JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH (Part 3)
KEY VERSE – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1) SECONDARY THEME VERSES: “A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16); “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing” (Gal. 2:21).
THEME: Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone releases us from the yoke of the law, freeing us to live a life of love through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Legal (Imputed) Righteousness: We are justified by faith in Christ (Gal. 2:16). Imparted Righteousness: Immediate Moral Change at conversion (Gal. 6:15); Gradual Moral Change through the fruit-growing work of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) which requires our cooperation (Gal 5:16-17, 25, 6:8). We cooperate by using CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection, Confession/Thanksgiving. Foundational verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Heb. 10:14)
Good Teachers: (1) Constantly re-evaluate what they are doing; (2) Set large goals; (3) Ask – “Does everything I do contribute to learning?”; (4) Prepare well; (5) Check for understanding; (6) Like teaching; (7) Get results from their teaching; (8) Have perseverance. Don’t give up.
TEACHING GOAL: Show what justification means, why it is essential as a foundational belief for Christians.
TEXT FOR THE DAY:
“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile Sinners’ know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
“But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Gal. 2:15-21)
JUSTIFICATION (Part 3)
1. Forgiveness and the Search for Righteousness
2. Salvation – Metaphors, Word Pictures
3. The Importance of the Doctrine of Justification
4. The Doctrine of Justification in Galatians
5. The Definition of Justification
6. Illustrations of Justification
7. Objections to / Questions to Answer about Justification
8. Grounds of Justification
9. Two Thieves that Hassle Justification by Faith
10. Instrument or Means of Justification
11. Relationship of Justification to Sanctification
I. FORGIVENESS & THE SEARCH FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Man is sinful, God is holy, aggrieved and needs satisfaction for the injury done to Him. The law which God must satisfy is the law of His own being (John Stott, The Cross of Christ, Pg. 124) Mankind realizes this need for righteousness. He has established religions to generate the righteousness he hopes will give satisfaction that is due as a result of his sin.
II. SALVATION – METAPHORS AND WORD PICTURES
FLIP CHART: Refer to the flip chart that contains metaphors of salvation: Propitiation, Redemption, Reconciliation, Justification, Regeneration. Re-Creation, Deliverance, Rescue, Adoption, Forgiveness, Cleansing. “Salvation is the comprehensive word, but it has many facets that are illustrated by different pictures.” (John Stott, Cross of Christ. Page 185)
III. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION
“The Gospel . . . is the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consists. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.” (Martin Luther)
IV. THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION IN GALATIANS
Justify and righteous are from the same root word: dikaioo. In fact instead of saying ‘justify’ we could say ‘rightify’; instead of ‘justification’ ‘righteousification’, instead of ‘justified’ ‘rightified.’ Gal. 2:16 is one of the most pregnant verses in the Bible concerning justification by faith.
V. DEFINITION OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
God’s judicial act of love and grace, due to the vicarious death of the risen Savior, wherein He declares the believing sinner right with Himself, not only acquitting him but also accepting him as his child and imputing to him His righteousness.
VI. ILLUSTRATIONS OF JUSTIFICATION
Via the wedding ceremony the status of the man and woman changes, not their person. In a courtroom the status of the accused is changed to “not guilty.” In a conflict a person is justified when his actions are viewed as valid, our perception changes. Justification is not a change of the facts about us but a change of view about us in spite of the facts.
VII. OBJECTIONS / QUESTIONS ABOUT JUSTIFICATION
1. God declares sinners righteous but does not change them. Thus justification is just a legal declaration, not a moral transformation.
2 . If so, is not justification a legal fiction, even a giant hoax, a phony transaction external to yourself, which leaves you inwardly unrenewed?
VIII. THE GROUNDS FOR JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
1. THE SOURCE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
“There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10)
“…no one will be declared righteous (justified) in his sight by observing the law.” (Romans 3:20)
“…it is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33)
“We are justified freely (as a free gift) by His grace.” (Rom. 3:24)
“No sin, no need of justification: No grace, no possibility of justification.” (Tom Wright)
2. THE BASIS FOR JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
Justification has to do with justice. What is the righteous basis for justification? God will not contradict his justice?
Justification is not a synonym for amnesty. Amnesty comes from the Greek word amnestia (forgetfulness). Amnesty overlooks wrongdoing and avoids justice. Amnesty is pardon without principle.
Justification deals with justice. Justification is a synonym for “the righteousness of God” ( Rom. 1:17, 3:21). So it could be defined as “god’s righteous way of righteousing the unrighteous.”
We need a ‘justified justification.’
God can pronounce us legally righteous, free from any liability to the broken law.” Why? Christ bore the penalty for our law-breaking. We are “justified by his blood.” He bore our penalty.
The KJV translated Romans 3:26 “He did it … that He might be Just and the Justifier.”
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9 KJV)
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting-place where heaven’s love
And heaven’s justice meet!
(Some of the phraseology above is borrowed from The Cross of Christ, John Stott, Page 187)
IX. TWO THIEVES THAT HASSLE JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
Tertullian: 160-220 AD, prolific Christian author from Carthage in the Roman Province of Africa (Tunisia). Also a Christian apologist and called “the founder of Western theology.” He developed the Trinitarian formula that helped explain the relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit as set forth in Scriptures.
Paraphrase of a Tertullian statement on justification by faith: “The doctrine of justification is crucified between two thieves.” (“Just as Christ was crucified between two thieves, so this doctrine of justification is ever crucified between two opposite errors.”)
QUESTION: Put three crosses on a chart. Over the center one write “Justification by Faith.” Put three empty lines under the crosses on the left and right. Who/What are the two thieves that are referred to by Tertullian and how do they hassle “Justification by Faith”?
Paul talks about “…acting (walking) in line with the truth of the Gospel” (Galatians 2:14). There are two thieves (errors) that can pull us off the Gospel line.
The thief on the right is moralism, legalism, religion. This thief stresses truth without grace, you must obey the truth in order to be saved.
The thief on the left is hedonism (pleasure is the only intrinsic good, must strive to maximize pleasure, minimize pain, the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle), relativism, irreligion. This thief stresses grace without truth, that we all are accepted by God. This thief says that we need to decide what is truth, what is right for us.
Falling into the clutches of either thief (legalism or hedonism) undermines ‘justification by faith’, loses either grace or truth. Thus these two thieves undermine the joy and power of the Gospel.
The Gospel opposes both religion and irrelgion.
Maybe our song needs to be that of Johnny Cash: “I walk the line.”
CASE STUDIES:
1. Parents are seeking to train their daughter regarding dental health and more specifically the daily need to brush her teeth.
What are the goals of Dental hygiene? The general health and well-being of the child.
What approach would you take in training the child?
What would a hedonists, relativists, approach to dental hygiene look like? (Let her brush her teeth when she feels like it. We don’t want her to be restricted by our opinions about dental hygiene. We don’t want her to get in a rut.)
What would a moralists, legalists approach to dental hygiene look like? (Every time you put food in your mouth, you brush your teeth. Carry your tooth brush and toothpaste in your purse so that you can brush your teeth after lunch or after having a snack.)
What should be the driving force in dental hygiene?
2. Peter is participating in the fellowship of the church in Antioch. He sees that a group from Jerusalem feels that it is wrong to have table fellowship with non-Jews.
What would a moralist or legalists approach to table fellowship with non-Jews look like?
What would a hedonists, relativists attitude to table fellowship with non-Jews look like?
Note: Paul did not accuse Peter of being a racist or guilty of discrimination. Paul accused him on not “acting in line with the Gospel.”
3. Participating in the Lord’s Table on Sunday morning.
What would a moralist or legalists attitude be towards having communion with unbelievers?
What would a hedonists, relativists attitude be?
How would someone “acting in line with the Gospel” handle such a situation?
Suggestion: Avoid “closed communion.” Hold the Lord’s table at a different hour, maybe Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. Explain clearly who should be participating in the Lord’s Supper.
4. Parent has a child who wants to play ice hockey. Ice hockey practice is on Sunday morning. Thus for a period of four months the child will miss all church activities on Sunday morning.
The child understands “justification by faith” and therefore considers ice hockey on Sunday morning a non-issue.
What are the goals of Sunday morning church activities for the child?
How would a parent who is a relativist, hedonist coach this child? (Sure, no problem. We are ‘justified by faith’ and this is not based on our church attendance. So son, don’t feel guilty. Just practice hard on Sunday morning and hope you make the team.)
How would a parent who is a moralist, legalist coach this child? (Absolutely not. We always go to church on Sunday morning. Honor the Sabbath is written clear and plain in the Ten Commandments. Playing games on Sunday is out of the question.)
How would a parent who “walks the gospel line” handle this situation?
(They would focus on the reason for Sunday morning teaching and worship. It is the way we cultivate our soul, develop our relationship with God, bond with fellow believers and serve those in the church. If a key game falls on a Sunday you will need to be there since you are a member of the team.)
If you ever do a spiritual act in order to gain acceptance with God or add merit, you the “Moralist Thief” are stealing from yourself the key blessing of “Justification by Faith.”
ILLUSTRATION: A peasant with a small plot of land gave his prize carrot to the king on the king’s birthday. The king was so pleased that he gave 5 acres of the king’s acreage to the peasant. A noble saw this act of generosity by the king and was impressed. The next week he brought the prize stallion from his large herd of horses and gave it to the king. The king thanked the noble, put the stallion into his pasture and walked away. The noble was dumbfounded and thought, “If a peasant got a 5 acres for a carrot won’t I get some immense gift for a prize stallion?” The king turned and said to the noble, “The peasant gave the carrot to me, you gave the stallion to yourself.”
Application: When we do a religious act in order to gain merit or standing with God we are doing the act for ourselves and not for God.
Giving nothing to the king could be compared with erring on the side relativistic, hedonistic thief (I want this carrot for my own enjoyment). Giving the carrot with a goal of receiving something from the king can be compared with erring on the side of the moralistic, legalistic thief.
Involving ourselves in religious activities only because of our love for God and desire to be conformed to His image is like the peasant who gave the carrot. We are “acting in line with the Gospel.”
SO WHAT???
1. Justification is God’s judicial act of love and grace, due to the vicarious death of the risen Savior, wherein He declares the believing sinner right with Himself, not only acquitting him but also accepting him as his child and imputing to him His righteousness.
2. The source of our justification is the free grace of God.
3. God remains just while justifying us due to the vicarious death of Christ. We are ‘justified by his blood.’
4. We must guard this gift of ‘justification by faith’ from both the thief of legalism and the thief of hedonism. We must always “act in line with the Gospel.”
5. The driving motivation in our religious life must be a the sole and supreme desire to love and honor God.