Source:
http://www.biblicalquestions.net/2015/01/justification-gospels-most-important.html?showComment=1428192977283#c5414437634462947891
A few months ago myself and three other pastors from my church were meeting to decide on the wording for a brief statement of faith that we wanted to start reciting at the beginning of our Sunday morning services. At one point I suggested that we use the word "justification" in one of the sentences, another pastor quickly looked at me and said, "do you know how many people don't even know what that word means?" What he said caught me by surprise, but as I thought about it I began to realize that he was probably right. This dilemma began to roll around in my thoughts for the next couple months until I finally decided that I needed to write this blog. So here it is, I am going to take some time to explain what justification is, it's repercussions, and why it is so crucial to understand as believers.
Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology). That is, we are made to be righteous apart from, and in spite of our sins that earn us guilt. This word has a legal connotation implying that a certain penalty is not owed to an individual based upon their standing with the court. I'm sure after hearing these definitions you can begin to see why the word justification it is so central to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I will explain in detail all of it's repercussions later in this blog. Right now I want to take some time to focus on a pivotal text from scripture regarding this doctrine of justification.
Romans 5:1-2- "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."
This passage gives us a basis for understanding how powerful justification really is when it comes to our salvation. Justification is so powerful that it gives us total peace with God. Justification nullifies the vicious cycle of striving to maintain a right standing with God. It puts to death our trust in us, it forces us to trust in the work that Christ did at the cross on our behalf. And this is exactly where God wants us to be, fully trusting Him for everything we need, especially our salvation. Justification gives us confidence that we now have total access to God the Father, we need not meet a list of conditions to enter His presence. Our faith in Christ has made us righteous in God's sight. Justification also serves as the only basis for a true and steady hope in eternal life.
Now, I mentioned that we need not meet a list of conditions to enter God's presence. One might say, "well doesn't the Bible say we need to confess our sins and repent when we make a mistake in order to get right with God again? Doesn't that serve as a condition?" That's a very good question. When a believer sins it doesn't cause them to break relationship with God. That is, we do not lose our position as a child of God. So no there aren't any conditions we need to meet to remain God's child. However, we do prohibit intimate fellowship with God when we sin. This is because when we sin it isn't just against us or somebody else, it's directly against God our Creator. Psalm 51:4-"Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge." In the same way that we offend another person when we do something aganist them, we offend God our Creator when we sin against Him, and thus our intimate fellowship is cut short until we ask God to forgive us. So the answer is no, confessing our sin is not a conditon we need to meet in order to maintain relationship with God, but it is a "condition" we need to meet in order to maintain intimacy with God. We wouldn't even be able to go to God and confess our sin if justification through Christ did not open the door for us to do so.
Without the binding legal ramifications of justification, we have absolutely no basis to hope in eternal life. This means we have no basis to be comforted when a believer we know dies, we have no basis to thank God for saving us, no basis to rejoice in the reality of His gift of eternal life, and no basis to not be horrifically afraid of dying. Why is all of this so? Because if there is any inkling of a possibility that we have to maintain a list of unattainable standards in order to continue to be justified in God's sight, we can have no certainty as to whether or not we will actually finish the race without error, and we can't be certain that others have finished the race without error either. Justification removes this uncertainty by addressing every aspect of our sin, past, present, and future, and giving a legal declaration of not guilty through faith in Jesus Christ. This is why when Paul writes about our justification in Romans chapter 5 he follows it with, "And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." This means that because we have been declared righteous by God we can now have certainty of eternal life. This gives us plenty of reasons to rejoice! It's the foundation of our joy in Christ! Justification is God's legal, binding, and irrevocable guarantee that we are going to spend eternity in His Kingdom.
While we are on the subject of justification by faith I want to take a moment to address the idea of "saving faith" versus "fleeting belief." A person cannot be justified in God's sight by merely having an emotional moment that amounts to nothing more than mental assent. I believe that thousands of people walk down the aisle each year hyped up over emotions, and they pray the sinners prayer thinking it's "the thing you have to do to get to Heaven." Many of these people do not experience saving faith, although some certainly do, but saving faith occurs when God grabs hold of you and empowers you to believe with your whole heart. With saving faith God's word penetrates a softened heart that was prepared by His Spirit beforehand, and it bears fruit afterward. In the parable of the sower we see an example of a person who demonstrates saving faith (Mat 13:23), but we also see an example of a person who demonstrates fleeting belief. "The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."(Mat. 13:22) We also see this in Mat. 13:20-21, and various other places in the Gospels and New Testament letters. Justification can only occur when a person demonstrates saving faith.
Now, back to justification. Later on in Romans chapter 5 we find Paul explaining the process of justification by drawing a parallel between Adam and Jesus. Romans 5:18-19- "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Here Paul explains that through the disobedience of Adam we all inherited a sinful nature by default, this sinful nature leads to disobedience which brings condemnation for everyone. In the same way, a person is now able to inherit a new nature which is the essence of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, this leads to justification for all who believe. So the way that justification works is that God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who lived a sinless life on our behalf.
Here is the way that God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ:
1. God took account of the perfect life of Jesus Christ, as He takes account of every life that lives on Earth. (Mat. 12:36)
2. Jesus Christ took the punishment that sinful men deserved by dying on the cross. (2 Cor. 5:21)
3. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead to be a mediator between Himself and mankind. (1 Tim. 2:5)
4. God gives us an invitation through Jesus Christ to be saved from the punishment we deserve as sinners. (John 3:16)
5. When we accept God's invitation He cleanses us of sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:7 & 13)
6. Now that we have been cleansed, God can now live within us, so God gives us His nature which is perfect and He credits the righteous life of Jesus to our account. (Eph. 1:13-14 & 2 Cor. 5:21)
7. Now that we have been cleansed and given a new nature, God does not impute our sin to us any longer, He reckons us a clean vessel with a righteous life and a righteous nature. He has justified us through faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
As you can see God is very systematic in the way that He goes about justifying a person. On might ask, "why doesn't God just forgive everyone and save all the trouble?" The answer comes from understanding God's multifaceted nature. God is not only merciful, He is also perfectly just. This means that He cannot let sin go unpunished. Therefore, God became a man to live a sinless life on our behalf and die the death we deserved in order to satisfy the penalty that our sin called for. This is what one would expect from a perfect God who is both merciful and just, and in Christ we find God combining two seemingly opposite concepts (justice and mercy) in a most beautiful and powerful way. As a matter of fact, there are no words to describe how majestic this process of justification truly is. Only the Eternal God could accomplish the feat of rendering mercy and justice together in the same independent act, and that act was the death of Christ on the cross.
The repercussions of justification by faith are unending but I want to point one final aspect of what justification does before ending this blog, the repercussion is this; justification by faith gives us power to endure trials. Romans 5:3- "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance." So in this verse Paul has just finished writing that because of justification we can "boast in the hope of the glory of God (being with God forever)," then he goes on to say that because of justification we can also rejoice in our suffering. Why is that? I believe the most concise answer is found in 2 Cor. 4:17 where Paul says, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Because of justification we have a certain hope in eternal life, and because of that we are able to look at our suffering and trails with the confidence that God will reward us in eternity for each of them. Without justification we have no certainty of eternal life and therefore our trails are meaningless and we have no reason to rejoice whatsoever. But thank God that is not the case! God will wipe every tear from our faces, and He will do this because we have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ! So as you can see justification is essential is more ways that we could ever imagine!
Justification is important for believers to understand for many different reasons. Without it you have no basis for hope in eternal life, you also have no reason to rejoice in suffering, you have no security in your relationship with God, you will tend view God as a taskmaster rather than a loving Father, you ultimately have no certain comfort regarding other believers who have died, you will tend to walk in condemnation and legalism, and you will never fully understand the power of what God really did through His death, burial and resurrection. I guess you could say in short that without justification by faith there is no gospel. Without justification by faith there is only religion, there is only an inadequate attempt to follow a list of rules hoping that you got it all right before you die, and none of us do. This is why justification is so important, because it is the very foundation of Biblical Christianity, it is the entire reason that Christ died!
Now that we have discussed what justification is, it's repercussions, and why it's important to understand as believers, I hope that you feel more empowered than ever to pursue all that God has in store for your life. We can now relate to God in a way that is confident, thankful, secure, hopeful, and so much more! Please consider sharing this message with others so that everyone can realize that justification is the gospel's most important word! God bless!
Photo credit to: http://counselmagazineonline.com/articles/justification/
Posted by Kyle Bailey at 4:02 PM
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Labels: Bible Basics, by grace have you been saved, Calvinism, Eternal Security, Exegesis, Free will, imputed righteousness,Justified by Christ, Perseverance of the Saints, the righteousness of Christ
Kyle Bailey
Seminary graduate. Professor of Theology at Covenant Bible College and Seminary. Happily Married. I become more amazed by the grace of Jesus Christ everyday.
11 comments:
Kyle BaileyJanuary 13, 2015 at 3:19 PM
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brad dickeyApril 2, 2015 at 8:21 AM
Why make a blog, if you are not transparent with how it is received? That is literally cult like behavior, removing posts you don't like.
Thoughts, give c them a practical not xac theological definition of justification. What does it look like on your life??? You can justify your lumber c when you make a table. Justify you ledger or check book. Etc. The word is so holy rollered up into a cliche it's literally lost meaning.
AND it's word a believer, if they are studying it, miss the point. Knowledge of the wore is useless. I know the meaning of tracheotomy, doesn't mean I can do one.
Knowledge can be a distraction to application. With knowledge, but no application imagery, it's pointless. UNLESS you are teaching translation skills.. .
It says if you have justifying faith, you will have works. This without the works, you aren't saved. But the works don't save you, they are a result of what does save you. Claiming salvation without works is like saying you are swimming in a lake and aren't wet.
Further v our teaches your spiritual maturity come through works, not bible study. If understanding this word help them in it being applied in their life, it's worthless. And this word is not something you can know about and choose, anymore than va hold can choose to go into puberty. It's organic, not engineered.
Knowing what the word means, vs knowing the lifestyle justification is grown into, are usually counterproductive....
Best intentions and all that...
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Kyle BaileyApril 2, 2015 at 9:11 AM
Brad. Thank you for your comments. The first comment was removed because it was an advertisement not an actual comment. Understanding the word Justification is crucial, otherwise we are unable to understand a very key word God uses to describe what happened when we were saved. In paragraph 6 I briefly reviewed the reality that some people do not have genuine faith. Those who have genuine faith will bear fruit which manifests in good works. The works to not save us, but they are an indicator that salvation that has taken place. It seems to me that you don't want people who don't have genuine faith to feel as if they have been justified when they really haven't, and I understand that concern. However, I have made it clear that justification only applies to those who have "saving faith," and those who have "saving faith" need to know that, "now that they have been justified by faith, they have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thanks for reading!
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brad dickeyApril 3, 2015 at 4:53 AM
I am glad I called you on it so no one else could feel the same alarm, but not investigate.
Your premise assumes you have to understand..... That is patently untrue. I do not have to understand how he does it not why, for him to do it.
Your part on saving faith was on target, I should have acknowledged it. I am on my phone and thumbs alone are challenging.
My point can be best summarized by Paul in eph 4 where he explains the most crucial knowledge we are individuals learn, that leads to Xian maturity comes trough works not study.
It's living, not knowing. It's acting, not study. God says numerous ways, places and authors, that it's him that changes us. But teaching some one must know what justification means, demands they do the changing, as the change is contingent on their knowing.
Ignorant and active, trumps knowledgeable and contemplative every day of the week in scripture, in regards to spiritual growth.
Even the knowledge we require to grow to telios, come from works, not study
I think what ruins me here boils down to the "you must know" aspect. Its false. I must know God, he is not just a philosophy. I can not know him rationally, I must learn of him experientially.
Saying we must know the meaning of justification to be saved, is like saying I have to know endocrinology to enter puberty. It's an organic change, not a knowledge gained.
If you had time, i would like to show you how the harder you strive to "know" him rationally, the harder you work against surrendering to him, as you fight for control, not relinquishing it.
Most with any evangelical leanings at all, aren't comfortable at alm with even the possibility I could have said that correctly.
Iow, I would like to dialogue, but realize you may not have time or appetite for it.
If you edit a post, you should explain why to avoid assumptions are made. My assumption was influenced by a similar discussion on Christian maturity that the author refused to publish my comments or questions after his post.
Protect your ministry show more not less.... But I "get it" regarding ads....
May your ministry be blessed. We have a Facebook group with selected individuals to discuss things like this. Broad, ecumenical, young and old, wise and simple, a gamut of mindsets.... Feel free to contact me/us if v you ever wish to bounce your thoughts against the wall.
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Kyle BaileyApril 3, 2015 at 7:55 AM
Knowing we are Justified helps us to understand we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
Jesus said you shall KNOW the truth and the truth shall set you free. As Christians we must have a combination of knowing and doing not one or the other. God bless you also!
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brad dickeyApril 3, 2015 at 2:17 PM
Kyle BaileyApril 3, 2015 at 7:55 AM
Knowing we are Justified helps us to understand we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
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Ginosko? Or logic? The issue is HOW YOU grow to KNOW, and if KNOW means GROK (*Heinlin term) an inner instinctual, intuitive, muscle memory sort of knowledge, or RATIONALIZE, where you consider it a practical conclusion and accept it.
GROK is closer to Ginosko than teaching, and logic is.
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YOU>>>>Jesus said you shall KNOW the truth and the truth shall set you free.
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HOW you learn to KNOW is our discrepancy. Paul said it was through works of love, not bible study. Paul also said the most important theological debate of his day, one he was so charged about he wished his opponents would mangle their penises over, was not important but faith working through love was.... Gotta think PAUL had some thought behind such "atrocious" (by today's preaching's standards) theology.
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As Christians we must have a combination of knowing and doing not one or the other. God bless you also!
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How you get the knowledge is the key, and what is knowing.
Spiritual growth is just that GROWTH not engineering. You can't engineer when you enter puberty, you can't engineer your spiritual growth. YOU CAN set the change with being mobile and applying things, but the most important lessons, scripturally, are through application, works, not study.
To teach people to search for study, rather than teach them how to live, is to lead them to fight God for control of their lives.
Really really. I can give 15 pages off the top of my head to back it up, which is unimportant, I just don't want to be dismissed as rambling here...
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Kyle BaileyApril 3, 2015 at 3:52 PM
2 Timothy 2:15- "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, as a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
It's Biblical to teach people to study. It's also important to teach people to apply what they study. I have never advocated for one over the other but both. Study, and apply. Come to know, and put to action what you came know through the Word and the Spirit.
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brad dickeyApril 3, 2015 at 4:00 PM
I don't know about you, but I'm not a BISHOP over a city as huge as Ephesus was. Ephesians 4 contradicts your interpretation. it says that the gifted leaders in the church, lead the people to works of service, through those works, they gain the knowledge that leads to spiritual maturity/perfection/teleios.
You've got a verse that says, SINCE yo uare a young leader of old more wise men, be prepared study to be approved.
It's not biblical to teach people to study. It's a distraction to lead them to a thirst for knowledge. Scripture says...
Knowledge puffs up.
Works build up.
God will save you if you understand how or not. You just gotta run that race, walk that walk, lead that life. It's not what you know, it's how you live that teaches you about things.
I can't help but notice, you avoided my specific points.
I'll assume that means you are done with me.
Shame, if you teach in a Seminary, we should expect more I'd think.
":(
Really, sorta sad.
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Kyle BaileyApril 3, 2015 at 4:14 PM
Romans 12 tells all Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Like I said study and application. God told Israel to meditate on His word day and night, He also told them to apply it. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Btw seminary is for training Pastors so teaching them to study it perfectly appropriate.
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brad dickeyApril 4, 2015 at 5:16 PM
Kyle, why do you not address the references I give when I give them?
Do you lack answers?
Or are you just that confident that I'm so insignificant my presentations do not even require consideration?
EIther way, it's one RUDE AS HELL thing to do.
So this will be my last post. I'm sure you are happy for that...
1) Two things, the "BE TRANSFORMED" and the "MIND" are going to be our focus here.
The Greek word for MIND, and the Hebrew word for heart, in the verse that says your heart of stone will be changed by GOD for one of flesh. The MIND/HEART issue are synonomous here. The changing is done by whom? God.
Every verse that addresses you not sinning, 1 john 3:9, 5:18; Gal 5:16 for examples, contribute the not sinning to GOD, not man. Who did the changing in that one?
Trials and Tribulations, how God trains you, comes through works, action in your life, not Bible study.
The training mentioned in Hebrews 12 is training HE gives you/us. NOT training we do for ourselves.
But, as a preemptive strike here, please, if you actually address these thoughts, answer, WHO parted the Red Sea?
Your options are GOD or Moses. The riddle is why did MOSES have to do work if GOD did the parting. OR Why did Moses not free His people earlier if he had that sorta power?
Spiritual maturity occurs during synergistic activities, not knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, Works build up. You demonstrate the danger of the knowledge all through our conversation. You won't address my biblical references, just dismiss them. And blindly repeat the same argument, with verse after verse, which are shot down time after time, which you don't even acknowledge. You teach in a Seminary? YOu can't get a degree without a class in Hermeneutics in any Seminary I ever looked in.
Jesus corroborates this message, that maturity comes through GOD not man's study with the following message.
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brad dickeyApril 4, 2015 at 5:16 PM
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit. Word for POOR means dependent, needy, requires assistance. You teach making a stronger spirit through knowledge. Jesus taught the NEEDY not independent spirit, got the blessing. You seem to think it's the opposite.
Then the Rich Young Ruler story...
Rabbi how do I get eternal life?
Jesus, keep the commandments, (And he gives some samples of which covenant he intends..)
RYR, I have kept them.
Jesus doesn't explain he does not keep them. (You'll give us the typical assumption on how the RYR didn't keep them, however it's no where in the text. Jesus raised a friend from the DEAD, you'd think it would be easier to keep this guy from dying...)
Jesus changes the topic, "If you would be perfect...." What does perfect mean again? Mature, developed...remember? Jesus switched the conversation with him, much like he did with Nicodemus. If you would be Spiritually Mature,
Jesus said, "If you would be perfect, give up your self providence, become needy, a pauper and come follow me..." WOW sounds like a physical example of being born again... Dying to the old self, being born to a new self that God leads...
Again, it's the dependence on HIM that is the change... NOT some knowledge he got.
2) John wrote that If you don't have proper love you know God and He don't know you. Agapao, requires action. Thus the KJV word Charity... But, the point is, without the proper love you aren't anything, saved, mature, even in a relationship with GOD.
Love requires action, reference Gal 5:6 again. Reference James 2, faith (working through love) is a requirement of slavation, and PROPER faith produces that action/love.
It's through the works/ application/ LOVE that maturity is found.
Lastly, if you get the LOVE right, you fulfill the law/commandments. If you wish to not sin any more, growing into the love is the answer, NOT learning more dogma.
I've given you plenty, and a comprehensive explanation. I gave a somewhat detailed group of references to start with, and was ignored.
Really, we can stop now. ONE more ignoring me and I'm likely to get aggressive and return insults for the insult you give me.
