Justification
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper was to research either Justification or Progressive Sanctification. Both points of view are held by Christians in our world today. The question then is which is the most biblical? Which does the bible support by its doctrines? In this course we are studying the book of Romans and it is in this book of the Bible that Paul directly confronts this question. He makes a very clear point that we are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ. It is with this perspective that I write this research paper. Justification will be my main topic and I will build the case for it on sound Biblical doctrine.
In the Book of Romans, Paul builds the case that man is justified by faith alone. There are no works that need to be done to be justified, just faith. This is a faith in the Jesus, in what he has done for man through his life, death and resurrection. This is the only atonement that is needed for our sins; nothing we do can take away our sins. Christ has done all this for us. With this in mind let us look closer at Justification.
Justification – A Definition
Looking at the word in English, justification means “the act, process or state of being justified by God.”[1] It is also defined as “a divine, forensic act of God, based on the work of Christ upon the cross, whereby a sinner is pronounced righteous by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.[2] So by looking at the English word we see that Justification is an act of God that makes one righteous based on the work of Christ on the cross. We add to this the word Faith. The idea that one believes in this justification based on its face value. There is nothing to give, nothing to do, just believe. In the Greek the word for faith is Pistis.
In the Greek the word Justification is dikaiosune. This word can be translated as justification, but can also be translated as the word justice.[3] But as Romans clearly shows by the context the word is used in the proper translation should be justification. Paul is talking of justification as an act that has been completed. Justice shows that something must be done. With this in mind I feel that the word that Paul is using is best translated as justification.
As will be pointed out in the following paragraphs the two words Justification and Faith are closely related. It is by our faith in Jesus Christ that we are justified. To summarize the definition of Justification let us look at what Augustus Strong points out:
By justification we mean that judicial act of God by which, on account of Christ, to whom the sinner is united by faith, he declares that sinner to be no longer exposed to the penalty of the law, but to be restored to favor. Or, to give an alternative definition from which all metaphor is excluded: Justification is the reversal of God’s attitude toward the sinner, because of the sinner’s new relation to Christ. God did condemn; he now acquits. He did repel; he now admits to favor[4]
Justification – A Brief History
Our justification simply put is based upon God’s Grace. So why do we need to be justified? This question goes back to the Book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve broke God’s commandment not to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. This willful act put a wall between God and man. We have been trying to climb this wall ever since. The thing man forgot was that there is nothing that he could do to make this right. Though man made the decision that separated us from God, only God could bridge this gap again. We will see in the Book of Romans that God has indeed made it possible for man to be joined with Him once again.
God began his plan of retribution for man’s sin immediately after man had taken the bite of the apple. God never left man; He guided man throughout the Old Testament trying to lead man back to righteousness. He first chose a man to lead man back to this state. Abraham was a man that God chose. The important point that must be noted here is that God chose Abram (Abraham). Abraham did not choose God. Paul in the Book of Romans (Romans 4 1-25) shows how this choosing by God led to Abraham’s faith. This is important; Abraham’s faith came after God choose him. It was not Abraham’s faith that caused God to choose him. God choose Abraham as he was. As a sinner and a man that was raised in the religions of the times that had multi-gods and unholy acts. This is great proof for Paul’s argument in Romans as it deals with us. God takes us as we are and what we are. He does not make us go through a certain routine or course to become righteous.
God’s continues our path to righteousness by working through the man Moses. By this time Israel had become a nation and as God’s people they wanted to be justified. God gave them the Ten Commandments to aid them to this end. In giving them the Law or as in the Greek nomos, God gave Israel a means to be justified. Unfortunately this was a plan of disaster for Israel. They would find that it was very difficult to uphold the Law. Instead of leading the Israelites to God the Law led them farther away.
The Old Testament tells the story of how the Israelites tried to fulfill the law. They found ultimately that it was too difficult to uphold. God also realized this and he sent Jesus to fulfill the Law. It is through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that we are justified. Jesus is the propitiation or our atonement for our sins. Christ came to the earth to die for our sins. He once and for all covered the sin of the world. The one who was sinless became sin so that we might live.
From this point the Church began to teach the idea of sanctification, a means by which man becomes justified. This is based upon what man can do to earn his justification. It was not until a catholic monk in Germany questioned the teaching and in particular searched the Book of Romans that Justification by faith came to the front. In particular he studied Romans 1:17:
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.””[5]
It was in this verse that Martin Luther began to question what he had been taught his whole life. He saw a connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the righteous will live by faith.”[6] More in depth, Luther saw what the Bible teaches above what man tries to teach.
“I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the “justice of God” had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven.”[7]
It is clear that Martin Luther has seen the clear teaching of the Bible. That man is Justified by his Faith. God is the one who Justifies but man is the one that believes.
Basis – What is Justification Grounded ON?
First we will look closer at Romans and various scriptures that reinforce the theology of Justification. In Romans 3:9 – 12:
What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good not even one. [8]
This is where we begin. We begin as nothing. We begin as sinners. Paul says that we don’t even understand God. The God we have spent our lives trying to learn about. All the Sunday school, Church lessons and etc; and we still do not know God? This is what Paul is saying and he makes the point that it is all of us not just one of us. All have turned away, all are worthless. But what about the Law, what about the Ten Commandments? Have we not followed them since our youth? How can we be so full of sin? Paul answers these questions in verse 3:20:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the Law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.[9]
Paul clearly shows that observing the law is not the way to justification. Man can not obtain justification by his own merits. He can do nothing to make himself right with God. The following of the laws have only led man to sin. It has done the job of pointing out man’s sin, but has not done anything in terms of justifying. That only leaves one way to our justification and that is our faith in Jesus Christ. Paul points this out in verse 3:22:
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.[10]
This verse shows us that all we need to believe in Jesus Christ. This builds us to the fact that in order for Justification to be true and valid Jesus had to be who he said he was, the only son of God. He had to have come to this earth and lived as the Bible teaches us and died on the cross for our transgressions. He then had to have been resurrected as the scriptures tell us. If any of this is not true than Justification will not work. We have no propitiation for our sins if this did not happen. We know the stories of Christ’s life, death and resurrection to be true because the Bible is true. It is the living word of God and God does not lie. Paul in verse 3:23 reminds us of our sin when he writes:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[11]
As this verse clearly shows we have all sinned. Every one of us falls short of the glory of God. This includes all the great religious leaders of history. They all have sinned and fall short of His glory. This also shows that man in and of himself can do nothing towards his justification.
Romans 4:5 is a key verse to understanding justification. Within this verse are many of the truths of justification. Let us look at Romans 4:5:
“However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”[12]
John Gerstner points out in his article, Justification by Faith Alone that we can learn 7 points from this verse about Justification.
1. The justified on does “not work”
2. The justified one “trusts”
3. The justified on trusts not himself but in another: “God”
4. The justified one confesses himself to be “wicked”
5. The justified one does not have faith in his faith.
6. The justified one sees his faith only as “credited” to him.
7. The justified one sees his faith credited as “righteousness”[13]
This verse shows the way justification works on a person. First there is no works involved, and then comes trust; trust in the almighty God. We must admit to being wicked sinners. Faith is credited to him as righteousness. It again shows that all the work is completed by God. Even the faith in Christ is credited to us by God. Justification comes to us from God, by God, for God.
Justification – The Basis
It was shown at the end of the last section Romans 4:5 points out the basis of justification. We must look deeper into Justification to find the true basis for it. Let us again look back to the Old Testament and the beginning. Man’s fall is the true basis for the need of Justification. If sin had not entered the world than justification would not be needed for mans redemption. God first gave the Law to justify man but this was found to be impossible to uphold. Because of the fall man was unable not to sin. Therefore he could not uphold the law. In the building of the arc God implemented the mercy seat, the place where animals were sacrificed to atone for the sins of man. This again fell short of what was needed to secure man’s salvation. This is when the true propitiation for our sins entered the world, Jesus. Jesus came to once and for all cover man’s sin.
Justification – The Means
So the question that is left is what binds this all together for man. Faith! Faith is the glue that allows Christ to be the atonement for our sins. Man must have the faith that Christ came to be the propitiation for our sins. As John Faulkner said:
The means or condition of justification is faith (Rom. 3:22.25.26.28. etc) which rests upon the pure grace of God and is itself, therefore, His gift (Eph. 2:8). This making faith the only instrument of justification is not arbitrary, but because, being the receptive attitude of the soul, it is in the nature of the case the only avenue through which Divine blessing can come.[14]
So clearly, faith is not a work of man but a gift of God. We in our own right can not have sufficient faith to reach our salvation. God solved this problem with the gift of Jesus Christ. So again for all this to be true Christ would have had to be who he said he was and all the things the Bible says he did must be true.
The Bible speaks of Faith as a mustard seed. What does this mean? Does it mean what it seems to say upfront? Yes and No. Yes, in that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we will be blessed. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds in the plant world. This small seed than becomes a large tree in which birds make their nests. This is to say if we have a little faith it can become much larger. A small beginning can bring a harvest of plenty.
No, in that it shows how little we have to do with our justification. Justification is not received through works, but through the faith given to us by God. Like the mustard seed we come with the need to be nurtured and cared for. Like the mustard seed we can not do this on our own. We must depend on an outside source to reach our justification. That is why God sent Jesus to be the atonement for our sins. We needed a nurturer and a caregiver to get us to the point where we could be justified. All the work of Justification is done by God and God alone.
Justification – the Results / Fruits
The first result is that God is able to justify us while upholding His laws and divine plan. If there was not a propitiation for our sin than God would be made a liar. God needed to satisfy his commandments and teachings to fulfill what he has said in scripture. God has made a way to appease his wrath so we do not have to be affected by it. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary points out that there are two results of our justification. A negative result is our justification is that we are saved from: “Having now been justified …we shall be saved from wrath.”[15] This is an end that we all deserve. We deserve the outcome of the wrath of God because we are all sinners. But by His Grace we have been spared this end. Second, a positive result of our justification is that we are saved to: “Whom he justified, these He also glorified”. (Rom. 8:30)[16] This is the most important of the results of justification. We are given what we clearly do not deserve. Where we deserve the wrath of God, we are given the glory of God. We are called sons and daughter’s and brought into the kingdom. We also gain “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1) and access to God’s grace (Rom. 5:2) as positive benefits. We may look toward the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23) and our eternal inheritance. (Rom.8:17; 1 Pet 1:4) The greatest reward is that of eternal life with our Lord and Savior! This by far is a great reward that we do not deserve but through the grace of God have been given by our Justification. We have been made right with God by His justification of us. Again, through no means of our own doing, God has done all the work and justifying.
Justification – Permanency
Is justification forever or does it need to be renewed? Do we need to go to a spiritual ATM to get a renewal of our Justification? Biblically the answer is no. Christ came to once and for all pay our debt for the sins we commit. There is nothing more we can do to attain justification. God has taken and cleared our account through the sacrificing of His son, Jesus. Some may ask: Can it be lost? No, how can we loose something we did not earn. This is a gift given to us from God if we only believe in his son. Once we profess this belief, we become justified. There is no way of loosing this justification. It is a free gift from God. It is what God has wanted man to be since his creation.
Justification – Time Factors
This I believe has been shown through out this paper. Justification is an act. It is not a process. We do not go through a series or a process to attain it. The simple act of professing faith in Jesus Christ is all that is needed to attain justification. As has been pointed out all one needs is the faith of a mustard seed. Not a lot but a small amount that can be grown and nurtured into a living growing faith. God puts no time limit on faith. He simply asks us to believe and all this will be done unto you. There is no, if you do this act, then this act, you will be justified. It is simple faith that is required.
What about James?
Many may ask this question. The Book of James seems to contradict the teachings in the Book of Romans. At face value and not looking at the circumstances this may appear true. James is writing to a different degree of Christian than was Paul. Faulkner says this best when he says:
He [James] is not trying to show, as Paul, how men get rid of their guilt and become Christians, but how they prove the reality of their profession after they receive the faith. He is not only writing to Christians, as of course Paul was, but he was writing to them as Christians (“my brethren,” ver. 14), as already justified and standing on the “faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” (ver. 1), whereas Paul was thinking of men, Gentile and Jew, shivering in their guilt before the Eternal Justice, and asking, “How can we get peace with God?”[17]
With this in mind we see that both authors have Christians in mind. They are just writing to them in different times of their spiritual maturity. James is not preaching that works are required for salvation and justification. He is preaching that because of our justification we will do faith-works. These are not things that we need to do but want to do because of the faith we have in Jesus. So, in essence, both authors are preaching the same doctrine. James was also writing to a greater population of Jewish believers, while Paul was writing to a mixed crowd of both Jewish and Gentile believers.
Conclusion
At the onset of this paper I choose to support justification. That God has justified the sinner not on his merit but by His grace. This is a gift of God that we clearly did not deserve nor did we do anything to attain. In the beginning sin entered the world through the original sin of Adam and Eve. Ever since this point God has wanted man to be justified to Him. He first gave the laws as an attempt to justify man but this man was unable to do. Man could not uphold the laws and therefore could not be justified. God worked through many great men, Abraham, Moses, and David, trying to justify His people. But, to no avail. God knew that He must do something and he sent a propitiation for sin to the world. Jesus Christ, God’s own son was sent to be this propitiation. This is the way that we become justified. Christ came to the earth to pay the debt for our sins once and for all. He went to the mercy seat of judgment and paid the sins that man needed to pay for. We obtain this justification by believing in the Lord and professing his name.
What a great and awesome God we serve. Jesus came down from His throne in heaven so that we may be justified. He came and paid the debts that we could not pay. He came so that we might have eternal life.
Justification is an act, an act of belief, a belief in the one true God. Having faith as small as a mustard seed is what we must have. This is even given to us by God. So truly there is nothing we can say or do to become justified. God has done all the work, we reap all the benefit. What a God!!
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[1]Ed, Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.: Webster, Merriam, 1986).
[2]general, Holman Bible Dictionary: With Summary Definitions and Explanatory Articles On Every Bible Subject, Introductions and Teaching Outlines for Each Bible Book, In-Depth Theological Articles, Plus Internal Maps, Charts, Illustrations, Scale Reconstruction Drawings, Archaeological Photos, and Atlas (Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991).
[3]Ben Witherington III, “What Gets Lost in the Translation,” Bible Review (2004). Taken from Libronix Digital Library System.
[4]Elmer Towns, Theology for Today (United States: Wadsworth Thomson Learning, 2002), 458.
[5]The NIV rainbow study Bible: Holy Bible, New International Version, Bold line ed. (El Reno, OK: Rainbow Studies, 1992).
[6]Ibid.
[7]John MacArthur, The gospel according to the Apostles: the role of works in the life of faith (Libronix Electronic Library; Nashville, Tenn.: Tommy Nelson, 2000).
[8]The NIV rainbow study Bible: Holy Bible, New International Version.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Ibid.
[11]Ibid.
[12]Ibid.
[13]John Gerstner, “Justification by Faith Alone (The Nature of Justifying Faith),” http://www.the-highway.com/Justification-Gerstner.html (accessed September 20, 2007).
[14]Towns, Theology for Today, 459.
[15]General, Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1995).
[16]Ibid.
[17]Towns, Theology for Today, 459.