Justification of God the Father

Romans 4:5
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, January 26, 2020
Copyright © 2020, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

Introduction

What is justification? The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 33, gives the answer: “Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.”

The most serious question in the world, in God’s fallen universe, is not, “How much money can I make?” As Jesus said, “What does it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?” (see Mark 8:36). Rather, the most serious question in the world is, “How then can a sinful man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?” (Job 25:4). The answer is found in Romans 4:5: “However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

The Philippian jailer asked the same question: “What must I do to be saved?” And St. Paul answered him in the middle of the night: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:30–31).

Our greatest need is salvation. The Bible says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom. 1:18). A sinner can only be saved from God’s wrath when he trusts in Jesus Christ alone in saving faith.

God the Father declares a believing sinner to be justified forever on the basis of what God’s Son did for him in redemption and propitiation. Propitiation means the wrath-removing death of Jesus Christ. Dr. J. I. Packer said that justification is “God’s act of remitting the sins of guilty men, and accounting them righteous, freely, by His grace, through faith in Christ, on the ground, not of their own works, but of the representative law-keeping and redemptive blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus Christ on their behalf”[1]—on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross, in other words.

I. Only the Elect Are Justified

The first point is that only the elect are justified. We do not perfectly understand election, but we believe in it because the Bible speaks about it. Consider the following verses:

Matthew 24:22: “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
Matthew 24:24: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.”
Matthew 24:31: “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
2 Timothy 2:10: “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (see also Titus 1:1 and 1 Peter 1:1)
2 Peter 1:10: “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.”

How can we know if we are elect? We will believe in Jesus Christ when the gospel is preached, we will obey Jesus Christ, and we will be saved forever.

In Ephesians 1:4, Paul writes, “For [God the Father] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” In his commentary, Professor William Hendriksen says essentially the following about this verse:[2]

a. The author of election

Who is the author of election? It is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

b. The nature of election

God loved us and chose us for himself, though we were unholy and wicked as descendants of fallen Adam. In Romans 5 Paul writes, “Consequently, . . the result of one trespass was condemnation of all men” (Rom. 5:18a). He also says, “For through the disobedience of the one man, the many were [constituted[3]] sinners” (Rom. 5:19a). Yet God chose us to be holy and blameless sons and daughters to dwell with him forever for God’s glory.

c. The object of election

The object of election is every true believer who belongs to the family of God. In Galatians 6:10 we read, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Only a few will be saved. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13–14). The vast majority of the people in the world are not chosen and therefore not saved and not justified.

d. The foundation of election

We are chosen by the Father in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. So we will conform to the image of Jesus (see Romans 8:29). God will cause us to conform to the image of Jesus, to be like Jesus.

e. The time of election

When did God elect us? God chose us before the creation of the world, in eternity.

f. The purpose of election

God will have a holy people to enjoy fellowship with him forever. Peter writes, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15–16). We are to be like our heavenly Father. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matt. 5:8). We read in Hebrews 12:14: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

II. The Ground of Justification

What is the ground, the foundation, of justification? A sinner is against God and God is against him (Rom. 1:18). How, then, can a sinful person be just with God? How can a person be saved from the wrath of God?

When Adam sinned, all his descendants sinned in him. Now, all people are conceived in sin, born dead toward God, only to practice sin daily as children of the devil. This is called total depravity. By nature, we are totally depraved in our minds, in our wills, and in our affections. Paul writes, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. . . . For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:20, 23).

Thus, a sinner must cry out, “What must I do to be saved from the wrath of God?” And the answer will come from heaven: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” This is the gospel; this is good news for wicked people like us.

In the eternal council, the Father planned the salvation of the elect sinners. Then the Son agreed to become incarnate to accomplish their redemption by his active and passive obedience, that is, by his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus did this, as we read: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). So Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

Additionally, the Holy Spirit agreed in eternity to apply this redemption to every elect sinner. Paul writes, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28–30). All elect sinners will hear the gospel, repent of their sins, trust in Jesus Christ, and be justified.

The ground of justification is righteousness from God, that is, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This righteousness is imputed to the account of all believing sinners, and all the sins, guilt, punishment, and hell of elect sinners is imputed to our Lord Jesus Christ. What a great deal! This is called double transaction: our sins go to Christ, and his righteousness comes to us.

In his book, Foundations of the Christian Faith, Dr. James M. Boice explains, “God the Father is the initiator of one act: justification. Jesus is the initiator of two acts: propitiation directed toward the Father and redemption directed toward his people. We, who initiate nothing, receive both justification and redemption.”[4] Clearly, we get the better deal.

Jesus redeemed us from slavery to sin and Satan so that we may to serve God. He did so at the highest price imaginable—his own death on the cross. Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Jesus removed the Father’s wrath that was against us. He did so by his propitiatory, wrath-removing sacrifice on the cross.

In Philippians 2:8 Paul says, “And being found in appearance as a man, [Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” On the basis of the Son’s redemption and propitiatory sacrifice, God the Father justifies justly every sinner who trusts in Jesus. Paul writes, “[We] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. . . . he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:24–25a, 26).

How do we know that we are elect? We will repent and believe in Jesus Christ. This is the best deal in the whole world. (PGM) We are not receiving a lot of money; we are receiving the great gift of eternal salvation. And God’s justification of the wicked is just. Because his Son died in our place for our sins, he can justify us.

In Romans 5:17–19, 21, Paul explains more about this double transaction. We can interpret these verses as follows:

Verse 17: “If, through the sin of Adam, our representative, sin reigned through death, how much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” In other words, in Adam, we received sin and death; in Jesus Christ, we received righteousness and eternal life by grace.
Verse 18: “In Adam’s sin, we received condemnation. In Christ’s righteousness, we received justification (of life).” Justification is the opposite of condemnation and death.
Verse 19: “Through the disobedience of Adam, many were [constituted] Through the obedience of Jesus Christ, the elect are [constituted] righteous.” God’s people are righteous.
Verse 21: “Just as sin reigned in death, just so grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” When we die, God will perfect our spirits and we will go to heaven to be with him forever.

Consider also 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21:

Verse 19: Paul writes that God was reconciling us to himself in Christ, “not counting men’s sins against them.” We sinned, but God refuses to count our sins against us. In Isaiah 53:5 we read about Jesus, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Paul writes, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). Thank God for our substitute, Jesus Christ, the perfect God/man!
Verse 21: “God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Notice, again: this is the double transaction. We can stand as righteous, not in our own righteousness, but in the righteousness given to us by God freely by grace. This is true of all who believe in Jesus Christ; we are made righteous forever. We are clothed with the righteousness of God.

Professor John Murray says that regeneration is God’s work in us, but justification is God’s work about us.[5] On the basis of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account, God as Judge pronounces us not guilty but righteous forever. That is what Romans 4:5 says: “To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

Only God can justify the ungodly who believe in Jesus. In Deuteronomy 25:1 we read, “When men have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty.” A judge cannot make anyone innocent; he can only declare the innocent not guilty. But we have been declared not guilty because by faith the righteousness of Christ has been transferred to us. So we read:

1 Corinthians 1:30: “It is because of [God the Father] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Jesus Christ is our righteousness; he is our holiness; he is our redemption.
Philippians 3:8–9: Paul writes, “I consider everything a loss . . . that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is [received] by faith.” It is a free gift.
Matthew 1:21: “[The virgin Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” There is no other savior in the whole world.
Jeremiah 50:20: “‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.’”
Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”
Galatians 2:15–16: “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing 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 observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

III. Means of Justification

The means of justification is faith in Christ. We are justified by, through, or upon faith—not because of faith. Our faith is not the ground. The ground of justification is the righteousness of God, the righteousness of Christ. But the means is faith in Christ.

Yet even this faith is a gift from God. This faith is like raising of the hand of a beggar to receive some bread. This is what the publican did. He cried out, “Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!” Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). The Greek text says he went home justified forever: the word is dedikaiômenos (perfect passive participle of dikaioô).

Faith is a gift by which we trust and obey. How can we be proud of our faith when it is a gift? In Ephesians 2:8 we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” In 1 Timothy 1:14, Paul, the worst of sinners, says, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (see also Philippians 1:29). The elect will be given faith and love in abundance by which they believe in Jesus Christ and are justified.

Faith in Christ, who accomplished our redemption, is the means of our salvation and justification. Consider the following verses, which all speak about faith as the means of salvation:

Romans 3:22: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference.”
Romans 3:25–28: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
Romans 3:30–31: “There is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”
Romans 4:5: “However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

God gives faith to every elect. By that faith, we trust in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, our Mediator, our Savior, our Lord, our King of kings and Lord of lords. And we live by the obedience of faith, which Paul writes about in Romans 1:5: “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”

The meritorious basis of our salvation is the obedience of Jesus Christ only. In Galatians 4:4-5 we read, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” He obeyed fully, perfectly. When we obey, our obedience is not perfect. Therefore, every day we must ask God to forgive our sins. This does not mean we do not obey God. But our obedience cannot be the ground of our justification; that is only the perfect obedience of Christ. Jesus prayed to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

God justifies the ungodly by faith. If this is so, all boasting is excluded. And if God justifies us, no one can condemn us. Paul writes, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). He also says, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom. 8:33–34).

This faith that justifies is the living faith of Romans 1:5, not the devil’s faith that James speaks about: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (Jas. 2:19). But the devil never obeys Jesus!

Conclusion

We are justified by grace alone (Rom. 4:16).
It is by the righteousness of God that we are justified (Phil. 3:9; Rom. 1:17).
It is in Christ Jesus that we are justified (Acts 13:39).
We are justified by the obedience of Christ (Rom. 5:18).
We are justified by the free gift of Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 5:17).
It is by faith in Jesus Christ we are saved.
Jesus is the only Savior of the whole world (Matt. 28:18–20).
If God has justified us, we are secure forever.
The justified will live by the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5), not by faith without obedience.

What is the final conclusion? We are justified for the praise of God’s glorious grace forever and ever, as we read:

Ephesians 1:6: “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
Isaiah 45:24–25: “They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.’ All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will [glory].’”
Isaiah 61:10: “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Romans 8:33: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.”

Let us praise God! In Acts 16:30–31 we read that the jailer and his family believed in Jesus and were baptized the same night they were saved.

Now the good news: If you want to believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized and be saved, that your sins will be forgiven and you will be justified forever, contact our elders. They will speak to you. It is my prayer that everyone who hears this message will be saved and justified.

[1] J. I. Packer, “Justification,” The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J.D. Douglas et al. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), 683.

[2] William Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, New Testament Commentary series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996, combined volume), 74–78.

[3] Professor John Murray uses this word in his treatment of justification in Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 123.

[4] James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, rev. ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 323.

[5] Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 121.