The credit card of justification means we charge our sins to Christ. He paid on our behalf at the cross. We are “justified by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24). All our debts are covered by this card, which we receive with the empty hands of faith. We carry it every day.
If there are some who say, “That means I can go on a spending spree of sin and just keep charging it,” the reply is not that the card isn’t really free after all or that it doesn’t really cover all debts but only the not-so-bad debts. Rather, the answer is in the psychology of the faith with which we receive and use the card. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:4, 6). That is the mentality of faith.
But the card is free. No annual fee.
