Justification: Right Legal Standing Before God Alex Chen

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Justification Right Legal Standing Before God

• Alex Chen
• Austin Chinese Church

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Acknowledgments

• Systematic Theology textbook by Wayne Grudem
• Cross Centered Life book by C. J. Mahaney
• What is the Gospel? sermon by John MacArthur

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Justification

• What is it?
• Why do we need it?
• What difference does it make?

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On our own, what is our standing before God?

• None is righteous, no, not one no one
  understand no one seeks for God.no one does
  good, not even one. (Rom 310-12)
• All our righteous acts are like filthy rags
  (Is. 646)

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What does it mean that we arent good?

• For you are not a God who delights in
  wickedness evil may not dwell with you
• you hate all evildoers. (Psalm 54-5)
• But nothing unclean will ever enter Heaven,
  nor anyone who does what is detestable or false
  (Rev. 2127)

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What does it mean that we arent good? (cont)

• All liarswill be in the lake that burns with
  fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
  (Rev. 218)
• Death penalty for one lie (Ananias and Sapphira
  in Acts 5)
• Seriousness of crime is seen in the punishment
  given
• 5 fine vs. Multiple life sentences
• Punishment for sin is eternity in Hell
• God is a holy God who hates sin and must punish it

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But, doesnt God save wicked sinners?

• And to the one who does not work but believes in
  him who justifies the ungodly.. (Rom. 45)
• Justifies declares right
• God declares ungodly people to be right with Him
  apart from works

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Up to this point

• God is a holy God who hates sin and must punish
  it
• God justifies the ungodly (declares sinners to be
  right)
• What if our revelation of God stopped here?

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Is God contradicting Himself?

• He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns
  the righteous are both alike an abomination to
  the LORD. (Pr. 1715)
• God is one who justifies the ungodly.. (Rom.
  45)

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How does God punish sin but overlook our sins?

• How can God keep His righteousness, holiness, and
  hatred of sin and not destroy us?
• How can God take His enemies and bring them into
  His family?
• The answer is Justification
• Justification - on the basis of what Christ did
  for us, God rescues us from the penalty of sin
  without compromising His character

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How does God punish sin but overlook our sins?
(cont)

• Courtroom analogy
• God demonstrates His love for us in that while
  we broke the law, Jesus paid our fine
• Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
  becoming a curse for us" (Gal. 313)
• He was wounded for
• He was crushed for
• The Lord has laid on Him
• (Is. 53)

our transgressions
our iniquities
the iniquity of us all
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1st half of Justification Forgiveness of our
sins through Christ

• God might be the just and the justifier of the
  one who has faith in Jesus (Rom 326)
• On the cross, God treats Jesus as if He had
  committed every sin that was ever committed by
  everyone who would ever believe
• - John MacArthur

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2nd half of Justification The righteousness of
Christ for us

• God provides His righteousness for us not on the
  basis of keeping His moral Law, but on the basis
  of our faith in Christ
• But now the righteousness of God has been
  manifested apart from the lawthe righteousness
  of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who
  believe
• Through our faith, God replaces our moral
  neutrality with the righteousness of Christ

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2nd half of Justification The righteousness of
Christ for us (cont)

• God declares us right as an act of grace. The
  perfect obedience of Christ is given to us
• The righteous one, my servant Christ, makes
  many to be accounted righteous (Is 53)
• Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him
  as righteousness (Rom 43)

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Justification is an instantaneous legal act where
God

• Sees our sins as forgiven because Christ takes
  our punishment and
• Sees Christs righteousness as belonging to us

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Justification

• God made him who had no sin
• to be sin for us,
• so that in Him we might become the
  righteousness
• of God. (2 Cor. 521)
• On the cross, God treats Jesus as if He had
  lived your life so that He can treat you as if
  you had lived His life.
• - John MacArthur

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Summary of Justification

• God is a holy God who hates sin and must punish
  it
• God justifies the ungodly (declares sinners to be
  right)
• God does this for the Christian by punishing
  Christ for our sins and giving us His
  righteousness

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Why is Justification so Important?

• A true view of justification is the dividing
  line between the biblical gospel of salvation by
  faith alone and all false gospels of salvation
  based on good works.
• - Wayne Grudem
• Works-based salvation
• Judaism
• Hindusim
• Islam

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What happens when Justification is slightly
modified?

• What if someone came to you and advertised a
  justification based on how much righteousness God
  puts in you (depending on your obedience and
  moral character)?

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Roman Catholic Doctrine

• The degree of justifying grace is not identical
  in all the just.grace can be increased by good
  works
• Without a special revelation nobody can with
  certainty of faith know whether or not he has
  fulfilled all the conditions which are necessary
  for the achieving of justification
• Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott

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True vs. False Gospel

• Roman Catholic Church teaches a false gospel
  where man co-operates with God in justification
• Protestant Reformers teach that man contributes
  nothing to the finished work of Christ in
  justification
• Strong Warnings for False Teachers and False
  Doctrines
• But even if we or an angel from heaven should
  preach a gospel other than the one we preached to
  you, let him be eternally condemned! (Gal. 18)
• Right understanding of Justification is essential
  to the Biblical gospel

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But, doesnt James say that works are needed?

• You see that a person is justified by what he
  does and not by faith alone. (James 224)
• Justify can also mean shown to be righteous
• Intellectual agreement with the gospel is not
  faith
• Works are the outward evidence of genuine faith
• 2 kinds of faith- dead faith with no power to
  save and genuine faith that results in a changed
  life

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How does Justification affect everyday life?

• Justification frees us from the performance trap
• Subtle form of works-based salvation
• Justification frees the believer from
  condemnation
• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
  those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 81)
• Justification is the basis of all of blessings we
  have in Christ
• He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him
  up for us allhow will he not also, along with
  him, graciously give us all things? (Rom. 832)
• From the Cross Centered Life by Mahaney

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How does Justification affect everyday life?
(cont)

• Justification gives hope to all unbelievers
• If justification was based on works, then many
  would lose hope
• None of us are worthy to be saved
• All grace, all faith

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Further Study

• Meditate on what God did for you in Christ
• Isaiah 53
• Romans 321-26
• Galatians 310-14
• What is the Gospel? sermon by John MacArthur
• Cross Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney
• This biblical, practical book written by a wise
  and godly man helped me, as it will help others,
  in overcoming harmful patterns of thinking about
  our daily lives as Christians and in focusing on
  the finished work of Christ on the cross
• - Wayne Grudem

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Conclusion

• Justification gives us the right understanding of
  the gospel, the complete work done for us by
  Christ
• Justification gives hope to the Christian and
  non-Christian
• As a result, we will worship and love God more
  deeply

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• But whatever was to my profit I now consider
  loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I
  consider everything a loss compared to the
  surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my
  Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I
  consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and
  be found in him, not having a righteousness of my
  own that comes from the law, but that which is
  through faith in Christ the righteousness that
  comes from God and is by faith. (Philippians
  37-9)

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Backup
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Is forgiveness sufficient to have Gods favor?

• Forgiveness only gives us moral neutrality
• We are still missing righteousness
• Jesus said, You therefore must be perfect, as
  your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 548)
• Accounting analogy- Go from owing a large sum of
  money to being debt free

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Whats wrong with Catholic Doctrine?

• Justification - declared right by God
• Sanctification - being made right by God
• Distinct, but not Separate
• Justified person is always a changed person
• Sanctification flows from Justification but is
  never the basis for Justification

From Getting the Gospel Right by R. C. Sproul