What does justification do about our enemy status before God?
Justification by faith removes the believer’s enemy status before God and establishes peace with Him. Because God reckons the old sin nature dead and declares the sinner just as if he had never sinned, the slate is wiped clean. The believer is no longer an enemy but now belongs to God, enjoying constant fellowship through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Les explains that justification by faith puts the believer back like Adam was before the fall. God has reckoned the old sin nature dead and gone, declaring us just as if we had never sinned, so the slate is wiped clean. The result is peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justification brings about peace with God, so we are no longer an enemy; we are now His and can enjoy His fellowship moment by moment, regardless of how well we have behaved. Unlike the unbeliever, who has no peace and lives in turmoil, the justified believer has an abiding peace with God and does not need to fear being disowned or cast out.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: