Rom 3:21 How Are We Justified? 12/13/2009 ßà
Justification is that act of God’s grace whereby He imputes to the sinner – who is in himself guilty and condemned, but elect in Christ – the perfect righteousness of God in Christ, acquits him of all guilt and punishment on the ground of Christ’s merits, and gives him a right to eternal life.
#1. The Need for Justification (Jer 17:9, Rom 3:10-12, Psalm 5:5, 7:11, 11:5, 58:3, 1John 5:19)
#2. Guilt Taken Away (Eph 1:5, 1Cor 2:2, John 6:37)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel According to John, John
6:45 (2X). In the past six weeks we have seen in the series on Exodus that
this series showed a systematic development of the system of faith that we
hold. We have seen the manna, representing Christ as the bread from
heaven, and Christ as the bread of life. Next we saw that Moses struck
the Rock, representing the crucifixion of Christ. Next we saw the battle
between Joshua and Amalek, representing the battle between Christ and Satan
from Pentecost and onward. Next we saw the restoration of Moses’ wife,
representing the restoration of the remnant of national
When we speak of the word “righteous”, we must realize that this is the same word as “just”. And thus the “righteousness” of God as the judge is the same word as the “justness” of God as the judge. Therefore the act whereby God makes someone righteous is also called the act of justification. We need to be aware that out there in the churches of the world the great debate is concerning this justification. In other words, the great debate is concerning how we are saved and made acceptable before God. The Arminian gospels are twisting the process of justification to suit their own viewpoints. We must be aware what the right way is, so that we can recognize what is false. We must know the truth, and then believe what the Bible says concerning the doctrines that we hold. That is why the title of this sermon is, “How Are We Justified?” (2X). Questions such as these have been opened up during the Reformation, and the complete answers are still being worked out these days; for we must not totally rely on the answers of the ancients, but we must be teachable by God the Holy Spirit. God says in John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” Also, when we study this question, “How are we justified?” the answer is not only found in what the ancients have written, but also what God the Holy Spirit is teaching us now. This may be an insurmountable task for an average chemical engineer; but we must also remember that God can use humble fishermen, and a tax collector, and a rebellious zealot, and even an obstinate Pharisee, to formulate His plan for the salvation of mankind. And thus He can use an average chemical engineer, for it is not man’s intellect that formulates how we are justified, but it is God the Holy Spirit speaking through His Word, the Bible. And so, let us begin with the definition of Justification.
Justification is that act of God’s grace whereby He imputes to the sinner – who is in himself guilty and condemned, but elect in Christ – the perfect righteousness of God in Christ, acquits him of all guilt and punishment on the ground of Christ’s merits, and gives him a right to eternal life.
This definition, formulated by Herman Hoeksema, is acceptable, harmonizes with the Scriptures, and is a good starting point for our discussion on justification. And so, we want to know, “What is that act of God’s grace?” It is an act of God’s grace that leads us into the condition of salvation. The cry of the Reformation was in opposition to the salvation plan that was taught by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman church said, “When you are baptized in water you are saved, and the sins you commit after you are baptized must be purged in purgatory.” But after the printing presses were invented, and Bibles were printed, and the people in Europe could read themselves what God has written, the people could read that what God said was totally different, and they rebelled against what the Roman church has taught them. And so, they rallied around five points opposing the Roman church. And these five points are: “Sola Scriptura”, by the Scriptures alone; “Sola Christo”, by Christ alone; “Sola Gracia”, by grace alone; “Sola Fide”, by faith alone; and “Soli Deo Gloria”, to God alone be the glory. And thus, when we are considering the definition of justification we want to make sure that we remain in harmony with these five banners of the Reformation, for these are not pulled out of thin air; these are conclusions from the Bible.
Please turn to the Prophecy of Isaiah, Isa 61:10 (2X). The definition of justification contains the verb “to impute”, which is an accounting term, and it means “to put on someone’s account”. There are many things imputed in the Bible. Our sins and the guilt of our sins are imputed to Christ’s account. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to our account. The penalty for our sins is imputed to Christ’s account. The faith of Christ is imputed to our account. And thus, the word “impute” means “a legal declaration from God.” When God imputes the righteousness of Christ to our account we are justified in His sight; which means that God declares us just, and places us in a state of righteousness, and sets us forth as righteous by a legal decision. It does not mean that we really are completely righteous, but it is as if God throws over us the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and we are totally covered by His robe of righteousness. God says in Isa 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” And so, let us see if we really need to know all about justification, and if we really need to know the difference between justification and sanctification. Please turn t.t. Ep to the Ro, Rom 3:10 (2X).
#1. The Need for Justification (Jer 17:9, Rom 3:10-12, Psalm 5:5, 7:11, 11:5, 58:3, 1John 5:19)
When we search to formulate the Gospel, which means the Good News, from the Bible, we always have to formulate the bad news first before we can announce any good news. What is the bad news? The bad news is that all of mankind comes into the world inherently evil. This is what Adam’s sin has given us as an inheritance. God says about all mankind in Jer 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Let me repeat this: Our heart is desperately wicked. God says in Rom 3:10, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” And so, if there is no one who is righteous then there is no one who may enter into heaven, which means that all mankind is on a slippery slide going into Hell. If all mankind is unrighteous, then all mankind is wicked, and God says in Psalm 5:5, and Psalm 7:11, and Psalm 11:5 that God hates the wicked, and that includes all babies, who are called innocent babies. This is what God says, and this is what we must believe, rather than believe what man says. God says that babies are not innocent. God says in Psalm 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” And so, since this is the condition in which all mankind comes into the world, God says in Rom 3:11-12,
Ro 3:11-12 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
And so, this is the point from where God must begin His plan of salvation. We all were unrighteous before God. Every human being is in need of being made righteous, or being justified, in God’s sight. We all are in need of justification, for if we are not justified we are still on the way to Hell. The unsaved in the church and the heathen out there are in need of justification, for they must know that anyone who is not justified in God’s sight shall suffer condemnation. That is why we must proclaim the Gospel into all the world so that all those whom God intended to save will be saved. But God says in 1John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness”, which means that the whole world is filled with people who are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. People who are spiritually dead are unable to do anything that is pleasing to God. They are unable to do anything free from sin. They are unable and unwilling to figure out what God’s salvation plan is, even if they read it in the Bible. They are unable and unwilling to come broken before Christ, for in their pride they will refuse to come and acknowledge that they have been wrong for 40 years. And thus, if God wants to save them God must do all the work, for unsaved mankind will not lift a finger in this direction. And how does God do it?
Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Ephesians, Eph 1:3 (2X). If we look again at the definition of justification we see there the words “but elect in Christ”. What does this mean? It means that there are two groups of people in the world: Those who are elect and those who are non-elect. God speaks about them in the Epistle to the Ephesians. We read in Eph 1:3-7,
Eph 1:3-7 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Four times do we find in this passage that God has placed us “in Christ”. First in the end of verse 3 where we read, “in Christ”; then next in the beginning of verse 4 where we read, “hath chosen us in him”, meaning “chosen us in Christ”; next at the end of verse 6 where we read, “in the beloved”, meaning “in Christ”; and last at the beginning of verse 7 where we read, “in whom”, meaning “in Christ”. How can it be that God has placed us in Christ before the foundation of the world if we did not exist yet, and our souls did not exist yet, and the man Christ Jesus did not exist yet? The answer is that at the incarnation in about 6 BC God the Son united Himself with the human body in the womb of the virgin Mary, but before 6 BC God the Son was called Christ, which means the Anointed One. Before the foundation of the world only God existed, as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And thus the meaning of Eph 1:4 is that God the Father placed our names in the mind of God the Son. Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel According to John, John 6:37 (2X). We know that God the Father placed our names in God the Son from at least two passages where God speaks about this. The first is in Luke 10:20, where the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” However, there is not a book in heaven where your names are written, for heaven did not exist yet before the foundation of the world. But it is God the Son who is in heaven, and our names are written in His mind. Secondly, the Lord Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” In other words, “All those whom the Father has already given Me shall be drawn to Me, and I will not reject them. And so, what we see in Eph 1:3-7 is that God made a legal declaration that He would save all those whose names He has placed in God the Son, “so that we should be holy and without blame before Him”, and that God chose us not because of anything that we would do, but entirely “according to the good pleasure of His will.” This is what election is. By this legal act of God He promised to Himself with an oath that He would save all His elect children. But God did not make this promise to any of the non-elect who will not get to know the true Gospel, nor will they understand who Christ is. And so at the end of time all those who will be saved are all the elect who were and are “in Christ”; not one will be forgotten and not one will be added. This is God’s plan of salvation, and this is God’s plan of justifying those whom He intends to save. The entire Bible testifies to this. All those who are non-elect are so deep in their enmity against God, they are so deep in their depravity, so deep in their deadness in trespasses and sins, that they cannot arrive at the true Gospel, except if God the Father draws them to Christ. The Lord Jesus said in John 6:44, “No man CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” And so, the rope that ties all these things together begins where God chose us before the foundation of the world. If this beginning point is absent for any person, then there will be no salvation. These are not my words. The True God of the Bible spoke these words, and this is what we must believe. And so, is there any unrighteousness with God for passing by all the millions who will not be saved? Not at all! God is not doing them any injustice; they were already on the way to Hell for the sins they voluntarily commit. It is a miracle of God’s kindness and grace that even one of mankind would be saved.
#2. Guilt Taken Away (Eph 1:5, 1Cor 2:2, John 6:37)
Please turn in your Bibles to the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1Cor 2:2 (2X). and please look again at the definition of justification. We read there, “Justification is an act of God’s grace”. What is God’s grace? We can check Webster’s Dictionary, which states that grace is unmerited favor. Can we merit unmerited favor? Of course not! That is a contradiction in terms. We cannot merit God’s grace. We cannot do anything to deserve God’s grace, for grace means that it is a gift which is not earned or deserved. It is simply given by God’s favor which He bestows on whom He will, “according to the good pleasure of His will”, as we have read in Eph 1:5. And so, let us read again the definition of justification, and let us piece together three sections of this definition so that we can better understand it.
Justification is that act of God’s grace whereby He imputes to the sinner the perfect righteousness of God in Christ, on the ground of Christ’s merits.
The last six words are, “on the ground of Christ’s merits”, which refers to the work that Christ did on the cross. First our sins and their penalties were imputed to Christ’s account, then He paid the penalties, and because He successfully paid the penalties in full, the perfect righteousness of God in Christ was imputed to our account. Many things took place at the cross. God says in 1Cor 2:2,
1Cor 2:2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
Not only was the perfect righteousness of God in Christ imputed to our account, but also the guilt and condemnation for our sins were taken off our account. Look at the complete definition of justification
Justification is that act of God’s grace whereby He imputes to the sinner – who is in himself guilty and condemned, but elect in Christ – the perfect righteousness of God in Christ, acquits him of all guilt and punishment on the ground of Christ’s merits, and gives him a right to eternal life.
If we are elect in Christ, if we have been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, then Christ has atoned for our sins, according to John 6:37. He has not atoned for the sins of all the people in the world, but only for those who are His elect people who were given to Him by the Father. What has Christ taken off our shoulders by His atonement? He has taken away the guilt and condemnation for our sins, and He has given us the right to inherit eternal life with Him in the NH&NE. And you may have noticed that what was taken away are not the sins, but the guilt of sins. This was done purposely, for the need to harmonize the Scriptures. When we study the Bible, we should ask ourselves repeatedly the following six questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? This may seem very elementary, but it leads to harmony of the Scriptures, because we force ourselves to answer these questions with other Scriptures in mind. Since we want to know everything about justification, let us now apply these questions to the subject of justification.
We shall try to give two references for each of the questions that I have suggested. The first question is: What is justification? Please turn in your Bibles to the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1Cor 6:11 (2X). While you look this up let me read to you from Titus 3:7 (2X), where we read,
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This verse tells us that we are justified by the grace of Christ, totally as a free gift, for the purpose of making us inherit eternal life with Christ in the NH&NE. And then we read in 1Cor 6:11,
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
This verse comes after a list of sins which God does not at all tolerate if we have not repented of them. Therefore, this verse tells the saints that we have been washed, and sanctified, and justified in the sight of God. This is of great consolation to those who have had a sordid past, but who have now fully embraced the doctrines of the true Gospel. And so, what is justification? It is an act of God’s grace whereby the sinner is given God’s unmerited pardon.
The second question is: Why do we need justification? Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to Titus, Tit 2:14 (2X). While you look this up let me read to you from Gal 3:24 (2X) where we read, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith”. And so, why do we need justification? We need it so that we will be delivered from the law, for the law was our unmerciful husband, who actually did his job of leading us to seek for a merciful Savior. Also we read about the goals of Christ when He purchased us to be His servants in Tit 2:14,
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
And so, this is why Christ redeemed us. He saved us so that we would serve Him, and be to Him a special people, a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
The third question is: Who is involved in our justification? Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 3:24 (2X). While you look that up let me read to you from Isa 53:11 (2X).
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Who is involved in our justification? The Lord Jesus Christ is, for He suffered both in His human body and in His human soul for our iniquities. And by the knowledge of Him shall He justify many, for knowing Christ is the essence of salvation. Also we read in Rom 3:24 (2X),
Ro 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Who is involved in our justification? God says it is Christ who justified us freely by His grace.
The fourth question is: Where are we justified; in our
soul, or in our body, or both? Please turn in your Bibles to the
Prophecy of Daniel, Dan 9:24 (2X). We have here a passage that is an
accurate prophecy of the first coming of Christ. Counting from the command given
to Ezra in 458 BC to beautify the house of the Lord in
Da 9:24 Seventy sevens are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
“To finish the transgression of crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ and to make an end of sins” refers to liberating us from our bondage to the law. We have died with Christ and we have died to the law, and therefore where no law is there is no more transgression. This applies to our soul as well as to our body, for we sin in our body, and if we are not saved, we accumulate those sins in our soul. And thus, when we are justified, we are justified both in our body and in our soul.
The fifth question is: How are we justified? Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 5:8 (2X). Let me read to you what God says in Rom 4:5 (2X), “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” God says here that with our imperfect faith we embrace the Savior and all His attributes as described in the Bible; but this faith was given to us by the grace of God to begin with. This is how we are justified, not by exercising our own faith, but by receiving our faith from God who gives to us liberally. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). We read in Rom 5:8 (2X),
Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We did not even exist yet, and legally we were already called sinners. And so, how were we justified? Christ suffered for our sins and Christ died on behalf of us. And so, does that not lead us to the answer of the question When?
The sixth question is: When were we justified? Please turn a few lines back to Rom 4:25 (2X). When we search in notable commentaries we do not find that anyone dares to stick his neck out. It is as if they avoid this question with a ten foot pole. And that is understandable, for there are two dates that qualify: either it was at the cross, or it was at the time of our regeneration, but both dates are about 2000 years apart. But the solution is hidden in the suggested definition of justification. This is a definition from Herman Hoeksema, and it is worthy of consideration. This definition suggests that the wiping away of our sins occurs in two stages. First the guilt of our sins and the penalty for our sins is done away at the cross. But when we were born into this world we lived a life in trespasses and sins. But then, when we were born again, God speaks in Tit 3:5 of the washing of regeneration, which certainly means the washing away of sins; for water baptism does not cause any regeneration; that is a work that we do.
The Bible tells us that we were and are in Christ, if we are among the elect. Therefore we find many verses in the Bible which tell us that we were crucified with Christ, that we died with Christ, that we were buried with Christ even though His human soul went to heaven for two days, that we were raised with Christ, that we ascended with Christ when He ascended into heaven 40 days later, and that we are presently seated with Christ in the heavenlies. If then we were raised with Christ, after He paid the penalty for our sins, we must have been raised with Him as He is: Justified and cleansed from the guilt of our sins. Our sins remained for about 2000 years, but they were empty shells, no power to condemn.
Ro 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Where the word “for” is the Greek word “dia” which most often has been translated “by” or “through” or “because of”. Christ was raised again because of our justification, for He needed to prove to us that His atonement was complete, and that we received the righteousness of Christ when He cried, “It Is Finished”, for that was the moment that indeed the guilt of all our sins was paid for. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Ephesians, Eph 2:4 (2X). We also read in 2Cor 5:21, which says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” I have already addressed this verse extensively last week. But this verse also tells us that we received the righteousness of God when Christ became the sin-offering on behalf of our sins. Moreover, we read in Eph 2:4-6 that we are in all events together with Christ. God says to us in Eph 2:4-6,
Eph 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
And so, let us rejoice in this fact that from eternity past God has laid out our path, and has protected us from all things that might hurt us spiritually, so that even at the time of our birth our sins were empty shells that held no power to enslave us, for we were already branded to be the servants of God.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.