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Previously we saw that the Scriptures teach that God is
both just and the justifier of those who place their faith
in Jesus (Rom. 3:23-26). Here, then, is:
Further Scripture Proof for the Doctrine of Justification
Abraham
believed the Lord, and he credited it to him
as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
Blessed is
the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him.
(Psalm 32:2)
No weapon
that is formed against you shall prosper; and every
tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and
their vindication is from Me, declares the Lord.
(Isaiah 54:17 NAS [New American Standard Bible])
In his days
Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This
is the name by which he will be called: the Lord our
righteousness. (Jeremiah 25:6)
Behold, as
for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but
the righteous will live by his faith.
(Habakkuk 2:4 NAS)
For what does
the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was
reckoned to him as righteousness." Now to the one who
works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what
is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes
in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks
of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons
righteousness apart from works. (Romans 4:5-6 NAS)
What shall we
say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, attained righteousness, even the
righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a
law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why?
Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though
it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling
stone, just as it is written, ‘"Behold, I lay in Zion a
stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who
believes in Him will not be disappointed." Brethren, my
heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for
their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have
a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking
to establish their own, they did not subject themselves
to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
(Romans 9:30-10:4 NAS)
And such were
some of you; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. (1
Corinthians 6:11 NAS)
And the
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to
Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in
you." So then those who are of faith are blessed with
Abraham, the believer. (Galatians 5:8-9 NAS)
Is the Law
then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!
For if a law had been given which was able to impart
life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on
law.... Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead
us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.
(Galatians 3:21,24 NAS)
Important Applications of the Doctrine of Justification
1. Justification demands that we trust in Christ’s
righteousness alone and not our own:
And through
Him everyone who believes is freed from all things,
from which you could not be freed through the Law
of Moses. (Acts 13:59 NAS)
More than
that, I count all things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count
them but rubbish in order that I may gain
Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but
that which is through faith in Christ, the
righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to
His death. (Philippians 3:8-10 NAS)
You have been
severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be
justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
(Galatians 5:4 NAS)
2. Justification properly orients Christian morality. The
motive for Christian living and service becomes obedience
out of love and gratitude to a Savior whose gift of
righteousness made law keeping unnecessary:
So that you
may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians
1:10 NAS)
I urge you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable
to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 NAS)
The doctrine of justification encourages morality and
discourages sin when we consider the One who redeemed us
and the cost of our redemption (see Romans 6:10-18):
What shall we
say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might
increase? May it never be! How shall we who died
to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2 NAS)
But thanks be
to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became
obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to
which you were committed, and having been freed from
sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18
NAS)
So that you
may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls
you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians
2:12 NAS)
3. Justification means Christians may be assured that they
now possess eternal life. A divine gift is perfect
and cannot be taken back. The gifts and calling of God are
without repentance (Romans 11:29). Perfect righteousness
is a gift (James 1:17; Romans 3:24). If we are declared
perfectly righteous by Him, God can only give the gift of
perfect righteousness. What condition, then, can exist in
the future so that we can lose our righteous standing? If
righteousness is a gift to sinners and enemies (if He did
the most for us when we hated Him and were His enemies),
will God do less for us now that we are His precious
children (Romans 5:8-9)?
Also, eternal life could only be a present
condition on a "just" basis—if from the point of belief we
were "eternally righteous," declared eternally righteous.
This is why Scripture teaches that the believer now has
eternal life:
Truly, truly,
I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who
sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John
5:24 NAS)
He who eats
My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:54 NAS)
The one who
believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself;
the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar,
because he has not believed in the witness that God has
borne concerning His Son. And the witness is this, that
God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does
not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John
5:10-13 NAS)
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