Q. 70. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free
grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and
accounteth their persons righteous in his sight; not for any thing wrought in
them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction
of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.
Let me divide up the answer into smaller bits
like this:
Justification is
a. (POSITIVELY, truth affirmed)
- an act of God’s free grace unto sinners,
- in which he pardoneth all their sins,
- accepteth and accounteth their persons
righteous in his sight;
b. (NEGATIVELY, error repudiated)
- not for any thing wrought in them,
- or done by them,
(faith is saving grace wrought in them by the
Spirit of adoption, Ga 5:22.)
(believing is a work done by them. John
6:29.)
c. (THE GROUND)
- but only for the perfect obedience and full
satisfaction of Christ,
- by God imputed to them,
(the imputation of God's free grace is both logically and chronologically PRIOR to the reception of it by faith.)
d. (THE EVIDENCE)
- and received by faith alone.
(The justification by grace is received by
faith alone, THAT IS, justification by the grace of God is logically and
chronologically prior to the reception of it by faith in Jesus Christ.)
Consider the answer carefully.
Demonstrate how the answer plainly
REPUDIATES the popular fable of
justification by faith alone.
Ask some questions, and/or draw out some
statements from the answer.
Enjoy learning the gospel truths.
Martin Luther famously stated that the
doctrine of justification is the "article upon which the church stands or
falls" (in Latin, articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae). Many reformed
people love quoting these words of Mr Luther.
On this idea of Luther, how many churches are
standing?
Are you in one that stands?
Please take a look at following slowly and
carefully
John Gill wrote a specific treatise titled
"The Doctrine of Justification by the Righteousness of Christ, Stated and
Maintained", which was published in 1730 - nearly 300 years ago
In that treatise, Dr Gill had to counter a
popular fable already circulating in his days; he declared, "The reason
why any are justified IS NOT because they have faith; but the reason why they
have faith IS because they are justified."
The former is putting the cart before the
horse; the latter horse before the cart.
Yes, just as the Scriptures repeatedly
declare, "The just shall live by faith," i.e. they have faith because
they have been freely justified by God.
Only the justified ones, freely by the grace of God, are capable of
exercising faith in Jesus Christ.
John Gill was a prominent theologian and was
highly respected by his contemporaries. Today, he is loathed by the Reformed people.
The opposite is ubiquitously popular today: "The unjustified is justified by faith
alone."
- i.e. the unjustified is capable of
exercising faith to believe to be justified. It is like saying, The dead are
capable of breathing to be given life. See less
