Deliverance from the condemning sentence of
the Divine Law is the fundamental blessing in Divine salvation: so long as we
continue under the curse, we can neither be holy nor happy. But as to the
precise nature of that deliverance, as to exactly what it consists of, as to
the ground on which it is obtained, and as to the means whereby it is secured,
much confusion now obtains. Most of the errors which have been prevalent on
this subject arose from the lack of a clear view of the thing itself, and until
we really understand what justification is, we are in no position to either
affirm or deny anything concerning it. We therefore deem it requisite to devote
a whole chapter unto a careful defining and explaining this word
"justification," endeavouring to show both what it signifies, and what it does
not connote.
Between Protestants and Romanists there is a wide
difference of opinion as to the meaning of the term "justify": they affirming
that to justify is to make inherently righteous and holy; we insisting
that to justify signifies only to formally pronounce just or legally
declare righteous. Popery includes under justification the renovation of
man's moral nature or deliverance from depravity, thereby confounding
justification with regeneration and sanctification. On the other hand, all
representative Protestants have shown that justification refers not to a change
of moral character, but to a change of legal status; though allowing, yea,
insisting, that a radical change of character invariably accompanies it.
It is a legal change from a state of guilt and condemnation to a state of
forgiveness and acceptance; and this change is owing solely to a gratuitous act
of God, founded upon the righteousness of Christ (they having none of
their own) being imputed to His people.
"We simply explain justification to be an
acceptance by which God receives us into His favour and esteems us as righteous
persons; and we say that it consists in the remission of sins and the
imputation of the righteousness of Christ. . . Justification, therefore, is no
other than an acquittal from guilt of him who was accused, as though his
innocence has been proved. Since God, therefore, justifies us through the
mediation of Christ, He acquits us, not by an admission of our personal
innocence, but by an imputation of righteousness; so that we, who are
unrighteous in ourselves, are considered as righteous in Christ" (John Calvin,
1559).
"What is justification? Answer: Justification is
an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardoneth all their sins,
accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in His sight; not for any
thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and
full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith
alone" (Westminster Catechism, 1643).
"We thus define the Gospel justification of a
sinner: It is a judicial, but gracious act of God, whereby the elect and
believing sinner is absolved from the guilt of his sins, and hath a right to
eternal life adjudged to him, on account of the obedience of Christ, received
by faith" (H. Witsius, 1693).
"A person is said to be justified when he is
approved of God as free from the guilt of sin and its deserved punishment; and
as having that righteousness belonging to him that entitles to the reward of
life" (Jonathan Edwards, 1750).
Justification, then, refers not to any subjective
change wrought in a person's disposition, but is solely an objective change in
his standing in relation to the law. That to justify cannot possibly signify to
make a person inherently righteous or good is most clearly to be seen
from the usage of the term itself in Scripture. For example, in Proverbs 17:15
we read, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even
they both are abomination to the LORD": now obviously he who shall make
a "wicked" person just is far from being an "abomination to the LORD," but
he who knowingly pronounces a wicked person to be righteous is obnoxious to
Him.
Again; in Luke 7:29 we read, "And all the people
that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God": how impossible it is to make
the words "justified God" signify any moral transformation in His character;
but understand those words to mean that they declared Him to be
righteous, and all ambiguity is removed. Once more, in 1 Timothy 3:16 we are
told that the incarnate Son was "justified in (or "by") the Spirit": that is to
say, He was publicly vindicated at His resurrection, exonerated from the
blasphemous charges which the Jews had laid against Him.
Justification has to do solely with the
legal side of salvation. It is a judicial term, a word of the law
courts. It is the sentence of a judge upon a person who has been brought before
him for judgment. It is that gracious act of God as Judge, in the high court of
Heaven, by which He pronounces an elect and believing sinner to be freed from
the penalty of the law, and fully restored unto the Divine favour. It is the
declaration of God that the party arraigned is fully conformed to the law;
justice exonerates him because justice has been satisfied. Thus, justification
is that change of status whereby one, who being guilty before God, and
therefore under the condemning sentence of His Law, and deserving of nought but
an eternal banishment from His presence, is received into His favour and given
a right unto all the blessings which Christ has, by His perfect satisfaction,
purchased for His people.
In substantiation of the above definition, the
meaning of the term "justify" may be determined, first, by its usage in
Scripture. "And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we
speak? or how shall we clear (this Hebrew word "tsadag" always signifies
"justify") ourselves?" (Gen. 44:16). Here we have an affair which was entirely
a judicial one. Judah and his brethren were arraigned before the
governor of Egypt, and they were concerned as to how they might procure a
sentence in their favour. "If there be a controversy between men, and
they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall
justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked" (Deut. 25:1). Here again we see
plainly that the term is a forensic one, used in connection with the
proceedings of law-courts, implying a process of investigation and judgment.
God here laid down a rule to govern the judges in Israel: they must not
"justify" or pass a sentence in favour of the wicked: compare 1 Kings 8:31,
32.
"If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall
condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse" (Job
9:20): the first member of this sentence is explained in the second--"justify"
there cannot signify to make holy, but to pronounce a sentence in my own
favour. "Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu . . . against Job . . . because he
justified himself rather than God" (Job 32:2), which obviously means, because
he vindicated himself rather than God. "That Thou mightest be justified when
Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest" (Psa. 51:4), which signifies
that God, acting in His judicial office, might be pronounced righteous in
passing sentence. "But wisdom is justified of her children" (Matt. 11:19),
which means that they who are truly regenerated by God have accounted
the wisdom of God (which the scribes and Pharisees reckoned foolishness) to be,
as it really is, consummate wisdom: they cleared it of the calumny of folly.
2. The precise force of the term "to justify" may
be ascertained by noting that it is the antithesis of "to condemn." Now
to condemn is not a process by which a good man is made bad, but is the
sentence of a judge upon one because he is a transgressor of the law. "He
that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are
abomination to the LORD" (Prov. 17:15 and cf. Deut. 25:1). "For by thy words
thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matt.
12:37). "It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. 8:33,
34). Now it is undeniable that "condemnation" is the passing of a sentence
against a person by which the punishment prescribed by the law is awarded to
him and ordered to be inflicted upon him; therefore justification is the
passing of a sentence in favour of a person, by which the reward
prescribed by the law is ordered to be given to him.
3. That justification is not an experimental
change from sin to holiness, but a judicial change from guilt to
no-condemnation may be evidenced by the equivalent terms used for it.
For example, in Romans 4:6 we read, "Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works": so
that legal "righteousness" is not a habit infused into the heart, but a gift
transferred to our account. In Romans 5:9, 10 to be "justified by Christ's
blood" is the same as being "reconciled by His death," and reconciliation is
not a transformation of character, but the effecting of peace by the removal of
all that causes offense.
4. From the fact that the judicial side of our
salvation is propounded in Scripture under the figures of a forensic trial
and sentence. "(1) A judgment is supposed in it, concerning which the
Psalmist prays that it may not proceed on the terms of the law: Psalm 143:2.
(2) The Judge is God Himself: Isaiah 50:7, 8. (3) The tribunal whereon God sits
in judgment is the Throne of Grace: Hebrews 4:16. (4) A guilty person. This is
the sinner, who is so guilty of sin as to be obnoxious to the judgment of God:
Romans 3:18. (5) Accusers are ready to propose and promote the charge against
the guilty person; these are the law (John 5:45), conscience (Rom. 2:15), and
Satan: Zechariah 3:2, Revelation 12:10. (6) The charge is admitted and drawn up
in a `handwriting' in form of law, and is laid before the tribunal of the
Judge, in bar to the deliverance of the offender: Colossians 2:14. (7) A plea
is prepared in the Gospel for the guilty person: this is grace, through the
blood of Christ, the ransom paid, the eternal righteousness brought in by the
Surety of the covenant: Romans 3:23, 25, Daniel 9:24. (8) Hereunto alone the
sinner betakes himself, renouncing all other apologies or defensatives
whatever: Psalm 130:2, 3; Luke 18:13. (9) To make this plea effectual we have
an Advocate with the Father, and He pleads His own propitiation for us: 1 John
2:1, 2. (10) The sentence hereon is absolution, on account of the sacrifice and
righteousness of Christ; with acceptation into favour, as persons approved of
God: Romans 8:33, 34; 2 Corinthians 5:21" (John Owen).
From what has been before us, we may perceive
what justification is not. First, it differs from regeneration.
"Whom He called, them He also justified" (Rom. 8:30). Though inseparably
connected, effectual calling or the new birth and justification are quite
distinct. The one is never apart from the other, yet they must not be
confounded. In the order of nature regeneration precedes justification, though
it is in no sense the cause or ground of it: none is justified till he
believes, and none believe till quickened. Regeneration is the act of the
Father (James 1:18), justification is the sentence of the Judge. The one gives
me a place in God's family, the other secures me a standing before His throne.
The one is internal, being the impartation of Divine life to my soul: the other
is external, being the imputation of Christ's obedience to my account. By the
one I am drawn to return in penitence to the Father's house, by the other I am
given the "best robe" which fits me for His presence.
Second, it differs from sanctification.
Sanctification is moral or experimental, justification is legal or judicial.
Sanctification results from the operation of the Spirit in me,
justification is based upon what Christ has done for me. The one is
gradual and progressive, the other is instantaneous and immutable. The one
admits of degrees, and is never perfect in this life; the other is complete and
admits of no addition. The one concerns my state, the other has to do
with my standing before God. Sanctification produces a moral
transformation of character, justification is a change of legal
status: it is a change from guilt and condemnation to forgiveness and
acceptance, and this solely by a gratuitous act of God, founded upon the
imputation of Christ's righteousness, through the instrument of faith alone.
Though justification is quite separate from sanctification, yet sanctification
ever accompanies it.
Third, it differs from forgiveness. In
some things they agree. It is only God who can forgive sins (Mark 2:7) and He
alone can justify (Rom. 3:30). His free grace is the sole moving cause in the
one (Eph. 1:7) and of the other (Rom. 3:24). The blood of Christ is the
procuring cause of each alike: Matthew 26:28, Romans 5:9. The objects are the
same: the persons that are pardoned are justified, and the same that are
justified are pardoned; to whom God imputes the righteousness of Christ for
their justification to them He gives the remission of sins; and to whom He does
not impute sin, but forgives it, to them He imputes righteousness without works
(Romans 4:6-8). Both are received by faith (Acts 26:18, Romans 5:1). But though
they agree in these things, in others they differ.
God is said to be "justified" (Rom. 3:4), but it
would be blasphemy to speak of Him being "pardoned"--this at once shows
the two things are diverse. A criminal may be pardoned, but only a righteous
person can truly be justified. Forgiveness deals only with a man's acts,
justification with the man himself. Forgiveness respects the claims of mercy,
justification those of justice. Pardon only remits the curse due unto sin; in
addition justification confers a title to Heaven. Justification applies to the
believer with respect to the claims of the law, pardon with respect to the
Author of the law. The law does not pardon, for it knows no relaxation; but God
pardons the transgressions of the law in His people by providing a satisfaction
to the law adequate to their transgressions. The blood of Christ was sufficient
to procure pardon (Eph. 1:7), but His righteousness is needed for justification
(Rom. 5:19). Pardon takes away the filthy garments, but justification provides
a change of raiment (Zech. 3:4). Pardon frees from death (2 Sam. 12:13), but
righteousness imputed is called "justification of life" (Rom. 5:18). The one
views the believer as completely sinful, the other as completely righteous.
Pardon is the remission of punishment, justification is the declaration that no
ground for the infliction of punishment exists. Forgiveness may be repeated
unto seventy times seven, justification is once for all.
From what has been said in the last paragraph we
may see what a serious mistake it is to limit justification to the mere
forgiveness of sins. Just as "condemnation" is not the execution of punishment,
but rather the formal declaration that the accused is guilty and worthy of
punishment; so "justification" is not merely the remission of punishment but
the judicial announcement that punishment cannot be justly inflicted--the
accused being fully conformed to all the positive requirements of the law in
consequence of Christ's perfect obedience being legally reckoned to his
account. The justification of a believer is no other than his being admitted to
participate in the reward merited by his Surety. Justification is nothing more
or less than the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us: the negative
blessing issuing therefrom is the remission of sins; the positive, a title to
the heavenly inheritance.
Beautifully has it been pointed out that
"We cannot separate from Immanuel His own essential excellency. We may see Him
bruised and given like beaten incense to the fire, but was incense ever burned
without fragrance, and only fragrance being the result? The name of Christ not
only cancels sin, it supplies in the place of that which it has canceled, its
own everlasting excellency. We cannot have its nullifying power only; the other
is the sure concomitant. So was it with every typical sacrifice of the Law. It
was stricken: but as being spotless it was burned on the altar for a
sweet-smelling savor. The savor ascended as a memorial before God: it was
accepted for, and its value was attributed or imputed to him who had brought
the vicarious victim. If therefore, we reject the imputation of righteousness,
we reject sacrifice as revealed in Scripture; for Scripture knows of no
sacrifice whose efficacy is so exhausted in the removal of guilt as to leave
nothing to be presented in acceptableness before God" (B.W. Newton).
"What is placing our righteousness in the
obedience of Christ, but asserting that we are accounted righteous only because
His obedience is accepted for us as if it were our own? Wherefore Ambrose
appears to me to have very beautifully exemplified this righteousness in the
benediction of Jacob: that as he, who had on his own account no claim to the
privileges of primogeniture, being concealed in his brother's habit, and
invested with his garment, which diffused a most excellent odor, insinuated
himself into the favour of his father, that he might receive the benediction to
his own advantage, under the character of another; so we shelter ourselves
under the precious purity of Christ" (John Calvin).