This week I want to go back to basics and talk about the Biblical foundations of the doctrine of Justification. If this post sounds similar to writings by Petrus Van Maastricht, then it’s because I really enjoyed reading his chapter on Justification. Many Christians know and love our Justification in Christ, but if asked to show where it is in Scripture they might have a hard time. If so, this is for you. Biblically speaking, Justification refers to God forgiving believers of all their sins and accepting them as righteous only for Christ’s sake and received by faith alone.
One of the many places in Scripture where God lays this out is in Paul’s Letter to the Romans in Chapter 3. Here it shows three important things: 1) Our need for justification, 2) God’s gift of justification and 3) How sinners get access to justification.
In verses 22 and 23 God explains our need for justification. It says that there is “no distinction” between Jew and Gentile (non-Jews), and that all people need God’s gift of justification. We like to make distinctions among groups according to the “good people” and “the bad people.” However, the Scriptures say that in terms of our need for forgiveness there is no distinction. Every person is as needy as any other. God says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We don’t feel the shock of this statement today. However, it was a shocking message to these people 2,000 years ago. Moreover, if we will hear it, it can be just as shocking to us too. The Scripture is basically saying here that even if starting today you could honor God perfectly you would still fall short. This is because you would have all the sins already committed still on your record. Everyone falls short. That means that no one can “make up” for their sins before God. Everyone needs forgiveness as a free gift from God.
Next God explains His gift of justification. Forgiveness must be a pure gift for at least four reasons. First, no ordinary person can pay the price for our justification. It says in verse 24 that we are justified “freely by his grace.” Second, justification is a gift paid for by someone else, namely Jesus Christ on the cross. God says that forgiveness is “through redemption in Christ.” The gift is free to us, but justification is not free to God. His Son paid the ultimate price on the cross when he absorbed God’s justice for our dishonor. Third, justification as a free gift is what God (not us) “set forth” to be our salvation. He set justification forth in the first Gospel promise in Genesis 3:14-15 and in the animal sacrifices given to Israel. God set justification forth by the Prophets promise. He set it forth in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Finally, it’s forgiveness (justification) that God sets forth through the first preaching of the Gospel in the Book of Acts.
The last reason that justification can only be God’s free gift is because of the word propitiation. The Scripture says that this justification was set forth as a “propitiation in His blood.” That word propitiation was a coined by William Tyndale in the 16th Century in his English translation of the Greek. The word refers to the place where God came to rest above the mercy seat in the Jewish Temple after a sacrifice was offered. The Jewish people had nothing to do with the work of the high priest on the day of atonement. They had to put their trust in God’s promise to dwell in peace with Israel because of the sacrifice offered by the high priest. Justification is more than just forgiveness; it is where God accepts us as righteous before Him because of the righteousness of our great high priest Jesus Christ. A Christian is someone who accepts that the work of forgiveness is out of their hands, and in the hands of our faithful savior.
How do we access this free gift from God? The Scripture says that it is “through faith” (verse 25). It is trust in God’s promise to save all those who draw near to Him in Christ Jesus. Here the Scripture promises that anyone can get access to the gift of Justification through simple trust. Looking to Christ and trusting in His sacrifice. If this sounds too good to be true, then you are on the right track. That’s why the New Testament called Justification a mystery hidden since the beginning of time.
