Divine Justification
“Them he also
justified” -- Romans 8:30
All
who are called by the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ have been “justified freely by (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in
Christ” (Rom. 3:24). To be justified is to be just as if I had never
sinned. All who are justified have been absolved of all guilt, forgiven of all
sin, made righteous by divine imputation, and accepted as perfectly righteous
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
IN THIS TEXT PAUL ASSERTS THAT ALL WHO
BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WERE JUSTIFIED BY THE DECREE OF GOD FROM
ETERNITY. Notice the language used is past tense. Paul is talking about
God’s eternal purpose of grace. We were justified in the mind and purpose of
God at the same time we were foreknown, predestinated, called, and glorified
from eternity. In exactly the same sense that Christ, as the Lamb of God, was
slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), all God’s elect were
justified from eternity.
OUR JUSTIFICATION WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN TIME
AND PURCHASED BY THE BLOOD ATONEMENT OF CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AS OUR SUBSTITUTE (Rom.
3:24-26). God could not save his elect without the satisfaction of his justice.
He is “a just God and a Savior” (Isa.
45:21). The Lord Jesus, being the infinite God, died in the place of chosen
sinners at Calvary, and thereby made an infinite, complete satisfaction to
divine justice on our behalf. He paid our debt. He put away our sin. And when
the debt was paid, when justice was satisfied, we were justified. He did not merely
make justification a possibility. He effectually accomplished it for us. The proof that our justification was
accomplished by His death is our Savior’s resurrection from the dead (Rom. 4:25). When our sin was imputed
to him, he died. When justice was satisfied and sin was put away, God verified
it by raising him who was made to be sin from the dead without sin! Our justification in Christ is a free,
complete, perfect work of God’s grace.
It is free, without cause in us (Rom. 3:24). It is complete, including both
the pardon of all sin and the gift of perfect righteousness (Mic. 7:18; Acts
13:38-39). It is perfect and irreversible (Eccles. 3:14; Rom. 11:29; I Cor.
1:30.
THIS FREE GRACE JUSTIFICATION IS RECEIVED
BY FAITH (Rom. 3:28). Faith has nothing to do with the accomplishment of
justification. When the Scriptures declare that we are justified by faith, the
meaning is that we receive complete justification by faith in Christ who
accomplished our justification.
THE RESULT OF THIS JUSTIFICATION IS “PEACE
WITH GOD” (Rom. 5:1). What a blessed word of grace! We are justified! Our
sins are gone! Our debt is paid! The curse is removed! Wrath is consumed!
Judgment is over! And God has imputed to us the very righteousness of Christ!
Happy indeed are those who can honestly call the Son of God - JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU - THE LORD MY
RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #747
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net