify himself as is to why he hasn’t eaten. Every time God gives us something to eat and we don’t take it, He is afraid that our souls might die from malnutrition, and when He comes to us He asks us, what is wrong? What will you answer Him? I don’t have time to read the Bible because I’m going shopping, or I’m tired. From here God finds that He is rejected, sometimes He wants to punish us but because it is a time of grace He leaves us alone.

Meat is useful for our bodies as was Onesimus was useful in Philemon’s house. Before eating meat you have to check your teeth to see if they are in good condition, because you have to chew meat first in order for it to go down your throat. The teeth we have represents meditation, when you chew meat it is transformed to the point you can swallow it, and if you chew a bone your teeth or tongue will tell you there is a bone because you can’t swallow a bone. We have to chew the word of God, it’s not just about knowing that Jesus died at Golgotha, but ask yourself, what does it mean to die? What does the cross mean? What does Golgotha mean? What does Jesus mean?

Find out the definitions; ask yourself, what does it mean for me? Does it have a meaning for my life? We have to chew the word, if it has bones spit it out and the Holy Spirit will provide the proteins for your soul. This will make you grow spiritually.

If you eat artificial or processed meats all the time (the word) your growth will be artificial, and when the devil comes he will break the bones of your faith, but if we eat natural grown meats the devil will attack your flesh but won’t be able to cut through your bones, and this is good because he knows there is a fence.