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Justification

April 20, 2026
00:00

Justification is a legal term, but what does it mean and how does it relate to Christians?

Guest (Male): Open the Bible with Colin Smith.

Colin Smith: Justified is a legal term. It means that a person is declared righteous. Now every person will one day stand trial before Almighty God, and in every case, He will pronounce one of two outcomes: justified or condemned.

Justified is a word that belongs then to the last day. But the Bible speaks about justification in the present tense: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace." See, God is saying to us, "Your case can be dealt with now. You don't need to spend your whole life wondering what God's final judgment about you will be. You can be justified, pronounced not guilty, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today."

Guest (Male): Is there someone in your life who needs to know the God of the Bible and might be open to take a journey through the Bible with you? Invite them to openthebible.org.

This transcript is provided as a written companion to the original message and may contain inaccuracies or transcription errors. For complete context and clarity, please refer to the original audio recording. Time-sensitive references or promotional details may be outdated. This material is intended for personal use and informational purposes only.

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About Open the Bible Minute

Open the Bible is the teaching ministry of Pastor Colin Smith. Our mission is to use a broad array of modern media to help people around the world meet Jesus. We do this by opening the Bible for them, helping them open the Bible themselves, and equipping them to open the Bible with others.

About Colin Smith

Colin Smith is senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, a thriving, multi-campus church located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and Founder and Teaching Pastor of Open the Bible.

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, he trained at the London School of Theology where he earned the degrees of Bachelor of Theology and Master of Philosophy. Before coming to the States in 1996, Colin served as senior pastor of the Enfield Evangelical Free Church in London.

He is the author of several books including Momentum: Pursuing God’s Blessings through the Beatitudes; Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross; Jonah: Navigating a God-Centered Life; The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional; 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible; The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life; as well as others. His preaching ministry is shared around the world through Open the Bible.

Colin and his wife Karen reside in Arlington Heights, Ill., and have two married sons and five granddaughters.

Contact Open the Bible Minute with Colin Smith

Mailing Address
Open the Bible
P.O. Box 3454
Barrington, IL 60011
Telephone
1-877-OPEN-365