Christ is the hero of the story - not you. God declares you both NOT GUILTY, AND PERFECTLY WORTHY. Listen through this most important summary of the doctrine of Justification, central to the understanding of Christ, the church, and a most fundamental understanding of how to read scripture.

Justification is not a process. You are not slowly made better until you earn righteousness. Justification is forensic, that is legal. In His cosmic courtroom, God, when slamming the hammer down, declares you “Not Guilty”! Then He proclaims you “Perfectly Worthy”! - all on account of Christ.

Christians are “simultaneously saints and sinners”.

Luther and company reformed the church - to bring it back in line with scripture alone. But reformation isn’t just an historical event from 500 years ago. Rather, we need to continually assess our beliefs and practices and bring them more closely in line with scripture.

All the saints together are the invisible church, the collection of all believers across space and time. Rather than ignoring death, we should prepare for it, through learning and worshipping, word and sacrament, with the invisible church, and helping our neighbors in suffering and death.

Christ is the Author and Actor in Holy History. The scriptures have power because they are about Christ. God both reveals and conceals His plans. God also acted in history, to keep the Law for us, sacrifice Himself for us, and fully revealed Himself in Christ’s person and work.

All of scripture points to Christ, including the Old Testament. Christ shows up all through scripture. God’s people in the Old Testament believed in the promise of the Messiah to come just as we believe in the Messiah who has come. Christ was there with His people, and He is also here with His people today.

Adam failed and received the curse of death and was banished from the garden; Israel failed and was repeatedly exiled from the land. But Christ, as the New Adam and New Israel succeeds, defeating death, reversing its consequences for us, and earning rest and reward in the eternal land.

Adam failed. Israel failed. Christ comes to the world, fallen and hostile, and He Himself drives out the snake and calls back the nations. Christ’s merit and sacrifice covers them all, and unites them with Himself as the New Adam and New Israel. There is now no longer Greek or Jew indeed.

At the Recreation, we won’t sit around and play harps in the clouds all day. God will give us jobs to do. Christ as the New Adam, restores us just as if we had passed the test in Adam. Christ returns not to destroy, but to recreate. On that Day of the Lord, the dead are raised, we receive new bodies, and we get back to work.