Romans 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Confusion exists in the human experience as to exactly what just means. The human condition experiences hurt, pain, and loss. They want revenge against those who are guilty. Revenge isn’t just.

If you are a witness to the legal system it becomes apparent that justice is anything by just. It does not satisfy anyone.  This sense of satisfaction is key to understand God’s quality of just. God must be satisfied in order to justify all sin no matter how minor or severe, equally.

“This is no small undertaking if you stop and think about God having to be holy and just at the same time and not compromising either quality. If any sin, no matter how small is equally dangerous to the purity of God, then the cure has to be fair and just to treat all offenders equally.” Quoted from Why the Cross

Justification is a bookkeeping term. It is how debts are reconciled, taking them out of the red and into the black. The paying of a debt has to be reconciled to Him to whom the debt is owed.

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Propitiation means acceptable substitute, meaning Christ died for all our sins and satisfied God.

The debt we owe is not for the sins we have committed but rather for the death of His Son Jesus Christ. His death was the only just way for all unequal sins to be reconciled to God in His Holiness.

John14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The Greek word for “ye love” is agapao not agape with is God’s perfect love. More on that later.

Too often we measure our love capacity for God in our ability to obey His commandments. We do this forgetting that Jesus did away with the law as a requirement for a relationship with God. Since the Greek form here is a noun, this isn’t a matter of action. The verb in this sentence is keep, not love.

Many of us get caught up in the issues that they believe they “have to do”. In doing this they become legalistic and start placing demands on others. This attitude steals the freedom which Christ gives to us thru faith grace. Every demand we place on ourselves becomes a barrier in coming closer to God.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

This is the key to God’s agape love, His perfect love, is a dwelling place, an abode. If we abide in Him and He abides in us, we abide together in perfect love. This is not something which is within our ability to perform, it is perfect. Yet Christ who is perfect dwells with us and He is perfect in performance of love.

One of the most important aspects of loving relationships is shared experiences, doing things together. How do I rewrite John 14:15 in relationship to agapao and be respectful to the intimacy with which God’s perfect love becomes an active participant in those things which you can do thru obedience of faith? I tried and do not have the words to use, but I would begin with removing the word “if”.

Christ is only asking for our cooperation in this relationship. He knows what needs to be done, He has the power to do what needs to be done. He is only asking for our cooperation.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.