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.