Title: The Doctrine of Justification Script: Romans 3:21-26
Type: Doctrinal Series Where: GNBC 5-15-22
Intro: In Greek Mythology, Atlas was a Titan who was responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, a punishment bestowed on him by Zeus. He was given this task in retribution for him leading the Titans into battle against the Olympian gods for control of the heavens. Sometimes you will see artists fictional renditions of this with the world upon Atlas’ shoulders. Today we continue in our series on doctrine. If I were to compare any one Biblical doctrine to the mythical account of Atlas, it would be the doctrine of Justification by Faith, for it bears the entire evangelical knowledge of God the Savior upon its shoulders. Everything in the Christian life is understood through justification- election, effectual calling, regeneration, repentance, adoption, prayer, the Church, the ministry, sacraments- all are interpreted in light of the doctrine of justification.
Prop: Exam Rom. 3:21-26, we’ll attempt to understand 3 elements of the Doctrine of Justification.
BG: 1. Romans was written by Apostle Paul in about 56-57 AD.
2. Arguably the greatest treaty ever written on sin and salvation. Great theme is Justification.
Prop: Follow w/me in Rom. 3:21-26, as we attempt to understand 3 elements of the Doct. Of Justification.
I. What is Justification? (A Definition)
A. What do I mean when I say: “The Doctrine of Justification by Faith”?
1. This is a Crucial Theological Term every Christ should strive to understand.
a. Justification relates to the idea of “righteousness”. Righteousness means being rightly related to God and His Law. Both Justification and Righteousness are legal terms. Illust: In the UK trials are conducted to determine how a person is related to the law and ultimately to the authority of the monarch. So, a trial may be described as “Regina (the Queen) vs. Arch (The accused). Thus, when the court pronounces its verdict it declares how the accused stand in relation to the law and the monarch. (Ferguson, p. 76)
b. Scripturally speaking, “to justify” does not mean to make righteous, in sense of changing one’s character, rather it means to “constitute righteousness” by declaration. Think of it, as Romans 3 tells us here., at the moment of faith, a judicial statement is made on your and my behalf that declares us right with the Moral Law of God as well as the Sovereign of the Universe.
2. Why do I need the Doctrine of Justification?
a. There are two undeniable realities in life that should cause each one of us to crave the Doctrine of Justification: 1. Human sin. 2. Divine Judgment. All of us are guilt of sin v.23. None of us can outrun the Long Arm of God’s Law. Illust- Many followed Alabama prison break of Vicky and Casey White. She was a guard and he a prisoner. Not related. Ran on for a long time. But how did it end for them..captured in Evansville, IN with her death and him back in prison. Without Christ’s Justification we are a shackled prisoner of sin that will drop you at death’s door.
b. Justification, friend, is the opposite of condemnation. (I Tim. 3:16). God pardons! God forgives! God instates us as sons and daughters! It is a decisive decision for all eternity! It does not change! Why? Because it is effectually the judgment of the last days brought forward to you and me in the present.
B. What is the Power of Justification?
1. It is essential that we know and understand the Power of Justification on the Believer’s Behalf.
a. This is the glory of the Gospel! (Read v. 23). Let that sit in a moment. We are sinners. We are thieves, braggarts, gossips, lustful, arrogant, gluttons, greedy, idolaters (And that’s on our good days!). Peter was a denier. Paul was an oppressor & persecutor. David was an adulterer and murderer. Adam was a transgressor in Paradise. The thief on the cross. Law condemns us all as sinners. Yet, when Christ hung on that cross He took the punishment for every sin every committed or would be committed.
b. There are therefore no degrees of justification. There are degrees of sanctification but not justification. We see some Christians appear more mature than others. More holy. This relates to our yielding to the Spirit and obedience to the WOG. However, it is impossible for any one Christian to be more or less justified than another Christian. Paul was not more than you. Billy Graham not more than you.
2. Justification Operates Contrary to our Nature.
a. Illust: Probably the oldest book in the Bible, Job, poses this important question: “But how can a man be in the right before God?” (Job 9:2), and yet in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus made it clear that it was possible for God to justify sinful people (Luke 18:9-14). But how can sinful humanity ever be justified by the God who judges justly?
b. It is not uncommon to hear unbelievers in times of anxiety or crisis saying things such as "you gotta have faith." Yes, but faith in what? Biblical, justifying faith is not some general virtue by which someone retains a positive attitude in the face of uncertain circumstances but a very specific trust in something. Or, much better, trust in someone. Justifying faith does indeed believe all things written in the Law and the Prophets, as Paul states of himself in Acts 24, but even more importantly it rests in Christ himself and the promises offered in his gospel. Whosoever "believes in him" will not perish but receive eternal life (John 3:16
C. Applic: Justification is a judicial decree offered by God on behalf of the one who trusts in the finished work of Christ, declaring that individual righteous for eternity.
II. How Does God Justify?
A. How Does God Justify the Christian?
1. God Does Not Justify Us Because of Who We Are or What We have Done!
a. Illust: We live in a world where although we may not agree on who has privilege and the influence of that privilege, we all recognize that someone else has privilege! Illust: We see that a Vice President can have an absolutely incompetent and unqualified son receive a $1 million a year salary to serve on the board of a business for which he knows nothing about! A few months after her husband became Senator from Illinois, Michelle Obama’s salary at the Un. Of Chicago Hospitals board went from about $150k to over $350k per annum. Chelsea Clinton, between 2011 and 2020 received $9 million in compensation from sitting on the board of an investment firm. Not bad for a then 31 yrs. old history major! To be fair, George W. Bush - Senator Strom Thurmond’s 28-year-old son was appointed US attorney for South Carolina; Colin Powell’s son, Michael, became the chairman of the FEC; Antonin Scalia’s son, Eugene, became the chief labor attorney; George W. Bush’s secretary of labor, Elaine Chao, was Senator Mitch McConnell’s wife; Elizabeth Cheney, the then–vice president’s daughter, became deputy assistant secretary of state; Elizabeth Cheney’s husband became chief counsel for the OMB. US Grant, appointed or employed over 40 relatives! Many corrupt and abused power. Grant either looked the other way or pardoned!
b. It’s true, in this life a lot of people receive reward and benefits based on who they know rather than on what they have earned or done. Well friend, let me tell you this, God also bestows His benefits on the basis of Who you know. V.24 (Read) Do you know Christ? God bestows favor on those whom trust Christ. Redemption is only found in Christ.
2. The Basis for Justification is the Finished Work of Christ.
a. The only basis for Justification in the life of the Christian is the finished work of Christ. Now, there is no denying the fact that this decision to save some was rooted in the love of God. Realize that truth: God loves you! Yet, sadly, love alone can never truly justify us. Illust: The judge in a secular court of law could not justify his/her guilty child standing before the bench on the basis of love. Rather, something would have to be done.
b. So, what was done? Look at Rom. 3:24-25 – True, the love of God is the source of our justification, but the death of Christ is its efficient cause. The results of his obedient lfie and death is our justification. (Rom. 5:18)
B. How Can the Work of Christ Justify the Sinner?
1. How can a completely righteous and sinless and holy God, perfect in all His ways, declare me, an awful sinner, “righteous”? We can answer this in 3 basic stages:
a. Christ lived a life of total obedience to and dependence upon God. Like us, Jesus was born “under the law” (Gal. 4:4). Because of His active obedience, Christ did not have to suffer the penalty of the law, death, that all law breakers faced.
b. Despite Christ’s innocence, He was treated as a guilty man. Illust: Luke records 5 separate confessions that Jesus was an innocent man (Lk. 23:4,14,22,41,47). Yet, He was crucified as a criminal! Not only were the hands of wicked men complicit in this, so were the Hands of a Holy God. God did not spare His own son, but “handed Him up” (Rom.8:32). Hadn’t Isaiah predicted this 700 years earlier Is. 53:10 where states the Lord would bruise His Servant and put Him to grief.
c. The Sinless One Suffered for the Guilty One. Christ steppe out of glory to put on human flesh in the incarnation so that He might become our Brother and represent us with His substitution through His obedient life and death on the cross. there a great exchange was made when Christ stood in your and my place and received the judgment that was due me!
2. The Work of Christ Justifies the Sinner Because Jesus is our Substitute.
a. “Christ stood in my place and received the judgment which is really mine. Before God, I stand as though I were in Christ’s place so that I may receive Christ’s judgment and be justified before God.” – (Ferguson, p, 81)
b. Illust: The reality of this exchange was highlighted, in my opinion, by the two crimes Jesus was formally charged with in his crucifixion: blasphemy and treason. One religious and the other political. Now bear with me a moment. These are the very crimes mankind committed in the Garden of Eden! When Adam ate of the fruit of the tree he desired to “be like God” thus committing blasphemy against the Person of God and treason against His unquestioned authority! So, although Jesus stood before Caiaphas and Pilate, He actually stood before the Judgment seat of God, voluntarily becoming a curse for us. (Gal. 3:13)
C. Applic: God justifies us by His grace thru faith in the finished work of Christ.
III. Justification takes Place by Faith. Vv.25-26
A. This Justification is Appropriated by Faith.
1. Faith Has Always Been the Means by Which God Justified Man.
a. Illust: In the year 1510 Luther was ordered to go to Rome to settle a dispute which arose in the Augustinian order. He was excited to go, for now he had a great once-in-a-life-time opportunity to earn merit for himself and his family. We must understand the Roman Catholic system of merit and indulgences. In the Catholic system some holy men and Christ died with positive merit. This meant that they were better than they needed to be for their salvation. Of course, the average person died in the red! The Catholic Church taught that the Pope had the power to transfer some of that surplus merit to the average person’s account. This transfer of merit was called an indulgence. Such a transfer was given when the recep¬tor performed certain good works or paid a sum of cash. No one questioned whether the pope could transfer credit to remit penalties for sin on earth. For example: a pilgrim who prayed before Elector Frederick the Wise’s famous relic collection in Wittenberg would have 2,112,151 years and 205 days less pur¬gatory to suffer. Out of great discouragement from time in Rome, Luther had become obsessed with Romans 1:17: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
b. John Calvin said: “Christ’s righteousness, which alone can bear the sight of God because it alone is perfect, must appear in court on our behalf, and stand surety for us in judgment. Received from God, this righteousness is brought to us and imputed to us, just as if it were ours. (I.32)”
2. Faith is an Instrument through which Justification is delivered. Let me clarify one important point. The NT never says that justification is on the basis or, on the grounds of, or because of faith. Rather, it is through faith (Rom. 1:17). Faith is never more than the instrument, the channel by which we receive grace and justification. Illust: JC Ryle expressed this: “True faith has nothing whatever of merit about it, and in the highest sense cannot be called “a work”. It is but laying hold of a Savior’s hand, leaning on a husband’s arm, and receiving a physician’s medicine. It brings nothing to Christ but a sinful man’s soul. It gives nothing, contributes nothing, pays nothing, performs nothing. It only receives, takes, accepts, grasps, and embraces the glorious gift of justification the Savior bestows.” (Ryle, Old Paths, p. 228)
B. Be Careful and Cautious Not to Undermine this Precious Doctrine.
*This time of year many of us love to garden. The bane of every gardener are weeds! Iowa has unbelievably fertile soil. Grow fruits and vegetables…and WEEDS! In some ways the Church is like a garden too. Must take care that three specific weeds don’t grow up in her fertile soil and choke out the Glorious Doctrine of Justification by Faith. What are those three “weeds”?
1. Make sure to root out the weed of Works – All gardeners hate dandelions. They grow everywhere without any provocation and their roots go incredibly deep! We all crave self justification. This root of sin goes deep down in our lives filled with pride. We want to “do” something so we can claim that “we are right with God.” When I was a young man living in the South, I was often called upon to visit people, some who were in last stages of life. They would often tell me: “I’ve made my peace with God, preacher.” NO! Jesus did! “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1
2. Root out of the Fear of Not Preaching the Cross. In Iowa, another weed gardeners face are thistles. Painful, but if you reach down just below surface can safely pull them out. Sometimes preachers don’t want to preach the cross. Painful. People offended. Modern man offended. Want to be popular with the crowds. Reject that mentality. Charles Spurgeon was once asked who was the greatest preacher of the 19th century. He said: “Andrew Fuller”. Fuller was convinced that the cross of Christ lay at the very heart of Christianity. It is, he maintained in 1802, “the central point in which all the lines of evangelical truth meet and are united.” Just as the sun is absolutely vital for the maintenance of the solar system, so “the doctrine of the cross is to the system of the gospel; it is the life of it.” Similar remarks appear in a number of Fuller’s works. In a sermon he preached in 1801, Fuller reminded his hearers: “Christ crucified is the central point, in which all the lines of evangelical truth meet and are united. There is not a doctrine in the Scriptures but what bears an important relation to it.” The atoning death of Christ, Fuller declared in 1814, is nothing less than “the life-blood of the gospel system.”
3. Root out any Teaching that Removes Faith as the Means by Which we are Justified. A final weed we all hate in Iowa is that invasive and resistant nuisance…Creeping Charlie! Old CC spread by seeds and by stems. Must be beaten back. Pulled out by the roots. Spray and spray and will come back again and again. Justification by Faith is a “gospel mystery” revealed secret of God which is a wonder of His grace and glorifies Him alone. In every generation it must be preached, defined, and defended lest man attempt to remove it and a lax Church forgets it.
C. Applic: Friends Christ has merited complete and total righteousness for all who are found in Him. He doesn’t make you and me savable. He saves us to the uttermost! Praise the Lord.
(This sermon outline owes a great debt to Sinclair Ferguson and JI Packer, great men of God.)
