Romans 3:21-26
Its Meaning and Ground
Pastor Edward Donnelly expounds the meaning and ground of justification, beginning with a definition from the Westminster Shorter Catechism and illustrating it with a courtroom analogy. He then addresses contemporary challenges to the historic Reformed understanding of justification, particularly the 'New Perspective on Paul.' Donnelly systematically defines justification as a legal declaration, an act that does not change us internally, and a complete, irreversible act. He then delves into the 'problem' of how a just God can justify the ungodly, presenting Christ's active and passive obedience as the 'solution' and the 'ground' for God's righteous forgiveness, concluding with the practical implications for assurance and peace.
Primary Texts
Topics
Outline 8 sections · 67 min
- Introduction to Justification: Meaning and Ground 0:04
- Defining Justification: The Westminster Shorter Catechism and a Courtroom Analogy 2:47
- Further Definition: The Heidelberg Catechism and the Classic Evangelical View 9:06
- Challenging the Historic View: The 'New Perspective on Paul' 12:13
- Four Key Points on the Meaning of Justification 22:20
- The Ground of Justification: The Problem of God Justifying the Ungodly 37:48
- The Ground of Justification: The Solution in Christ's Life and Death 44:36
- The Ground of Justification: The Implication for Assurance and God's Righteousness 51:30
Key Quotes
“Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight.”
“God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed or had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me, if only I accept such a benefit with a believing heart.”
“J. I. Packer says the doctrine of justification is like Atlas. The mythological giant who carried the world on his shoulders. Packer says it bears on its shoulders the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace.”
“But justification isn't making righteous. Justification is declaring righteous.”
“God justifies the ungodly. He looks at an ungodly person and he declares that their sins are forgiven and that they are righteous. He declares righteous those who are actually ungodly.”
“How can he be at the same time just stand the justifier of sinners romans 3 26 is god not trapped here in a dilemma between his truth and his love between his justice and his mercy”
“God cannot but accept into his favor those who are invested with the righteousness of his own son god cannot accept them staggering staggering”
“the flaming sword of justice which once menaced us has been converted into a shield and buckler for our protection and defense the righteousness of god the righteousness of god the righteousness of god”
Applications
All listeners
- Understand clearly and precisely what justification means for your studies to benefit you and to make an amazing difference to your lives.
- Face up to and admit that we are all guilty sinners who have broken God's law, as we cannot understand justification until we do.
- Be warned against 'deadly error' that calls into question the heart of the gospel, no matter how reformed the source or past reputation of the teacher.
- Keep the distinction between justification and sanctification in mind for the health of your soul, understanding that justification is external and a change of status, not nature.
- Find assurance in the fact that there is no distinction in Christ's presence; all are clothed with the same righteousness, regardless of past sins or perceived inadequacy.
- Rest on the rock of Christ's righteousness for assurance, rather than basing salvation on internal changes, which leads to doubts and uncertainties.
- Do not take forgiveness for granted or assume God will simply overlook sin, but understand the serious ethical issue it raises for a holy God.
- Understand the practical value of theology, as a clear understanding of justification leads to settled peace in our minds and hearts.
- Be absolutely clear that Jesus and only Jesus, His death and His life, is the ground of our justification, and look to Calvary whenever fearful.
- When praying for forgiveness, remember that payment for sin has been made once and for all by Christ, and God cannot twice demand it.
- Use the phrase 'in Jesus name' not just as a concluding phrase, but as the greatest plea for salvation, trusting in Him as Savior.
- For those still in their sins, see Christ the righteous one who died for sinners and cry to Him to be their Savior and righteousness.
- If full of doubt or fear, look to Jesus on the cross, trusting in His finished work for salvation.
A full transcript is available on the tab. 98 paragraphs, roughly 67 minutes.
Introduction to Justification: Meaning and Ground
The following sermon was delivered at the 2003 Southeastern Family Conference, which was held at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. The preacher is Pastor Edward Donnelly from Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland. This is the second sermon in a series of four entitled, Justification.
In the second of our studies on the subject of justification, I want to consider with you this evening the meaning of justification and the ground of justification. I began studying algebra when I was ten years old. I didn't like it, I didn't listen the first week, and I never got the hang of it. I studied it for a long time.
I studied it for a long time. For another five years, I was able to struggle through my exams, but there was always a sort of fog in my mind because I had never really grasped the basic principles of what we were talking about. And so there was always a degree of uncertainty and confusion in my mind. And when we're thinking of a topic such as justification, we really must consider what justification means.
We need to be sure that in our own minds, we understand clearly and precisely what we are talking about and what we mean by this term, justification. And only if we have a good grasp, of what it means, will our studies benefit us. So this evening we want to begin by seeking to grasp this truth more accurately. And if we do understand something more clearly of what justification means, it will make an amazing difference to our lives. And after we have considered the meaning of justification, we'll go on to, to consider the ground of justification, its basis, the awesome reality, which underlines it, and which makes it possible.
Defining Justification: The Westminster Shorter Catechism and a Courtroom Analogy
So let us begin then by thinking for a time of what justification is. What do we mean when we use this word? And I begin again as a useful summary of biblical truth, with the human formulation found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. We'll be referring to key scriptures shortly.
These creeds and catechisms are no substitute for the scripture, nor are they of anywhere near equal authority with the scriptures. But they are nonetheless a useful catechetical summary. Let me remind you of, answer 33 from the catechism. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight.
And then the catechism says only for, it means only because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. And received by faith alone. Imagine the highest court of justice in the land, and you are in the dock. You are the defendant.
And in that august gathering, you are accused of many and serious crimes, offenses, all of which you have committed. The penalty for these offenses, is death. Three brilliant, cruel, prosecuting attorneys, set out the case against you. They do so in detail.
They do so powerfully, and so compellingly, that you can't contradict a word they say. They present the evidence to the court of your guilt. And the evidence is abundant, and it is clear cut. It is incontrovertible.
It can't be questioned. And you are forced to plead guilty. There's nothing else you can say. And you plead guilty.
And you stand before that judge, and you await the sentence you expect, and the sentence you deserve. And the judge pronounces, not guilty. Not guilty on all counts.
No penalty will be imposed. No punishment will be administered. You will leave the court without a stain on your character. In fact, the judge goes further.
He states officially that he regards you as an outstanding citizen in every way. Your character is excellent. Your accomplishments are admirable. And you're worthy of every possible honor.
And this sentence of the court is final and authoritative and universally recognized. That, quite simply, is the biblical doctrine of justification. God is the judge. We are the defendants.
The three accusers are the law of God, our conscience, and the devil. And as they set out their case, we all must plead guilty to many offenses. The penalty is everlasting death. And friends, we have to face up to this and to admit that this is our position.
And we cannot understand justification until we do. And that's what we were trying to do last night. To show that we all have broken God's law. That we all, by nature, are guilty sinners.
And that even at our best, we fail and fall short. And then, wonder of wonders, God the judge pronounces that he finds us not guilty on all charges. And he sends us from the court with the highest character, with words of commendation and love ringing in our ears. And with the promise that he himself will care for us and provide for us.
He doesn't let us off for the fine. He doesn't put us on probation. He doesn't impose a suspended sentence. As the Catechism says, he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight.
It is a rich, glorious, staggering concept. This is the position of every believer. This is the position of every Christian, of every person who is justified. All our sins, all our sins are forgiven and we are perfectly and utterly righteous in God's sight.
Further Definition: The Heidelberg Catechism and the Classic Evangelical View
This is our status. For another creedal statement, let us move across the channel to Dutch Calvinism, to the marvelous answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, written almost a century before the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question and answer 60. I love these words.
It's a long answer. The Dutch had obviously better memories, the Dutch children had better memories than the Scottish children. They were able to learn a longer catechism. But listen, listen to these words.
Question. How art thou righteous before God? Answer. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.
That is, although my conscience accused me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God and have never kept any of them, and that I am still prone always to all evil, yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed or had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me, if only I accept such a benefit with a believing heart. That's what they used to teach little children. As if I had never committed or had any sin, and had myself accomplished
all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled. Isn't that wonderful? That's what God has done for us. That's what lies behind this five-syllable word.
This is the classic view of Reformed theology. I shouldn't limit it. This is the classic view of evangelicalism. This is the classic view of all Bible-believing Christians throughout history.
Challenging the Historic View: The 'New Perspective on Paul'
This is the Gospel. This is what believers have held at the very heart of their faith for centuries. But the situation, sadly, may be in the process of changing. And I want to spend a few moments speaking about what I've called scholarly reinterpretation.
I've allowed myself to put scholarly in quotation marks. Because this historic view of justification, is now being challenged. And it's being challenged on a massive scale by some very, very gifted and influential exegetes and theologians. You've perhaps heard of the new perspective, as it's called, of Paul.
And this is at the cutting edge of a new concept of this great historic evangelical doctrine. And a number of influential New Testament theologians are arguing that this traditional understanding of justification is wrong. Profoundly wrong. And needs to be abandoned.
I don't want to get off on a side track, but this is one of the evil results of having theology done in academia. Because in the university world, the premium is on originality and on creativity. You won't get a PhD for saying that you think John Calvin was basically right. If you said you thought he was a woman from central China, you might get a PhD for that.
Men are trying to be creative and original, and this is leading them in all sorts of strange directions. I'm not wearying you with the details. The essence of this new view is that justification is not God imputing righteousness to us. It is rather a declaration that we belong to God's covenant people.
And we can expect to see men who are particularly fascinated by the doctrine of the covenant. And who are taking that doctrine to unbiblical extremes. They will be open to this teaching. It was originated by scholars such as E.P. Sanders, James G. Dunn, and probably most popularly, Tom Wright, N.T. Wright, who has just been appointed a bishop in the Anglican Church in England.
And the writings of these men are now percolating down out of the scholarly journals, into the dictionaries, into the commentaries, into the seminaries, into the hearts and minds of the men who are being sent out to teach God's people. Look out for, for example, the assertion that first century Judaism didn't believe in salvation. In fact, it didn't believe in salvation by works. When you see that, you're being introduced to the new perspective. Look out for the suggestion that Paul was not arguing against legalism, but against Jewish nationalism. Look out for righteousness being described or defined as, and I quote, righteousness means faithfulness to the covenant. Righteousness means loyalty to the family relationship.
Righteousness means relation restoring love. Look out for those who would avoid such words as propitiation. Who would substitute for it, and I quote, Christ absorbed sin. Christ outlasted evil.
These are mainstream writers. I'm perplexed again, by the way, at your misuse of the English language over here in this land. I made yesterday evening as part of an illustration what I thought was a fairly straightforward, comprehensible statement. I talked about a competent, well-trained cook.
Now, one of my friends told me this morning, I was thinking of a roly-poly middle-aged lady with an apron on, but one of my friends told me that in America, cook is spelled K-O-O-K, and so when Americans hear of a competent, well-trained cook, they get very disturbing and alarming ideas. But these men are not cooks. These are mainstream evangelical scholars. And I want just to give you two or three quotations, from popular books, which pastors and preachers use.
I quote, for example, from the popular and very valuable New Dictionary of Theology. Here is the article on justification. The writer says, the question of justification is a matter of covenant membership. Who are the true children of Abraham?
It's not a matter of our righteousness before God, our forgiveness of sin, our standing before his throne. It's a matter of covenant membership. InterVarsity's Dictionary of Paul and his letters. A valuable work.
I use it all the time. I quote from the article The Death of Christ. For Paul, Jesus' death is not interpreted by metaphors wrong from the law court. Paul does not think of Christ's having been punished by execution on a cross so as to satisfy the justice of God.
Isn't that astounding? Paul does not think, the Bible does not teach that Christ was punished to satisfy the justice of God. The New Perspective says that's wrong. That's a misunderstanding.
I quote from an essay in the book Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ by the Anglican Stephen Travis. Paul's understanding of the death of Christ does not include the idea that he bore the retributive punishment for our sins. Isn't that astounding? That is mainstream evangelical.
These men would describe themselves as reformed evangelical thinkers. Christ did not bear the punishment for our sins. That didn't happen. And the danger, friends, is that there is much that is helpful in the writings of these men.
But it is mixed with terrifying error. And I warn you, whenever you hear these things, no matter how reformed the source may be from which they come, no matter what a path or what a past reputation the man may have, no matter how helpful you may have found his other writings to be, this is deadly error. And it's worse because it calls into question the heart and core of the whole gospel itself. J. I. Packer says the doctrine of justification is like Atlas. The mythological giant who carried the world on his shoulders. Packer says it bears on its shoulders the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace. And if we're wrong on justification, we're going to be wrong on God's law, and we're going to be wrong on sin, and on righteousness, and on the death of Christ, and on the atonement, and on conversion, and on faith, and on union with Christ, and the whole thing's going to collapse and be distorted.
Four Key Points on the Meaning of Justification
This is a most serious matter. We need to know what it means. And I want to leave you with four simple points. What is justification?
First of all, it is a legal declaration. It is a legal declaration. The word the theologians use is forensic, a Latin word which means pertaining to a law court. In justification, God the judge renders a verdict.
And the verdict is that the sinner is accounted righteous. And we must keep this legal aspect to the very forefront of our thinking in the face of these current denials of it. It is of the essence. So that's our first point.
It's a legal declaration. Secondly, justification in and of itself does not change us in any way. Justification does not change us in any way. Justification does not involve transformation.
It's too late to change it now. But justification is probably not the best word for the reality which it describes. Augustine, unfortunately, was not skilled in Greek. And he was one of the great advocates of this Latin word justification.
And it comes from two Latin words, justum factere, which means to make righteous. But justification isn't making righteous. Justification is declaring righteous. We can show that simply.
We turn to the Greek Old Testament, the translation known as the Septuagint. We find the verb to justify used in Deuteronomy chapter 25 verse 1. I quote, If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them justifying the innocent and condemning the guilty. Justifying the innocent and condemning the guilty.
Justification in other words is the opposite of condemnation. Now when a judge condemns a criminal he is not making the criminal wicked. He is not making the criminal guilty. He is declaring that he finds him guilty.
That he judges him guilty. Condemnation is not making wicked. It is declaring wickedness. And so it's opposite justification.
The judge does not make the criminal righteous or the defendant righteous. He declares that he finds him righteous. He regards him as righteous. We see this again in the New Testament.
The same contrast is drawn. Romans 5 verse 16 For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. They are opposites to each other. Both legal sentences.
Both declarations of a court to condemn or to justify. Verse 18 As one trespass led to condemnation for all men so one of act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. They tell us nothing about the character of the defendant. What they do tell us about is the verdict of the judge.
That's what they are describing. Or take the use in the New Testament of the verb to credit or to count or to impute. Same word. Romans 4 verse 3 Abraham believed.
God. And it was counted to him. It was credited to him as righteousness. Now Abraham's belief did not make him a good man.
It didn't make him more patient or more loving or more tolerant or more gentle or more humble. He believed God. And righteousness was imputed to him. Chapter 4 verse 16 Acts of Romans David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.
It's nothing to do with the character of the person. His works are irrelevant. They don't come into play. They have no connection with it.
This righteousness is credited to him. Or verse 8 of chapter 4 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not impute his sin. It's his sin. It's still his sin.
He's a sinner. He's doing sinful things. He's disobeying God. But the blessedness is not that he's not sinning.
It's that the Lord isn't counting his sin. The Lord isn't imputing his sin. He's not reckoning it against him. Perhaps the clearest instance is Romans 4 verse 5 To the one who does not work but trusts who justifies the ungodly his faith is counted as righteousness.
One of the most staggering statements in the Bible. God justifies the ungodly. He looks at an ungodly person and he declares that their sins are forgiven and that they are righteous. He declares righteous those who are actually ungodly.
What I'm saying my friends is that we must never confuse justification with sanctification. And that's what many many people do. Probably many of you here do it from time to time. And it seems reasonable in a sense.
Justification speaks of a righteousness that is imputed to us. Not a righteousness that is infused into us. In justification the focus is on Christ's work for us. Not on the Spirit's work in us.
Those are two separate realities. And if you start basing your salvation on the Spirit's work in you you're opening yourself to all sorts of doubts and anxieties and concerns and lack of assurance. Of course a justified person is changed. But that's not part of their justification.
Justification is external to us. It refers to a change of status. Not a change of nature. And we'll come back to that tomorrow evening.
It's vital that you keep this distinction in mind for the health of your soul. So our first point justification is a legal matter. A legal declaration. Secondly justification does not change us in any way.
Thirdly justification therefore is an act not a work. The Shorter Catechism is very precise justification is an act of God's free grace. Later on it says sanctification is the work of God's free spirit. Justification is not a process.
It is not something that is carried on in stages. It is not a future hope. Justification is something that is over and done with finally and forever. Once and for all time finished end over.
It is an act. John 5 24 Truly truly I say to you he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but from death to life. It is the eschatological people again that we were talking about this morning.
In justification God has pronounced his final verdict on the believer. I find this person irreversibly everlastingly unalterably righteous. It is an act not a work. And that means that finally it must be complete.
There are no degrees of justification. People are not justified to a varying extent. You can't be a little bit justified or quite justified or moderately justified or very justified. Justification is all or nothing.
It is total it is final it is irreversible. You are the only person who can be justified in this world. You are not justified in this world. You are not justified in this world. You are not justified in this world, but also justified in the life of the human being. At op
solu ble there is a one who was hard last as i gave you maybe there's somebody here tonight and you feel you don't really belong here you're a very new christian maybe in your past there are great shameful scarlet sin years hurts that you've done you talk to people here and you hear that they came to faith when they were children they lived their whole lives in the service of god and you feel so inadequate and so unworthy my dear friend no distinction oh distinction he gives us all the same it's all the same robe it's the same righteousness we're all the same in christ's
presence as christ's people there's no distinction in sin and there's no distinction when we're clothed with the righteousness of christ you see the value of understanding it as a legal authoritative declaration this is the basis of our assurance when we start basing our justification on some change inside us we're just opening the way for doubts and uncertainties and self-righteousness but this is the rock on which we can all rest who shall bring any charge against god's elect it is god's who justifies or as he says three verses earlier those whom he justified he also glorified it's as final as that it's as certain as that the meaning of justification but let's come on secondly then to consider the ground of justification the ground of justification what is its basis what is what is its foundation what supports it what makes it permanent and sustainable
The Ground of Justification: The Problem of God Justifying the Ungodly
stable what does justification rest on is there a solid secure foundation to this amazing statement it's vital for your intellectual peace of mind that you should understand that there is a ground there is a basis i want to look at it with you under three headings the problem the solution and the implication first then the problem i don't like using this word about god i don't think god has any problems but as far as we are concerned we can immediately see a problem i hope you can see a problem i hope you can see a problem what did we say the meaning of justification was it was a judge pronouncing a guilty criminal righteous do you see a problem there what would you think of an earthly judge who did that isn't it a mark of the decadence of our
culture that that all too often does happen in our law court and people who are manifestly guilty are allowed to escape the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing we expect a judge to apply the law we don't expect the judge to look at criminals and say you're a wonderful fellow go out of this court without a stain on your character that outrages us we say that man's not fit for office if this goes on the foundations of law of the very state itself will crumble and friends we'll come back to this tomorrow but but be sure of this there are many intelligent thinking serious human beings who believe that justification by faith is profoundly immoral and they've got a point they've got a point people in paul's day were scandalized by they thought it was a subversive
unethical teaching roman catholic theologians throughout history have protested and if you tell people believe in jesus you'll go to heaven what sort of religions are what sort of gods are they haven't even tried to be good haven't even tried to be a little bit good there seems to be a tension here god is the judge of all the earth he is the one who does right how can god pardon people who are obviously guilty as paul puts it how can he be at the same time just stand the justifier of sinners romans 3 26 is god not trapped here in a dilemma between his truth and his love between his justice and his mercy we must understand the depth of the problem we are too familiar with these things we've heard them too often we've grown up in our evangelical word oh yes forgiveness of sins
justification yes we know all about that that's fine it raises a very serious ethical issue how can guilty people be forgiven is that right is it fair is it just is that the way the universe should be run we as christians are far too ready to take forgiveness for granted the french philosopher said god will forgive me say so metier that's his job that's what he's therefore good old god up in heaven that's what his purpose is to forgive everybody but that's that's a logical contradiction my grandfather puzzled me when i was a little boy for for days by asking me the old chestnut about what would happen if an irresistible force met an immovable object and i remember sitting trying to work that out and imagining the irresistible force coming along and it hits the immovable object and what happens what does happen and then he explained to me that if there is an irresistible force there cannot be an immovable object and if there's a remove
an immovable object there can be no such thing as an irresistible force and to say that the holy god makes peace with sin is that sort of a a logical nonsense for in his very essence god is anti-sin that's the problem we know that god will never overlook sin we know that god will not deny himself we know as christians that that what most people hope will happen can never possibly be most people are hoping that at the end god will lay aside his strength and he will never be able to overcome sin and he will never be able to overcome sin how would be a terrible place why don't you just all come in that's the sort of the vague undefined hope that people will have but somehow at the end good old god will forgive them it can never be it can never be he cannot deny himself he cannot deny himself one of the puritans
The Ground of Justification: The Solution in Christ's Life and Death
said the god who could say let there be light could not say let there be forgiveness he could call the universe and he would not let there be light and he would not allow for the world to be into being by his mere word but he couldn't call forgiveness into being like that there must be some firm objective unquestionable ground on the basis of which god can declare a person righteous when they're not righteous that's the problem what's the solution we know the solution romans 5 9 justified by blood blood that's the ground of justification romans 3 24 justified through the redemption that is in christ jesus into this tension into this dilemma a mighty figure steps the mediator god the son jesus christ the savior
of his people and he stands between a holy god and lost sinners and he resolves the tension he solves the problem the ground of our justification is the life and death of the son of god that's the basis there are two things necessary to leave god's court with a good character the first is that all our debts must be settled all our crimes atoned for all punishment carried out asked on future record that is spotless the second thing is a life of perfect obedience to the law in every detail and my dear friends christ provides he was the sinless one and he the holy son of god took the place of sinners you and he bore their punishment and he suffered for them and he died in their place and he satisfied
the accusation and the claims of the broken law and it was god who died i never really like the phrase limited atonement don't like the adjective i understand what it means i don't like it i don't like using the word limited about the death of a person who died for them and he bore their punishment and he suffered for them and he died of the son of god on calvary because in in essence though limited in design it's not limited in value it's not limited in potential it's not limited in worth there's enough worth in the death of christ to redeem a million worlds if so it'd been god's purpose and he is god is also man one of us bone of our bone flesh of our flesh and he is god's purpose and he is god's purpose and he is our representative able to take our place and isn't that the heart of the gospel we love he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement that brought us peace was on him and with his stripes we are healed the lord has laid on him the iniquity
of us all he paid for the sins of his people but this was only part of the gospel on the positive side you have christ's active obedience he's his fulfillment of the righteous demands of the law he was made under law he kept the law perfectly on our behalf and this obedience is credited to our account this too by the way is being challenged robert h gundry westmont college has recently been able to give us a book called the gospel of christ and it's called the gospel of christ the doctrine that christ's righteousness is imputed to believing sinners needs to be abandoned i join a growing number of biblical theologians who deny that paul or any other new testament author speaks of a righteousness of christ that is imputed to believing sinners it would not exaggerate to speak of this view as a developing standard in biblical theological circles if you want to read more about that look at john piper's book counted righteous in christ where he
answers this assertion no christ's righteousness is imputed to us our sins are imputed to christ and his righteousness is imputed to us this is what the early church called the sweet exchange think of it think of god the son paying for your sin was that an adequate payment think of god the son's righteousness credited to your account in in in salvation god does not give us the righteousness of the greatest human being who ever lived god does not give us the righteousness of angels god clothes us with the righteousness of the greatest human being who ever lived god clothes us with his own righteous his own righteous here is the solid ground for justification god sees the sufferings and the obedience of his son on behalf of his people as sufficient
The Ground of Justification: The Implication for Assurance and God's Righteousness
and complete christ and god the father who gave the son who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son is seen in the gospel and he is seen in the gospel and he is seen in the gospel to be both righteous and merciful as the psalmist puts it in psalm 85 love and faithfulness meet righteousness and peace is each other and that brings us lastly to the implication this is vitally important in a practical sense because my friends what we've been thinking about this evening provides a solid satisfying rationale for our salvation justification is built on the firmest possible foundation and that foundation is the righteousness
of god it is a fact a fact of history that jesus christ has atoned for the sins of his people he is paid for it is a fact of history that he has kept god's law on our behalf that has been done therefore it is just for god to forgive us and it would be unjust for god not to forgive those who are in christ our union with christ means that justification is not a legal fiction but truly in christ we are forgiven and we are righteous let me give you a quotation for our quotations from two cautious careful men charles hodge in his commentary on romans writes if the righteousness
be adequate and if the imputation be made on adequate grounds and by competent competent authority listen to this the person to whom the imputation is made has a right to be made to be treated as righteous we have a right john murray repent a redemption accomplished and applied the righteousness of christ is the righteousness of his perfect obedience a righteousness undefiled and undefilable a righteousness which not only warrants the justification of the ungodly but one that elicits and constructs the justification of the ungodly strains such justification and professor murray this is a most unprofessor murray like sentence he says god cannot but accept into his favor those who are invested with the righteousness
of his own son god cannot accept them staggering staggering if we confess our sins he is faithful john doesn't know how to do it he doesn't know how to do it he doesn't know how to do it say he's faithful and merciful he's faithful and loving he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins it's righteous of god to forgive us it's righteous of god to receive us because there's a ground for it there's a basis for it there's a foundation in his son it's not a hope it's not a feeling it's not an aspiration it's not a longing there is a solid divine unalterable fact the life and death of jesus for sinners an old scots lady was once asked by a militant atheist what would you say if after you trusted christ god were to cast you away at the
end and she said he would lose more than i would he wouldn't do it this is wonderful you know think about it you see apart from christ god's righteousness threatens us god's righteousness terrifies us the sinner is scared that god is righteous but in christ that very same righteousness protects us and assures us and consoles us and comforts us and convinces us that we're going to be saved not just because god's merciful but because god's righteous and god's holy and god's true his word james buchanan in his work the doctrine of justification writes movingly what unspeakable peace may dawn upon the soul when it is enabled to see that the same justice which might have been
glorified in the punishment of the sinner may now be still more glorified in his pardon isn't that great but when god receives us into heaven the angels aren't going to just say god you're loving god you're merciful they're also going to say god you're righteous you're true buchanan goes on all the attributes of god which were formerly arrayed against us are now in christ the firmest grounds of our confidence and hope the firmest ground of our confidence and hope the firmest ground of our confidence and hope we want god to be righteous absolutely righteous we want god to be absolutely just we don't want him to overlook sin because christ has paid for sin buchanan says the flaming sword of justice which once menaced us has been converted into a shield and buckler for our protection and defense the righteousness of god the righteousness of god the righteousness of god the righteousness of god
that's the ground the solid divinely provided divinely wrought divinely approved ground of our justification what god has done in jesus christ do you see the practical value of theology a clear understanding of these things leads to settled peace in our minds and minds of the mind and in our heart and when we forget the ground of our salvation we're going to get in trouble when we start saying the ground something else we're going to get in trouble but when we say on christ the solid rock i stand we are on god's ground the lord of righteousness thy righteousness oh christ no righteousness avails save that which is of thee my dear friend you understand the ground of our justification are you clear
are you absolutely clear that it's jesus and only jesus fool stop nothing else ever his death and his life that's the ground that's the plea that's the basis and we doubt and we're fearful my friend whenever you're fearful look to calvary look to calvary from whence this fear and unbelief hath not the father put to grief his spotless son for me and will what comes after that and will the righteous judge of men condemn me for that debt of sin which lord was charged on thee pleat atonement thou hast made and to the utmost thou hast paid whate'er thou hast done to me and to the utmost thou hast paid whate'er thou hast done to me my people owed how then can wrath on me take place if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled
with thy blood if if thou hast my discharge procured and freely in my room endured the whole of wrath divine payment god is demand do you believe that first of my bleeding sureties and then again of mine when you go down on your knees tonight and you say oh lord i'm here to pray and ask forgiveness say that to yourself payment twice demand look at calvary look at jesus it was for us he hung and suffered there he paid for us he gave us his righteousness payment god cannot twice demand and just reach out your arms and hold the lord jesus to yourself and use those most glorious
words on this earth which are not just a concluding phrase to earn to end a prayer dear god i am unrighteous i've sinned against you i still sin against you i'm guilty before you but i ask you to forgive me you know the words in jesus name that's the greatest plea you can ever make and if you can say that of jesus as your savior in jesus name and for his sake you have god's
salvation let us pray lord our god bring these so well-known truths home to our hearts with fresh and force challenge we pray oh god for any here who are still in their sins that even now they will see christ the righteous one who died for sinners and who made full atonement for all the sins of his people and kept your law on their behalf and that they will cry to him to be their savior and their righteousness father if we have taken our eyes away from jesus if like peter we've begun to look down at our feet and whether we're sinking or walking if we've become introverted and introspective we're full of doubt or fear
help us to look to jesus take us to calvary oh god help us to see him on the cross and to see him thinking of each one of us by name and saying of our salvation it is finished lord jesus we trust you we depend upon you our hope is built on nothing less you are our savior and our savior our righteousness and oh father we thank you that by his death your righteousness as well as your mercy is honored and glorified and established and all that you are as god is our guarantee that we need not fear you or wish that you were other than you are but rejoice in all that you are the lord our god
and father help us to pray help us to live in jesus name and for his sake amen
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors. It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
While not explicitly expounded verse-by-verse, this passage forms the theological backbone for the discussion of God being both just and the justifier, and the ground of justification in Christ's redemption.
This passage is central to explaining imputation, with specific verses quoted to demonstrate that righteousness is counted apart from works and that God justifies the ungodly.
Texts Expounded
Also Referenced
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