Justification

Basic Christian Doctrines 34

1. Justification is a Legal Act of God.

One of the most precious ways the Bible describes salvation is by the word "justification." It is God that justifies (Rom. 8:33). Self-righteous sinners justify themselves, but remain condemned by God (Luke 10:29). God justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5), but not by excusing their sin or denying they are sinners. Justification is a legal act by God, a metaphor taken from the law court. The best and most popular definition is in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone."

2. Justification is by Grace Alone.

Salvation is by grace alone, and justification is by grace alone. Rom. 3:24, "justified freely by His grace." It is not purchased by us in whole or in part by our good works. We cannot earn it, nor would if we could. To try to buy it is to offer the Judge a bribe, but God takes no bribes. It is a legal act, but also one of pure grace.

3. Justification is by Faith Alone.

The Catholic Church, like the early Judaizers, says that justification is by faith and works, not by faith alone. They are not merely saying that works must follow faith; they are saying that both must precede justification. We utterly deny it. Again, they say: faith - works - justification. The Bible says: faith - justification - works. Rom.3:28 and Gal. 2:16 are very explicit that we are justified by faith alone. Faith is the condition. It is not the ground of justification. It is the condition in the sense that God will not justify without it, and it is by faith that we are connected with Christ. He is the true merit.

4. God Justifies a Person Because of the Work of Christ.

We are "justified by His blood" (Rom. 5:9). God set forth Christ as the propitiatory sacrifice that appeased His wrath. God thereby looks at the cross, is satisfied, and is then able to justify us (Rom. 3:25). God did not sweep sin under the carpet, nor wink at it. He punished it in Christ. The work of Christ, then, is the ground upon which God can legally justify us. We are also justified in His resurrection (Rom. 4:25).

5. Justification is the Second Part of the Great Exchange.

2 Cor. 5:21 is one of the Bible's golden verses of salvation. It speaks of a great exchange. The first stage took place 2000 years ago. God placed our sins upon Christ. He "made Him to be sin". This was not literal. It was by substitution. Christ was treated "as if" He were the sinner. He was then made a curse (Gal. 3:13). He suffered the wrath of God and died. The second stage is when a sinner believes in Christ. Christ places His righteousness on the sinner, who is then accounted righteous by God. He is treated "as if" he had never sinned. It is the perfect counterpart of the cross. He suffered; we can rejoice. He died; we live. We are not literally made righteous, just as He was not literally made sin. Our sins were "imputed" to Him; His righteousness is "imputed" to us. This is why faith is the proper instrument that connects us with the cross, for we believe that Christ died for us.

6. God Imputes the Righteousness of Christ to Us.

"Justify" is the legal metaphor, "impute" is the financial metaphor. God put our sins on the account of Christ. Now God puts the righteousness of Christ on our account. He marks the bill "paid in full". He transfers the value of Christ's person and work to our account. Incidently, God imputes both the active (life) and passive (death) work of Christ to us. See Romans 5. God then treats us "as if" we had never sinned. Indeed, He can look at us as clothed in the very righteousness of Christ.

7. God Pardons All Our Sins.

There are two aspects of justification. In the one, God takes away sin. He forgives it. He pardons us. Second, He puts the righteousness of Christ in its place. This completes the great exchange. God pardons all our sins - past, present and future (Psa. 103:3). God takes away the penalty of guilt. Though we are guilty, He does not hold our sins against us. We are blessed because God no longer imputes sin or its guilt to us (Rom. 4:6-8). God pardons us. He does not grant clemency, which would somehow mitigate our sins. Nor does He place us on probation or parole. He totally pardons every sin we have ever committed. Moreover, He pardons the very sin nature in which we were born.

8. Justification is Instantaneous.

God the Judge bangs the heavenly gavel down in a moment. He does not say, "Not guilty" per se, but rather "Justified!" We are freed in the twinkling of an eye. God predestined in eternity that we would be justified, but we were not actually justified until the moment of faith. Justification is instantaneous and complete. It is not progressive. No one is more justified than another. In fact, those in Heaven are not more justified than the saints on Earth, for justification is a perfect legal declaration by God Himself. An auctioneer bangs the hammer "Sold" in an auction to signal the moment the sale is enacted. So too, God bangs the gavel in the court of Heaven and in our conscience. If it did not occur in a moment, what would be the fate of those who died halfway through the process? It must be in a moment. One second before, the sinner is condemned and doomed; one second after, justified forever.

9. Justification is Not Regeneration.

These two are essential to salvation and are related, but must be distinguished. In regeneration, our nature is changed; in justification, our status is changed. In the one, righteousness is infused; in the other, it is imputed. The order is: regeneration - faith - justification. But we are not justified on the basis of what God does in us by the new birth. No, the basis is the work of Christ. The new birth is drastic, but in some respects is only partial - we still have indwelling sin. We are not justified by an internal righteousness, but by an alien righteousness. What Christ has done in us is partial and progressive (Phil. 1:6), and so would not provide a complete basis anyway. Also, there is no interval between the two. Some err in suggesting that an infant might be regenerated but not justified till later in life. If so, what if he died at age 16: if regenerate, then fit for Heaven; but if unjustified and unbelieving, fit for Hell. It wouldn't make sense.

10. Justification Is Permanent and Irrevocable.

There is no double jeopardy, no double indemnity. Satan cannot appeal the verdict or raise an objection or sue for a mistrial. It is over and done with. All that follows is the joy of knowing one is justified and free forever, never to be condemned. We have peace with God at last! (Rom.5:1).