By Marvin Duncan
The doctrine of Justification is one of the great themes of the Bible. This doctrine is not a great mystery. That is, it is not a subject foreign to God’s dealings with fallen man for in Isaiah 45:22-25 God makes this declaration:
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come: and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”
From this passage and others, we see that God does speak of justification in the Old Testament. But, the question of how a man could be justified is never answered there. This part of the doctrine of justification is one of the great themes of Pauline revelation.
Before we can fully understand what Paul is saying about this subect, it is necessary to understand what God means when He speaks of a sinner being justified.
What Is Justification?
As we think of this word and how it is used in our every day speech, it would be hard for us to fully understand the Scriptural usage of this word. In our courts of law, justification is showing a sufficient reason why a defendant did a certain act. But justification in the Scriptures is far more than just showing a reason for our sin. In conversational usage, justification is proof of the justice or fairness of an act. But in the Bible, justification is an act of God where by He officially declares the sinner to be utterly and chargelessly p.ighteous,
Justification is seen as a divine edict which pronounces sinners, who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, to be as righteous as God Himself is. The Apostle Paul makes this known by his statement to the Saints at Corinth. In Second Corinthians 5:21, Paul says:
“For He (the Father) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
Thus, by God declaring the sinner is justified, He is bestowing and insuring that sinner a perfect standing in heaven for ever.
Concerning the subject of justification, Dr. C I. Scofield makes this statement:
“Justification is the judicial act of God where by He justly declares righteous the one who believes on Jesus Christ. It is the Judge Himself who declares the justified believer has been in court, only to learn that nothing is laid to his charge. Since this wonderful justification in our standing rests upon an edict of God whose decisions are not subject to vacillation and change, we are forced to the conclusion that it is both illogical and unscriptural to anticipate that a misstep of the justified one could alter, cancel, or abrogate the declaration of almighty God.”
With this understanding of the doctrine of justification, let us consider why we need to be justified.
The Need of Justification
The Scriptures are clear that man is a sinner and under the condemnation and wrath of God. We have no question of this when we read Scriptures that say, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom, 3:23) and, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
Because of the Holy character of God, He can not allow sin in any form to enter into His presence. This is why we find man separated from his Creator. When man was first created, God gave him a perfect creature righteousness which allowed him to have unhindered fellowship with his Creator. Because of Adam’s sin in eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:6), Adam lost that perfect creature righteousness. He also lost his perfect standing before God. When Adam sinned, he lost that face to face fellowship he once enjoyed with God. Man’s greatest need is to become righteous so he can once again have that perfect fellowship with his Creator and enter into the very presence of his God.
Forgiveness and Justification
I think it would be to our advantage in our study to recognize the difference between forgiveness and justification. Some individuals think that if man could only be forgiven of his sin, that would answer his need. But if we look closely at these two doctrines we will find both are necessary for fallen man, but forgiveness alone would leave man still separated from his God and forbidden from the fellowship he needs with his Creator.
Forgiveness is the remission of the legal penalty of sin. A sinner who has been forgiven is still a sinner, but one who will not have to pay the penalty for his sin. Because the sinner has lost his creature righteousness, and because God is Holy and cannot allow any creature less holy than Himself to enter into His presence, this forgiven sinner would still be separated from his Creator and his God.
There are some who have a faulty idea of justification. Some would tell us that justification means “just as if I’d never sinned.” Were this the case, the saint would be sinless but still separated from his Creator. This is because to have fellowship with God, we must be righteous, not just sinless.
Justification is the judicial declaration of a righteous standing before God. Not only does a sinner need to be forgiven of his sin so that he will not have to suffer the penalty of his sin, he also needs to be made righteous so he can enter into the presence of God and have that face to face fellowship with his Creator he so desperately needs.
How Do We Receive Justification?
Recognizing that man is a sinner and separated from God, as well as being under the condemnation of God, how can man ever hope to regain that standing Adam had by creation and lost by his disobedience?
We know from Scripture that righteousness is not obtained by the works of the Law of Moses. Romans 3: 20 (“Therefore by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin“) makes this clear.
Justification is not obtained by religious observances, as Paul tells the saints at Rome (“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God“). , To further make his point that man cannot work for a righteous standing before God, Paul says:
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom. 3:10).
Neither self-righteous actions nor moral uprightness will provide an entrance into God’s presence. What man considers good does not even register as good in God’s sight for Paul says:
“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:12).
If a man by his own efforts can not obtain a righteous standing before God, how can man ever hope to be made righteous?
We saw in our opening Scripture that God has promised that it was possible for the fallen sons of Adam to be made righteous to be justified. Yet, it isn’t until we come to the writings of Paul that we find out, how a man can be justified. It is Paul who tells us that it is in Christ that Adam’s children can find justification and receive again all that Adam lost when he fell. Paul tells us that when Christ died on the Cross of Calvary, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). It is also Paul who tells us that it is Christ that we receive the righteousness we need to stand before our Creator God. Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us:
“God hath made Him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
How are We Justified?
We have seen that man cannot obtain righteousness by his own efforts. Righteousness can only be had in the person of Jesus Christ. Because this is true, how are the fallen sons of Adam justified in Christ?
The Scriptures make it clear that man is justified by the grace of God. Paul tells us that a man is “justified freely by His (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).
The price of any commodity is an indication of its value. The price paid for our justification is immeasurable. Paul leaves no doubt that it was Christ’s blood that purchased our redemption. In Romans 5:9 he says, “Being now justified by his (Christ’s) blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
We often think of Christ’s suffering and death from the standpoint of Christ’s humanity, but Acts 20:28 speaks of Christ’s suffering from the standpoint of His Deity. Paul tells the Ephesian elders:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.”
The Blessings Of Justification
As we look at the Scriptures, we find several blessings that are enjoyed by those who are justified. Paul tells us that to be justified means:
- 1). To be saved from wrath “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9).
- 2). To be reckoned righteous. “For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness” (Rom. 4:9).
- 3). To have peace with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
- 4). To rejoice in hope. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2).
- 5). To possess the love of God. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5).