Being the Church - One in Faith.

“The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ” - Article 8 Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith.

A short statement compared to one of recent weeks but wholly contingent upon all that we have discovered about our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of the:

“incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ – born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.”

because of “the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.”

because of “the bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.”

that we can be justified “solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ”!

I. What does it mean to be justified?

Justification is the biblical teaching about how believers are declared to be right before God even though they are not actually righteous in themselves.

a. It means “to show and do justice”:

In Greek usage the verb dikaioō, usually translated as “to justify” in the New Testament, commonly has a judicial sense of “to show justice, do justice”

So God commands his people to “defend the orphan and do justice to the widow”(Isa 1:17) and in the language of MIcah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

b. It means to “declare righteous and acquit someone”:

It can also refer to a forensic declaration along the lines of “to acquit, to vindicate” or “to recognize/declare as right” .

So Judah declared his daughter-in-law, Tamar more righteous than he when she pretended to be a prostitute to get him to fulfil his legal responsibility for her in the Levirate system(see Gen 38:26).

Paul uses it this way in Romans 4:25 and Rom 5:18 describing it as a consequences of the work of Christ on the cross.

This also has an eschatological aspect to it when God will preside in judgment over both the wicked and the righteous at the end of history, vindicating the righteous and condemning the wicked - Daniel 12:1-3;Matt 25:31-46; Rom 5:9-10;10:9-13.

c. Humans try to declare themselves righteous:

The Gospel writers often present Jesus as speaking to the Pharisees who try to justify themselves! - “You are the ones who justify themselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts.” (Luke 16:15)

Luke 18:9-14 also speaks of a Pharisee who prayed “to himself” and looked down on others whereas a Tax-Collector who knew he was a sinner was “justified before God” ads he humbled himself before God!

d. Humans can only be justified by God:

Paul confirms that the only way to be “justified before God” is to humble yourself, confess your sin and throw yourself entirely upon the mercy of God.

Paul preached this throughout his ministry. When Paul preached in Pisidian Antioch he says in his sermon in the synagogue: “Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, by this one everyone who believes is justified” (Acts 13:38–39).

This means not only that a verdict of not guilty has been declared but also that through it we have been restored and transformed. “justified from sin.”(Rom 6:7).

e. Justification is essential to the Gospel:

For Paul it was crucial that this was understood as upon it hangs the very essence of the Gospel:

Paul makes it clear that the law is not a means of justification because the law can only point out sin but never set people free from sin (see Rom 3:20; Gal 2:21; 3:21).

Justification by works of the law would mean that God has limited His grace to only one people - the Jews who have the law and only to good people! (Rom 3:30).

To this Paul says: “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,a through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”(Rom 3:21-26).

Question 1 - Why is justification such an important teaching for Christians to understand?

II. How are we justified?

Paul sums it up succinctly in Ephesians 2:8-9.

Negatively he makes it clear that justification is “not of works” so there is no room for human boasting or self-congratulation. No one attains to eternal life by self-effort!

Positively, the transfer from the realm of sin to the realm of Christ is accomplished by God through God’s overflowing mercy, great love, and grace.

a. By GRACE:

Grace is God’s unmerited favour. It is undeserved and it is free!

GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!

Justification is not therefore merited or deserved. It is not the reward of obedience or the infusion of merit as we make use of the sacraments of the means of grace (e.g. as taught by Roman Catholicism and a belief that underpins virtually all religions).

b. Through FAITH:

Faith is “the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen”(Heb 11:1).

This believing without sight faith is demonstrated par excellence in Abraham - Gen 15:5; Rom 4:13-25.

Faith looks at Christ and says - Forsaking All I Take Him! - I take Jesus as my only Saviour and Lord. I take Jesus as my sacrifice of atonement to make me right with God. I take Jesus as my only hope for eternity!

Question 2 - How does the idea of faith being something that you believe without evidence, make you feel?

Faith like grace is “the gift of God”.

It is something we exercise but the ability to exercise it comes from the Holy Spirit.

This is important to grasp because otherwise faith would become the reason why we are saved and would undermine grace! *(see on 2 Pet 1:1;Phil 1:29;Acts 3:16).

“‘Let a man be abandoned by God, and he is absolutely hopeless. It is the voice of God that arouses, that awakens, that causes a man to think and enquire; it is the power of God that gives strength to act; it is the same power which makes provision for the need of the new life.’ - C. Brown.

The only pride we can take when it comes to salvation can be in the cross by which we find salvation (Gal. 6:14) and the Saviour who suffered there (1 Cor. 1:29–31; Phil. 3:3ff.).

Sin spoiled the work of God in us, grace transforms us into children of God so that we become his “workmanship”(Eph 2:10) - his poiema - as we do God’s good works as an expression of loving, grateful obedience in thankfulness for all that Jesus has done for us!

This reminds us lastly that good works are a fruit of justification:

We are created as a people ‘zealous for good deeds’ (Titus 2:14; cf. Col. 1:10).

As a “new creation” standing in “grace of God”, we are being transformed ‘in true righteousness and holiness’ (Eph. 4:24).

This is why James says “faith without works is dead”(James 2:25) because just as breathing indicates a heart that is beating; so works demonstrate that our heart is beating for God and a new spirit resides in us, raising us from spiritual death (see Ezek 37).

“Although they have no part in gaining salvation, good works have a great deal to do with living out salvation. No good works can produce salvation, but many good works are produced by salvation.” - John McArthur.

Question 3 - In what ways have you been able to see good works growing in your life? How is this evidence of real and genuine faith as a fruit of the Spirit? - see Gal 5:15-16.