This blog is not about justification. Justification, although wonderful, glorious and immeasurably beneficial to sinners who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, is not the only doctrine in the Bible. And neither is every passage in Scripture about justification.
There is a lot of sound doctrine on justification already on the internet. We hope to add to it here on this blog. But we want to focus our comments on how justified believers should live, according to God's law.
Don't get us wrong, we love the doctrine of justification as it is taught in Scripture. And we plainly teach and believe that a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, by hearing the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone. Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
But we also believe that the church has been led astray by false teaching on the law of God, namely that it has been abolished by Christ. Through this blog, and more specifically through the word of God, we aim to show that the law of God, for all believers, is the path unto which we should be walking by the grace of God.
So that you know that we both understand and believe in the biblical doctrine of justification, we will explain it here. Hopefully, this will remove any concerns you might have. It also will free us up to speak about the Law of God in an unshackled way - to the glory of God.
In the Scriptures, "justification" or "justified" refers to those who have been rendered innocent, or just, by God himself. The word is used in Romans 5:1. Here is the Strong's Concordance reference (taken from http://www.godrules.net/library/kjvstrongs/kjvstrongs.htm) :
Word: dikaiow
Pronounce: dik-ah-yo'-o
Strongs Number: G1344
Orig: from 1342; to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent:--free, justify(-ier), be righteous.G1342
Use: TDNT-2:211,168 Verb
Heb Strong: H974 H2135 H6663 H7378 H8199
- 1) to render righteous or such he ought to be
2) to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3) to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be
The important question regarding this truth is how one can be justified, or rendered innocent before God. And the plain teaching of Scripture is that a person is justified by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Paul taught this plainly in Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The moment God grants faith to a person, in hearing the word of God, that person is once and forever justified in the sight of God. The simple equation is this:
The one that has faith in Christ is justified. The moment one is given faith in Christ by God (Phil 1:29), they are also immediately and permanently justified.
Justification is also not by works of the law, or not by obedience to the law of God, but only by faith alone, in Christ alone. Romans 4:5 says, 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. No one earns justification as it is freely given by God at the same moment God grants faith.
Finally, since one is justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, one's position before God cannot be improved by obedience to the law of God. It also can't be diminished by disobedience to the law of God. When God justifies a person through faith in Christ alone, that person is only and always perfectly justified, and will forever be so. Obedience or disobedience to the law of God has no impact, and cannot have any impact, on the justified position of the believer. (This is also taught in Romans 4:5 as quoted above.)
We hold to the 1689 Confession, which in speaking of Justification, says,
"Those whom God effectually calls, he also freely justifies,1 not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous;2 not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone;3 not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith,4 which faith they have not of themselves; it is the gift of God.5" (1 Rom. 3:24, 8:30, 2 Rom. 4:5–8, Eph. 1:7 3 1 Cor. 1:30–31, Rom. 5:17–19, 4 Phil. 3:8–9; Eph. 2:8–10, 5 John 1:12, Rom. 5:17)
You can see the whole confession by going here.
We hold to the 1689 Confession, which in speaking of Justification, says,
"Those whom God effectually calls, he also freely justifies,1 not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous;2 not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone;3 not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith,4 which faith they have not of themselves; it is the gift of God.5" (1 Rom. 3:24, 8:30, 2 Rom. 4:5–8, Eph. 1:7 3 1 Cor. 1:30–31, Rom. 5:17–19, 4 Phil. 3:8–9; Eph. 2:8–10, 5 John 1:12, Rom. 5:17)
You can see the whole confession by going here.
So, how did we do? Please let us know and thank you for visiting our blog.
The Team at Great Commission Reformed Church
Unless otherwise cited, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® (ESV ®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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