Article 6. Justification

 We are often confronted with the question: If you die today, where will you spend eternity? Or prompted to get right with the Lord before you die.  That appeals to our need to be in the favor of God to avoid ultimate destruction.  Our 6^th article says: “We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Christ.” What does that mean? It explains why you won’t hear Primitive Baptists generate anxiety in those pondering judgment. First, I want to notice how our righteousness is illustrated in the Bible, then explain how sinners are made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ.

John saw the worship in heaven and says in Rev 19:6-8 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” So our righteousness is likened unto fine linen that beautify the wearer and we, the bride, were given them. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but God has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Is 61:10, 64:6). So when we stand before God’s judgment, the righteousness of the Son of God is what he sees on us, and we belong in his presence.

Justification is in respect to law. Just like God governs material with material laws, he governs persons by a moral law. A moral law states what we ought to do and what happens if we don’t. God doesn’t govern men by an absolute decree of every decision they would make, but he does govern us by enforcing consequences for bad behavior. The law of sin and death is very clear that the consequence of sin is death. Psalm 89:14 says, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne”, and Heb 2:2 says “Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward”. So every sin must be answered for, and every person must receive justice from the hand of God. So how does God justify sinners?

The answer is the Word of God becoming our priest, mediator, and surety in an eternal covenant (Heb 7:20-28). We were placed in Christ by election, before the foundation of the world, so that we legally belonged to God by adoption for the pleasure of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3-6). In faithfulness to this covenant, God was made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to do the will of God which was to lawfully redeem us from our sins (Heb 10:7-18). The Apostle Peter says Jesus, who did no sin, committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (1 Pe 2:22-24). This is the just suffering for the unjust (1 Pe 3:18). Peter refers to Is 53 which prophetically declares that Christ justified many because God laid our iniquity on him. Notice how Peter upholds the righteousness of God. That is not possible, unless our sins were really and lawfully transferred from us to Christ. We do not believe that Christ died symbolically or just to make a statement; he died to uphold the full consequence of our sin. As a result of Christ’s suffering, God’s holy law was fully satisfied (Is 53:11) and he, by himself, purged our sins (Heb 1:3).

Now that we understand that Christ’s death removed our sin and justified us, Paul asks (Rom 8:31-34) “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”  These sweet words always assure us, that no matter what my conscience, other men, or devils say; God has already declared our Justification and Christ is ever at the right hand of God interceding for us in righteousness. That’s how we’ll enter into glory when we die and on that fine morning when our bodies are glorified.

Definition of Justification

Justification is the act of declaring righteous. To justify yourself is to say (and believe) "I'm good or I'm right". For someone else to justify you is for them to say "you're good".

You can go to heaven if and only if God sees you as righteous by his law. God sees and knows everything exactly as it is, so that is to say, you're not getting into getting heaven unless you're perfect. No one else is either, that's how God ensures that there's no hurt or pain or offense in Heaven.

The Bible teaches that God justifies the ungodly. So that means he has made us, who are sinners, perfectly right in every way. He has done that through the sinless blood of Jesus in his role as our priest and mediator. When he rose from the grave, this act was complete never to be overturned or doubted. Rom 4:25, Heb 10:18.

Justification by Faith is the act of the born-again sinner when he turns to the Lord and believes in him. This is the sinner understanding what Jesus did and that God is satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus. Having put his own trust in Jesus, he can say "I'm good. I've been made righteous in the eyes of God because I belong to Jesus." He then rests from worrying about his eternal life. Rom 5:1. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IS NOT THE SINNER LOOKING AT HIS OWN FAITH OR PROFESSION AND DRAWING THE CONCLUSION BASED ON THAT EVIDENCE THAT HE BELONGS TO JESUS. That would be justification by works and is meant for other people to know that you're born again; it doesn't work real well for oneself. Justification by Faith is not based on evidence that the sinner sees in himself that he's elect. Maybe this goes into it, but I believe what's really going on in Justification by Faith is the personal testimony of the Holy Spirit testifying directly to the heart that he is a child of God and not imputing his sin to him. Rom 8:16, Rom 4:8. The Holy Spirit is present as soon as the sinner is born again, but under the sound of the gospel there is a blessing that God gives in not imputing one's sins to them. This experience does not make the Justification in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the sinner. This hope is not based on evidence the sinner sees in himself but in the love shed abroad in his heart by God. Rom 5:5. I believe this may happen several times over and I often need it again since from time to time I may forget I was purged from my old sins. David sought for this when he was convicted of his sins well after he was made to hope on his mother's breast.

Finally, Justification by Works is the act of other people looking at you and saying "he's good. Or he's been made righteous by the blood of Jesus and the quickening of the Spirit." This is by works because Jesus said by their fruits ye shall know them. We can't look into your heart, or feel the Spirit directly testifying to us of your new life. I read an influential Primitive Baptist preacher say that Justification by Works is proving to others that your belief is genuine. But that's not what justification means. It's proving that you're righteous, not that you believe. Yes, if you make a profession of Jesus, your works either agree with that profession or cast doubt on it, but that's not what Justification by Works really is. What fruit proves that you're good? The fruit of the Spirit proves that the Spirit has born you again: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. So yes, belief requires faith which provides justification, but when we're talking about justification by works there is no need to privilege faith over any of the fruit of the Spirit. Just because you cannot see someone's faith, doesn't mean you can't know they're born of God if you can see other fruit of the Spirit.