21. Justification.
7. What are the distinct roles of Law and Gospel in the calling of individuals to faith, as outlined in the chapter?
Reflect on the relationship between the Law, which reveals sin and guilt, and the Gospel, which offers grace and salvation through Christ.
8. How does the chapter address the issue of free will in relation to the effectual calling of God?
Consider the Reformed perspective on God's sovereignty in salvation and how it reconciles human responsibility with divine election.
9. What are the practical implications of understanding the difference between external and internal calling?
Reflect on how this distinction affects our approach to evangelism, discipleship, and personal assurance of salvation.
10. In what ways does the chapter emphasize the necessity of both faith and repentance in the response to God's calling?
Discuss how true conversion involves both a change of mind (repentance) and a trust in Christ (faith), and how this dual response is essential for salvation.
21. Justification.
Regeneration, manifest in the fruits of faith and repentance, grants entry into the kingdom of God. Once a citizen of this divine kingdom, one immediately partakes of its manifold blessings, which can be encapsulated under three principal headings: righteousness, holiness, and salvation. We shall now consider the first of these glorious benefits.
Justice is commonly defined as that steadfast and enduring will of a rational being that renders to each their due. It entails, first, a moral disposition inherent in the individual and, second, an attitude and conduct towards others that springs from this disposition, recognizing their rights. Though Scripture presents a unique perspective on righteousness, it fundamentally stems from this basic concept. Righteousness, therefore, involves both personal integrity and equitable treatment of others.
In this vein, the Old Testament ascribes righteousness to God. He is the Rock, whose works are perfect, and all His ways are just. God is truth and without iniquity; He is just and right, Deut. 32:4. This righteousness is not derived from abstract contemplation of the Divine nature, but from God's self-revelation to His people. He did not speak in secret or say to the seed of Jacob, "Seek me in vain." He is the Lord who speaks righteousness and declares what is just.
While the heathen worshiped gods that could not save, He revealed Himself to Israel as Jehovah, a just God and a Savior, Isa. 45:19-21.
As the righteous Lord, He dwells in the midst of Israel, doing no wrong, and every morning He brings His justice to light, Zeph. 3:5.
This divine righteousness was first expressed through the laws He gave to His people. For us, righteousness consists in our conformity
to a law in our being and actions; but for God, there is no law above Him to which He must conform. His righteousness is His perfect consistency with Himself. Conversely, all rights and laws originate in Him, and these laws are just because they reflect His own being and will. "What great nation is there," Moses once asked, "that has statutes and righteous judgments as are in this law?" Deut. 4:8. The pious responded, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb,"
Ps. 19:7-10, 119.
Furthermore, God's righteousness is demonstrated in His adherence to these laws and His demand that His people live according to them.
From the beginning, He laid down His commandment to man, Genesis 2:16; and even after the fall, He maintained His rightful demands upon all creatures. His judgments, such as the flood and the confusion of tongues, testify to this, and He binds all Gentiles in their conscience to His law, Romans 1:20, 32 and 2:15. Particularly,
He chose Israel as His treasured possession out of sheer love, requiring them to keep His covenant, obey His voice, and walk in His ways, Exod. 19:5. The Lord's demands of His people were just, for He had done all that was required for His vineyard, expecting it to produce good grapes, Isa. 5:4. He had shown them what is good and required of them only to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God, Mic. 6:8, Am. 5:14-15, Is. 1:16-17.
Finally, His righteousness shines forth in His judgment of all peoples, including His own people Israel, strictly according to His law. God is the lawgiver, king, and judge, Isa 33:22, the judge of all the earth, who cannot do anything but justice, Gen 18:25. At times, before the murmuring people who question His justice, Job 40:3, the absolute sovereignty of His actions is upheld, emphasizing that all the inhabitants of the earth are as nothing before Him. God does according to His will with the hosts of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, "What are You doing?" Dan. 4:35. He is the Creator of all, and no creature can contend with Him, Isa. 45:9; He is the potter, and Israel is as clay in His hands, Jer. 18:6, Isa. 10:15. His ways and thoughts are far above ours, Isa. 55:8-9. He is a fearful majesty and awesome in power, yet He does not scorn humanity but regards and deals with man according to His law, Job 36:5, 37:23.
This He can do because He is omniscient and perfectly just. Earthly judges often falter, hence the Old Testament admonitions to them: not to show partiality in judgment, Deut. 1:17, Lev. 19:15, Prov.
24:23, not to accept bribes, Deut. 16:19, Ex. 23:8, Isa. 5:23, not to oppress the poor, the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, Ex. 23:6, 9,
Ps. 82:2-4, Isa. 1:12, to judge righteously, Deut. 16:19, 25:1. "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord," Prov. 17:15, 26, 18:5, 24:24. But the Lord is the righteous judge; He loves justice, Ps. 11:7, 33:5, 99:4,
Jer. 9:23, His right hand is full of righteousness, Ps. 48:11, righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, Ps. 89:14,
97:2. He is impartial, knows no respect of persons, and receives no bribe, Deut. 10:17, 2 Chron. 19:7, for the rich and the poor alike are
His handiwork, Job 34:19. He does not judge by outward appearance
but looks at the heart, 1 Sam. 16:7, 1 Chron. 28:9, He tests the hearts and minds, Ps. 7:9, Jer. 11:20, 20:12, and will one day judge the world in righteousness and the nations in justice, Ps. 9:8, 96:13,
98:9. He will be exalted in justice and sanctified in righteousness, Isa. 5:16.
If, however, the righteousness of God consists in His strict adherence to the law and in judging all men by the standard of His holy law, how can any human being ever be acquitted of guilt before God and obtain the right to eternal life?
There is no doubt that all men, without exception, are guilty of transgressing God's law and deserving of the penalty He has set for that transgression. Since Adam's disobedience, iniquity has pervaded the human race. The inclination of man's heart is evil from youth,
Gen. 6:5, 8:21; all are born unclean, Job 14:4, 25:4-6, Ps. 51:5, and all have turned aside; there is none who does good, not even one, Ps.
14:3. There is no one alive who does not sin, who can say, "I have purified my heart and am free from sin," 1 Kings 8:46. When God considers iniquities, no one can stand before Him, Ps. 130:3, 143:2.
Given man's condition, how can there ever be talk of his justification before God?
And yet, the same Old Testament that so clearly speaks of the sinfulness and doom of the whole human race also speaks repeatedly of righteous and upright people existing in the midst of a world filled with wickedness. Thus, Noah is called a righteous and blameless man in his generation, Gen. 6:9, 7:1, and Job receives the testimony of God Himself that there was none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil, Job 1:1, 7, 2:3. In the
Psalms, there is frequent mention of a remnant of righteous people who stand in contrast to the wicked and endure much oppression from them, Ps. 1:5, 14:5, 32:11, 33:1, 34:16, 20. The Proverbs often address this same distinction among people, Prov. 2:20-22, 3:33,
4:18, 10:3, 6. The prophets make the same distinction between a faithful remnant and the great mass who give themselves over to idolatry and unrighteousness, 1 Kings 19:18, Isa. 1:8-9, 4:3, 6:13.
Ezekiel, in particular, sharply contrasts the righteous and the wicked, thinking not of groups within the people, but of individual persons,
Ezek. 3:18ff, 18:5ff, 33:8ff.
But this is not the only striking feature in the Old Testament. Even more remarkable is the fact that these righteous individuals—those upright in heart, devout, or however they may be described—have absolutely no fear of God's justice and do not dread being crushed by His judgment. Indeed, for the wicked, God's justice will be terrifying, as Isaiah 59:16-18, Jeremiah 11:20, 20:12, and Psalms 7:12-13, 9:5-6,
28:4, and 129:4 affirm. But the godly appeal to this justice; they invoke it, praying for vindication and salvation because God is the God of righteousness (Psalm 4:1, 143:1). They expect that precisely because He is the righteous God who examines hearts and minds, He will confirm them (Psalm 7:10), save them (Psalm 31:2), acquit them
(Psalm 34:23), execute justice (Psalm 35:23), forgive (Psalm 51:16), answer (Psalm 65:6), revive (Psalm 119:40), hear (Psalm 143:1), and deliver them from distress (Psalm 143:11).
This appeal of the pious to God's righteousness sometimes goes further, taking on a form so undeniable for our understanding that it seems God must hear them and save them according to their righteousness. Job, for instance, cannot admit guilt and is conscious
of his upright and pure walk (Job 29:12f, 31:1f), and is finally vindicated by the Lord before his friends (Job 42:7). In the Psalms, the plea is often heard: "Judge me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity" (Psalm 7:9, 17:1-5, 18:20-25, 24:4-6,
26:1, 37:18-19). In Isaiah, the people complain, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God" (Isaiah 40:27).
But the prophet is sent precisely to proclaim in the name of the Lord that this is not the case. For after discipline comes redemption. The warfare is accomplished, iniquity is pardoned (Isaiah 40:2), and the Lord brings His righteousness near and His salvation does not delay
(Isaiah 46:13). Just as He intervenes in the life of the godly and upright in redemption, vindicating them before Him (Psalm 17:2), executing justice for the oppressed (Psalm 103:6, 140:13, 146:7), so He will ultimately settle the dispute of His people (Isaiah 49:25,
51:22, Jeremiah 50:34, 51:36, Micah 7:9). He will bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, sending forth a word of righteousness from His mouth, and vindicating His people by His righteousness
(Isaiah 45:23, 51:5, 52:10, 54:15). In Him are righteousness and strength; from Him is their righteousness; in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory (Isaiah 45:24-25, 54:17).
It is thus evident from the Old Testament that not only are there righteous individuals among Israel, but these individuals also expect their salvation and well-being from the righteousness of God. This may seem strange to us because we often distinguish between God's justice and His mercy, presenting it as though we are condemned by His justice but saved by His mercy. However, the godly of the Old
Covenant do not make such a distinction; they closely relate God's righteousness to His grace and mercy, to His goodness and truth, to His beneficence and faithfulness (Psalm 33:5, 40:11, 51:16, 89:15,
103:17, 143:11-12, 145:7, 17, Jeremiah 9:24, Hosea 2:18). The Lord is gracious and just (Psalm 112:4, 116:5); His deliverances are proofs of His righteousness (Judges 5:11, 1 Samuel 12:7, Micah 6:5). Thus,
God's righteousness, no less than His mercy, is for the godly an object of continual praise and honor (Psalm 7:18, 22:32, 35:28,
40:10, 51:16, 71:15, 19).
But how is this possible? How can people, who are all sinners, ever stand righteous before God's holy face? How can they ever have the right on their side and be acquitted of their sins according to God's righteousness, and accepted into His blessed fellowship?
Is it perhaps due to this that Israel in the days of the Old Testament was the people of God, had the temple in their midst, and zealously offered sacrifices of swine and goats? Many among Israel put their trust in these and believed that evil would not touch them. However, the prophets, who acted in the name of the Lord, taught the people otherwise. When Israel relied on its outward privileges, they declared that these were unreliable supports that would pierce the hand of anyone leaning on them. "Are you not to me like the children of the Ethiopians, O children of Israel?" saith the Lord in Amos 9:7. "Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?" To those who trusted in false words, saying: "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," Jeremiah 7:4, He announced the judgment that He would do to that house, which is called by His name and in which they trusted, as He had done to Shiloh. The devout among Israel knew well that sacrifices in themselves could not be pleasing to the Lord. "I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of hegoats," Isaiah 1:11. "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," Hosea 6:6. "To
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" Isaiah 1:11, 66:2-3, Jeremiah 6:20, Amos 5:21, Micah 6:6-8, Proverbs 15:8,
21:27.
Is the basis for the expectation of salvation among the devout of the Old Testament perhaps their own righteousness? Do they have such good hope for the future because they believe their good works will enable them to stand in the judgment of God? This thought may occur to us when we see that they, like Job, are strongly convinced of their innocence (Job 29:12ff, 31:1ff), that they repeatedly appeal to their sincerity, faithfulness, and righteousness (Psalm 7:9, 18:21-22,
26:1, 11, 101:2), that they speak of their right (Job 27:2, Psalm 17:2, 26:1, 35:24, 43:1, Isaiah 40:27), and that the Lord Himself counts them as righteous (Genesis 7:1, Job 1:7, 2:3). Yet, as soon as we look deeper, this ground also falls away completely.
Indeed, this plea for their righteousness alternates with the most humble confession of their sins. Job does not only speak of the sins of his youth but at the end he abhors himself and repents in dust and ashes (Job 13:26, 42:6). David speaks in Psalm 7:9 of his righteousness, but elsewhere he casts away all his righteousness, confesses his transgressions before the Lord, and praises only the forgiveness of sins (Psalm 32, 51). Daniel, too, does not base his prayers on his own righteousness but on the mercies of the Lord
(Daniel 9:18). Isaiah acknowledges that all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags and that they have all gone astray like sheep (Isaiah
53:4-6, 59:12, 64:6). In Psalm 130:3-4, the poet expresses that if the Lord marked iniquities, no one could stand before Him; but there is forgiveness with Him that He may be feared. All without exception acknowledge the right of God in punishing Israel; they and their
fathers have sinned and rebelled against His word (Amos 3:2, Lamentations 1:18, Ezra 9:6-7, Nehemiah 9:33, Daniel 9:14).
When the devout among Israel mention their righteousness, they certainly think of their upright walk before the Lord and even pray that the Lord, the knower of hearts, may test and examine them in this their uprightness, as we see in Psalms 7:9, 10, 17:3, and 18:21-25.
Yet this righteousness is not the same as the righteousness of their hearts. It is not meant in the sense of moral perfection, as the Pharisees later conceived it; rather, it is a moral righteousness grounded in a religious righteousness, or, in other words, a righteousness of faith. This is evident from the fact that the righteous, often depicted as the poor, the wretched, the needy, the faithful, the humble, and the meek, are those who fear the Lord and have no other expectation but Him. These are the same people whom
Jesus later called the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the weary and burdened, and the children (Matt. 5:3ff, 11:25, 28).
The characteristic of these people is not that they are free from sin, but that in the midst of all the pressure and persecution they endure from the world, they put their trust in the Lord and seek their salvation and blessing in Him alone. There is no salvation for them in themselves or in any creature, but only in the Lord their God. And God is indeed their God, their sun and shield, their refuge and high place, their rock and stronghold, their helper and redeemer, their glory and their strength, their all in all (Ps. 18:3, 73:25-26). They are
His people, the sheep of His pasture, His servants, and His favored ones (Ps. 33:12, 95:7, 100:3). They hope for His salvation, hold fast to His word, delight in His law, and expect everything from Him
alone. Unlike the later Pharisees, they do not stand opposed to God asserting their demands and rights, but stand on God's side, allying themselves with Him against His and their enemies.
When these people in their prayer and supplication appeal to their own and the Lord's righteousness, they express that the Lord, by virtue of His covenant, is obligated to do justice to the people who are named after Him and who walk in His fear before His adversaries. The cause of God is their cause, and their cause is the cause of God Himself. He chose His people, not because of their multitude or their righteousness, but because He loved them freely and for the sake of the oath He had sworn to the fathers (Deut. 7:7-8,
9:5-6). The covenant with that people rests on His will alone. Yet through that covenant, He is also bound to that people, having taken upon Himself the obligation to maintain, preserve, and bestow upon them the entire salvation He promised, saying to Abraham: "I will establish My covenant between me and you, and your descendants after you, for an everlasting covenant, to be to you a God and your descendants after you" (Genesis 17:7).
God's righteousness, which the pious Israel appeals to in their tribulation, is the virtue by which the Lord is bound by His covenant to deliver His people from all their enemies. It is not so much an obligation resting on God towards His people, for they have no right to anything, but an obligation resting on the Lord towards Himself.
He has voluntarily bound Himself to His people and owes it to Himself, to His own covenant and oath, to His own word and promise, to remain the God of His people despite all their iniquities
(Ps. 25:11, 31:4, 79:9, 106:8, 109:21, 143:11; Isa. 48:9,11; Jer. 14:7, 21; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22, 44; Dan. 9:19). The righteousness of God, which
the pious Israel pleads for, is not opposed to His mercy and salvation but is closely connected with His truth and faithfulness; it binds God by His own word and promise and obliges Him to save His people, out of sheer mercy, from all their afflictions.
God has indeed behaved in this manner in the past, delivering Israel repeatedly from its enemies (Ex. 2:24; Judges 2:1; Isa. 37:20). He will reveal Himself even more abundantly in the future when He establishes His kingdom among them. By virtue of His own righteousness, as a God of righteousness, faithfulness, and truth, He will make a new covenant with them, forgive their sins, pour out the Spirit upon them, and cause them to walk in His ways (Jer. 31:3134). But He does this not for their sake, but for His own, for His great name's sake: "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins" (Isa. 43:25). He
Himself brings the righteousness Israel needs (Isa. 45:24-25, 46:13, 54:17); He creates new heavens and a new earth, where the former things will not be remembered (Isa. 65:17). In those days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; the Gentiles will see their righteousness and all kings their glory, and they will be called by a new name, which the Lord's own mouth will pronounce: "The Lord is our righteousness" (Isa. 62:2; Jer. 23:6, 33:16).
The concept that God Himself grants righteousness to His people and thereby justifies them is richly developed in the New Testament, where Christ, through His life and death, accomplishes all righteousness for His congregation.
Jesus proclaimed that the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand (Mark 1:15). He meant not only that the kingdom would
soon come but also that it had already arrived in principle through His person and work; for He is the Messiah in whom the Old
Testament prophecy concerning the Servant of the Lord is fulfilled (Luke 4:17-21), and He demonstrates this fulfillment by His works.
When He heals the sick, raises the dead, casts out devils, preaches the Gospel to the poor, and forgives sins, it is undeniable proof that He is the promised one and that the kingdom of God has come to earth (Matt. 9:2, 6; 10:7-8; 11:5; 12:28). In the blessings Christ bestows—both spiritual and physical salvation—the treasures of the kingdom of heaven are revealed.
Among the treasures of that kingdom, Jesus specifically mentions righteousness. In Matthew 6:33, this is closely connected with the kingdom, as Jesus exhorts His disciples: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." According to another interpretation,
"seek first His kingdom and righteousness," referring to the heavenly Father mentioned in verse 32. Like the kingdom, righteousness in that kingdom is the property and gift of God, which He bestows through Christ. Whoever seeks and receives the kingdom of God also receives the righteousness necessary for citizenship in that kingdom.
Therefore, Jesus states that possessing righteousness is a condition for entering the kingdom of God. "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20, 7:21; 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 6:18-21; Eph. 5:5; Rev.
22:15). The righteousness Jesus demands of His disciples is entirely different from the external observance of the law that satisfied the Jews; it is a spiritual and perfect righteousness, a perfection akin to that of the Father. When Jesus speaks of such righteousness as necessary for entrance into the kingdom, He does not mean that man
must first achieve it through his own efforts; otherwise, He would not be a Messiah, and His Gospel would not be a message of joy.
Rather, His intention is to illuminate the nature, the spiritual character, the perfection of God's kingdom; no one can enter it unless they are in perfect conformity with God's law and partake in perfect righteousness.
This righteousness, while a requirement and condition of the kingdom on one hand, is a gift of that kingdom on the other hand. It is Christ Himself who distributes all the goods of that kingdom, including its righteousness. It is a kingdom of God, and the righteousness is the righteousness of God (Matt. 6:33). As the Father has ordained the kingdom for Him, so He ordains it for His disciples
(Luke 22:29, 12:32). "For the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand" (Matt. 11:27; John 3:35, 13:3, 16:15). The Father has given Him all these things because He is the Son of Man
(John 5:27), meaning that through obedience unto death, He might obtain them for Himself. He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). In His death on the cross, He had His body broken and His blood shed, so that the new covenant might be established and all the sins of His people forgiven (Matt. 26:26-28).
Based on the Father's appointment and His own sacrifice, Christ dispensed all the kingdom's treasures to His disciples, both before and after His death. He not only healed the sick but also forgave sins and granted eternal life. These mercies were not bestowed upon the self-righteous Pharisees but rather upon tax collectors and sinners, the weary and burdened, the poor in spirit, and those hungering and thirsting for righteousness. He came not to call the righteous but
sinners to repentance (Matt. 9:13), to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). It is not self-righteousness but regeneration, faith, and repentance that open access to the kingdom and all its blessings; and regeneration itself is a gift and work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5).
As soon as the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the apostles began to proclaim Christ crucified as the Prince and Savior exalted by God, to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:36,
38; 5:30, 31). With redemption through Christ's death accomplished, its significance could be fully revealed by the apostles in the light of the resurrection and through the Spirit's guidance. None articulated this more profoundly and clearly than Paul, who was circumcised on the eighth day, of the lineage of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee according to the law, a persecutor of the church by zeal, and blameless according to the righteousness in the law—but who, for Christ's sake, considered all his gains as loss
(Phil. 3:5-7).
Paul's testimony shows that he had long pursued the righteousness that comes from the law with great zeal. According to the law's righteousness, he was blameless in the eyes of men; no one could accuse him. Rather, he earned praise, esteem, and honor, and would have had a distinguished career among his people if he had continued on that path. But when it pleased God to reveal His Son in him, Paul regarded all his former gains as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. He viewed his previous righteousness as refuse, that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of his own from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:8-9).
Paul further explains why the righteousness from the works of the law is insufficient. The law is holy, righteous, spiritual, and good, but man is fleshly, sold as a slave to sin (Rom. 7:12, 14). The law cannot quicken or destroy sin, because it is powerless due to the flesh (Rom.
8:3, Gal. 3:21). It demands but gives nothing; it only says, "The man who does these things shall live by them" (Rom. 10:5, Gal. 3:12). Yet, it cannot give life because the flesh cannot and will not submit to God's law (Rom. 8:7). Instead of justifying and giving life, the law becomes the power of sin (1 Cor. 15:56). Without the law, there would be no sin and no transgression (Rom. 4:15, 7:8), but in the sinful state of man, the law awakens sin, stimulates desire, and makes man covet what is forbidden. Sin, dwelling in man, seizes the opportunity through the commandment to arouse all sorts of desires and to become exceedingly sinful (Rom. 5:20, 7:8, 11, 13, Gal. 3:19).
The law works wrath (Rom. 4:15), brings a curse (Gal. 3:10), and from its works, no one can be justified (Acts 13:39, Rom. 3:20, 28,
8:3, Gal. 2:16, 3:11). Judged by the law, the whole world stands guilty before God and subject to His punishment (Rom. 3:19), for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18, Eph. 5:6, Col. 3:6).
If such is the righteous judgment pronounced by God upon mankind according to the law, then who can be saved? Like our Lord in Matthew 19:26, Paul answers: with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. With God, even the impossible becomes possible: He justifies the ungodly while remaining completely just
Himself (Romans 3:26, 4:5). What God, in His holy law, strictly condemns—namely, justifying the wicked (Deut. 25:1, Ps. 82:2, Prov.
17:15, Is. 5:23)—He accomplishes, but in such a way as to preserve His righteousness. This is the miracle of the Gospel.
For God has manifested His righteousness not only in the law but also in the Gospel. In the Gospel, His righteousness is revealed apart from the law, independent of it, and seemingly in opposition to it
(Rom. 1:17, 3:20-21). Abraham was justified by it while still uncircumcised (Rom. 4:1ff); David pronounces blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works (Rom. 4:6), and Habakkuk declares that the righteous shall live by faith (Hab.
2:4, Gal. 3:11). But now, in this present time (Rom. 3:21, 26), the righteousness of God is more clearly manifested, for Christ has appeared and has become our righteousness from God (1 Cor. 1:30).
The law given to Israel served to fully reveal God's righteousness in the Gospel. By exposing sin and making it known as sin, by working wrath and bringing it under the curse, the law functioned as a tutor leading to Christ, so that those under its discipline might, in the fullness of time, come to Christ and be justified by faith (Gal. 3:2225). Thus, the law prepared men for the Gospel's advent; likewise,
God, in His forbearance, permitted the Gentiles to walk in their ways (Acts 14:16) and overlooked the sins of His people, not punishing them according to their deserts (Rom. 3:25). He ordained all things under sin's dominion, so the promise might be given to the faithful, not by law's works, but by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:22, Rom. 3:9,
19, 11:32).
The righteousness revealed in the Gospel has a unique character. It is apart from the law, yet it must align with the law (Rom. 3:21). It must condemn and preserve, revealing both God's law and grace
(Rom. 3:23-24). It must enable God to justify the wicked while maintaining His righteousness (Rom.
3:26, 4:5).
This is accomplished objectively by presenting Christ as a propitiation
through His blood, and subjectively by accounting faith in Christ as righteousness (Rom. 4:4-5, Gal. 3:6). The righteousness revealed in the Gospel is the righteousness of faith, standing in direct opposition to law-based righteousness, to man's own righteousness (Rom. 3:21,
4:2-6, 9:32, 10:3, Phil. 3:9). It is a righteousness from God, received through faith in Christ (Phil. 3:9).
Thus, in Scripture's teaching on the justification of sinners before God, the emphasis is placed on the fact that the righteousness by which we are acquitted of guilt and punishment is a gift from God. If we were justified by the law's works, by keeping its commandments, we would present our own righteousness before God's judgment and could boast to some degree (Rom. 4:2). But Scripture teaches otherwise; Abraham had no grounds for boasting before God, for it was not works but faith that was credited to him as righteousness, and the reward was given not according to merit but according to grace (Rom. 4:4-5).
The righteousness which God bestows in Christ, enabling us to stand before Him, is not the fruit of our labor but wholly a gift of His grace.
We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). God's grace is the profound ground and ultimate cause of our justification. Yet, this grace is not in contradiction to God's righteousness but is intimately related to it.
Paul repeatedly affirms that God's righteousness is revealed in the Gospel (Rom. 1:17, 3:5, 21-22, 25-26, 10:3), and similarly, John declares that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Peter also states that we have obtained faith by virtue of the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:1).
This reveals that God, the God of law, has established a new legal order in the Gospel, distinct from the legal relationship established by the law. This new order reveals God's justice in such a way that He gives His law, demands obedience, and judges according to deeds, rewarding or punishing accordingly. However, since sin has nullified the law's efficacy, God has instituted a different legal order in the Gospel. This new order demands submission (Rom. 10:3) but provides the righteousness needed to stand before God's judgment through faith. Thus, the Gospel is both an order of law and grace.
Grace lies in God's provision of a way to righteousness and life in Christ, while justice is preserved in the complete righteousness established through Christ's sacrifice and granted to us by grace.
Christ is both a gift of God's love (John 3:16, Rom. 5:8) and a demonstration of His righteousness (Rom. 3:25); in the Cross, law and grace are united; justification is both judicial and an act of God's grace.
To this union of law and grace, we owe Christ and all His benefits, particularly the righteousness needed to stand before God. This righteousness, bestowed by faith, must be distinguished from God's intrinsic righteousness or the righteousness of Christ's divine or human nature. If God's or Christ's essential righteousness were the basis of our justification, Christ's suffering and death would lose their value, and the distinction between Creator and creature would be blurred. The righteousness that justifies us before God is acquired through Christ's suffering and death. God presented Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood, a means of atonement for sins (Rom. 3:25). He was made sin for us and became a curse for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21,
Gal. 3:13). He has become for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption from God (1 Cor. 1:30).
This righteousness of Christ is so complete and sufficient that it requires no addition from us. It cannot be increased or supplemented by us in any way, for it is an organic whole. Just as the law is a whole, so that he who keeps it entirely but stumbles in one commandment is guilty of all (James 2:10), so also is the righteousness which fulfills the law's demands a complete unity, like the seamless garment of Jesus, woven in one piece from top to bottom (John 19:23). It is not composed of parts but exists entirely; one either possesses it or does not; it cannot be partially received and supplemented by one's own works. Moreover, what could qualify us to supplement it? There can be no question of good works performed before faith, for Scripture clearly states that man's heart is evil from the beginning, that what is born of the flesh is flesh, that the mind of the flesh is hostile to God and cannot submit to His law, and that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6).
If good works were to supplement the righteousness acquired by Christ, the only works qualifying would be those performed by a regenerated man through faith. Indeed, believers can perform good works; as a good tree brings forth good fruit, so the good man brings forth good things out of the good treasure of his heart (Matt. 12:35).
Renewed by the Spirit of God, he delights in the law of God according to the inner man (Rom. 7:22). However, first, all these works stemming from faith are still very imperfect and tainted with sin; even when the believer desires to do good, evil is always present with him (Rom. 7:21). Second, these good works presuppose the righteousness bestowed by Christ and accepted by faith. The believer
walks only in the good works that God has prepared for him, and for which he was created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10).
Our comfort in justification lies in the fact that all the righteousness we need resides outside of us in Christ Jesus. It is not we who must or can bring it about. God reveals His righteousness in the Gospel, providing righteousness through the sacrifice of Christ. The righteousness that justifies us is from God through faith in Christ; it is not of our works, either wholly or in part, but is altogether, completely, and sufficiently a gift of God, a free gift of grace (Phil.
3:9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5). If it is by grace, it is no longer by works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace (Rom. 11:6). Christ
Himself is the righteousness with which we can stand before God (1 Cor. 1:30); by His suffering and death, He secured the right for Himself and His people to enter into eternal life, free from all guilt and punishment, and to sit at the right hand of God.
The righteousness that justifies us cannot, therefore, be separated from the person of Christ. It does not consist of a material or spiritual gift that Christ can give us without Himself, nor can we receive and accept it apart from His person. There is no communion with the benefits of Christ without communion with His person, and the latter always necessarily entails the former. To stand in the judgment of God, to be acquitted of all guilt and punishment, and to share in the glory of God and eternal life, we must have Christ—not merely something of Him, but Himself, in the fullness of His grace and truth, according to His divine and human nature, in His humiliation and exaltation. The crucified and glorified Christ is the righteousness that God grants us in justification by grace. When God grants this Christ with all His benefits to us freely, without any merit
on our part, by way of faith, He justifies us, freeing us from all guilt and punishment, and gives us the right to eternal life, heavenly glory, and His own blissful, never-ending fellowship. We stand before Him as free as if we had never sinned, yes, as if we had accomplished all the obedience that Christ accomplished for us.
There are two ways in which something can be given to us. We can acquire ownership of it by a legal decision, and we can, based on such a decision, take possession of it sooner or later. A person who is appointed heir in a legal will already receives the right to the inherited goods in the future, but may only take actual possession years later. Even when law and reality coincide, there remains a difference between the two. Ownership is the right; possession is the actual power over a thing. With animals, this distinction is less evident; an animal takes what it can get. For humans, created in the image of God, it is different; they must have a right to something in order to possess and use it. It is their honor and privilege to live by their own work, not by robbery.
This applies also in the spiritual sphere. We stand in various relationships to God: He is our Creator, and we are His creatures; He is the potter, and we are the clay; He is the builder and artist, and we are His temple; He is the farmer, and we are the branches of His vine; He is our Father, and we are His children. All these relationships illustrate the rich and varied relationship between God and man, especially believers. Neglecting any of these relationships damages the content of this intimate bond. The prodigal son retains the name of son in his wanderings, but is a lost and dead son, found and alive only when he returns to the Father in confession.
Simultaneously, we are in a legal relationship with God; He is our Creator, Lawgiver, King, and Judge. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes this (Gen. 18:25; Ps. 47:3, 8; Isa. 33:22; Heb. 4:12; James 4:12), and our hearts bear witness to it. The sense of justice is deeply ingrained in our soul, belonging to all people and nations. The concept of law itself is timeless and universal; there are differences in the content of laws, but the concept of law has no history, much like time, place, movement, life, good, and evil. It is part of human consciousness, gradually coming to awareness. Even the most untamed nation feels when its rights are violated and defends them. This broad sense of right includes the relationship to God; every human feels obliged to serve God and live according to His law, and every human knows that failing to do so makes them guilty and worthy of punishment.
The law of the broken covenant of works remains in every human heart, and the moral law proclaimed at Sinai reinforces its commandments and the obligation to keep them.
This legal relationship is not nullified in the Gospel, as some might imagine, but rather restored and fulfilled. The distinction between law and gospel does not lie in the notion that in the law God acts solely as Judge, and in the gospel solely as Father; nor should it be equated with the distinction between Old and New Testaments. For even in the Old Testament, God revealed to His people the Gospel of His grace and mercy; the Law served the covenant of grace, following and being subordinate to the promise, and was itself a gift of His fatherly favor and educational wisdom. Although, in the person of Christ, the depth of God's mercy has been more fully revealed than was possible in the Old Testament, the Gospel of grace was not unknown to Israel, and the fullness of the Gospel in Christ was not a destruction but a fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
Paul, with the greatest possible emphasis, declares that in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 1:17, 3:21-26). The unity and harmony of the law and the Gospel consist in the fact that in both, the same righteousness of God is revealed. Yet the difference lies in this: in the law, that righteousness is revealed according to the rule: the man who does these things shall live; but in the Gospel, that righteousness is revealed apart from the law, according to the rule: the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:5). In the law, a personal, perfect, sufficient righteousness is demanded; in the Gospel, the same perfect, sufficient righteousness is given by God through grace in Christ. Since man was unwilling and unable to uphold God's law, God Himself restored and confirmed His law through the gift of righteousness in Christ. He places His love and mercy in service to His righteousness; by giving Himself, He fulfills
His own law, and imputes to us by grace the righteousness of Christ.
Thus, we may fully fulfill His law, receive complete forgiveness of all our sins, and boldly enter His heavenly kingdom.
Justification is therefore both a gracious and a righteous act of God, a declaration by which He as Judge acquits us of guilt and punishment and grants us the right to eternal life. Rome and those who seek justification wholly or partly in man himself (whether in his faith, good works, or even Christ in us) object to this judicial declaration of justification, arguing that it is false and unworthy of God. They claim that if the basis of our justification lies wholly in Christ outside of us, then the justified man is not truly righteous, and God renders an untrue and unjust judgment.
To this objection, it suffices to note that the Holy Scriptures consistently present justification as a judicial act. It speaks of the justification of sinners before God using a term borrowed from legal language, which always carries a legal meaning. To the judges in Israel, God commanded that they judge the righteous and condemn the unrighteous (Deut. 25:1, Ps. 82:2, Prov. 17:15, Isa. 5:23). He
Himself demonstrates His righteousness by not justifying the wicked and not slaying the righteous (Gen. 18:25, Ex. 23:7). When transferred to the spiritual realm, Jesus says, for instance, that the wisdom manifest in Him was justified, meaning recognized as wisdom by her children (Matt. 11:19). Similarly, in Luke 7:29, the people who heard John and the tax collectors who were baptized with his baptism justified God, acknowledging Him as righteous. The moral meaning of justifying, or making holy, is entirely excluded in these contexts.
The same understanding applies to the salvation of sinners. Paul states that in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed (Rom.
1:19, 3:20). He declares that God justifies those who come by faith while remaining just Himself (Rom. 3:26). He imputes faith for righteousness to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the wicked (Rom. 4:5). Paul contrasts justifying with accusing and condemning, exclaiming: Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn?
(Rom. 8:33-34). He equates justifying with imputing righteousness (Rom. 4:3, 6) and with making righteous (Rom. 5:19). In the preceding verse, he says that just as by one trespass (of Adam) condemnation came upon all men, so by one act of righteousness (of Christ) justification leading to life came upon all men (Rom. 5:18).
Thus, justification is everywhere a judicial act, a declaration of
acquittal pronounced by the heavenly Judge upon the sinner who, according to the law, is ungodly but who has accepted by faith the righteousness bestowed by God in Christ. Judged accordingly, this sinner is now considered righteous.
However, apart from the fact that Holy Scripture very clearly interprets justification as a judicial act, its opponents completely misrepresent its character. They claim that such an acquittal of man on the basis of a righteousness which is outside him is false, and leaves man himself entirely unchanged. This accusation falls back on themselves, for if they acquit man on the basis of a righteousness within him, they must admit that man's righteousness here on earth is always deeply flawed and imperfect, and they must conclude that God justifies someone on the basis of a very flawed righteousness and is thus guilty of an untrue judgment. Conversely, an acquittal on the basis of the righteousness that is in Christ is perfectly just, because that righteousness is perfect and was made by God Himself in the Son of His love. Moreover, this acquittal does not occur merely on the basis of the righteousness that is in Christ but, through faith, also works in the consciousness of man, bringing about the greatest transformation therein. Even when someone is acquitted of a serious crime before a human judge, his entire legal relationship is transformed. Similarly, the acquittal of God has an effect on man's consciousness and frees him from all sense of guilt.
In a certain sense, this acquittal has already taken place in the decree of election; it is objectively pronounced in the resurrection of Christ, who was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification
(Romans 4:25), and in the Gospel, which proclaims the joyful message that through the death of Christ, God is reconciled and at
peace with the world (2 Cor. 5:19). Justification is but one link in the chain of salvation; it is connected on one side to foreknowledge and calling, and on the other to sanctification and glorification.
Justification in the court of God thus penetrates the consciousness of man in due time through faith; the righteousness acquired by Christ is not a dead capital lying outside of Christ, but is included in His person. Christ was raised up to make Himself known to His own with all His benefits through the Holy Spirit. When man's eye of faith is opened to this, his whole legal relationship changes. He, who was poor, suddenly becomes rich through the riches which are in Christ
Jesus; he, who was guilty of transgressing all God's commandments, suddenly sees himself freed from all guilt and punishment; he, who deserved eternal punishment, sees himself granted the right to eternal life. With Paul, he exults: Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Finally, justification and sanctification are distinct and should be sharply distinguished. For he who neglects or erases this distinction reestablishes his own righteousness in man, disregards the perfection and sufficiency of God's righteousness revealed in Christ, changes the Gospel into a new law, takes away the comfort of souls, and makes salvation dependent on man's merits. Faith, therefore, appears in justification only as a receiving organ, as the hand that accepts a gift, as the soul's trust in Christ and His righteousness alone. It is true that the Holy Scriptures repeatedly use the expression that faith is imputed as righteousness (Gen. 15:6, Rom.
4:22, Gal. 3:6, James 2:23). This undoubtedly indicates that faith replaces the righteousness demanded by the law, which the sinner
does not possess. But the question arises: why does faith take the place of the righteousness required by the law? Is it because faith has such an outstanding moral value and is such a good and valid work?
Many think so, claiming that faith justifies by its inner quality alone, regardless of its content and object. But this is not the teaching of Scripture. If faith, by virtue of its moral nature, justified, it would be seen as an act or work, not opposed to works. Yet Paul bluntly states that justification, now in the Gospel by faith, stands diametrically opposed to all justification by the works of the law (Rom. 3:20, 28,
4:4ff, Gal. 2:16, 3:11). This contradiction alternates with another: justification by faith is justification by grace, excluding all boasting and merit (Rom. 3:24, 4:4ff, Titus 3:5). Paul expressly says that the inheritance is by faith so that it may be by grace (Rom. 4:16). This could not be said if faith justified by its inner dignity and power.
Furthermore, if faith alone justified, Christ would lose all significance in justification; it would only matter that, but not what, a person believed. Faith would justify, even if it were faith in an idol, in a demonic power, or in a false prophet, as some unbelieving healers recommend visits to Lourdes because "faith heals."
But the testimony of Scripture is diametrically opposed: it is precisely the content and object that matter in justifying faith. Faith can take the place of the righteousness required by the law and be imputed as righteousness because it is faith in Christ Jesus, whom
God presented as a reconciliation through the power of His blood (Rom. 3:25). He bore our curse (Gal. 3:13), was made sin for us (2
Cor. 5:21), died and rose again, is at the right hand of God, and prays for us (Rom. 8:34). Therefore, He became for us a righteousness from God (1 Cor. 1:30), in whom we are the righteousness of God (2
Cor. 5:21). In a word, faith justifies because it partakes of the righteousness in Christ, which is as perfect and sufficient as that demanded by the law but is now given in the Gospel by God through grace in Christ (Phil. 3:9). It justifies, not by its inner dignity, but by its substance: the righteousness of Christ.
However much it is of utmost importance to clearly comprehend and act upon the distinction between justification and sanctification, these two blessings are never separated even for a moment. They are not separated in God's decree, for justification is but one link in the chain of salvation. Those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son; and whom He predestined,
He also called; and whom He called, He also justified; and whom He justified, He also glorified. Nor are they separated in the person and work of Christ; for righteousness is not a good external to Christ that can be received apart from His person. Christ Himself is our righteousness, and simultaneously our wisdom, holiness, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). One cannot accept one of Christ's benefits without accepting the others, as they are all contained in His person.
Whoever accepts Christ as his righteousness by faith also receives Him as his holiness; Christ cannot be accepted partially or fractionally. Whoever has Him possesses Him entirely with all His benefits, and whoever lacks His benefits is not a partaker of His person. Finally, justification and sanctification are inseparably united in faith. Faith is considered in justification solely from its religious aspect, as trust in God's grace, as acceptance of Christ and the righteousness granted by God in Him. But if faith truly is and does this, then it is a living, sanctifying faith, which is God's work par excellence (John 6:29) and reveals its genuineness and power in good works (Gal. 5:6). Justifying is not synonymous with making
alive; but as sin and death, so righteousness and life are intimately connected; the righteous shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17). As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men (Rom. 5:18).
Therefore, justification includes two benefits: the forgiveness of sins and the granting of the right to eternal life. These are interconnected and correspond to the passive and active obedience in the work of Christ. Christ not only repaired what Adam ruined by his transgression but also secured what Adam should have acquired by his obedience to God's commandment—eternal life. He who believes in Christ receives, therefore, both the forgiveness of all his sins
(Matt. 9:2, Rom. 4:7, Eph. 4:32) and eternal life at the same moment (John 3:16, 36).
The forgiveness of sins is often taken lightly by many. They see it as entirely natural that God would forgive sins and overlook shortcomings, as if God must forgive sins to be a God of love.
However, the experience of human life teaches otherwise. To forgive, to forgive wholeheartedly, in such a manner that no residue of the offense remains in the heart, requires a struggle against oneself and signifies a victory over oneself. It is true that the sense of being insulted is often misplaced in us; we take offense at trivial matters and overlook things that should deeply grieve us. Our sense of honor and justice is corrupted and misdirected. However, when we feel deeply wronged, and our honor, character, or name is tarnished, it requires a tremendous effort to banish all thoughts of revenge and hatred, and to forgive our enemy completely and wholeheartedly, so that we forget the insult and never recall it. Forgiveness presupposes
the violation of a right and consists in the remission of the penalty due for it.
All this applies even more significantly among men. But sin and forgiveness acquire a far more serious character when committed against God and granted by God. God also has a right—the right to be acknowledged, served, and worshipped as God by all people, at all times, everywhere, and in all things. This right is the principle and foundation of all law; whoever violates it, fundamentally disrupts the entire moral world order, which has its origin and stability in God.
Sin is an overturning of God's justice. Whoever comes to know sin in this manner, considers it in the light of Holy Scripture, and sees it somewhat as God sees it, will think differently about forgiveness. He may find it difficult to believe because it contradicts the appearance of all things. First, his own heart condemns him and makes him feel guilty before God. Then, the law pronounces a curse upon him and deems him worthy of death. Satan accuses him and upholds justice against him. People abandon him in his hour of need and magnify his sins. And in and behind all of these, he hears the voice of God's righteousness, seeking him out, pursuing him, holding him accountable, and subjecting him to judgment. Who dares, who can, in light of all this, believe in the complete forgiveness of all his sins?
Yet the Church of Christ dares to believe, can believe, and indeed must believe; she confesses in humility and gladness of heart: "I believe in the forgiveness of sins." She believes this even though it is unseen; she believes this even though her conscience accuses her of having gravely sinned against all God's commandments, of having never kept them, and even though she is still inclined to all evil. This faith stands upon a firm foundation. He who seeks forgiveness of
sins outside of Christ may desire it and hope for it, but he cannot believe it with full assurance and conviction; he equates it with leniency and a dilution of the seriousness of sin. But the Gospel reveals to us that God can and has forgiven sins because His justice has been fully satisfied in Christ. Satisfaction does not oppose forgiveness but paves the way for it, guarantees it, and allows us to believe in it with unwavering certainty. So perfect is this forgiveness that Scripture equates it to not remembering, to casting away, to forgetting (Isa. 38:17, 43:25; Heb. 8:12). The Lord does not behold iniquity in Jacob, nor does He see perverseness in Israel (Num.
23:21).
This forgiveness is already contained within the purpose of God, openly declared over the entire congregation in the resurrection of Christ (Rom. 4:25), proclaimed universally in the Gospel (Acts 5:31), and particularly distributed to each believer. Although the believer has received the forgiveness of all his sins, he must continually appropriate them in faith, day by day, to experience their assurance and comfort. It would be easy if we could live according to the principle: once converted, always converted; and many indeed continue to live off a past experience, reassuring themselves with it.
But this is not the Christian life. Neither the righteousness in Christ Jesus nor the faith instilled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit is a dead capital. We partake of the forgiveness of our sins, its truth, and its certainty over the long term, through fellowship with Christ Himself, through the activity of sanctifying faith. That is why Jesus placed the plea for the forgiveness of sins on the lips of His disciples (Matt.
6:12); the humble confession of our sins is the means by which God reveals His faithfulness and justice to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And to make us constantly
aware of the magnitude of the benefit given to us in the forgiveness of sins, Christ adds to the request for the forgiveness of our debts the words: "as we forgive our debtors." These words do not define the basis on which we dare or may ask God to forgive us our sins; they do not set the standard by which we may invoke it for ourselves; but they describe the disposition which must be present in the one who prays in order to receive, enjoy, and value the benefit of forgiveness.
Only then do we somewhat understand what it has cost God, in human terms, to grant us the forgiveness of sins in Christ, when we have rooted out all enmity from our hearts and forgiven our debtors wholeheartedly for all their sins. We can only pray for that forgiveness with all earnestness if we are wholeheartedly forgiving toward our neighbor. The forgiveness of our sins is therefore established with God once and for all, but it is appropriated to us throughout our lives through faith and conversion. The Lord's
Supper testifies to this, as in it we repeatedly celebrate the fact that Christ's body was broken and His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Matt. 26:28).
The other side of this benefit of forgiveness is the right to eternal life.
Whoever believes in Christ is not only freed from the wrath of God but also immediately receives eternal life. John particularly emphasizes this eternal life as the new life born of God and implanted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (John 1:13, 3:5). The sonship he speaks of arises from rebirth and primarily consists in conformity to God (John 1:13, 1 John 1:1-3). But Paul often speaks of 'sonship' in another sense; he understands it to mean that God accepts us as His children and heirs on the basis of righteousness in Christ.
Among the Romans, families were strictly separated from each other; each family had its own rights and especially its own religious customs. A child could only pass from one family to another by a formal, legal act, whereby the natural father, as it were, sold his child to the other father who wanted to accept it as his own. If the natural father had died, the transition could only occur through a solemn declaration by the people in a public assembly. Only in this way could the child be released from obligations in one family and subjected to those in another.
The Apostle Paul likely derived the concept of adoption from the Roman legal system to illustrate the new relationship believers have with God. In the Old Testament, this adoption was already a privilege of Israel (Romans 9:4), hence Israel is often referred to as the son of God (Exodus 4:22-23; Deuteronomy 8:5; Hosea 11:1). However, this adoption is primarily a blessing of the new covenant. The faithful of the Old Testament were still under the law (Galatians 3:23, 4:1-3), but now, Christ has come in the fullness of time, placing Himself under the law and bearing its curse to redeem those under the law and grant them the adoption of children (Galatians 4:4-5). Through His death, Christ freed us from the servitude of the law and sin, so we now belong to Him who was raised from the dead (Romans 7:14), accepted by God as His children and heirs (Galatians 4:7). As such, believers receive the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of adoption, which assures them of their sonship and gives them the boldness to address God as their Father, continually guided by this Spirit
(Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:6). This adoption, rooted in God's eternal purpose (Ephesians 1:5), extends into the future; though believers are now children and heirs, they await the full revelation of their sonship and the redemption of their bodies (Romans 8:18-23).
The benefit of justification by faith alone provides the Christian with rich consolation. The forgiveness of sins, hope for the future, and certainty of eternal salvation do not depend on the degree of holiness attained in life but are firmly rooted in God's grace and the redemption in Christ Jesus. If such certainty were based on the Christian's good works, it would remain perpetually uncertain, even unto death, for even the most holy have only a small measure of perfect obedience. Consequently, believers would be perpetually plagued by fear and anxiety, unable to stand in the freedom Christ has given, and would likely turn to church and priest, to altar and sacrament, to religious duties and penance for assurance. This is the plight of many Christians, both within and outside the Roman
Church, who do not grasp the glory and comfort of free justification.
However, the believer who comprehends the riches of this benefit sees it differently. He humbly recognizes that good works, whether they consist of mental states, sensations of the soul, or outward actions, are never the grounds but only the fruits of faith. His salvation and blessedness are anchored outside of himself, in Christ
Jesus and His righteousness, and therefore remain unshaken. His house is built on the rock, capable of withstanding the torrents of rain, the streams, and the winds. Naturally, this confession, like every article of faith, can be misused. If faith, which accepts Christ and His righteousness, is taken merely as intellectual assent to historical truth, the person remains cold, indifferent, and lifeless, producing no good works from that faith and failing to accept the person of Christ. But true faith drives the guilt-stricken and defeated soul to Christ Himself, clings to the grace of God alone, and in that very moment, produces good works.
Indeed, only this faith, which rests solely on God's grace in Christ and is conscious of the forgiveness of sins, is capable of producing truly good works. As long as we let the forgiveness of our sins depend wholly or partly on our emotions and good deeds, we remain in fear and anxiety. We are not yet children doing good out of love, but servants doing it for a reward. We do not yet do good purely for the sake of goodness itself, that is, for God's will, but more or less out of self-interest, to gain favor and make ourselves acceptable to God. But all this changes when we understand by faith that our salvation rests exclusively in God's grace and the righteousness of Christ. Then we abandon the idea of establishing our own righteousness and cease laboring on our own salvation, as it is an unshakable reality in Christ
Jesus. Assured of that salvation in Christ, we can now devote all our attention to doing good works to glorify our Father. We no longer accomplish them for our own sake but for the Lord's sake. We belong to Christ, who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4). We have died to the law through the law, that we might live to the glory of God (Galatians 2:19).
Herein lies the liberty of the Christian, which he partakes through justification: he is released from the demand and curse of the law.
The believer is not freed from the law in the sense that he can live according to his own desires or, as it is termed today, indulge the inclinations of his sinful nature. On the contrary, the believer is more firmly bound to the law than ever before; for faith does not nullify the law, but confirms it (Romans 3:31). Its righteousness is fulfilled in those who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4). Those who have died to sin cannot continue to live in it. Yet, the relationship the believer now has with the law is
markedly different from what it was before. He remains bound to it as a rule of gratitude, free from its demand and curse.
In this respect, the believers of the New Testament possess much more than those of the Old Covenant. In the Old Testament, religion is often described as the fear of the Lord, and the faithful are frequently called servants of the Lord. They were children, but as infants, and therefore like servants, placed under guardians and caretakers until the time appointed by the Father (Galatians 4:1-3,
3:23-24). But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4). By fulfilling all righteousness in our place (Matthew 4:15), by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13), and by being made sin for us (2
Corinthians 5:21), Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and completely freed us from its demands. We are no longer bound to it, we are no longer its servants; we have died to it, and we now serve
Christ and live for God (Romans 7:1-4, Galatians 2:19). We are no longer under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:15), standing in the freedom with which Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). For us, the rule is no longer: do this and you will live; but rather, we live by faith and fulfill the law because we delight in it according to the inner man. Thus, the law has become powerless against believers: it can no longer accuse them, for their guilt has been borne by Christ and its demands fulfilled by Him; it can no longer condemn them, for Christ has taken upon Himself its curse and endured all its penalties; Satan can no longer use it to accuse the brethren, for who can bring charges against God's elect when God Himself justifies them, and Christ who died and was raised prays for them?
With the change wrought by justification in the believer's relationship to the law, to its demands and curses, so too does their relationship to all things and the world change. When reconciled to God, we are reconciled to all things; when in right relation to God, we are in right relation to the entire world. Redemption in Christ is a redemption from the guilt and punishment of sin, but also from the oppressive weight of the world. For the Father loves the world, and Christ has overcome it, so that while it may still trouble us, it cannot take away our joy (John 16:33). As children of their heavenly Father, the faithful do not worry about what they will eat or drink or how they will clothe themselves, for He knows they need all these things
(Matthew 6:25ff). Though strangers, they are known; though dying, they live; though disciplined, they are not killed; though sorrowful, they always rejoice; though poor, they make many rich; though having nothing, they possess everything (2 Corinthians 6:9-10). They do not torment themselves with regulations of touch, taste, and handling, but esteem all God's creatures as good and receive them with thanksgiving (Colossians 2:20; 1 Timothy 4:4). They remain and work in their calling, serving Christ alone, not men (1 Corinthians
7:20-24). They see trials not as punishments but as discipline and evidence of God's love (Hebrews 12:5-8). They are free from all creatures because nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35, 39). Indeed, all things are theirs because they belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 3:21-23), and all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
The believer, justified in Christ, is the freest creature in the world. At least, that is how it should be.
Study Questions for Reflection 1. How does the chapter define the concept of justice and righteousness in relation to God's nature and actions?
Reflect on the biblical definitions and examples given in the chapter and how they shape our understanding of God's character.
2. In what ways does the chapter explain the relationship between God's law and His righteousness?
Consider how the chapter describes the origin of laws in God's nature and the significance of His perfect consistency with Himself.
3. What role does God's justice play in His interactions with humanity, especially in the context of sin and salvation?
Discuss the implications of God's justice in both judging sin and providing a way of salvation through Jesus Christ.
4. How does the chapter describe the Old Testament understanding of righteousness, and how is this related to the New Testament revelation?
Reflect on the continuity and development of the concept of righteousness from the Old to the New Testament.
5. Why is it necessary for humans to be justified before God, according to the chapter?
Consider the human condition described in the chapter and the need for justification to be in a right relationship with God.
6. What is the significance of Christ's work in securing righteousness for believers, as outlined in the chapter?
Reflect on the role of Christ's life, death, and resurrection in providing the righteousness that believers need.
7. How does the chapter distinguish between righteousness based on the law and the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ?
Discuss the differences and why righteousness through faith is essential for justification.
8. What is the relationship between faith and righteousness in the process of justification?
Reflect on how faith functions as the means by which believers receive the righteousness of Christ.
9. How does the chapter explain the role of the Holy Spirit in the application of justification to believers?
Consider the involvement of the Holy Spirit in convicting, regenerating, and assuring believers of their justified status.
10. What practical implications does the doctrine of justification have for the life of a believer?
Reflect on how understanding justification by faith alone influences daily Christian living, assurance of salvation, and the
pursuit of holiness.