Study 13: An Overview Of God-Justification
I would like to welcome you back to another session of studies in the Word of God. As you know, these studies are designed to serve as signposts for your journey through the Bible. For this study, we are looking once again at the subject of Bible exposition, and therefore continuing with Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. In our previous study, I expounded the latter part of the eighth chapter, where I sought to affirm the certainty of God-justification—Romans 8:31-34: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” For this study, I would like to give an overview of God-Justification by examining the various scriptures which refer to it. My arrangement of these scriptures, together with the biblical teachings on the subject, will be organized according to the Framework of Sovereign Grace. If you have been following my teachings for any length of time, then you will be familiar with this diagram. The Framework of Sovereign Grace is the blueprint of God’s masterplan for the ages—it is the plan He drew up from eternity, according to which all things are brought to pass by Him in time. Allow me to give a brief summary on the logical order of God’s eternal decree.
The Framework Explained (not transcribed)
Now, to be clear, the doctrine of God-Justification is designed only for those chosen by the Father and given to the Son, called the elect, or the vessels of honor. Absolutely no promise or provision has been made by God for the justification of the non-elect.
Furthermore, the doctrine of God-Justification belongs to the work of the Father and the Son under the terms and promises of the covenant of grace. It is the Father who justifies the sinner, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. All that the scriptures teach concerning God-Justification fits within this framework. According to my understanding of the subject, there are four basic lessons that can be gathered from these Scriptures concerning God-Justification:
1. The motivating factor for God-justification is the electing love of the Father.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
1 John 3:1: ”Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:”
1 John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Ephesians 2:4-6: ”But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
2 Corinthians 13:14: ”The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Now, you may often hear preachers talk about the motivating factor for God-justification being that of grace—“for by grace are ye saved.” This, however, is not that which motivated the Father to save His people from their sins. Grace is certainly the means by which God saves the sinner, but it is His electing love which motivates Him to exercise grace. It is because the Father set apart a people for Himself as objects of special love, making them vessels unto honour, that propelled Him to draw up a plan of salvation for those persons. Henceforth, John declared, “For God (the Father) so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”. But what is true of the Father’s motivation is equally true of the Son and the Spirit. Even though that which distinguishes the Son’s role in salvation is redeeming grace, and that which distinguishes the Spirit’s role in salvation is sanctifying power, doesn’t mean grace motivated the Son and power motivated the Spirit. Rather, under the terms and promises of the gracious covenant, when the Father gave His elect people to the Son, the reason He agreed to redeem them from their sins is because He received them unto Himself, setting His love upon them. Likewise, when the Father and the Son gave the elect to the Spirit, the reason He agreed to sanctify them is because He received them unto Himself, setting His love upon them. Thus, the elect of God are loved by the Father who chose them, by the Son who redeems them and by the Spirit who sanctifies them—the love of the TriUne Jehovah motivating the Godhead to save His people from their sins.
While I’m on this point, it is worth highlighting another statement commonly made by preachers. They frequently say, God was under no obligation to save anyone from their sins. But that is not true, my dear friends. God the Father obligated Himself to save His people from their sins, because He set them apart as objects of His special love. Never would He leave them to die in their sins, which is why He devised a plan to save them from it. Of course, God’s people do not deserve to be saved from their sins, but the love of God guarantees they will be saved through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus and by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.
Henceforth, we may draw the following conclusions based on the foregoing points: (1) the electing love of the Father limits the atonement of Christ to those given by Him to His Son; (2) the justifying work of Christ will never be rightly understood until it is displayed under the canopy of the Father’s electing love; (3) the gospel is only fully preached when the electing love of the Father is set forth as the motivating factor for the redeeming grace of the Son; (4) the gospel is only rightly preached when the love of the Father in election, and the love of the Son in redemption and the love of the Spirit in sanctification is set forth as the motivating factor for the Godhead saving His people from their sins.
2. The fixed means for God-justification is the redeeming grace of the Son.
It is proper to begin this point by correcting another common error espoused by many preachers. They often say the means by which God justifies the sinner is saving faith. But that is not true, my friends. While saving faith is the result of regeneration, it is certainly not the means of justification. This we find repeated throughout the New Testament scriptures, where the grace of God is set forth as the only means of justifying a sinner. For instance,
Romans 3:24: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
Titus 3:7: ”That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
You see, my friends, if saving faith is the means of justification, then justification is made conditional upon the sinner’s exercise of faith, rather than the certainty of Christ’s finished work in redemption. But the Scriptures set forth the sinner’s justification as certain, based squarely upon Christ’s redeeming work.
With reference to Christ’s redeeming work, there are two things He accomplished:
Firstly, the payment of sin’s debt. As the wages of sin is death, so Christ laid down His life by the shedding of His precious blood, thereby making an atonement for sin. This aspect of Christ’s redeeming work is often referred to as His passive obedience.
Romans 5:8: “Much more than, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
1 Peter 1:18-21: ”Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
Secondly, the procurement of the law’s righteousness. As perfect obedience to the heart law is required by God under the covenant of works, so Christ perfectly obeyed the heart law earning for His elect people righteousness, thereby making them right with God. This aspect of Christ’s redeeming work is often referred to as His active obedience.
Romans 4:25: ”Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 5:16-19: “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
Henceforth, the means by which God the Father justifies His people from their sins is the redeeming grace that is in Christ Jesus.
3. The experiential realization of God-justification is saving faith by virtue of the soul’s union with Christ.
Even though I have rejected the notion that saving faith is the means of God-justification, yet it is an essential part of it. As I said earlier, it is the result of regeneration and therefore the fruit of the soul’s union with Christ. When the sinner is born again, his/her soul is united with Christ, by virtue of which the life of Christ flows into the soul, making the sinner alive unto God, and the graces of Christ also flow into the soul, among which is saving faith. Saving faith, therefore, is actually the faith of Christ flowing into the regenerate sinner’s soul. In Galatians 5, Paul calls it a fruit of the soul’s union with Christ. It is after the faith of Christ flows into the soul, that the sinner is brought to a personal realization of all the Father has done for him/her in the work of salvation. This includes the act of justification. Saving faith does not activate the justifying grace of God; it only brings it to light, showing the poor needy sinner that God has secured for him/her a perfect righteousness through the redeeming work of Christ. On this point, the Apostle Paul wrote,
Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Many people understand this expression to mean a sinner is justified only after he/she believes on Christ—to be “justified by faith”. I do not believe that is the meaning. Properly speaking, a sinner is justified from eternity, when the Son of God pledged, under the terms and promises of the gracious covenant, to redeem His people from their sins. The Father accepted the pledge of Christ, making Him the surety of the elect, thereby pronouncing them at that point righteous in Christ. However, the sinner is only brought to a realization of this justifying grace after he/she has been born again, when through saving faith, he/she lays hold of that which has been true from eternity.
In a similar vein, some people believe God’s elect people are goats in their unregenerate state and become sheep after they are born again. I don’t believe that. God’s elect people are sheep from eternity, according to the terms and promises of the gracious covenant. When Christ, for instance, came into the world, He came to seek and to save His lost sheep. They have always been sheep, though in a state of unregeneracy, they are lost. Whether they are lost or found, they are the sheep of Christ. The Apostle Paul touches on this point in the continuing verses of Romans 5:1-5:
”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. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
This is a description, my dear friends, of the sinner’s experience after he/she has been born again. The love of God is true of them from eternity, but it is only realized by them when the Spirit of God sheds His love abroad in their hearts in regeneration. Forthwith, they experience peace with God through Christ, finding access by saving faith into His redeeming grace, rejoicing in hope of their everlasting home in glory. But not only this, as strangers and pilgrims in this world, they rejoice in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation exercises patience, and patience exercises experience, and experience nurtures greater hope. And you see, this type of hope doesn’t leave us disappointed; it is doesn’t fail us; because it is grounded in the love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
And so, the experiential realization of God-justification is saving faith by virtue of the soul’s union with Christ.
4. The sure evidence of God-justification is spiritual fruit manifested by good works.
I do not know anyone who denies the importance of a Christian following the Lord in good works. However, there are two basic views on the subject which are opposed to each other. The first view may be identified as legal sanctification, the second view as gospel sanctification. Legal sanctification asserts the regenerate sinner remains under the authority of the covenant of works as a rule of conduct for the Christian life—now that the sinner has been born again, he/she is enabled by the grace of God to obey the heart law, which is the measure of that person’s spiritual growth. Legal sanctification is also known as progressive sanctification, and it is the mainstream view among Arminian and Reformed believers. Gospel sanctification, on the other hand, asserts the regenerate sinner has been experientially freed from the authority of the covenant of works, Christ Himself perfectly obeying the heart law on the sinner’s behalf, and is brought under the blessings of the covenant of grace, wherein he/she enjoys a spiritual union with Christ, in virtue of which the graces of Christ flow into the soul, enabling the regenerate sinner to bear the fruit of that spiritual union. Among these fruits are ”love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” When these fruits find expression in the Christian life, they are turned into good words and good works. Henceforth, whereas legal sanctification imposes upon believers a yoke of law-bondage, gospel sanctification invites the believer to take upon him/her the yoke of Christ, which is easy, and His burden light. Of course, I believe gospel sanctification is the scriptural view, and it is only through gospel sanctification a believer is able to find rest unto his/her soul. Henceforth, the Apostle Paul exhorted the believers in Galatia to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Now, there are a couple of passages which speak of gospel sanctification as it relates to the doctrine of justification.
The first text is James 2:20-26: ”But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
We have here two examples and one illustration, all of which demonstrates the sure evidence of God-justification is spiritual fruit manifested by good works. The two examples are Abraham and Rahab, both of whom evidenced having been made right with God by the way in which they conducted their lives. The single illustration is that of the body and the soul—as the body is dead without the soul, so justifying faith is dead without sanctifying works.
The second text which speaks of gospel sanctification as it relates to the doctrine of justification is Luke 18:9-14: ”And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
We have here an excellent contrast between legal sanctification, represented by the Pharisee, and gospel sanctification, represented by the publican. That publican showed forth the praises of Him who had called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. He was full of the fruit flowing into his soul by virtue of his union with Christ—he was poor in spirit and mourning over his sin, hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of Christ, full of meekness and humility, beating upon his chest with the simple petition that God might be merciful to him, a sinner. Do you see, my dear friends, this man was following the Lord in good works, which were nothing other than the graces of Christ flowing into his soul, and finding expression in his words and actions at the temple. This, I say, is the sure evidence that he had been freely justified by God the Father through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, for Jesus Himself said, “I tell you, this man (the publican) went down to his house justified rather than the other (the pharisee): for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Alright, my friends, this is the overview on what the Scriptures teach concerning God-justification.
1. The motivating factor for God-justification is the electing love of the Father (together with the love of the Son and the Spirit).
2. The fixed means for God-justification is the redeeming grace of the Son.
3. The experiential realization of God-justification is saving faith by virtue of the soul’s union with Christ.
4. The sure evidence of God-justification is spiritual fruit manifested (or demonstrated) by good works.
May the Lord bless this teaching to our hearts, granting us assurance in our calling and election, and enabling us to enjoy the graces of Christ expressive in our language and conduct. Until we meet again for our next study, may you know the presence of the Lord in your daily walk with Him!
Jared Smith served twenty years as pastor of a Strict and Particular Baptist church in Kensington (London, England). He now serves as an Evangelist in the Philippines, preaching the gospel, organizing churches and training gospel preachers.
Jared Smith on Eldership
Jared Smith on the Biblical Covenants
Jared Smith on the Gospel Law
Jared Smith on the Gospel Message
Jared Smith on Various Issues
Jared Smith, Covenant Baptist Church, Philippines
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Jared Smith's Studies in Romans
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Jared Smith's Maternal Ancestry (Complete)
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