New: 29 May 2025
Justification
by Faith
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2 NASB
The Divine Law Court
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News of God's salvation for sinful humanity under divine judgment because of sin. God is both the Life-giver and the Law-giver. As Creator, He set laws and breaking them has consequences. Ancient wisdom teaches us to remember our Creator even from a young age (Ecclesiastes 12:1) and to fear Him and keeps His commandments (v 13), for He will bring every deed into judgment (v 14). God holds his creation to account for their choices. The earthly law court as a metaphor is an illustration of the divine law court. God is Judge with the power to condemn, yet He is the Saviour with power to save. By faith in Christ we can be justified despite our sin. Christ carried our punishment for us when He died on the cross and we can be 'justified by faith' and find 'peace with God' (Romans 5:1). Through faith in Christ we gain access to the grace of God (v 2). Justification is, in the words of N.T. Wright, 'the act of God by which people are "declared to be in the right" before [God]' (Justification, viii). Like a judge, speaking a 'not guilty' verdict in court, so God declares sinners who repent and believe in Christ, based on His blood of atonement 'not guilty,' but justified in Christ and forgiven by His blood.
Sinful people are under condemnation because of sin and on the way to hell for eternity, yet they can be saved by faith in Christ through the forgiveness by His blood and set on the way to Heaven for eternity. People can be transferred from the domain of sin and condemnation into the glorious Kingdom of God (see Colossians 1:13-14). God's Son came to save, not condemn, and those who believe in Him will be justified in the divine law court and get eternal life. Those who continue in the darkness of sin will get what they chose (see John 3:16-21). God offers us salvation by His grace, not by our works, and we can embrace it through faith as a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). By faith in Christ, we become children of God according to the will of God (John 1:12-13). We can repent of our sins, get forgiveness from God and be justified by faith in Christ. Jesus proclaimed that we should repent and believe in the Good News to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; see A2). Paul shared the Good News of Jesus and the kingdom of God by proclaiming repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:17-27). Repentance and faith justify us in the divine law court to gain eternal life. This is, in short, the salvation in Christ God offers to the world. The gospel is, therefore, not what we must do to get to heaven, but what God has done for us to get us there and how to respond to His gracious offer of salvation.
Salvation in Christ
Paul explains the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the expression of God's love: He is Saviour in that 'Christ died for the ungodly' (Romans 5:6). Paul states that 'God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us' (v 8). Justification is 'by His blood,' which is the price paid for our salvation because sin requires condemnation unless there is a ransom. Jesus gave His life to bring us redemption (Mark 10:45). His blood saves us from the wrath of God, the righteous Judge, and brings reconciliation with our Creator, from whom we have been estranged and whose enemies we were because of sin (Romans 5:9-11). Sin is the reason why there is death, but Jesus brought the grace of God as a gift of salvation to humanity, 'resulting in justification' (vv 12-16).
'For if by the offence of the one [Adam], death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:17).
The blessing of justification comes from God's abundant grace and the gift of righteousness. We embrace it by faith. God justifies the sinner (deserving condemnation) by what Christ has done for the sinner who repents and believes in the Saviour. What Christ has done on the cross, shedding His blood for us, will be counted for our justification which leads to salvation, instead of condemnation. His 'one act of righteousness' (death on the cross in obedience to God's will on behalf of humanity) results in the 'justification of life,' available to all and accessible by faith in Christ, undoing the 'one offense' which resulted in condemnation (Romans 5:18). Through Adam's disobedience (breaking God's Law) all were made sinners, yet through Christ's obedience (dying on the cross to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin) those who believe will be made righteous (v 19). Sin reigned in death, yet grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (vv 20-21). Eternal life comes to those who are justified by faith based on what Christ has done for them, making repenting and believing sinners righteous before the righteous Judge. The wages of sin is death, yet the gift of God is eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23). The sinner becomes a saint through justification by faith and and enters the process of sanctification to outwork salvation.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: 'But the righteous one will live by faith.'
Romans 1:16-17 NASB
The Gospel is the Power of God
Condemnation and death are real, but so is God's power of salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, for by faith in Christ we are justified before God and made righteous (Romans 1:16). The gospel reveals the righteousness of God in a way that makes justification possible: by faith, for the righteous person shall live by faith (v 17). God's wrath is directed towards sin and those who choose to practice it by denying the Creator, Life-giver and Law-giver (vv 18-32). The judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice sin, yet His kindness, patience and goodness should lead people to repentance (Romans 2:1-4). Those who humble themselves will receive grace, yet those who stubbornly refuse to repent will be repaid according to their deeds (vv 5-10). God is impartial in His righteous judgement (v 11). He brings all things into judgment as He holds His creation accountable (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
All humans have sinned and are under judgment because of sin: 'there is no righteous person, not even one' (Romans 3:10) in view of God's standard of perfection. People chose the ways of sin and corruption, and have rejected the ways of peace in the fear of God (vv 11-18). Because of our conscience, given by God, we know what is right and wrong, yet we still choose sin. Even those who know the Law cannot be justified by it, for by it comes the knowledge of sin (vv 19-2). All have sinned and fall short of God's standards of holiness (v 23). Yet the power of salvation is in 'the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ' (v 22), by which we can be 'justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,' established by the shedding of His blood as a sacrifice before God for our justification (vv 24-25), showing that He is 'the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus' (v 26). No one can boast of any works that can justify them before God. We can be justified 'apart from works of the Law' by faith in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), those who knew the Law and those who didn't (vv 27-30).
Justification by faith does not abolish or nullify the Law, yet establishes it (v 31), as Paul shows from the faith of Abraham based on the covenant of salvation (4:1-6) and the words of David about God's gracious forgiveness (4:7-8; cf., Psalm 32; E32). God had promised salvation by faith to Abraham millennia ago (vv 9-22), being fulfilled in Christ and His atoning work at the cross: righteousness is credited to those who believe and are justified by faith in Christ. Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification (vv 23-25). Salvation is a gift of God as an expression of His love and the demonstration of His power for those who believe in Him and are forgiven by His blood and justified by faith. This is the basis of salvation in the New Covenant (see A9) as promised to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), promised through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34; cf., Hebrews 8:1-13) and fulfilled by Christ (Galatians 3:13-14).
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works,
so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
The Cross is the Symbol of God's Love
The cross is the symbol of God's love, for on it the Messiah died to give us God's redeeming love. It is salvation by grace and through faith as the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). It is not achieved by our works (v 9), but by His work at the cross! Sinners were alienated from God, separated by sin and without hope because they are without God in the world (vv 11-12). Sinners live under the power of the evil one (vv 1-3), yet the love of God seeks to save sinners who believe in Christ, who accept God's grace for them (vv 4-9), and who embrace His plan and purpose for their lives (v 10). Through the blood of Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled with God (vv 13-16). The peace of the gospel (v 17) comes to us by the Messiah of peace (v 14), through whom we have access to the God of peace and access to the covenant and all its blessings (v 18). Repenting sinners become believing children of God and are part of God's people as a Temple where He dwells among them (vv 19-22), as proclaimed by the apostles and prophets as the foundational witnesses of the gospel (v 20).
Ephesians 2 illustrates the powerful transformation of how a sinners, lost in sin under its condemnation without hope, can become part of God's people and live a life of meaning and purpose with hope. We are all invited to place our faith in Christ the Saviour who justifies us before God and reconciles us with our Heavenly Father!
Living By Faith in the Son of God
Sinners can be made righteous by the blood of Christ and justified before God by faith. This is the beginning of the adventure of living by faith in the Son of God. Paul not only believed in Christ to be justified, he lived his life by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). He lived for God (v 19) and by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and had given His life for Paul (v 20). He would not nullify the grace of God or the work of Christ's death by trying to have his own righteousness based on works or religious observation (v 21). He sought to be found in Christ (Philippians 3:7-11), for in Christ is God's salvation, redemption and wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). The word of the cross might be foolishness to those who fail to understand it, yet to those who believe it is the power and wisdom of God (vv 18-24). We are justified by faith and we live by faith.
By faith in Jesus, we can be saved from hell (in eternity) and from the perversion of our culture (in the present). There is a way to live above the corruption and evil of sin in this world and to shine as God's children in the midst of perversion and immorality: by living according to the Word of life (Philippians 2:14-16). The victory over the world and its sin and corruption is our faith (1 John 5:4). We are born-again by faith in Christ and overcome the world as we live pleasing to God (vv 1-5). The ultimate victory over sin and death is ours in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). True faith will be expressed in works (James 2:14-26). All things should be done by faith (Hebrews 11:6). We should walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Devotion to the God of Grace
In our devotion to God as believers, we relate to the God of love and grace. His goodness leads us to repentance and we seek to glorify our Lord and Saviour. We are not to fear judgment (1 John 4:18), for Christ came to save, not condemn (John 3:16-17). Even when we fail and sin, we can come to the God of grace who extends mercy to the humble with compassion and understanding (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is our Advocate who died for us (1 John 2:1-2). There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1) and He empowers believers by His Spirit to live in the newness of life apart from sin (Romans 6:4; 8:1-4; cf., A12). Like a child runs to a loving father, so we can come to our loving God and Father, even when we have failed or sinned. We should not sin but learn to live by the Spirit of life and walk accord to the Spirit. As we learn that, we will no longer give in to the desires of the flesh but bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:13-23). This is the true freedom we are called to (vv 1, 13). We can learn what it means to live as a child of God created in His image and for His purpose. No longer will we waste our lives, time and resources on what is sinful, but we shall live godly lives in a sinful world, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14). The life of faith in the Son of God is an adventure—an adventure you don't want to miss!