The Doctrine of Justification

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COURSE IN ADVANCED BIBLICAL DOCTRINES

Lesson #03

• The Doctrine of Justification
  • From the Old Testament, man was aware of his need of justification.
    • Read Job 25:4
    • Read Psa 143:2
    • Read Rom 5:16-18
      • Death came upon man because of Adam’s sin.
      • Therefore, man knew he needed some means of justification before God.
    • What is justification and what does the word mean?
  • Definitions:
    • The first thing that comes to the minds of many Christians is the common definition for the doctrine of justification, which is, “just as if I had never sinned”.
    • This definition is not quite accurate and leaves the believer with the wrong concept of justification.
      • With this inadequate definition there is the idea that God has returned man to his original condition before Adam and Eve sinned.
      • That is not what God does when He says we are justified, because we still have the flesh nature, and we still have the potential to sin.
        • Adam before the first sin did not have the flesh nature to deal with.
        • He did not have the knowledge of sin. (Gen 2:17)
      • This inadequate definition leaves the believer to think about justification as a mistrial, having charged the wrong man with a crime.
    • The Bible Definition for justification:
      • The word justification is a legal word that reminds us of a judge, a trial, and a courtroom.
        • The word justification (dikaiosis) is connected to the same root word for righteousness, (dikaiosune) which refer to conforming to a standard of right or specifically conforming to God’s standard of what is right.
      • The word justification has two aspects to its definition:
        • =1= The word, justification, is a legal term that designates the process of obtaining legal judgment, or of obtaining a verdict after a crime was committed. The word, justification, means = to acquit; to declare righteous.

The word justification is the declaration of the verdict declared by the judge.

This is where the judge says, “guilty” or “not guilty” of this crime.

• • • • • =2= Also the word justification is the action that results in carrying out that verdict acted upon by the king.

In other words, after the verdict of “guilty” or “not guilty” is read, the judge then must carry out the judgment of the King who declares what penalty the criminal has to pay for this crime.

If the King says that the criminal is to die in payment for his crime, then justice has been completed.

If the King says that he will pardon the criminal for his crime, then the criminal is set free and the punishment has been waived. He does not pay the consequences.

However, Biblical justification is not “a pardon”.

Why?

A pardon recognizes that a person is guilty of a crime. The crime occurred and that person is guilty of that crime. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)

A pardon recognizes that no consequences are paid for that crime. The person does not pay anything. He is forgiven. The Bible tells us that “your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” (1Joh 2:12)

However, justification is more than a pardon because God’s justice demands that someone pay for that crime. Rom 4:25 tells us, (Jesus Christ) “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”

A pardon is an unfinished process and violates God’s system of justice.

The actions of the King to release the criminal from prison and the reinstatement of the criminal to his former life, is also a part of justification. This is carried out by the King who has the authority to give favor to the criminal.

Justification is, therefore, a complete process of supreme justice that combines both the aspect of the declaration of a verdict and the aspect of carrying out the punishment.

• • The Process of Justification:
    • Read again Rom 5:16-18
      • The verdict of death came upon all humans because of Adam’s sin.
      • But not by Adam’s sin alone do we deserve death, but by the many sins that we personally commit.
      • However, Jesus Christ paid the penalty of death for us on the cross.
      • As a free gift, Christ gives to the believer, the righteousness of Christ.
      • Therefore, Christ, the Judge, declares the believer righteous or just before God.
      • The believer now has justification before God with his sins forgiven and God’s justice satisfied.
    • The concept of the doctrine of justification is more fully developed in the writings of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament than anywhere else in the Bible.
      • Because man is guilty of sin, without doubt he deserves the extreme punishment of death. (Rom 6:23)
      • We can see this process of the definition of justification in the book of Philemon.
        • Read Philemon 1:18

Paul wrote to the slave owner Philemon on behalf of his missing slave, Onesimus, who had robbed his owner and fled.

Onesimus had evidently been apprehended by the Roman authorities for his crime and ended up in prison with the Apostle Paul.

Now Onesimus was being released from prison having paid for his crime. He now must return to his owner, Philemon.

• • • • • Paul tells Philemon to charge everything that Onesimus owed to Paul’s account, and he would pay it. In other words, the money that Onesimus robbed from Philemon was not repaid. Paul offers to pay it. Notice the following aspects of justification in the book of Philemon:

=1= Onesimus was guilty of a crime.

=2= Onesimus was in prison, so a judge had read the verdict, “guilty”.

=3= The Roman government held Onesimus in prison to pay for his crime. The governmental authority had determined the consequences of that crime and carried them out.

=4= Paul offers to pay the amount that Onesimus owed to his owner.

=5= Paul pleads with Philemon to forgive his runaway slave.

=6= Onesimus is forgiven and the payment has been paid by another person.

=7= Onesimus is declared justified.

• • • • Paul links such concepts as redemption with the concept of justification.
        • Read Rom 5:8

The key phrase is “while we were yet sinners”. In other words, man is guilty of his sin and merits the consequences of death.

God took all the punishment that we owed for our sins and put that punishment on His Son, Jesus Christ because He said that He would pay what we owed.

Remember that one of the key elements of justification is that a payment was made to justify the believer before God. That payment is the redemption price that Jesus Christ paid for our sins.

• • • • Paul contrasts the concept of justification by God with a self-justification by works.
        • Read Rom 3:20
        • Read Gal 2:16
        • Read Gal 3:11, 24

The Law of Moses was brought in temporarily by God to make man aware of his need of justification.

Paul tells us that Abraham was justified before the Law of Moses existed to prove his point that justification is a sovereign act of God. (Rom 4:2)

• • • • Paul tells us that justification comes by faith and James indicates that justification comes by works.
        • Read Gal 3:11, 24
        • Read Rom 2:13

It would be possible for man to receive justification if he could keep the Law of Moses.

Because he cannot keep the Law of Moses, no human is justified by the law. (Act 13:39)

Therefore, no man is justified by his own works.

• • • • • Read Jam 2:24

The believer exercises his faith to believe in the redemption of Jesus Christ.

By this he can receive God’s justification based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

When the believer has faith in Jesus Christ, God justifies him. Then his life will prove that justification because he will produce good works by the Holy Spirit.

• • • • Paul links the concepts of hope, sanctification, and glorification with the full process of justification as an inheritance from God through Jesus Christ. Justification brings hope to the believer because he has peace with God.
        • Read Rom 8:30
        • Read 1Cor 6:11
        • Read Tit 3:7
  • God’s purpose from the beginning of time was to bring man to a justifying faith in Jesus Christ because of Adam’s sin.
    • Read Gen 3:15 The first prophecy of a coming Messiah who would justify man before God.
    • Read Gal 3:6-9, 26-29 Abaham was justified by faith.
• Conclusion:
  • Read Rom 3:23-26, 28
    • In a description of justification, we must include the following items:
    • Man is guilty of sin.
    • Sin deserves punishment.
    • God’s grace extends forgiveness by means of the completed redemption by Jesus Christ.
    • Man receives justification by faith in the blood of Christ.
      • Read Rom 5:1,9
    • God never violates His justice to give forgiveness to man.
    • Therefore, Christ paid the price of our penalty for us.
      • Read Gal 3:13 He paid the penalty of death for us.