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April 9, 2004
Justification
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines justification as:
The act of justifying.
The condition or fact of being justified.
Something, such as a fact or circumstance, that justifies
To be "justified" means:
To demonstrate or prove to be just, right, or valid
To declare free of blame; absolve.
To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin.
Wayne Grudem, in "Systematic Theology" defines it as "an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight."
Grudem says "The primary issue in the Protestant Reformation was a dispute with the Roman Catholic Church over justification. Once Martin Luther realized the truth of justification by faith alone, he became a Christian and overflowed with the new-found joy of the gospel. "
John Murray says "If justification is confused with regeneration or sanctification, then the door is opened for the perversion of the gospel at its center."
Thomas F. Torrance, in his book, "Theology in Reconstruction," says, "Justification is not only the forgiveness of sins, but the bestowal of a positive righteousness that derives from beyond us, and which we have through union with Christ. It is a perpetual living in Christ, from a centre and source beyond us. To be justified is to be lifted up above and beyond ourselves to live out of the risen and ascended Christ, and not out of ourselves."
Robert D. Brinsmead, in his book "The Dynamic, Ongoing Nature of Justification by Faith" says, "Justification by faith is a dynamic, ongoing action in the divine-human relationship. This important concept is so completely foreign to most evangelical circles today... Most evangelicals think of justification by faith as a final, once-in-a-lifetime act. Justification is not static, it is dynamic and ongoing. As we constantly believe, God constantly justifies. Justification is no mere initiatory action in the soteriological process - no mere filling station along the way..."
Alister McGrath, in his book "Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification" says, "The essential feature of the Reformation doctrine of justification is that a deliberate and systematic distinction is made between justification and regeneration. Although it must be emphasized that the distinction is purely notional, in that it is impossible to separate the two with the context of the ordo salutis, the essential point is that a notional distinction is made where none had been acknowledged before in the history of Christian doctrine. A fundamental discontinuity was introduced into the western theological tradition where none had ever existed, or ever been contemplated, before. The Reformation understanding of the nature of justification - as opposed to its mode - must therefore be regarded as a genuine theological novum."
Conclusions
Justification is serious business. It is perhaps the fulcrum of the entire Gospel message. We must be justified in order to be saved. Justification is was bought through Christ's sacrifice and God's relentless love and pursuit of his children (us). I like Grudem's point that "God declares us to be righteous."
On a more personal level (as opposed to a theological one), Jennifer Knapp, in her song "Romans" sums up the concept well...
I don't have to be condemned.
Jesus saved me from the laws of sin.
If I fall I'll try again.
With the spirit as my guide
I'll never have to hide again.
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