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THE DYNAMICS OF GRACE,
Part 1
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith by Jay Wegter INTRODUCTION –
Justification defines our relationship with God. The purity of the gospel depends upon an accurate understanding
of justification by grace through faith. The doctrine of
justification by faith has not been given the central place it deserves. In his book, The dynamics of Spiritual Life, Richard Lovelace describes the
problem. “Only a fraction of the
present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying
work of Christ in their lives. Many have
so light an apprehension of God’s holiness and of the extent and guilt of their
sin that consciously they see little need for justification, although below the
surface of their lives they are deeply guilt-ridden and insecure.” Jerry Bridges
also exposes the same problem indicating that the doctrine of justification by
faith has been relegated to the sphere of the unbeliever only. When that happens, says Bridges, Christians
turn from grace to personal performance as the basis for Christian living (The Discipline of Grace). In
Evangelicalism today, the doctrine of
justification has been exegeted in statements of faith, but the dynamic relationships that flow from the
doctrine have not been adequately explained. Application - Tozer understood the value of
justification for daily living. He
extolled the liberty God supplies in justification. He reminds us that when justification is appropriated, the
believer is liberated from sterile legalism, from unavailing self-effort and
from the paralyzing fear of condemnation.
Tozer adds that the doctrine of justification in Christ is not simply a
legal declaration, it is an ongoing revealer of the infinite riches of the
Godhead. THE NEED OF
JUSTIFICATION When our first
parents sinned, the whole human race was plunged into total depravity (sin
ruled every human faculty, man became dead to God, Ephesians 2:1-3). By Adam’s one act of disobedience, all of
his progeny were constituted sinners.
Adam’s descendants are sinful by nature, by practice, by preference, by birth
and by decree. God has given a
legal PRONOUNCEMENT about the sinful state of mankind (Rom. 3:9, 10ff;
3:23; 5:12). This pronouncement is a
legal declaration, a verdict about every member of the human race. It is a judicial pronouncement about our
legal standing before God. Every
unbeliever has a legal standing before God of CONDEMNATION (John 3:36;
Rom. 5:16,18; Mark 16:16). In heaven’s
sight, all unsaved people are in a state of condemnation, liable to eternal
punishment (Gal. 3:22).
No man or
woman has the power to change that standing
before
God. The unbeliever cannot lessen his
guilt, nor offset it with works, nor work his way out of condemnation.
THE NATURE OF
JUSTIFICATION
Into this human
condition of ruin, crisis and condemnation comes the glorious brilliance of the
gospel. The extraordinary message of
the good news is that through Christ there is a second legal pronouncement from the God of the universe. The second pronouncement has superceded the first legal declaration
of universal guilt and condemnation.
Justification is that second legal
declaration. It overturns the first
pronouncement for those who believe. Romans 1:16,17
answers the question, “How can sinful man be just and righteous in God’s
sight?” (See Williams Translation, “For
in the good news God’s way of man’s right standing with Him is uncovered.”) Justification is
a VERDICT about us (Rom. 3:22-28).
It is declaration takes place in the courtroom of God, before the throne
of God, at the justice bar of God, whereby the believer is declared judicially
righteous. Justification is
a legal DECLARATION by God in HEAVEN concerning a man, that he
stands RIGHTEOUS in God’s sight (Rom. 5:18,19; 3:26; 4:5; 8:33ff). The
righteousness God looks upon when He justifies the believer is resident in CHRIST
JESUS (Phil. 3:9; Rom. 4:23-25). Application – The good news of the gospel is only
received as tidings of joy by the person who has felt to some degree the
crushing weight of his own sin. The
gospel is only good news to a person who is impressed with his own ill desert
and guilt before God. God prepares a
man for salvation by convincing him of his slavery to sin and the hopelessness
of dependence upon self. The awakened
sinner respects God’s justice and has begun to quake at the condemnation of
God’s law. (For further study –
Consider what errors stem from the idea that justification is a process instead
of an instantaneous legal pronouncement.) THE AGENT OF
JUSTIFICATION Salvation is
always a sovereignly given gift of God’s grace to those who believe (Eph.
2:8,9). Only those who relinquish all
claims to goodness and acknowledge they are ungodly are candidates for
justification (Rom. 4:5; Luke 5:32). In
justification, God takes His own righteousness and credits it to the
believer. Faith cannot be a meritorious work, it is simply the channel which receives
God’s righteousness (Rom. 4:3). God justifies us
by FAITH alone (Gal. 2:15-21).
God justifies the person who looks away from himself and trusts in CHRIST
ALONE for righteousness (Titus 3:5-7; Rom. 4:4,5). Application – Saving faith never looks upon itself as
having performed a meritorious work.
Beware when the seeker asks, “What is faith, that I may do it?” When a person
exercises saving faith, it is because Holy Spirit has brought him to end of
self and led him to the risen Christ.
The “prepared” sinner despairs of being able to provide any part of his
salvation. Saving faith is
by nature self-renouncing. It judges self and condemns self. It finds the resources of self to be
bankrupt. It looks away from self and
in utter dependence looks upon Another. THE BASIS OF
JUSTIFICATION Right standing
or justification is only by reason of our union with Christ. By union with Christ, the believer is given
right standing as a gift of grace. The
Holy Spirit applies the benefits of Christ’s death and life to the one who
trusts Christ. God’s legal basis for justifying the ungodly
is CHRIST’S FINISHED WORK of substitution and redemption (2 Cor.
5:19-21; Is. 53:5,6; Gal. 3:13). The ground of (our) justification is not the believer’s faith, but the REDEMPTION
that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). Application – What errors may develop if a person
considers his faith to be the foundation that supports his justification? THE JUSTICE OF
GOD IN OUR JUSTIFICATION Scripture joins
the justice of God in the cross to the justice of God in our
justification. The argument of the
Apostle in Romans 3:25-31 is that the justice of God is upheld and vindicated
when sinners receive forgiveness. Along with Paul,
every Christian must emphasize that the justice of God is magnified in the
doctrine of justification. When the
sinner is pardoned and declared righteous (justified), it is NOT because God
has exercised leniency or clemency! God
is, “Just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom.
3:26). God upholds His own immutable
law when He justifies he ungodly. The justice of
God is made manifest in three great imputations. To impute
is to ascribe or attribute wickedness or merit to another person. When something is imputed to a person, it is a matter of counting or reckoning to
their account. (Imputation is the heart of justification. God declares the repentant sinner righteous
and does not count his sins against him because He covers him with the
righteousness of Christ the moment he places faith in Christ.) The Three Great
Imputations: O R I G I N A L S I N (The First Pronouncement) 1.) The IMPUTATION of Adam’s sin to
his descendants (Rom. 5:12). J U S T I F I C A T I O N B Y
F A I T H (The Second
Pronouncement) 2.) The IMPUTATION of the sin of the
elect to Christ (1 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21). 3.) The IMPUTATION of Christ’s
righteousness to the elect (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:21-26). The doctrine of
justification by faith directly involves the second and third of these great
imputations. In justification, there is
both the forgiveness of sin and the imputation of righteousness. In order to be regarded just in the sight of
God’s law, there must be both a positive righteousness and an absence of
transgressions. Justification
accomplishes both for the believing sinner. Romans 5:12-21
- The same divinely
ordained principle that allowed Adam to represent his race also provides that
Christ be the representative of all those who would believe upon Him. This is the reason why Christ is referred to
as “the last Adam,” (1 Cor. 15:45). Paul lifts up
God’s love and grace in Romans 5 as he sets forth Christ’s victorious work of
representing His people. In that
chapter, the Apostle makes it clear that every man stands either in Christ or
in Adam as representative. Those in
Adam remain under a reign of death.
Those in Christ are under the reign of grace and life. Application - In our horizontal
relationships we may demonstrate virtues that over time deepen our commitment
with others. We gain the trust of
others, we win their affection, we earn their respect and we prove our
faithfulness and usefulness. BUT, in
our vertical relationship with the Lord, right-relatedness is completely a gift
of God’s grace.
Status,
favor, sustenance and right standing are freely poured out upon the believer as
gifts in consequence of our union with Christ.
All of God’s subsequent dealings with us are grounded upon this fact of
free grace. We are to stand in the grace of God and exult in it (1 Pet. 5:12; Rom. 5:2).
In personal
relationships it is difficult to express love and trust if we do not know where
we stand with an individual. Many
Christians face a similar dilemma with the Lord of Hosts. They seem unable to clearly think through
the most central issue: “What has God done with my sin and guilt?” It is vital that the saint learn how to take
hold of the sufficiency of Christ as his sin-bearing Substitute.
God forgives
by “non-imputation,” and He accepts into favor by the imputation of His own
righteousness (Rom. 4:5-8). The
maturing believer practices this “gospel reasoning” as he does the accounting
of his conscience and soul. The more
biblically he thinks, the more inclined he is to receive God’s love and comfort
and to seek His fellowship. (Remember,
the whole idea of a righteousness that is a gift from God is contrary to all
our inherited nature.)
THE FOUR
DIMENSIONS OF JUSTIFICATION Although the nature of justification is that of a
forensic declaration, there are four biblical dimensions of justification that
safeguard it from distortion. Heresies related
to salvation inevitably exclude or replace at least one of the four
dimensions. 1.) We are justified JUDICIALLY by God
(Rom. 3:26,30; 8:30,33). It is a
declaration that is instantaneous and forensic, taking place in the throne room
of God. 2.) We are justified MERITORIOUSLY by
Christ (Rom. 3:24; 4:23,25; 5:8,9; 10:4).
Our right standing is grounded upon the redemptive work of Christ alone. 3.) We are justified MEDIATELY by
faith (Rom. 1:17; 3:26,30; Gal. 2:16, 3:24).
Sinful man cannot contribute to his justification. It can only be received as a gift of God’s
grace. Faith is the channel through
which it is received. 4.) We are justified EVIDENTIALLY by
works (James 2:21-25; 1 Jn. 2:4,15,19, 3:6-10,24; 4:8,20). (Works justify us from the accusations of
men who say that our claims of salvation are false. The fruit of faith is good works. In contrast to a hypocritical faith, true faith purifies the
heart and is made manifest in a life of integrity.) GOD IS
GLORIFYING HIS GRACE God’s grace in
Christ is the great revealer of the divine attributes (Eph. 1:6,12,14). The satanic lie of Eden planted the notion
in the heart of man that God’s glory and our highest good are antithetical to
one another. Through the
Person and work of Christ, the Agent of God’s justifying love, light pierces
into the darkened understanding of man, reversing the lie (2 Cor. 4:4-6). By way of the gospel, men have the Edenic
lie expunged. Through the grace of God
in the gospel, the believer comes to understand that God has joined His glory to our highest
good. Those who understand that gracious fact can say that it is rational to abandon oneself to God in Christ (Rom. 12:1). |
