Justification by grace through faith is a key doctrine of Scripture. But the Catholic Church (and the Orthodox Church) misunderstood and misrepresented it for a very long time. But all the Reformers saw that unless this doctrine was preached and taught, people would never understand the grace of God and the gift of eternal life.
Martin Luther said “The doctrine of justification is … that we are pronounced righteous and are saved solely by faith in Christ, and without works.” And in this he was perfectly correct.
John Calvin said The doctrine of Justification is now to be fully discussed, and discussed under the conviction, that as it is the principal ground on which religion must be supported, so it requires greater care and attention... A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when in the judgment of God he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on account of his [God's ] righteousness...” And he was perfectly correct also.
The Bible says Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.(Rom 5:1,2)
We see here that faith and grace are both connected to justification. But what is the biblical meaning of “justified” in this passage?
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance tells us this:
dikaioó: to show to be righteous, declare righteous
Original Word: δικαιόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: dikaioó
Phonetic Spelling: (dik-ah-yo'-o)
Definition: to show to be righteous, declare righteous
Usage: I make righteous, defend the cause of, plead for the righteousness (innocence) of, acquit, justify; hence: I regard as righteous.
As we can see here, God does several things to, and for, the believer when He justifies that person:
1. He declares him or her to be righteous (in spite of the fact that the person is a sinner)
2. He acquits the sinner, which means that the penalty for sin will not be applied
3. He makes him or her righteous (or sanctifies) by giving that person the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life.
4. He also imputes – or puts to the account of that person – the righteousness of Christ. The sinner is therefore metaphorically “clothed” with the robe of righteousness – fine linen, clean and white -- “which is the righteousness of the saints”.
This happens when a person repents and receive Christ as Lord and Savior. When the Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” to be saved means to be firstly justified. And then many other aspect of salvation are added. Luther said “he is pronounced righteous”. Calvin said “he is deemed righteous”. And both are correct. The standard of righteousness is the righteousness of God Himself – perfection. So the guilty sinner is immediately seen by God as being as righteous as Christ Himself!
What too many people have difficulty in understanding is how can a righteous and holy God declare an unrighteous sinner to be righteous? And that too as righteous as Christ. That does not seem fair. Why should a murderer or a hardened criminal get a free pass from God, rather than pay the full penalty for his sins?
And this is where the finished work of Christ enters into the picture. There could be no justification apart from Christ's finished work of redemption. It is only because Christ was made Sin for us, and took upon Himself the full penalty for the sins of the whole world when He was crucified, that God can declare the believing sinner as righteous. In other words, God exchanges the righteousness of Christ for the unrighteousness of the sinner when He justifies a person by grace through faith, and then imputes to him or her the righteousness of Christ.
At the same time those who are justified by grace through faith are ordained unto good works and righteous living (Eph 2:8-10). So if the justified person does not show that he is actually separated from sin and idols, and doing the good works that God has ordained, then that person's faith was not genuine faith in Christ. This is clearly spelled out in Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Martin Luther said “The doctrine of justification is … that we are pronounced righteous and are saved solely by faith in Christ, and without works.” And in this he was perfectly correct.
John Calvin said The doctrine of Justification is now to be fully discussed, and discussed under the conviction, that as it is the principal ground on which religion must be supported, so it requires greater care and attention... A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when in the judgment of God he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on account of his [God's ] righteousness...” And he was perfectly correct also.
The Bible says Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.(Rom 5:1,2)
We see here that faith and grace are both connected to justification. But what is the biblical meaning of “justified” in this passage?
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance tells us this:
dikaioó: to show to be righteous, declare righteous
Original Word: δικαιόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: dikaioó
Phonetic Spelling: (dik-ah-yo'-o)
Definition: to show to be righteous, declare righteous
Usage: I make righteous, defend the cause of, plead for the righteousness (innocence) of, acquit, justify; hence: I regard as righteous.
As we can see here, God does several things to, and for, the believer when He justifies that person:
1. He declares him or her to be righteous (in spite of the fact that the person is a sinner)
2. He acquits the sinner, which means that the penalty for sin will not be applied
3. He makes him or her righteous (or sanctifies) by giving that person the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life.
4. He also imputes – or puts to the account of that person – the righteousness of Christ. The sinner is therefore metaphorically “clothed” with the robe of righteousness – fine linen, clean and white -- “which is the righteousness of the saints”.
This happens when a person repents and receive Christ as Lord and Savior. When the Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” to be saved means to be firstly justified. And then many other aspect of salvation are added. Luther said “he is pronounced righteous”. Calvin said “he is deemed righteous”. And both are correct. The standard of righteousness is the righteousness of God Himself – perfection. So the guilty sinner is immediately seen by God as being as righteous as Christ Himself!
What too many people have difficulty in understanding is how can a righteous and holy God declare an unrighteous sinner to be righteous? And that too as righteous as Christ. That does not seem fair. Why should a murderer or a hardened criminal get a free pass from God, rather than pay the full penalty for his sins?
And this is where the finished work of Christ enters into the picture. There could be no justification apart from Christ's finished work of redemption. It is only because Christ was made Sin for us, and took upon Himself the full penalty for the sins of the whole world when He was crucified, that God can declare the believing sinner as righteous. In other words, God exchanges the righteousness of Christ for the unrighteousness of the sinner when He justifies a person by grace through faith, and then imputes to him or her the righteousness of Christ.
At the same time those who are justified by grace through faith are ordained unto good works and righteous living (Eph 2:8-10). So if the justified person does not show that he is actually separated from sin and idols, and doing the good works that God has ordained, then that person's faith was not genuine faith in Christ. This is clearly spelled out in Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
