Justification

Justification


Justify in the bible is the work “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare and treat as righteous

Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.

1. Instantaneous legal act of God

When we are converted (faith and repentance) God instantly justifies us in the legal act of justification.

When one believes and turns there is no delay, we are “saved”. We are justified

Legal act of God: “dikaio” – to make right our just; imputed righteousness; declare righteous
Romans 3:20; 26; 28
Romans 5:1
Galatians 2:15-16

2. God thinks of our sins as forgiven
God think of our sin as forgiven
- We have no penalty to pay for sin (past, present, future)
- Romans 8:1
- Romans 4:4-8
- Palm 103:12

“Forgiveness of sin will get you out of hell, but it will not get you into heaven.” – R.C. Sproul

“We must rather move from a point of moral neutrality to a point of having positive righteousness before God, the righteousness of a life of perfect obedience to him.” – Wayne Grudem

3. God declares us to be righteous in his sight

How does God declare us to be righteous?

God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us

The word “impute” is a word chosen on purpose by the reformers partly to counter the Roman Catholic view of “infused” righteousness (See Grudem for further discussion p. 726-729) and to communicate what the biblical text is telling about how God declares us righteous.

There are three instances of imputing:
1. When Adam sinned, his guilt was imputed to us (Romans 5:12-21)
2. When Jesus suffered and died our sin was imputed to him (2 Corinthians 5:21)
3. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us
- Impute – to ascribe to someone something
- When it is said that God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us it means
that God thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us. Or God counts
Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us.
- Romans 4:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9
1. We do not act righteous, but God counts us as though we are and declares that we are guiltless
- Watch out for the demonic attack of unhealthy guilt (guilt that feels like God is
condemning you)
- Romans 8:1
- Be thankful for the gracious gift of healthy guilt (the feeling one gets when we
sin and realized God not only loves me but still likes me so I know I must and want to
repent)
- Romans 2:4
- It is God’s kindness to us and his love of his and his acceptance of us that
causes us to desire repentance.
- Be humbled and worship in response to God’s grace to us
2. We are accepted
- God not only forgives us, he reckons, counts, imputes Christ Jesus’ righteousness to us
and calls us “sons” and “daughters” and “children” and “heirs”
- Watch out for anyone or place who makes your acceptance by God
“conditional” based upon what you do or do not do (legalism)
- Watch out for anyone or place who allows you unfettered access to
blatantly wrong behavior and says that it’s ok because you are
forgiven (antinomian = lawless)
- Forgiven and accepted does not equal lawless
- We have the law of our conscience informed by the Holy Spirit
who inspired the Scriptures to apply to us, and we must listen and
obey
3. We enjoy the peaceful fruit of certainty that God loves and accepts us
- Do not put your hope in uncertain investments (Luke 12:13-21)
4. Preach this message
- Believe that this message communicates in an increasingly diverse background of
spirituality and religions
- This message can speak to suffering and evil and its cure
- This message has divine power to transform a lost hear without our manipulation
- This message provides a lens / framework through which the Christian must learn
to engage its world
- It was certainly noticeable that, following September 11, the church was mostly unable to offer any public reading on the tragedy that did anything more than commiserate with those who had lost loved ones. There was virtually no Christian interpretation, no wrestling with the meaning of evil, little thought about the cross where Christians contend its back was broken. –David Wells
5. Use your God ordained vocation as a means of propagating this message
- Don’t forget your vocation is where God has put you and there is where you preach from