Just as all have sinned, all can be justified freely by God’s grace. Justified means to be declared righteous, it is a legal term. So we are declared free of guilt before God, we are acceptable to Him. This does not mean that we suddenly become virtuous. Being declared innocent is immediate on putting our faith in Christ. Being transformed is a process that continues throughout our lives and will be brought to completion on the Day that Christ returns. This declaration in our favour is based purely on God’s grace, it is freely given to us. No one deserves it, no one has earned it, no one can earn it. What is the basis for this decision by God? It is based on the work of Christ that Paul will describe in the succeeding verses.
Note that we are redeemed. We were held in captivity to sin, we need to be set free, to be rescued. We were in that state because of our own sin.
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