justification paper

JUSTIFICATION

A PaperPresented to Dr. Michael Smith

Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA

In Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for

RomansBible 425-002

By

Ryan Sebastian104115

October 7, 2008

INTRODUCTION

Since the beginning of the church, the doctrine of justification has been an issue. Scholars have

been accessing what is justification and what are the basis and the means of obtaining it. Once these

issues are solved then the obstacle is to access what are the results of justification or what follows it. In

order to obtain an accurate view of justification one must first dig into the writings of Paul in his epistle

of Romans.

DEFINITION OF JUSTIFICATION

Many scholars have pushed their way into constructing an appropriate definition of the term

“justification” according to Romans. This is not an easy task because the Greek word for “justification”

can also be translated into other words. The word justification has a collection of meanings, but a

ordinary sense is “to declare righteous”.1 Justification is derived by the noun dikaiosis. This word is

found in two places in the New Testament only, which is Romans 4:25 and 5:18. It refers to the act of

God declaring men free from guilt and also adequate to Him. The consequential condition is denoted by

the word dikaiosune.2

The definition of “justification” has been defined in many different ways by many scholars, but

most of them have a common root in their definition. Louis Berkof defines “justification” as a “judicial

act of God, in which He declares, on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that all the claims of

the law are satisfied with respect to the sinner”.3

1 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994) 723

2 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdman, 1969), 510.

3 Ibid., 513.

Douglas Moo states that justification is “no ‘legal fiction’, but a large legal reality of the utmost

significance, ‘to be justified’ means to be acquitted by God from all ‘charges’ that could be brought

against a person because of his or her sins”.4 Moo stresses that this judicial verdict, according to Paul, is

rendered the moment a person believes. According to Jewish theology, one had to wait until the last

judgment with God for the judicial verdict. Moo here gives the argument that the act of justification is

“eschatological”, which he states is “the ultimate verdict regarding a person’s standing with God is

brought back into our present reality”. 5

Justification defined by Wayne Grudem is similar and almost identical to the definition by Louis

Berkof. He states that “justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which He thinks of our sins as

forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and declares us to be righteous in His sight”.6

While looking at this definition there are elements that need clarification. One must pay close attention to

“Christ’s righteousness belonging to us” and “righteous in His sight”. In the characteristic of justification

in which God “declares us to be righteous” is something that must be looked at first. “The reason for

treating these items in reverse order is that the emphasis of the New Testament in the use of the word

Justification and related terms in on the second half of the definition, the legal declaration by God.”7

There are certain characteristics that are based on the fact that God first thinks of righteousness as

pertaining to the believer. In reality, both characteristics are being treated, even though the New

Testament terms for justification targets on the legality of the declaration by God.8 A person that is

justified cannot have one or the other they are intertwined in what justification is.

4 Douglas J. Moo, The New International Commentary of the New Testament: The Epistle to The Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1996) 227

5 Ibid., 228


7 Ibid., 723

8 Ibid., 723

While comparing all three definitions the obvious conclusion is that justification is like being in a

courtroom with Jesus Christ as our lawyer and Satan as the prosecutor before God and the believer is on

trail. Satan gives every accusation against the believer, but Christ comes into their defense and states that

He died and imputed His righteousness to them. God, the judge, sits before the courtroom and is satisfied

by the righteousness of Christ for the believer.

BASIS OF JUSTIFICATION

Christ’s Death

Scholars have battled with the idea of what is the basis of justification. Some have stated that the

basis of justification is works. Of course this is false because this would mean that we can be justified

through ourselves and not through God. Good works can be considered as following the law. In Romans

3:21-229, Paul stresses that it is not the law that saves you, but Christ.10 “The saving righteousness of God

is not available through the law, but has been revealed in Jesus Christ and His atoning death.”11 Paul

states in Ephesians 1:17 and Colossians 1:1412 that our redemption is in Christ Jesus. Deliverance occurs

in relation to Christ when the sinner trusts Christ. The correlation of redemption with the forgiveness of

sins in Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, and 1 Corinthians 1:30 states that “Christ was made…our

9 Romans 3:21-22: “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

10 James D. G. Dunn. Romans 1-8: Word biblical commentary, v. 38A. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988) 161

11 Thomas R. Schreiner. Romans: Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament, 6 (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1998) 178

12 Colossians 1:14: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

redemption”. The payment was made possible through the cross in the blood of Christ, which applies to

each person when they believe, and justifies the believer before God.13

When God imputed Christ’s righteousness to man it meant that God thinks of Christ’s

righteousness as belonging to the believer or states it as belonging to the believer. In Romans 4:3 it

states, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to his as righteousness”. Paul later clarifies in

Romans 4:6 by stating, “To one who does not work but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is

reckoned as righteousness. So David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons

righteousness apart from works”. By this Christ righteousness became the believers. Paul states in

Romans 5:17, that those who believe are those who receive the “free gift of righteousness.”14 It is

fundamental to the core of the gospel to claim that God declares the believer to be just or righteous not on

the foundation of the believer’s actual state of righteousness or holiness, but instead on the foundation of

Christ’s faultless righteousness.15

God’s Grace Allowed Jesus to Die

It is only by God’s grace that He allowed His son to die on the cross for our sins. God’s grace

can be defined as His undeserved favor. Man cannot earn favor with God, therefore the only way man

can be declared righteous is if God freely gives salvation for man by grace, which would be entirely apart

from man’s work. Paul explains this further in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he states, “For by grace you have

been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God—not because of works, least

any man should boast”. Grace can be clearly seen here that it is put into distinction to works or value as


14Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994) 726

15 Ibid., 727

the cause why God is willing to justify us. Clearly God was not obligated to attribute our sin to Christ or

to attribute Christ’s righteousness to the believer. Only by God’s grace did He do this for the believer.16

“Grace” can also be considered one of Paul’s most important theological terms. Moo states that,

“He uses it typically not to describe a quality of God but the way in which God has acted in Christ:

unconstrained by anything beyond his own will. God’s justifying verdict is totally unmerited. People

have done, and can do, nothing to earn it.”17 According to Paul justification can never be attained through

works or the law and this is the core of his conviction. The evidence of this can be found in Romans 4:3-

5, 13-16; 11:6. When this is acknowledged, the association between Romans 3:22 and 3:24 is clarified.

The clarification is that justification is an issue of grace on God’s side, which means a subject of faith on

the human plane.18

MEANS OF JUSTIFICATION

A person is justified by faith. Scripture never states that the believer is justified because of the

innate goodness of their faith, which is almost as if the believer’s faith has value before God. It also

never allows the believer to think that their faith in itself helps to earn their favor with God. In reality,

Scripture states that the believer is justified “by means of” faith, which helps to make faith an instrument

by which justification is given to the believer, but it is not an activity that earns us merit or favor with

God. Also, those who believe are justified only because of the virtues of Christ’s work. This can be

found in detail in Romans 5:27-19.19 Grudem states it best when he says:

16 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994) 729-730


18 Ibid., 128


When we come to Christ in faith we essentially say, “I give up! I will not depend on myself or my own good works any longer. I know that I can never make myself righteous before God. Therefore, Jesus, I trust you and depend on you completely to give me a righteous standing before God.” In this way, faith is the exact opposite of trusting in ourselves, and therefore it is the attitude that perfectly fits salvation that depends not at all on our own merit but entirely on God’s free gift of grace” (Rom. 4:16).20

In the Greek, Scripture says that we are justified dia postos, ek posteos, or posie. This can be found in

Romans 3:25, 28, 30; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9. The preposition dia targets the fact that faith is the

tool in which a believer accepts Christ and His righteousness. The preposition ek points-out that faith

rationally precedes the believer’s personal justification and its origin is in faith. Scripture by no means

states that the believer is justified on account of faith. This measures that faith is by no account

represents the position of justification. If this were true, then faith would be considered as a

commendable work of man. This would introduce the doctrine of justification through work, which Paul

opposes throughout Scripture in Romans 3:21, 27, 28; 4:34; Galatians 2:16, 21; 3:11.21

There has been a battle among scholars about faith between Paul and James. James points out the

fact that faith that does not express itself in good works is not an accurate faith and because of this it is

not a faith that justifies. The reason there are differences between Paul and James is due to the nature of

the adversaries which each had to deal with. Paul had to deal with legalists which sought to base their

justification on the workings of the law. James had to deal with the Antinomians, who claimed to have

faith, but in reality their faith was only an academic acquiesce of the truth. In return they denied the

prerequisite of good works. In return, he targets the fact that faith without works is a dead faith, and as a

result, it is not at all a faith that justifies. True faith is a faith that is fruitful in good works.22

THE RESULTS OR FRIUTS OF JUSTIFICATION

Good Works

20 Ibid., 730-731

21 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdman, 1969), 520-21

22 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdman, 1969), 521

There are many things that follow justification. One of them is the desire to do good works. As

stated earlier James stresses the importance of having good works along with faith. The two cannot be

separated. They are linked. “True faith will manifest itself in good works, and these works will testify

before men of the righteousness (that is, the righteousness of life) of him that possesses such a faith. The

justification of the just by works confirms the justification by faith.”23 When a believer is truly justified

they want to serve others and show them the love that was bestowed on them by Jesus Christ.

Peace With God

When a believer knows that they are justified, they have peace with God. They are no longer a

part of the wrath that God has for the sinner. They are bound to heaven and not to eternal damnation in

hell. This peace is presided by justification by faith. This is described in more detail in Hebrews 11 and

Galatians 3:26-27, which states: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who

were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”24 “The justified person is no longer

tormented by questions of his relationship with God arising from the fact that he is a sinner. Sinner

though he is, he is at peace with God because of what God has done for him.” 25 Grace is abounded and

brings forth peace in the believer.

Glory in Tribulation

Tribulation is a result of justification. If a believer endures through tribulations, then it is an

indication of our faithfulness. Through tribulation God produces patience and patience in turn develops

an accepted character which creates hope. God’s revelation of love comes to the believer through the

23 Ibid., 521

24 “The Results of Justification”. Online: http:// www.thurmans.com/biblestudies/romans/romans-5.pptx.

Accessed on October 04, 2008

25 Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1987), 218

http://www.thurmans.com/biblestudies/romans/romans-5.pptx.%20Accessed%20on%20October%2004


Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit fulfills the believer’s hope. There is evidence of this in 2 Corinthians

1:21, 22; 5:5.26

When the believer is experiencing tribulations, the believers need to be joyful because through

the tribulation God will mold and shape he or she into what can benefit Him more in his kingdom. James

1:2-4 states: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you

know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you

may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”. God uses tribulation for the believer to adhere them

to what He wants. God has no benefit in using tribulation in the unbeliever therefore it is not a tool in the

unbeliever’s life. Only through justification through Jesus Christ for salvation does God see the need to

shape and mold His children through tribulation.

PERMANANCY OF JUSTIFICATION

How long will it last and can it be lost are questions that scholars have tried to accurately clarify

since the beginning of the church. Justification is essential in the salvation process. Without justification

there is no such thing as salvation therefore it enters the subject of eternal security. Lewis Chafer targets

the fact that salvation and security respite completely in God’s work and not men. Salvation would be

continually in unrest and indecision in the lives of men if it depended upon something that man could do

for himself. Because salvation is wholly an act of God, man cannot possibly unfasten it.27

Salvation is a free gift as stated in Ephesians 2:1-9 and is not resolute by whether or not a person

fulfills definite works, but upon whether or not the individual has faith in Jesus Christ. This free gift is of

eternal life that involves the Father and the Son. The Father is the one that gives the gift and Son is the

one who makes the gift even probable. In Romans 8:38-39 it states, “For I am persuaded, that neither

26 The Results of Justification”. Online: http:// www.thurmans.com/biblestudies/romans/romans-5.pptx. Accessed on October 04, 2008

27 Lewis Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1947) 151



death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor

height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord”. Nothing can conceivably disconnect a believer from the love of Christ. These

two verses tare any argument against eternal security. Paul names seventeen things in verse 35, 38, and

39 that cannot disconnect the believer for the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. These seventeen things are

all-inclusive.28 In conjunction with these verses, love is even “stronger than death and more powerful

than the host of darkness”.29 This section of Scripture emphasizes the work of God and Jesus Christ

pertaining to the security of the believer. Separation from the Father is not something that pertains to the

believer. If an individual has put forth his faith in Jesus Christ as their savior then they are eternally

secure because nothing can disconnect the believer from the love of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 7:25 expresses to the believer that they are secure once they are saved “to the upmost,”

but it also states that the believer is kept secure through the intercession of Jesus Christ. In verse 24 it

stresses that the believer is eternally secure because of intercession made available by Jesus Christ, who

“continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”30 Kendall states that “it is the continual intercession

of Christ [that] guarantees salvation to every believer."31 Christ’s intercession is constant because “He

ever liveth to make intercession,” according to Hebrews 7:25; for the believer expresses that even though

the believer will sin and upset the Father, Jesus pleads His case before God. In 1 John 2:1-2 Scripture

clarifies this by stating, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does

sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the

28 Matt Costella, God’s Perfect Work: A Study of the Doctrine of the Eternal Security of the Believer. Foundation (1998)

29 Harold Lindsell and Charles Jahleel Woodbridge. A Handbook of Christian Truth (Westwood, N.J.: F. H. Revell Co, 1953) 212


31 R. T. Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985) 203

atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” This passage

clearly teaches that the believer will in actuality sin after he has believed, but because Jesus Christ is the

“advocate of with the Father” and the “propitiation for our sins,” the believer can be reassured that their

salvation is protected in Christ and that they are forgiven in the prospect of the Father. Not only does

these two verses express that Christ is the believer’s advocate, but it also stresses that He was the carrier

of the sinner’s punishment so that the believer will not have to pay sin’s damnation cost themselves. The

end result of Christ’s intercession is that God will take notice of the support of the Son and forgive the

disobedient believer because Christ was the perfect sacrifice for all mankind and paid the price of sin on

the cross for all time.32

In Revelation 12:10 it states that Satan accuses the believer and the believer accuses himself.

According to Romans 8:33, no one apart from God can actually bring an accusation against the

believer.33 Charles Ryrie takes to note that God is the only one who could make an accusation of the

believer, but He does not pass any charges in opposition to the believer because He has already affirmed

them to be innocent even though they deserve to have an accusation against them.34

In Ephesians 4:30 it exclusively tells the believer that they are not to grieve the Holy Spirit

because it is by the Holy Spirit that the believer is preserved until the day of redemption.35 Also, in 2

Corinthians 5:5, Paul tells the believers in Corinth that God is the one who has given the seal of the Holy

Spirit.36 The evidence suggests that the Holy Spirit is the seal of the believer’s salvation, and God is the


33 Romans 8:33: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies”.

34 Charles Caldwell Ryrie, So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ (Wheaton, Ill: Victor Books, 1989) 139

35 Ephesians 4:30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption”.

one who gives the seal. God has declared the believer without accusation because of the perfect sacrifice

of Jesus Christ on the cross and because of this sacrifice the seal is eternal and it cannot be removed.37

The passage of John 10:27-29 are the most often used verses that rope the doctrine of eternal

security of the believer.38 There are— four cases of the idea that Jesus’ sheep will never be lost in these

four verses. They are: I give you eternal live (verse 28), they shall never perish (verse 28), neither shall

any man pluck them our of my hand (verse 28), and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand

(verse 29). All of these statements references to the safety of the sheep cannot be overlooked. When

Christ is making a statement that no one can pluck them out of His hand and no man has the ability to

pluck them out of His Father’s hand and that He and the Father are one, then He is making the strongest

statement that is possible concerning the safety and security of His sheep. By reading this passage, one

might say “who are the sheep?” The context within this passage visibly highlights that those who

legitimately believe in Jesus Christ are the sheep.39

TIME FACTORS OF JUSTIFICATION

Whether or not justification is an act or a process is something Bible scholars have tried to

determine from the time when the church began. Justification is an act that takes place once and only

once. It is not repeated, neither is it a process; it is complete at once and for all time. “There is no more

36 2 Corinthians 5:5: “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.


38 John 10:27-29: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.”

39 Costella, God’s Perfect Work

or less in justification; man is either fully justified, or he is not justified at all. In distinction from it

sanctification is a continuous process, which is never completed in this life.”40 If justification is a process,

than there would be no eternal security. Everyone who claims to be a believer would never know without

a doubt that they are saved.41

CONCLUSION

After looking into the issue of justification more intently, the only reasonable solution is that

apart from Christ there is no such thing as justification. It is by God’s grace that He allowed His son to

die on the cross to allow justification. Christ is the key and this is why He states that “no man can come

to the Father except through Him.” There is nothing that the believer can do to earn righteousness before

God, He gives it to us through His son.

40 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdman, 1969), 513-514

41 This directly correlates with the permanency of justification. If it is not instantaneous, than there is no justification. Regeneration is an act of God in us; justification is a judgment of God with respect to us. The distinction is like that of the distinction between the act of a surgeon and the act of a judge. The surgeon, which he removes an inward cancer, does something in us. That is not what a judge does—he gives a verdict regarding our judicial status. If we are innocent he declares accordingly. The purity of the gospel is bound up with the recognition of this distinction. If justification is confused with regeneration or sanctification, then the door is opened for the perversion of the gospel at its center. Justification is still the article of the standing or falling of the Church. (Murray, John. In Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955, pp. 17-131.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1941.

Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology. Dallas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1947.

Costella, Matt. "God's Perfect Work: A Study of the Doctrine of the Eternal Security of the Believer." Foundation, 1998.

Dunn, James D. G. Romans 1-8. Word biblical commentary, v. 38A. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988.

Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.

Kendall, R. T. Once Saved, Always Saved. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985.

Lindsell, Harold, and Charles Jahleel Woodbridge. A Handbook of Christian Truth. Westwood, N.J.: F. H. Revell Co, 1953.

Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. The new international commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1996.

Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1987.

Murray, John. Redemption, accomplished and applied. Seoul: Seoul Printing Co.], 1966. (Costella 1998)

Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ. Wheaton, Ill: Victor Books, 1989.

Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament, 6. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1998.

The Results of Justification”. Online: http:// www.thurmans.com/biblestudies/romans/romans-5.pptx. Accessed on October 04, 2008

“I ___________________________________understand that plagiarism is a crime and a violation of University policy. On my honor as a Christian I researched and wrote this paper myself without plagiarism or collaboration, and I did not accept any help for which I did not receive specific permission from the professor. I have not used any sources in this paper without attribution. I have not used the exact words of any author without using quotation marks.”



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