Justification by Faith

Taken from Exploring the Christian Faith: A Contemporary Handbook of What Christians Believe and Why, Robin Keeley, ed., (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Pub., 1996), pp. 233-6.

        In the New Testament many metaphors are used to express the reality of Christian salvation. Descriptions such as new birth, new creation, passing from darkness to light and from prison to freedom, all dramatically express the difference being a Christian makes.  

        One metaphor, used only by Paul, is ‘justification by faith'. The term is borrowed from the lawcourts of the first century. The judge hears an accusation against a person, and declares the accused 'justified'. 'Not guilty' or 'innocent' are simply not strong enough to express what the judge means. He is really saying, ‘You stand before this court as one who is in the right!’ 

          It is important to realize therefore that justification is not primarily a statement of a person's moral worth. It is about a person being legally in the right. 

        When used in a Christian sense it is a statement about our standing before God. It does not declare that we are righteous, but that in God's sight we are in a right relationship with him. It does not tell us how we became Christians but that we are.

The basis for justification 

        We need to be justified because we are in a serious position before God. We are incapable of rescuing ourselves. Salvation is only possible if it comes from God. 

        This is where 'grace’ comes in. Grace is God's amazing love for sinners. He came to the rescue through Jesus, 'the righteous for the unrighteous'. Here we have the basis for justification: the death and resurrection of Jesus. Through his death we are released from guilt and blame and through his victory over death we are made children of God.

        And so humanity has no cause to boast before God. As the hymn puts it:

Nothing in my hand I bring

Simply to your cross I cling

How are we justified? 

        If grace is the foundation of justification, then surely faith is the means by which justification becomes the Christian's possession. Because of what sin is, we cannot earn salvation from it. This can only be accepted as a gift, because it is bought at the price of Jesus' death. 

        Where then do good deeds come in? Certainly not as a way of justifying ourselves before God. 'I go to church,' says someone, 'and do good to others. Surely these Christian things will be to my credit?' This is a very common belief. But if it were true, it would question the very point of Jesus' death. Why should God go to the extreme length of sending his Son to the cross if people are justified by their own good deeds? This is not to deny the importance of a good life, but good works are the fruit not the root of justification. 

        When God justifies me, he does not look at my qualities but the qualities of the one who saves me, of Jesus Christ. The Reformers used to talk of the sinner being clothed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We are made right by his righteousness, not our own. Faith has to be seen as our simple response to an action which is all of God: a response which unites us to Jesus. We can contribute nothing to our salvation except a willingness to respond – to reach out towards the Christian life, to take it and live it in the power of the Spirit.  

The result of justification 

        If you walk out of a court acquitted of serious crime, you will be aware as perhaps never before of the value of freedom and the importance of your status in the eyes of everyone as a free person. Yesterday you were the accused. But now you are acquitted and exonerated of blame, free to live normally. 

        Now imagine your feelings if you were actually guilty of that crime but released because the judge gave you a free pardon. As an analogy it helps us to see what justification means to the Christian. We know that we deserve a guilty verdict, but that in Jesus Christ we are set unreservedly free. We are filled with gratitude for the generosity we have been shown and amazed at such love. A new life now begins – new life possible through the Holy Spirit given to all who follow Jesus. But has our justification actually changed us inwardly? 

        Here we encounter a real difference of opinion between Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. The Reformation hardened attitudes so that extreme positions were taken up. The official Roman Catholic position interpreted ‘justification’ as meaning ‘made righteous’, which, as we have seen, is not the Bible’s teaching. 

        On the other hand, the Reformers so emphasized the objective declaration of ‘not guilty’ that they seemed to deny the inner reality of it, and make it a mere ‘legal fiction’. This was also a wrong emphasis. Justification is clearly no fiction. It is God’s declaration that the Christian is a new creation, a child of God and blessed with the presence of God in the Holy Spirit. 

        Justification is therefore a glorious doctrine. It takes us to the heart of the good news and is at the centre of Christian preaching. Ignore its truth and Christianity stands in danger of confusion at best and heresy at worst. Justification not only honours God’s grace but also gives a proper valuation to men and women: without the death of Jesus Christ we would be helpless.