1689.11.1
- Justification by free grace stated and defined
"Those
whom God effectually calleth, He also freely justifieth,(1) not by infusing
righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and
accepting their persons as righteous;(2) not for anything wrought in them, or
done by them, but for Christ's sake alone;(3) not by imputing faith itself, the
act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their
righteousness; but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law,
and passive obedience in His death for their whole and sole righteousness,(4)
they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith, which faith
they have not of themselves; it is the gift of God.(5) 1. Ro 3:24; 8:30. 2. Ro
4:5-8; Eph 1:7. 3. 1Co 1:30-31; Ro 5:17-19. 4. Php 3:8-9; Eph 2:8-10. 5. Jn
1:12; Ro 5:17.
1. The Context of Justification
a. Effectual call to grace and salvation: ‘those
whom God effectually called, He ALSO…’
- Therefore, they are never separated!
Effectual call to grace and salvation involves the free and sovereign Divine
activities of justification, regeneration, and adoption, in that number and
order.
b. ALL these THREE divine activities are
necessary to bring an elect out of his native state of condemnation, death, and
alienation to that of grace and salvation in Christ Jesus.
- These divine activities of justification,
regeneration and adoption are necessary to UNDO the condemnation, death, and
alienation respectively, bringing a man into a state of grace and salvation in
Jesus Christ.
2. The Subject of Justification
a. It is God the Father: ‘He also…’ Whom He
effectually calls, He ALSO justifies.
- He effectual calls those dead in trespasses
and sins; He ALSO justifies such. God
justifies the ungodly who are INCAPABLE of faith
- So the particular aspect of justification
here is the applied/vital justification at effectual calling by God the Father.
3. The Manner of Justification
a. It is freely by God’s grace: ‘He also
freely justifieth.’
- Freely means without man meeting any
condition… for an unjustified man, still in his native condemned state, can’t
meet any! This is simple and plain enough.
- Freely means just that... without any
condition on man's part.
- The fiction of justification by faith alone
is repudiated! Do you get it?
4. The Essence of Justification
a. Errors negated: It is...
- ‘not by infusing righteousness into them…’
b. Truth affirmed:
: ‘but by pardoning their sins
: and
accounting (a legal transaction)
: and
accepting their persons as righteous…’
- God FREELY APPLIES the righteousness of
Jesus Christ to them personally when they were dead in trespasses and sins, and
forgiving them of all their sins; on this ground alone He accept them as
righteous.
5. The Ground of Justification:
a. Errors negated:
i. 'not for anything wrought in them, or done
by them…’
- The grace of faith is a fruit wrought in
them.
- Faith (their act of believing) is
something done by them.
- Both are excluded from justification by
God.
- Sola fidei is repudiated. Do you read it?
Is that too hard to understand, or is it of wilful unbelief???
ii. ‘not by imputing faith itself, the act of
believing…’
- Therefore, in Gen 15:6, where faith is
imputed, it is NOT NOT NOT talking about the justification of Abraham BEFORE God.
iii. ‘or by any other evangelical obedience
to them, as their righteousness…”
- Faith, believing in Christ IS an evangelical
obedience. Isn't that simple and plain enough?
- The "justification before God by faith
alone" (man's act of believing - an act of evangelical obedience) is
fiction and fable plainly repudiated! Do you read it? Is that too hard to
understand, or is it of wilful unbelief???
b. Truth affirmed:
i. ‘but by imputing Christ's active obedience
unto the whole law …’
- Christ's active obedience to the whole law
is the righteousness of God's own provision; justification before God requires
the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the condemned.
- Imputation of the faith to the believing
one, as in Gen 15:1-6, is NOT justification per se. That's a fable.
ii. ‘and passive obedience in His death …’
- In His death, Christ suffered and endured
the curse and condemnation of sins in the place of His people, securing full
forgiveness for all their sins.
iii.
‘for their whole and sole righteousness.’
- The righteousness of Christ (by His active
and passive obedience is the whole (complete, nothing lacking) and sole (alone,
only) righteousness of the justified.
- Man's faith is NOT, NOT, NOT in the
equation of God's act of justifying the condemned; it is so carefully excluded.
Isn't that simple and plain enough?
6. The Evidence of Justification
a. The pronoun "they receiving and
resting..." speaks of those whom God has ALREADY freely justified. This is
obvious.
- Those still in their native state of
condemnation, dead, and alienated are INCAPABLE
of receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness by faith. To
say otherwise is just stupid, i.e. lacking common sense.
b. Faith in the context is defined as
‘receiving and resting on Him [Christ] and His righteousness.’
- The application of righteousness by free
grace precedes, both logically and chronologically, the reception of the same
by faith in Christ.
- Justification by free grace is completed
before believing its truth is possible!
c. Both the Calvinists and the
Arminians fail to recognise this BASIC fact, and end up conditioning their
justification before God upon their faith!
What a gross and grievous error!
- Faith is the work of grace by the Spirit of
Christ in the hearts of those already freely justified by God; it is not a
native ability in an unjustified condemned man, exercised by the unjustified in
order to be justified!
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Don't jump and say what about the next
paragraph!
Just stay with Para 1 first. Any questions?
Wait for the exposition on 1689.11.2
