What is justification?

But it is time we address ourselves to the question, (4) What is justification? Refer, please, to Rom. 4:3 for God's answer to our inquiry: "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Again, in verse 5: "To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." And also in verse 9: "Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness." The simple answer then is that justification is judicial righteousness; in other words, God's accounting or adjudging us to be righteous before Himself - on what ground we shall see by-and-by. At present we must be clear as to the thing itself, and would emphatically impress upon the reader's mind this simple, but profoundly important truth, that justification signifies the being accounted by God and before God to be judicially righteous, which is the positive, absolute, and changeless standing of the believer now and eternally. This and this only is justification. Thus it is not merely pardon or forgiveness, which is rather of a negative character, but a positive state of accomplished and ever-subsisting righteousness in Christ before God that we are already brought into by God's own act, as the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

C.C. — To begin with, it is important that we should have a right understanding of the term. I should say that justification is an authoritative declaration that an accused person is conformable to righteousness. This is an enlargement of the definition ordinarily given; but there is good reason for it. An unaccused person does not need to be justified. In human courts an authorized judge or jury declares an accused person to be guilty or not guilty. When the decision is “not guilty,” he is declared in a state of conformity to law. With this in mind, we pass on to consider divine justification. God declares the charges made against a person as no longer applicable to him — being, through grace, brought into a state of conformity with Himself. That is what justification is in the divine sense.

“It is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33). Justification is an act of the Judge — a sentence of declared righteousness pronounced by Him in favor of the one He justifies. Justification is not something that happens in the heart of a sinner, but a change in his standing before the Judge. Once guilty and awaiting the sentence of eternal banishment from the face of the Judge, the sinner is now justified (declared not guilty) and received into eternal favor with God. This is what God does for the repentant sinner who puts his trust in the work of Christ on the cross.

Justification by faith (Rom. 3:24.26.30; 4:5.25; 5:1.9.18) is linked with the above and yet a fact which must be distinguished. Justification is a legal expression saying that someone has been declared righteous - as though he had never committed the deed(s) put to his charge! Now, exactly this the just God is doing in His grace (Rom. 3:24) with those, who are conscious of their sins and trust the work and blood of Christ (Rom. 5:9) and by faith (Rom. 5:1) come to Him.

Justification is simply to be righteous in the sight of God: to be cleared from the imputation of guilt. No man is free from guilt, for "all have sinned"; and none can redeem himself, for we are without strength." Therefore if sinners are to be justified, a means for its accomplishment must be found outside of themselves. God in infinite wisdom has devised the means, which manifests His great love and the riches of His grace. On the cross, the Lord Jesus endured the divine judgment merited by sinners, and shed His precious blood; and this enables God in perfect righteousness to clear from every charge of guilt those who believe on Him.

To unfold his special instruction on this soul-stirring theme would be to expound the first eight chapters of the epistle to the Romans, which has most appropriately been called “The epistle of the Forum, or the Law Court.” I simply desire, as briefly and clearly as possible, to outline the subject of justification as treated in Romans and defended in Galatians. When I think of forgiveness, as the word is ordinarily used, I think of a man proven to be guilty but pardoned through the clemency of another. But when I think of justification, I think of a man charged with guilt, but, upon being brought into court, cleared on every count. And this is exactly what scriptural justification means. It is “the sentence of the judge in favor of the prisoner.” And yet it is the ungodly who are justified by a holy God on the principle of absolute righteousness. How can such an event be brought about?

Pardon and justification are not the same thing. Pardon is the favour and kindness of a person wronged passing over faults against himself, an act of prerogative goodness; so that kindness flows forth unimpeded by the wrong — though in this case it be by the blood of Christ. Justification is the holding not chargeable with guilt. The latter refers to righteous judgment; the former, to kindness. Where one is a sinner against God, they approach one another, and run together in fact, but are not the same, nor in the effect the same in the heart. Justified, I do not fear judgment; pardoned, my heart returns in comfort to Him who has pardoned me; but by His blood we have both. It is another aspect, not another act. So, when we connect our risen position with justifying, it is not logically exact. The justifying is always holding discharged from accusation. The way in which we so stand is not simply holding us to be clear, but by the resurrection of Christ putting us into a new position; for if He be risen, and God has acknowledged therein the satisfaction made in Christ's death, He has therein discharged or justified us. But that which justified us implies, therefore, more than pardon, an introduction into God's presence as Christ stands there. If Christ be not raised, we are yet in our sins; but if He be, we are cleared by a work which brings us into the glory of God in perfect acceptance. This is not properly justification, but it is the justification we have got, seeing how we have obtained the justification; for we are justified by being the righteousness of God in Him, and are warranted practically in taking what Christ is as the measure of our justification, because it is that which will be recognized in the day of judgment. "Herein is love made perfect with us, that we should have boldness in the day of judgment; because, as he is, so are we in this world." The day of judgment pronounces on us. We are as the Judge — clearly justified therefore. But the Lamb is the Judge too: we appear before Him who bore our sins; so that their being put away, covered (in virtue of which work all is pardoned), is our justification too; for "we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

Justification is presented in three ways in the Epistle to the Romans. In the third chapter we get the complete ruin of man detailed, and then the statement, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (ver. 23). That is our condition by nature. Then we are told that we are "justified freely by his grace (God's grace) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (ver. 24). In the first verse of the fifth chapter of Romans we read — "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." In the ninth verse of the same chapter we have — "Much more then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." So you see justification spoken of in these three ways. Are there then three ways of justification? No. There are three parties to justification. Do you know who they are? God, Christ, and yourself. And what is God's part in it? Listen: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Grace is the spring of it all. It all comes from God. And what is the next thing? Being now justified by his blood" — the blood of Jesus — "we shall be saved from wrath through him." That is Christ's side — "his blood" — His death. And what is your side and mine? It is faith. Righteousness shall be imputed to us "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:24-25, Rom. 5:1). What is your side and mine? Faith! God's side is Grace. That is the spring. It all flows from Him. And Jesus' side? Blood. His death is the instrumental means and basis — the groundwork of our justification. Your side and mine is Faith! And what is that? It is the hand put out to take the blessing which God's grace offers, and Jesus' blood secures. Justification, therefore, is by grace, through blood, and on the principle of faith — not works.

The need for justification, then, was urgent. The providing it by our God was gracious for we are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). The effect of this act of grace on God's part is, that to the subjects of it He imputes not sin (Rom. 4:8), and to no charge that can be brought against them will He give ear. "Who shall lay anything," we read, "to the charge of God's elect?" "It is God that justifies: who is he that condemns?" (Rom. 8:33-34). What a clearance, what a deliverance is this! Hence there result to the one justified that he has peace with God, can rejoice, or boast, in hope of the glory of God, and further, can rejoice, or boast, in God (Rom. 5:1-11). And of such an one Scripture teaches, that he is justified meritoriously by blood (Rom. 5:9), instrumentally by faith (Rom. 5:1), and declaratively by works (James 2:24). Apart from the shedding of the blood of Christ, and its acceptance before God, no justification of an ungodly person was possible. Without faith in the testimony of God, set before the individual to rest on, no one could be justified. Without works, evidences of real faith, none could manifest their justification.

I add one word about the familiar passage upon faith and works. All is in keeping with the subject of James. Only the most ignorant could imagine a contradiction between Paul and James. With Paul it is justification before God, which is surely by faith, without works; with James it is justification before man, and here works alone are the proof. The world cannot see my faith except as it operates in works. A man may say he has faith, but James is not satisfied with saying, there must be doing.