The justification or total acceptance that we have in Christ is given as a gift. No strings are attached and no conditions are given except to trust Christ as the Savior.
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; (Rom 3:24-25)
The free gift existed because Christ became a propitiation. A propitiation is an offering that satisfies God and leaves a sweet smelling aroma in his nostrils as the Old Testament sacrificial system stated. The infinite value of the death of the Son of God is the reason justification is a gift. We cannot add anything to what Christ has done. To do so would be to lessen the value of Christ’s work on the Cross. So all is of Christ and nothing from us except the exercise of faith in what he did on the Cross. The more we realize who Jesus Christ is and what he means to God the Father, the more we will understand how God can justify us freely as a gift. Further, we will enjoy the gift more.
