WHAT PAUL CONCLUDED ABOUT JUSTIFICATION
Rom. 3:28
Morning Meditation 5/4/17
Verse 28 says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
Justification is a judicial act of God whereby the sinner is declared righteous, and is immune from the power of the law to condemn, and is seen by God in Christ as holy as Christ.
This definition (though limited) of Justification is what I understand to describe what the Scriptures mean to convey when this word is found describing what God does for us when He saves us.
Our text states a conclusion. “Therefore we conclude” means that because of what Paul has just said in this passage, this is the conclusion to which he has come: “that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Paul says, “this is a well thought out conclusion, based on the purpose of God in giving Jesus to die in our place, so that His shed blood is sufficient to satisfy the justice of God as a payment for our sins, which is made available to faith. This is by faith alone without the deeds of the law. Let’s take a moment to look at justification as it is mentioned here. First let’s look at,
THE AUTHORITY FOR JUSTIFICATION
Is this a doctrine based on interpretation? Or, is it a truth declared by God that is plainly set forth in Scripture? Romans 8:33 says, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.” God is the Judge. Abraham recognized this in Genesis 18:25 where he is reasoning with God about Sodom: “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
God is the Judge and as the Judge He must do right. God is a just God and cannot overlook sin and PLAY LIKE it does not exist. He cannot let some go and punish others unless there is a way that He can do it that will stand the test of Holiness, righteousness, and justice.
The authority for justification is not in the church. The authority for justification is God. Therefore the Scriptures ask, “Who shall lay any thing to the church of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” If God says a man is justified, that is all it takes. Who can argue with God? There are many out there who do argue with God about this but God does not listen to their charges. God will not take charges against His elect. And there is not a court of higher appeal. When one comes before God, he is at Heaven’s Supreme Court. Next let’s look at,
THE JUSTNESS OF THE JUSTIFIER
Rom. 3:25-26 says, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
The words “Whom God hath set forth” mean that God is the Author of the justification of which this passage speaks. The words “hath set forth” translate “protithemai” and means, “to set before one's self, propose to one's self. It is an aorist middle indicative verb. The aorist tense is a point of time divorced from time and perpetuated forever. God set His Son before Himself (middle voice) to be in time (on earth at the cross) the “propitiation” for our sins (1 John 2:2). What God did in time is perpetuated forever. The sacrifice of Christ is the eternal satisfaction of God’s justice so that the justified are eternally justified in the eternal satisfaction of the Justifier. Jesus is God’s plan to save man in a way that He does not compromise His holiness.
The word “propitiation” translates “hilasterion” and is, “used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the sacrifice of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory.” The Mercy Seat is where God rested His case against the offerer and accepted the sacrifice (as a picture of the Lamb of God dying on the cross) as the payment for his sins. God was Just in that the penalty of sin had been paid in the person of another and could set the sinner free. God and the sinner met at the Mercy Seat and the sinner was reconciled to God.
The words “. . . that he might be just, and the justifier . . .” bring out the truth that God could not and can not save at the expense of His holiness. His justice has to be satisfied. Either the sinner stands before Him to face every sin in thought and deed, and be justly condemned to eternal hell because he cannot stand the test of God’s standard of righteousness (Rom. 3:23), or, Jesus must stand in his place, pay the penalty of the sinners sins, and provide the sinner with perfect righteousness in which he can stand before God in all His holiness (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 4:8). Next let’s look at,
THE TIME OF JUSTIFICATION
Romans 5:9 says, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” The words “being now justified” translate “dikaioo” and “nun.” The word “nun” means, “at this very time.” The word “justified” means, “to declare or pronounce one to be just or righteous.” It is an aorist passive participle. The aorist tense goes back to the point of time where this has already been done (the time of our salvation). When Paul testified, he always went back to the road to Damascus as the point of time when he was saved. The passive voice means that God did the saving, i.e., man does not save himself. God does it. The time of Justification is not future for the believer. It is stated in this verse to be the present status (being now justified) that is the result of a past event (aorist tense).
The time of justification is now. Next let’s look at,
THE ASSURANCE OF JUSTIFICATION
Romans 4:25 says, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” The words “raised again for our justification” means that His resurrection is assurance that we have that His sacrifice for us on the cross was accepted by God as the payment for our sins.
Romans 1:4 says, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” This is God’s justifying act that stamped His final approval on all that Jesus, the eternal Son, had done to carry out the Father’s will for the salvation of man.
Our assurance of justification is Christ who has entered for us into the holiest. Hebrews 6:19-20 says, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Jesus did not only go to the cross for us, He has entered the holy of holies for us. Our High Priest is in the very presence of God as our FORERUNNER. The word “forerunner” translates “prodromos” and describes, “one who comes in advance to a place where the rest are to follow.” That is true but that is not all that is true. Not only is He there as a REPRESENTATIVE of those of us to follow, He is accepted AS US BY GOD IN ALL HIS HOLINESS. This is the reason 1 John 4:17 says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world..” He is accepted as US and we are accepted as HIM. Before you could become less than He is, He would have to become less than He is. What I am saying is that it is a done deal. Colossians 2:10 says, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
Personal assurance of Justification does not come from feeling but from believing what God has said in His Word. Next let’s look at,
THE FAITH THAT OBTAINS JUSTIFICATION
Romans 3:28 says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” It is by faith alone. There is no mixture of works. Let’s notice the following:
1.It is free. Rom. 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The word “freely” translates “dorean” and means, “freely, undeservedly.” This means that justification is a gift from God because of His mercy and grace. It is an undeserved gift. This means that there is nothing in man that constrains God. There is nothing in man that scream out that justice had not been done if he were condemned to hell forever. God’s justification of man is based upon the essence and character of Himself. Therefore what He says will never change because He never changes. God gives us right standing with Himself because He is who He is, i.e., I AM THAT I AM.
2.Justification by faith removes all boasting on the part of man. Romans 3:27 says, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” If man is not saved by his effort, what does he have to boast of? Faith is a non meritorious act, and one cannot boast of his faith without questioning what or Whom one has his faith in. God is not a risk. Hebrews 6:18 says, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Go to Revelation 5:9-10 and check the song of the redeemed out and see who is given all the praise for redemption. You will notice it does not say, “And they sung a new song, saying, We are worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for we have earned a place of acceptance before You through our denomination, etc, . . .” That is not what it says!!!
3.Peace with God is the fruit of justification by faith. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The words “we have” are a present tense verb which means that we continually have peace with God while we are alive on this earth before we get to heaven.
There are Christians who are not aware of the teaching of justification and do not enjoy the peace that is theirs. God has given every child of His peace but we can only experience that peace when we believe what He says about it. There is a little chorus that goes like this: “It is surely sufficient for me, it is surely sufficient for me, If the blood of Christ is sufficient for God, it is surely sufficient for me.” IF GOD RESTS HIS CASE AGAINST ME BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, THAT OUGHT ALSO BE ENOUGH FOR ME! When the blood of Christ becomes enough for you, you will experience joy and peace that you have never known before.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
