In the meantime, I wrote a paper I was really proud of last semester in my "Romans" class called "Justification By Faith." I wanted to post it here because I think the message is important enough to be read. Enjoy.
The phrase that defined the
movement known as the Reformation was “justification by faith.” In the fallout
of the Reformation, this phrase became the central component to Christianity,
being ever tied to Christianity as a doctrine that is unmovable and one in
which many lost their lives defending. One commentator went, as far as to say,
“No doctrine of Scripture is more important than that of justification
It involves the whole method of the salvation of sinners. It is vitally
connected with all other fundamental doctrines. A correct conception of it
cannot exist when other truths are ignored, or only partially received.”[1]
The importance of such a vital piece in the great puzzle of Christianity cannot
be over exaggerated or overemphasized.
But
what exactly is Justification by Faith, and why is it important to the
Christian Church? Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, often hailed as a theological bombshell
that is unsurpassed by any other book in the New Testament, contains within it
the most central truths regarding Justification by Faith. With this basis, this
writer will attempt to utilize the book of Romans to help the reader understand
the concept of this most important doctrine, beginning with an introduction on
what “justification” is and how to attain it (by means of faith and how this is
worked out in the redemptive plan), an analysis of Romans 1:17 and how Paul’s
thesis begins the book-long argument of Justification by Faith, and finally,
how Christians should act out Justification by Faith in their lives.
On
its most superficial level, the root word of “justification” is “justice” and
this is most often used in a judicial sense. This correlates with the popular,
“court room scene:” As a man stands trial for his wrongdoings, he is given
justice by way of the judge who declares him either guilty or not guilty. But
in the Christian sense, the act of Justification is not a term that emphasizes
the guilty verdict: rather the opposite effect is necessitated upon the
recollection of this word. Succinctly, Weirsbe says “Justification means that God
declares believing sinners righteous in Christ and never again keeps a record of their sins.”[2] Further, John Stott says, “Justification
is a legal or forensic term, belonging to the law courts. Its opposite is
condemnation. Both are the pronouncements of a judge.”[3]
Therefore,
the scene that perfectly accentuates this concept of Justification is, again,
the court scene where the judge (the most Holy God of the Bible) reigns. The
sinner is on trial. The crime is his life full of wickedness against the judge.
But instead of being guilty for his evil, Jesus is able and willing to take the
punishment for the sinner’s wrongs, making him, as the old hymn puts it, “white
as snow.”
This
is accomplished because of Jesus’ act on the cross. In his book, “The Cross of
Christ,” John Stott quotes Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, about the
efficacy of Jesus’ death on the cross: “‘there is no-one...who can make this
satisfaction except God himself.... But no-one ought to make it except man;
otherwise man does not make satisfaction…. It is needful that the very same
Person who is to make this satisfaction be perfect God and perfect man, since
no-one can do it except one who is truly God, and no-one ought to do it except
one who is truly man.’”[4]
This delivers a key piece of information regarding Justification: a guilty man
cannot in himself cannot save himself from his sentence. Rather, he must rely
on someone who is without wrong who must be God (but representative of man, as
Anselm points out) to live the perfect life we are unable to live in order to
fulfill the law and it’s requirements. Therefore, when Jesus died on the cross,
his sacrifice was sufficient as Romans 3:21 says, “But now the righteousness of
God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the prophets
bear witness to it.” This righteousness was the righteousness of Christ in His
perfect life that fulfilled that law.
Further,
the righteousness of Christ (to be discussed in more detail later) now dwells
in the justified one: “the righteousness of Christ is set to the believer’s
account as though it were really and inherently his own.”[5]
One man said about this scene, “When you study Romans, you walk into a
courtroom. First, Paul called Jews and Gentiles to the stand and found both
guilty before God. Then he explained God’s marvelous way of salvation—justification
by faith.”[6]
This can be seen evidentially in Romans 3, verses 23-25a: “For all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood…”
The
second part of Romans 3:25 contains the answer to how one is able to receive
this justification: “…to be received by faith…” From this, it is obvious how
one attains justification: by faith. But this process is more complex than
first read would allow us to believe. If we sustain that through our own good
works we cannot be made right with God because the the law demands perfection
and our fallible nature is unable to achieve perfection, then we must infer
that there is another way to be justified in God’s sight. This is the argument
in Romans 4, where Paul turns to Abraham to illustrate that the way people are
made right or “justified” in God’s sight is by faith.
The
most momentous verse in Romans 4 has to be verse 3, where Paul quotes Genesis
15:6 to prove that Abraham was not justified by works, but rather by faith:
“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to
him as righteousness.’” Mounce says of this event, “For Paul, Abraham was credited
with righteousness when he believed God’s promise of an offspring.”[7]
But as no Christians were ever promised offspring by God, this statement begs
the question, how does this apply to the modern day person? The answer is
contained in the example of Abraham as a free gift that requires no works but
rather faith. The one whom we put our faith into now is Jesus Christ and his
work on the cross. As Hastings says so eloquently, “According to this passage,
therefore, the faith that justifies is not simply faith in God, or faith in
God’s grace, or faith in the truth that Jesus is the Christ, but faith in Jesus
as one who gave Himself to death for man’s redemption, and so became the
channel through which God’s grace flows to sinners. Following out this idea of
faith, justification might be defined as a judicial act, whereby God regards as righteous those who trust in His grace as
manifested in the atoning death of Christ.”[8]
With
this foundation laid, we now turn to the thesis of Paul’s letter to the Romans
in chapter 1:17: “For in [the Gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith for faith, as it is written, “the righteous shall live by faith.” As
Paul uses this one verse to turn from his introduction into the establishment
of what the “Gospel” is and to further his argument that justification comes by
faith (the correlation between the two we will discuss later), we must now turn
our attention to understanding this thesis.
The
phrase “the righteousness of God” has mystified theologians for centuries. The
key point we must take into consideration in an attempt to understand this
sentence: what righteousness is. As we turn to this, there are three basic
views to consider what “righteousness” Paul is speaking of: 1) an attribute of
God, 2) God’s activity where he declares those who turn to Him righteous, 3) humans’
righteous status that is a result of God’s justifying activity.[9]
While all these have merit, this writer believes the most convincingly argument
of what Paul is meaning here is in the third option. However, Mounce comments, “It
may be, however, that the three positions are not mutually exclusive. There is
no question that righteousness is an attribute of God, and God clearly is
actively involved in declaring righteous those who turn to him in faith. The
result is that people of faith are declared to be righteous. They have laid
hold of the ‘righteousness from God.’ With the major emphasis remaining on the
status of the one declared to be righteous, there is no reason to deny that the
other two aspects are integrally related and should not be excluded from the
larger view of the issue.”[10]
Regardless,
the importance of the third option grows as one considers the Greek word
associate with “righteousness.” The root word here is the verb “dikaioo,” the same word in the Greek for
our word, “justify.”[11]
About the construction of this word, Utley says, “Paul, being a trained rabbi,
uses the term dikaiosunē in its
Hebrew sense of the term SDQ used in
the Septuagint, not from Greek literature. In Greek writings the term is
connected to someone who conformed to the expectations of deity and society. In
the Hebrew sense it is always structured in covenantal terms.”[12]
This reinforces what has already been established, that righteousness is apart
from our actions but a manifestation of Jesus’ righteousness that is
transferred to us by way of faith. As Moo says, “When God ‘justifies’ the
sinner, God gives that person a new legal standing before him - his or her
‘righteousness.’”[13] Godet
spells out exactly what this means in the most practical sense: “The notion of
the righteousness of God, according
to Paul, embraces two bestowals of grace: man treated—(1) as if he had never
committed any evil; (2) as if he had always accomplished all the good God could
expect from him. The sentence of justification which puts man in this
privileged state in relation to God is the δικαίωσις, the act of justification. In virtue of this act “man has henceforth,”
as Hofmann says, “the righteousness of God for him, and not against him.”[14]
Therefore,
we establish that the righteousness here is the result of God’s justifying
activity (the imputation of perfection into believers) and Paul says further,
“…Revealed by faith to faith.” The word “revealed” here could mean “unveil,” as
Moule says, “So the Gospel “unveils God’s
righteousness”; it draws the curtains from His glorious secret. And as each
fold is lifted, the glad beholder looks on ‘from
faith to faith.’[15]
In the time of the Romans and before as today, men are convinced that the way
to being right with God is by the good works that they do. What Paul clarifies
here is that God has spoken through Jesus Christ about His redemptive plan;
through that revelation, we find a difficult message that strays away from
normalcy and enters into the unorthodox (to men, at least). In addition, Mounce
says, “This radical departure from conventional wisdom had to be “revealed.” It
runs contrary to all the basic instincts of fallen human nature. Virtue has,
since the beginning of time, been thought of as an achievement by human
endeavor. But God’s righteousness is a right standing he freely gives to those
who trust in him.”[16]
Concerning
the phrase, “from faith to faith,” John Stott lists four possible conclusions:
1) faith’s origin, meaning God’s faithfulness is first His, and our faith is
merely a response, 2) the spread of faith by way of evangelism, 3) he could be
referring to faith’s growth (from one degree of faith to another), 4) it may be
faith’s primacy and purely rhetorical, as one translation puts “by faith from
first to last” or “faith faith through and through.”[17]
This writer believes the most comprehensive view as summed up by Beet: “In
order that faith in Him may be the abiding state of His servants, God
proclaims, 'He that believes shall be saved;’ and thus makes known to all
believers a state in which God’s, favour is enjoyed. The revelation is by faith, that it may lead to faith.[18]
This correlates with the first view Stott provides and similarly echoes the
subject of faith discussed earlier. Moreover, it is in direct alignment with
the idea of righteousness that proceeds it, as explained by Lange: “The idea of
faith appears here in accordance with the comprehensive idea of righteousness,
and therefore as a hearty, trustful self-surrender, which includes both
knowledge and belief, assent and surrender, appropriation and application.” [19]
In
the next section, Paul quotes a verse from the Prophet Habakkuk, chapter two
verse four. It is imperative that we understand the original context of this
passage before we determine its place in Romans. An analysis of the background
is succinctly provided by one commentator: “First, wickedness was rampant in
Israel and God seemed oblivious to it, moving Habakkuk to rail against God in a
series of complaints (Hab. 1:2–4). Second, when God said he was going to use a
nation more wicked than Israel (the Babylonians) to punish Israel, this
produced cries and complaints of injustice from the prophet (Hab. 1:12–2:1). It
might be said that Habakkuk was embarrassed, ashamed of God’s inaction and his
choices.”[20]
As a way of “clearing” God’s name from the accused injustice, He gives Habakkuk
the fourth verse of chapter two as a way to show him there is nothing to be
done to fix the situation but that he needs to live by faith.[21]
Moving
to the time the Epistle to the Romans was written, this verse is a perfect
example of the human condition: so often we are inclined to work out our
salvation on our own terms, by what we do, rather than by accepting the gift
God has graciously given us. The juxtaposition between the time of Habakkuk and
the time of the Romans (even to an extent our present situation) contains very
little differences. Lange says, “The use, which the Apostle Paul makes of these
words (Rom. 1:17; comp. Gal. 3:11), is authorized, since there as here the
antithesis, by which the idea broad in itself is distinctly sketched, is the
haughty boast of his own power entangled in sin.”[22]
The obvious conclusion is that one is not justified by the pride in the things
he does, but rather through faith.
As
Paul ends his thesis and begins what most consider a new section of Romans, we
find a somewhat abrupt shift in his emphasis. Just two verses before, Paul is
speaking about the “Gospel,” or “good news,” which is in contrast to verse 18:
“For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men…” While this may seem a blunt transition, the fact of
the matter is it is coherent with Paul’s message of Justification by Faith he
has just explained in the previous verse. The next section (from 1:18-3:20)
deals with the incapability of man to save himself and the indictment upon
humanity dealing with sinfulness. As Sproul says, “How do we receive
righteousness by faith, rather than by meritorious works? Paul expands on this
theme, beginning in verse 18.”[23]
Paul is going to explain what Romans 3:19-20 summarizes: “Now we know that
whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every
mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For
by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since
through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
The
Gospel is the good news, the “cure” if you will, to our sinful state. When one
goes to the doctor, he does not prescribe a treatment without a diagnosis of
your condition. It is only by analyzing your symptoms that he can determine
what is wrong with you and then give you a prescription for medicine that will
cure your ailment. In the same way, Paul does not want the Romans (and
therefore mankind) to be confused on their state before God. He does not offer
a cure without a diagnosis of their condition. This is an integral part of
understanding the doctrine of Justification: without the doctrine of Sin, there
is nothing to be saved from and therefore no need for the act of making right.
Paul understands that the primary understanding one must have in order to
respond to the gift of making right (or Justification) is the knowledge of his
fallen state. In the former of the two Epistles, in which ‘justification’ was
regarded from a somewhat narrower standpoint, there was no development of any
doctrine of Sin. In the section that follows here we find such a doctrine. The
Gospel reveals to men the method of redemption, the means whereby they shall be
‘righted’ with God. Corresponding to this revelation there is another… the
“Wrath of God…”[24]
As the reader now has a basic understanding of
the doctrine of Justification, it is important to comment on the response of
the Christian to this most wonderful doctrine. The phrase, “how shall we now
live?” is often attributed to theology in the sense that is it extraordinary to
learn about these truths, but how should the Christian apply them to their
lives? The great English preacher, Martyn Llyod-Jones said, “Faith
is not passive, it is very active. We must, it is true, always be aware of the
danger of relying upon our own activity, but the opposite of that is not just
to do nothing! Faith is active. The first step in the life of faith is the
constant application of the truth which we have believed, the bringing to bear
upon our daily lives of these great doctrines which we have been studying.”[25]
There
are two essential truths we must apply to Justification by Faith: it
does not make Christian infallible even though, as we established, in the sight
of God we are made perfect, and it does not Christians license to continue
sinning. In understanding the former, Justification by Faith is an act that is
primarily heavenly, meaning that the perfection we have received is not
necessarily manifested in us in this life. Rather it is a judiciary
pronouncement that seals our souls for the eventual eternity in Heaven.
However, God does send his Spirit as a “helper” to sanctify us in this life.
Jones clarifies this: “We have been at pains to remind one another that we must never
separate justification by faith from sanctification. You can distinguish
between them but you must never separate them. What I mean by separating is
this: there are people, as we have seen, who will tell you that you can be
justified without being sanctified, and then they say that as you have received
your justification by faith, you now go on to receive your sanctification by
faith. That is patently false teaching because it is pressing the distinction
into something that separates. You cannot be justified without the process of
sanctification already having been started.”[26]
In
the same sense, Romans 6 denies that we should continue in our lifestyle as if
nothing has changed, being unchanged because of the doctrine of Justification
by Faith. In the most famous passage (6:1-2), he says, “What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who
died to sin still live in it?” The Apostle Paul implores us to be sanctified
(set apart) in this world and not to engage in licentiousness because of our
Justification. Jones says again, “In the previous chapters he has been laying
down his great doctrine of justification by faith only. He has been demonstrating
it from the Scriptures, making it perfectly plain and clear. So he has stated
the doctrine, but, wise teacher as he is, he knows that men and women in a
state of sin and under the influence and at the suggestion of the devil, are
liable to fail to apply it at all, or to apply it in the wrong way.”[27]
There
should be little doubt in the reader that the doctrine of Justification by
Faith is an incredible important subject in the annals of time from Jesus’
death on the cross to the present. It is no wonder that the reformers took upon
their shoulders the responsibility of putting to death the teaching that one is
saved by his works. Rather, they expounded the only way to a right relationship
with God was through Jesus’ completed work on the cross, accepted by faith to
faith. It is this writers burden that the reader has understood the doctrine of
Justification by Faith in its essence as espoused by the book of Romans, by the
exposition of Romans 1:17, and how it must be properly applied in the Christian
life. Through this doctrine, it is the writer’s hope that our Christian lives
may be enriched by the continuous study of this subject as well as held in awe
each and every day of the great sacrifice and subsequent gift of Justification
by our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
1) Beet, Joseph Agar. A
Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. New York: Thomas Whittaker,
1901.
2) Boa, Kenneth, and William
Kruidenier. Romans. Vol. 6. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.
3) Boyce, James Petigru. Abstract
of Systematic Theology. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.
4) Godet, Frédéric Louis, and
Alexander Cusin. Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Vol. 1.
Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890.
5) Hastings, James. The
Christian Doctrine of Faith. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1919.
6) Kauffman, Daniel, ed. Bible
Doctrine: A Treatise on the Great Doctrines of the Bible, Pertaining to God,
Angels, Satan, the Church, and the Salvation, Duties and Destiny of Man.
Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1914.
7) Lange, John Peter, Philip
Schaff, F. R. Fay, J. F. Hurst, and M. B. Riddle. A Commentary on the Holy
Scriptures: Romans. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008.
8) Lange, John Peter, Philip
Schaff, Paul Kleinert, and Charles Elliott. A Commentary on the Holy
Scriptures: Habakkuk. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008.
9) Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn. The
Assurance of Our Salvation: Exploring the Depth of Jesus’ Prayer for His Own:
Studies in John 17. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000.
10) Moo, Douglas J. Romans.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.
11) Moule, Handley. The Epistle
to the Romans. Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975.
12) Mounce, Robert H. Romans.
Vol. 27. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 1995.
13) Sproul, R. C. The Gospel of
God: An Exposition of Romans. Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications,
1994.
14) Stott, John R.W. The Cross of
Christ. 20th ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006.
15) Stott, John R. W. The
Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World. The Bible Speaks Today.
Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
16) Utley, Robert James. The
Gospel According to Paul: Romans. Vol. Volume 5. Study Guide Commentary
Series. Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International, 1998.
17) Westcott, Frederick Brooke. St.
Paul and Justification. London: Macmillan and Co., 1913.
18) Wiersbe, Warren W. Be
Comforted. “Be” Commentary Series. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.
[1]
James Petigru Boyce, Abstract of
Systematic Theology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 394.
[2]
Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Comforted, “Be”
Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 140.
[3]
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans:
God’s Good News for the World, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England;
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 110.
[5]
J. E. Hartzler, “Justification,” in Bible
Doctrine: A Treatise on the Great Doctrines of the Bible, Pertaining to God,
Angels, Satan, the Church, and the Salvation, Duties and Destiny of Man,
ed. Daniel Kauffman (Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1914), 234.
[6]
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition
Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 517.
[7]
Robert H. Mounce, Romans, vol. 27,
The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1995), 122.
[8]
James Hastings, The Christian Doctrine of
Faith (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1919), 361.
[9]
Robert H. Mounce, Romans, vol. 27,
The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1995), 73.
[10]
Ibid, 73.
[11]
Douglas J. Moo, Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 52.
[12]
Robert James Utley, The Gospel According
to Paul: Romans, vol. Volume 5, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall,
Texas: Bible Lessons International, 1998), Ro 1:17.
[13]
Ibid, 52.
[14]
Frédéric Louis Godet and Alexander Cusin, Commentary
on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark,
1890), 159.
[15]
Handley Moule, The Epistle to the Romans
(Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975), 34.
[16]
Robert H. Mounce, Romans, vol. 27,
The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
1995), 73.
[17]
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans:
God’s Good News for the World, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England;
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 64.
[18]
Joseph Agar Beet, A Commentary on St.
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (New York: Thomas Whittaker, 1901), 50.
[19]
John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on
the Holy Scriptures: Romans (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008),
76.
[20]
Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, Romans,
vol. 6, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 2000), 31.
[21]
Ibid, 31.
[22]
John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on
the Holy Scriptures: Habakkuk (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008),
23.
[23]
R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An
Exposition of Romans (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1994),
28.
[24]
Frederick Brooke Westcott, St. Paul and
Justification (London: Macmillan and Co., 1913), 131.
[25]
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Assurance
of Our Salvation: Exploring the Depth of Jesus’ Prayer for His Own: Studies in
John 17 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 509.
[26]
Ibid, 547.
[27]
Ibid, 508.
