I finished re-reading R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God a couple weeks ago, but I have been thinking about a particular point ever since. On page 250, Dr. Sproul introduces us to a Latin phrase that is central to understanding the Christian life: simul justus et peccator. I know it’s rather early in the morning for Latin, but this is worth thinking about.

He points out that we have a problem: we live in this world as sinners before a holy God. We need to be “just”–that is, to be in right standing before God. But how can sinners be in right standing before the Holy One?

Dr. Sproul explains:

“simul justus et peccator–’at the same time just and sinner.’ That is what a saint [he means any Christian] is, a person who is at one and the same time just, yet sinful.

“That a saint is still a sinner is obvious. How then can he be just? The saint is just because he is justified. When we put our personal trust for our salvation in Christ and in Him alone, then God transfers to our account all of the righteousness of Jesus. His justness becomes ours when we believe in Him. It is a legal transaction.

In other words, we sinners can stand before a holy God not because we are righteous but because we’ve been declared righteous. Believe it or not, this hefty bit of theology has profound implications for our daily lives.

It means simply that when we sin, we can ask for and actually receive forgiveness from God for our many sins. And if we believe that what the Bible says is true, then we can go through life with a clear conscience, no longer weighed down by the burden of sin but set free to obey God, set free to enjoy God.

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