What Is Meant By Justification By Faith?

As reported by Douglas Moo, justification by faith is such an important topic of discussion and theology that it was this very point that brought Martin Luther to a full understanding of what salvation truly was. Justification by faith is the very heart of the gospel, the very essence of the letter written to the Romans and found at the very heart of God’s Holy Scripture.[1] Paul further elaborates on these results and what Paul means by three truths is that people can only be justified by faith. The first truth Paul reveals is that humans can’t boast. We play no part in the justification process. Second, all people are able to experience the benefits of God, both the Jew and the gentile and lastly, the law is not put aside or abolished it has been established through the death of Christ on the cross. This is all due to faith and grace. This is worth reiterating, there is nothing we are able to do to obtain justification. It is a free gift that only God could have provide for us. I head a preacher say one time that our very best to God is still sin.[2] Moo then expounds further on his explanation of justification by faith saying it is for both Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised in the same way, through faith. He also states:

“Those who are in Christ fulfill the demand of the law. Suggesting that Paul is alluding to this idea when he claims that his teaching of justification by faith “upholds the law.” It does so by bringing people into relationship with Christ so that Christ’s own perfect fulfillment of the law might be applied to them.[3]

[1] (Moo 2002, 23)
[2] (Moo 2002, 86-87)
[3] (Moo 2002, 88)

How Do We Know That We are Justified?

Before we expound on this question, we must address a fundamental argument that seems to come up whenever this question is raised. That is the different views between Paul’s teachings and the teachings of James. First, we will start from the root (faith) and work our way into the branches (believers) and then to the fruit (justification and sanctification). According to the Willmington’s Guide to the Bible, the root of justification is faith. This is in sharp contrast with the teaching that James teaches, or is it? James states that through works man is justified.[1] James 2:24 says, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”[2] Paul says the root of justification is faith. So we are able to see that there is really no argument between these two apostles. What they demonstrate is, according to Paul’s view, faith is the root of justification, while James teaches that works is the fruit of justification.[3] The supposed contradiction here is very evident when you look at the context in which these men wrote on the subject of justification. Basically, Paul concentrates his writing and teaching on the root of justification and James concerns himself with the fruit that is bore from justification.[4] After reading several sources on the subject of “Fruit of Justification,” the common theme was that the fruit of justification produces sanctification, which is the process that a Christian will go through to become Christ like and Christ minded. Another fruit of justification is tranquility of mind. This can be classified as serenity or a peace of mind apart from guilt. Louis Berkhof seems to have captured the exact definition and explanation of the fruits of justification in the following quote:

“The Bible clearly teaches that the fruit of justification is much more then pardon. They who are justified have “peace with God,” “assurance of salvation,” Romans 5:1-10, and an “inheritance among them that are sanctified,” Acts 26:18, the following points of difference between justification and sanctification should be carefully noted:

1. Justification removes the guilt of sin and restores the sinner.
2. Justification takes place outside of the sinner in the tribunal of God, and does not change his inner life, though the sentence is brought home to him subjectively.
3. Justification takes place once for all. It is not repeated.”[5]

Many theologians present their case and the evidence that a person is justified by their works and others say it is realized through a person’s sanctification. Sanctification is the process by which we are made Holy. This process is a result of a changed lifestyle for those who have committed their lives to Christ.[6] One point of view is our works do not save us, not one bit. It doesn’t even factor. On the other hand, justification by faith will always produce good works. It is the evidence of justification by faith.
[1] (Willmington 1984, 738)
[2] (NASB Study Bible 1999)
[3] (Willmington 1984, 738)
[4] (Willmington 1984, 511)
[5] (Berkhof 1996, 513)
[6] (Chad Brand 2003, 1443)

Who Is Justification For?

The simple answer is that justification is for both Jews and Gentiles. Paul demonstrates the plan God has for justifying both the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. Israel was God’s chosen people; their commission from God was to establish a Godly nation to be the light to stand out and call the rest of the world to Him.[1] In light of this it is interesting to note that the Jews were supposed to be the light to the rest of the world. They were to draw all men to reconciliation with our creator. It would appear that the Jewish nation decided to hoard this saving grace. This would have lead the entire state of Israel into the new age of salvation and into a full justification.[2] However, God in his infinite wisdom has set aside a remnant of Jewish believers who will always represent the truly repented Israel until the end of the age when all of Israel will submit to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to God’s original plan. This remnant also represents the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One major problem that should be addressed in regards to the Jewish nation is that even though they are the chosen people to represent God, most of them rejected the Gospel message. This is demonstrated in the scripture found in Romans 9:30-32 where is says, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue righteousness by faith, they tried to pursue it though was by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone."[3] I would highlight that it was due to the fact that Israel rejected the gospel. Instead of pursuing righteousness by grace, they pursued righteousness through the Mosaic Law. This was a contributing factor inhibiting total submission to God’s will.
[1] (Karris 2005, 71,72)
[2] (Locke 1824, 331)
[3] (NASB Study Bible 1999)

Why We Need Justification

The exact reasons that we need to be justified has been a matter of debate since the beginning of recorded history. In the following paragraphs we will systematically walk through the process of justification starting from the very beginning, with the fall of mankind by direct sin against God from Adam and Eve. Romans 1:17-3:20 walks us through the realization that all are sinners.[1] We can see that throughout history the human race is in a constant state of rebellion against God and God’s plan to redeem us and bring us back into fellowship with Him. The reason that we as human beings are separated from God is because of sin, which can be easily defined as, failure to conform or submit to God’s moral law, by our action our attitude, or our very nature. Sin can also be defined through scriptures.[2] 1 John 3:4 states, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” In Romans 3:20 we find that violating God’s law provides us with the knowledge of sin. That passage also states that we can’t work our way to be righteous because the scripture states that none are justified by their works.
The exact definition for justification is a legal term which can be found in a court of law. Justified is a legal verdict that means we are found innocent and we are acquitted of any wrongdoing or crime. This is what is meant by justification by grace. Even though we are guilty of a serious crime, we are acquitted for everything that we have ever done wrong and which was contrary to God’s law.[3]
Not only is it important to cover that we are sinners in the sight of God, keeping in mind that the definition of sin is the act of rebelling against God, we must also look at original sin. In studying the origin of sin we will study Adam the first man and Adam the last man. Adam the first man is the Adam that God created at the beginning of the creation and the last Adam is a reference to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. According to Douglas Moo, when we explore original sin it will at first seem unfair and may provoke the question why am I being held responsible for something that happened thousands of years ago? There are several ways to understand original sin. First, we as human beings can be evil and self-serving in all areas of our life. This is why we steal, lie, cheat and sometimes commit atrocities like abortion or murder. The simple explanation as to why we commit these crimes before God is because we inherited the sin of Adam and as Moo puts it, “we are stained by its consequences.” The next reason Paul walks us through that everyone has sinned and we all die because we have sinned. Moo spoke correctly when he said,[4]
“Our sin is the sin of Adam, in which we share. But the point is this: according to Paul, we really did sin when Adam did. Admittedly, we do not understand perfectly the mechanics of how that takes place. Some theologians think that Adam is our legal representative. Others suggest a more organic relationship: we are all genetically tied to Adam, the ancestor of all humans.”[5]
The last Adam, also called the second Adam, is Jesus Christ. In Romans 5, Paul starts to unravel the nature and effects that Adam’s sin caused. The first Adam brought about death to all mankind, whereas the second Adam, in obedience to His Father, submitted to being hung on a cross to correct the disastrous results of the first Adam’s fall.[6] It is also important to place the first and second Adam in parallel to see the results that each one had on the justification of all mankind. We see the first Adam in the Garden of Eden being tempted by satan and Christ in the desert being tempted by satan. Here are some of the parallels between Adam and Christ. We see paradise versus wilderness, satisfied versus starving. Both are tempted by lust of the eyes and flesh along with pride. We see Adam’s disobedience to obeying God and Christ’s complete obedience and submission to God, and finally banished by angels versus ministered to by angels. Max Anders sums this up perfectly:
“Clearly, the early church (Matthew as well as Luke) saw the temptation experience of Christ as being the Garden of Eden revisited. – But under the harshest of conditions, making Christ victory all the more profound. In his victory, the second Adam regained dominance over satan which the first Adam gave up in Eden.”[7]
The next provision that God gave to the world was the law given through Moses, also known as the Mosaic Law. There is also reference to this law in Romans 9:31 and it is mentioned as the Law of righteousness. According to Moo, the law is placed into a very negative light, serving in salvation history.
“It brings knowledge of sin, it cannot justify, it stirs up wrath, it increases the trespass and it is contrary to grace.”[8]
In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul makes it very clear that the law made our situation even worse off by turning sin into transgressions. Transgressions can be characterized by a willful disobedience against God and His word. [9] An expectation in studying the Mosaic Law would suggest that God uses this for a greater good for all humanity. However, it is seldom looked at in a negative context and that is the next area of study that we will pursue. To put it bluntly, the law did not bring about life for Israel, instead it brought death. It is through our unification to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, that we are dead to the law. This has empowered those who believe in Jesus as the messiah to bear the good fruit God has intended for humanity. It is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are able to accomplish the law and serve all humanity, instead of the failure that Israel experienced.[10] We can also see another parallel being formed between the law and Christ. I would like to use an analogy that is from a book called, “The Way of the Master,” which will illustrate this point correctly. Imagine yourself in a courtroom and you are being charged with a very serious crime. The judge tells you that you have to pay a fine of ten million dollars or you are going to jail for the rest of your life. Of course, we do not have ten million dollars and sadly we don’t know anyone who does. At that moment the judge says, “Bailiff, take him away!” Then someone you don’t even know, stands up and walks to the judge and says, “Your honor, I sold everything I own, my cars, my house and all that I have so I can pay this fine. The judge looks at the check for ten million dollars and states that you are free to go. The letter of the law and the fine has been satisfied. This analogy is precisely what Jesus did for us by sacrificing himself for our sins. Allowing Him to suffer the consequences for the actions that we caused and ultimately fulfilling every letter of the law because we were unable to.[11]

Cite
[1] (Sproul 2000, 28)
[2] (Grudem 1994, 490)
[3] (Borg 2001)
[4] (Moo 2002)
[5] (Moo 2002, 105)
[6] (Moo 2002, 106)
[7] (Anders 2000, 176)
[8] (Moo 2002, 120)
[9] (Moo 2002, 122)
[10] (Schreiner 1998)
[11] (Cameron 2002, 133,134)