bdavidc
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- Mar 31, 2025
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I agree with you. That is exactly the issue I am trying to get at. You cannot separate justification from the cross as though Christ’s death were somehow secondary to His life. Scripture says plainly, “being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:9).It's appalling to me how Epi is treating the death of Jesus. His death on the cross was mankind's atonement for sin (for whosoever would receive it).....how can there be justification and mercy without it? We are to walk in His resurrection life, yes, but that wouldn't be possible apart from Jesus dying on the cross.........and Paul wrote about carrying about in his body the death of Jesus that the life of Jesus would be manifested in his body.
The point Epi is making about people wanting justification without mercy I think is valid only if it isn't taken too far in dividing the one from the other Many take their salvation for granted and haven't learned for themselves yet the reality of just how lost and sinful they are without the Lord, how much in need of His mercy we are, that in our flesh is truly no good thing....we learn that as we grow, if we grow.
The saints of the old testament who God justified are shown to all have faith as the new testament records.......they had works of righteousness too, but they also had sin....and the Lord wrote about some of their sins/shortcomings in the bible, that we would learn from them. Imputation of righteousness means that one's sins are not being imputed to them...and that was made possible by the cross, which reaches back into history so to speak.
And you are right about the Old Testament saints. Romans 4 uses Abraham and David specifically to show that God “justifieth the ungodly” through faith and “imputeth righteousness without works” (Romans 4:5-6). Their works were evidence of faith, but their works were never the basis of their justification.
I also agree that nobody should treat grace lightly or presume upon God’s mercy. But the answer to that problem is not to blur justification by faith with justification by works. Paul leaves no room for that: “if by grace, then is it no more of works” (Romans 11:6).
That is why Epi’s statement that justification comes from Christ’s life “not His death” is so serious. Scripture does not give us that option. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22), and without the cross there is no resurrection life for us to walk in.