OUR RIGHTEOUS STANDING
THE
DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION
And He also told this parable to
certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed
others with contempt:
“Two men went up into the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer.
“The Pharisee stood and was praying
thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people, swindlers,
unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.
“‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes
of all that I get.’
“But the tax-gatherer, standing some
distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was
beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” (Luke
18:9-13).
Two men. Both are
Jewish. Both are descendants of
Abraham. Both have come to the temple to
pray. The first is a Pharisee. He is a fundamentalist. He holds to the literal interpretation of the
Scriptures. As a member of the sect of
the Pharisees, he has dedicated his life to the keeping of the Law of God. He reads the Law daily. He prays several times a day. He gives his tithe to the
Standing nearby is the other
man. This man is a tax-gatherer. He has gone to the Roman officials and has
purchased a franchise from the Roman Empire to collect taxes from the
subjugated people on behalf of
Therefore, he makes his
profit by deliberately overcharging people on their taxes. He has betrayed his countrymen to become a
thief for the Romans. He is a Benedict
Arnold. He has sold out to the Romans
for money. No one will have anything to
do with him. He holds the same social
caste as a prostitute.
Each of these men comes to
the
“I tell you, this man went does
to his house JUSTIFIED rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself
shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:14).
Both of these men were
sinners when they came into the
JUSTIFICATION DEFINED
What does it mean to be
“justified”? The most common definition
which I have heard is that it makes me “just-as-if-I'd never sinned.” This contains a certain amount of truth, but
I suggest that it is inadequate.
The word “justify” is taken
from the Greek root word “righteous.”
This gives us a clue as to its meaning.
It has to do with righteousness.
It describes the act of declaring that a person or thing is righteous.
Now this it
important. The act of justification does not MAKE a
person righteous. It is merely a
declaration that he IS righteous. This
is seen in the fact that it is used to describe the righteousness of God...
And when all the people and the
tax-gatherers heard this, they ACKNOWLEDGED GOD'S JUSTICE, having been baptized
with the baptism of John. (Luke 7:29).
This phrase should literally
be translated, “They JUSTIFIED God.”
This tells us something of the meaning of justification. They were not doing anything to make God more
righteous than He already was. They were
merely declaring that God was righteous.
This concept of JUSTIFICATION
was commonly used as a legal term in which a court of law might officially
declare that a man was righteous - that he had not broken the law. This is different from being pardoned. A man who had been pardoned might be released,
even though he were a guilty criminal worthy of
death. However, a man who was justified
was being declared innocent of any wrong-doing.
Now we come back to the case
of the tax-gatherer in Luke 18:14. This
man was a guilty sinner. He was one who
had freely admitted his guilt. And yet,
he had not merely been pardoned. Jesus
said that this man went away JUSTIFIED.
This man was declared to be righteous.
Does this mean that he had
not really sinned? Does it mean that his
sins were not all that bad and that they could be overlooked? Does it mean that the man stopped sinning?
There are crucial questions
here that go far beyond this one man. WE
have been justified. That is a part of
what it means to be a Christian. God has
declared us to be righteous. But how can
God declare a man to be righteous when that man is really a guilty sinner? The answer can only be found in the
imputation of righteousness.
THE IMPUTATION OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS
He made Him who knew no sin to be
sin on our behalf, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In this single verse, Paul
pictures two different aspects of the work of Christ on our behalf.
1. The
Imputation of our sins upon Christ.
Jesus
became sin on our behalf. This
does not mean that He actually became a sinner or that He began to sin. He has lived through all eternity without sin
and He will always be perfect in His righteous character.
How
did He become sin on our behalf? What
really happened on the cross? Our sins
were put to His account. He was credited
with our sins. While He was on the
cross, God the Father treated Him as though He were a guilty sinner. Jesus was judged in our place. The wrath of God was poured out on Him. In the midst of this condemnation, He cried
out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The
sinless Son of God was judged as though He had committed all of the sins which
have ever taken place throughout the entire history of mankind. He was judged in our place. Our sins were imputed or credited to
Him. But this is not all.
2. The
Imputation of Christ's Righteousness Toward Us.
Just
as our sins were put to His account while He was on the cross, so in the same
way, the righteousness of Christ is put to our account when we believe in Him.
We
are credited with the righteousness of Christ.
We are reckoned to be righteous.
On this basis, we are justified - declared to be righteous. And for all eternity, God will treat us as
though we were as righteous as Jesus Christ.
Now,
this does not mean that I actually BECOME righteous when I believe in
Christ. If that were true, then no
believer would ever sin and this just is not the case. Rather, I am legally credited with the
righteousness of Christ so that I can be legally declared to be righteous.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
JUSTIFICATION
What is the significance of
this imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account? Is it merely another doctrine to be tucked
into our spiritual notebooks and quietly forgotten? Or does it have some practical value on how I
can live my life for today?
Here is the answer. If I have been declared by God to be
righteous, then God is now free to bless me with every spiritual blessing. You see, God can never act in a way that is contrary
to His own character. He could never
say, “I know that man has sinned and is deserving of eternal condemnation, but
I want to be a
God of love and so I'm going to ignore man’s sinful condition and give him
eternal life anyway.”
For God to accept sinful man
as he is and to fellowship with him in this condition would be for God to
accept and to fellowship with SIN. It
would make God a sinner. It is for this
reason that God formed a plan which would save man and at the same time would
satisfy the righteousness of God.
THE NECESSITY OF
IMPUTATION
But
now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested. (Romans
3:21a).
With these words, Paul
introduces the doctrine of justification by faith. Rather than being contrary to God's righteous
character, the doctrine of justification actually emphasizes the righteousness
of God. This principle is seen most
vividly when we examine the necessity of an imputation of righteousness.
1. God is
infinite. He is without beginning or
end, both in the realm of time and space as well as in the perfection of His
holy character.
2. God's
righteousness is infinite. Just as all
of the other attributes of God are infinite, so also is His righteousness
infinite. This means that we cannot
think of His grace as overpowering His righteousness. All of His attributes are equally infinity.
3. Anything
less than God's righteousness is separated from that righteousness by an
infinite gulf. This is the very nature
of anything that is infinite. It is always
infinitely apart from the non-infinite.
There can be no such thing as that which is “almost infinite.”
4. Therefore,
the righteousness that God demands must always be an infinite righteousness,
since anything less is not true righteousness by His standards.
We
have a tendency to look at one another in terms of different levels of relative
righteousness. To say, “I’m not as bad
as he is,” doesn’t mean that we are righteous in God's eyes. To the contrary, God says that “all our
righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6).
5. Sin is
contrary to God's righteousness. This is
obvious when we consider what sin is.
The Westminster Confession defines sin as “any want of conformity
unto or transgression of the Law of God.”
Sin in the Biblical sense can only be defined as that which is in
violation of God's ultimate standard - His own righteousness.
Paul
made this very clear when he pronounced that “all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
By this definition, sin involves falling short of the glory of God. It is transgressing God’s perfect standard of
holiness.
6. Therefore,
sin is infinite in demerit. There is an
infinite gulf fixed between the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of men.
Man’s
relative righteousness could never bridge that gulf, for even a single sin
would be enough to establish it forever (and we have committed a lot more than
a single sin).
But
that is not all. Because sin is infinite
in demerit, it demands an infinite punishment against the sinner. This is why I believe that Hell will be
eternal. A man could not be sent to Hell
and then have his sentence completed after a certain number of years, now to be
allowed into the presence of God. A
single sin would be enough to condemn one for all time and eternity. It is not until you understand the awfulness
of sin and its consequences that you can begin to appreciate the magnificent
gift of God.
7. The
righteousness that God credits to the believer’s account is an infinite
righteousness. We have been credited
with the righteousness of Christ. He is
infinitely righteous. He has not merely
imputed a portion of His righteousness to our account. Rather, the very nature of His character of
complete righteousness has been credited to us.
We are regarded by God as having the very righteousness of Christ.
We
can sum this concept up in three short sentences:
• God IS righteous.
• God DEMANDS righteousness.
• God freely PROVIDES what He demands.
JUSTIFICATION IN CONTRAST
Since there has traditionally
been some considerable confusion between justification, regeneration and
sanctification, this chart might help to clarify these three different aspects
of our salvation.
|
Justification |
Regeneration |
Sanctification |
|
Delivers us from the guilt
of sin |
Delivers us from the power
of sin |
Delivers us from the
presence of sin |
|
It is done FOR us |
It is done IN us |
It is done FOR us and IN us |
|
It is a legal declaration |
It is a creative act |
It is a growing process |
|
It brings about a changed standing |
It brings about a change in
your very nature |
It brings about a change in
your life |
|
Happens at the point of salvation |
Begins with salvation and
progresses |
|
|
To be declared righteous |
To be born again |
To be set apart to God |