Monday, March 23, 2009

Justification by grace through faith

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (Galatians 2:16)

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Basic truth:


Justification is the act of God whereby He declares a sinner, while in a sinning state, to be legally righteous and treats him as such.

Definitions of justification

[1] “Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which He (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in His sight.” (Wayne Grudem)

[2] “Justification is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law, i.e., as conformed to all its demands. In addition to the pardon (q.v.) of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified. It is the act of a judge and not of a sovereign. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law.” (Easton's Bible Dictionary, from Blue Letter Bible)

Discussion:


[1] When a person is saved, he does not become righteous; he is still a sinner. Rather, God declares him legally righteous because of his union with Christ.

[2] It is God who justifies (Romans 8:33).

[3] Justification is by faith (Romans 5:1) and not by works of righteousness (Galatians 2:16).

[4] At the moment of salvation, God imputes or credits to the sinner the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:19).

[5] Justification produces reconciliation between God and the sinner (Romans 5:1).

[6] When Christ died for our sins, He took our infirmities, carried our sorrows, was pierced for our transgressions, was crushed for our iniquities, brought us peace, healed us, and took our iniquity upon Himself (Isaiah 53:4-6).

[7] General Scriptures concerning justification:

  • Genesis 15:6
  • Psalm 32:2; 71:16; 89:16
  • Isaiah 42:21; 45:24,25; 46:12,13; 50:8; 51:5,6; 53:11; 54:17; 56:1; 61:10; Jer 23:6
  • Habakkuk 2:4
  • Zechariah 3:4
  • John 5:24
  • Acts 13:39
  • Romans 1:16,17; 2:13; 3:21,22,24-26,28,30; 4:3-25; 5:1,9,11-21; 6:22; 7:1-25; 8:1,30,31,33,34; 9:30-32; 10:1-21
  • 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11
  • 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21
  • Galatians 2:14-21; 3:6, 8, 9, 11, 21, 22, 24; 4:21-31; 5:4-6
  • Ephesians 6:14
  • Philippians 3:8, 9
  • Colossians 2:13, 14
  • Titus 3:7
  • Hebrews 11:4, 7
  • James 2:20-23, 26
Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Articles by Bob Deffinbaugh , Th.M.
[2] Regeneration, Justification and Sanctification, by Lehman Strauss , Litt.D., F.R.G.S

[3] Justification by Faith: The Case of Abraham and David (Romans 4:1-8), by Hampton Keathley IV , Th.M

Sermons on Romans 5:1 (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Results of Justification, by Stephen Fix

[2] The Joys of Justification, by Dwight Jenkins, First Baptist Church

[3] Blessings of Our Justification, by Agustin Hernandez

[4] Benefits of Justification, by Tad Wychopen

[5] As Good As We Should Be, by David E. Holden

[6] The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart, by Nimit Oliver

[7] Justification Through Grace by Faith, by Chuck Carruthers

[8] What's Your Hurry, by Mike Lester

[9] Faith that Stands, by Dennis R. Miller

[10] The Audacity of Hope, by Rusty Russell


Sermons on Isaiah 53
(Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] The Full Passion of Christ, by Pastor Wesley Crouch

[2] Advent 2001 -4 Go Tell It on the Mountains! by Richard DeRuiter

[3] Like A Sheep to the Slaughter, by Bruce W. Logue

[4] The Suffering Servant Substitute, by David Harp

[5] Advent 2006 -1- Coming Light: A Light Shines in the Darkness, by Richard DeRuiter

[6] Considering the Cross, by Mark Hoffer

[7] What's in a Pronoun? By James Harris

[8] November 1, 2008 - Atonement Announced, by Steve Parker

[9] He Did It For Us, by Gregory Jones

[10] God Suffers for Us! Alan A. Morgan

[11] Immanuel God Is With Us, by Joel Mark Lillie,Extend International

[12] Sermon illustrations on justification

For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.

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