JUSTIFICATION: PART 2

What part does faith play in our justification?

As we have seen, Paul says we are justified (we are declared righteous) 'through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah' (Romans 3: 22). And as we have also seen, this righteousness is given by God 'to all who believe (or have faith) in Him'.

Earlier Paul has said that 'no one (is) declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law' (3: 19) and later he says: 'We maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law' (3: 27). We are justified 'by faith' and not 'by works'. What does this mean? And what part does faith play in our justification?

If we have understood him correctly, Paul has made it clear that the basis upon which God is able to justify us is the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah in making atonement for our sins. If there is any sense in which our justification has been earned - then it has been earned for us by the atoning work of Jesus. We do not earn it by works of the law. But neither do we earn it by faith. Faith is not the means by which our justification is earned. Rather, it is the means by which it is received. All the benefits of Christ's atoning work are 'received by faith' (3: 24).

Paul makes a similar point about our salvation in Ephesians 2. Our salvation is 'not by works so that no one can boast' (verse 10). Instead it comes to us 'by grace through faith' (verse 9). 'By grace' means that we do not earn our salvation in any way - either by our works or by our faith; it is God's free gift to us made possible by the atoning death of Jesus. Nevertheless it comes to us 'through faith'. Faith is not the means by which we earn our salvation; it is the means by which we receive it.

In Romans 4, Paul uses the example of Abraham to show that justification has always been 'by faith' rather than 'by works'.

'If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'' (Romans 4: 2-3).

Paul seems to be saying that God chooses to count faith as righteousness. Roger Forster and Paul Marston comment:

'Paul makes the point that Abraham's faith is 'credited to him'. This is a kind of accounting term, meaning 'to count as equivalent to'. Just as stock in a company may be 'credited' as though equivalent to a cash asset, in this case it was God's decision to credit faith as righteousness.'

Some theologians have suggested that God credited to Abraham the righteous ethical perfection of Jesus. But...the text simply does not say this. It was Abraham's own faith that was credited as righteousness. It was not someone else's act that was somehow credited (to him). The idea that the ethical perfection of Jesus is counted as though ours may be popular in some circles but it just does not fit the text.'1

The righteousness that God gives us arises from this free choice that He has made to count faith as righteousness and to provide a basis for all who believe in Him to be declared righteous through the atoning death of His Son. Justification, along with salvation, is provided through the death of Jesus for all who believe. This is God's free choice - and it is a choice that in His sovereignty He is free to make.

It is of course God's prerogative to grant the gift of right standing with Him to whoever He chooses. But there is no mystery here. His choice is to give this along with the gift of eternal life to anyone who believes in Him. In His free grace He chooses to credit our faith to us as righteousness.

This is perhaps why in Romans 3: 22 Paul describes the righteousness that comes through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah as being 'from God.' It comes to us entirely as a result of His decision to grant it as a gift of grace to 'all who believe'. It is not the result of anything we have done to earn it; nor is it the result of any obligation on His part that He has chosen to grant it to us. It was entirely of His own volition and an act of free grace that He chose to provide for the justification - and the salvation - of all who believe through the atoning death of His Son.

What does it mean to be declared righteous?

To be justified means to be declared 'righteous'. But it is important to understand that this does not imply that as righteous people we are sinlessly perfect. Nor does it imply that God sees us as sinlessly perfect even though we are not. It simply mean that we are in right relationship with God in spite of our sinfulness.

The word 'righteous' is frequently used of people throughout the Old and New Testaments (e.g. of Noah in Genesis 7: 1)  and the 'righteous' are often contrasted with the 'wicked' or the 'ungodly' (e.g. in Psalm 1: 6). Forster and Marston say that:

'A ‘righteous’ person as the Bible uses the term is not a person who has never sinned, but a person who is living in faith-relationship with God. A ‘sinner’ as the Bible uses the term is not anyone who ever committed a sin, but a person who is living in rebellion or indifference towards God. In the biblical sense Christians are righteous and not sinners.'2

When Paul says in Romans 3: 10 that 'there is none righteous, no not one' it appears at first glance as if he is contradicting much of the Old Testament. Does he really mean that even those described in the Old Testament as righteous were not actually righteous? Of course not!

Paul seems to be quoting here from Psalm 14: 2-3: 'The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt. There is no one who does good'. And yet the very same Psalm goes on to speak of evildoers who: 'devour my people as though eating bread. They never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous' (v 4-5).

So even in the Psalm from which Paul quotes, God is said to dwell among the righteous in contrast to the evildoers. So the Psalmist clearly does not mean that literally no one is righteous, but that the vast majority of people in his day appear to be evildoers with no regard for God. This is God's general verdict on mankind but it does not apply literally to everyone. We might say: 'The Brits are all football mad' (or choose your own example) but we don't mean that every single individual who comes from Britain is obsessed with football. There are exceptions!

Forster and Marston go on to point out that:

'In all the passages Paul quotes in Romans 3: 10-18 there is a contrast between 'the unrighteous', who are denounced, and either 'the righteous' or 'the people of God'. It would be totally absurd for Paul to be saying that all the Old Testament prophets (not to mention the apostles Peter and John) got it wrong and actually there are no righteous people other than Jesus himself. This is neither what the Psalmist nor what Paul meant.'2

The point Paul is making in Romans 3: 10-18 is that the Jewish people even though they had the written law of Moses have done no better than the Gentiles. They are denounced by the prophets as often as the Gentiles are. Although they have the law, they have not lived up to God's standards any better than the Gentiles have. God's verdict on the people of Israel, as announced repeatedly by the prophets throughout their history, bears witness to this. Righteousness does not, and never has, come through the works of the law.

Jesus distinguishes between 'the righteous' and 'the unrighteous' (e.g. in Matthew 5: 45). He also refers to those who were 'righteous' in Old Testament times (Matthew 13: 17). And when He says 'I have not called 'the righteous' but 'sinners' to repentance’ (Luke 5: 32) he is using the terms in the same way as they were used in the Old Testament.  It could of course be argued that in this verse, Jesus is talking about those who thought themselves righteous but were not actually so.

'However he really does believe that there are righteous people (who need no repentance) for elsewhere he says: ‘I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.’ (Luke 15: 7). The ninety-nine people are not mythical sinless people but the righteous – those already living in harmony with God.'2

Righteous people in the Bible are not sinlessly perfect. They are described as righteous because they are living in a right relationship with God - which means that they are living by faith. In Habakkuk 2: 4 we read (literally) 'the righteous by faith (or faithfulness) will live.' This is variously translated as:

• 'The righteous person will live by his faithfulness.' (NIV)

• 'The righteous shall live by his faith.' (ESV)

• 'Those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.’ (GNT)

The point Habakkuk is making is that unlike the arrogant, who are not righteous and will face God's judgement, those who are righteous on account of their faith, will live. Paul quotes this phrase in Romans 1: 17 and Galatians 3: 11 and it is also quoted in Hebrews 10: 38. Forster and Marston say:

'It is a fundamental principle in the Old and the New Testaments that a righteous person is one who lives by faith – i.e. in a faith-relationship with God.'2

So in both the Old and New Testaments there were people who were 'righteous' and people who were 'sinners'. This is not denying the fundamental truth that all have sinned (Romans 3: 23). A righteous person is not someone who has never sinned or even someone who once used to sin but no longer does so. The' righteous' are those whose sins no longer count against them because of the atoning death of Jesus. And on this basis, God counts as righteous all who believe in Him. 'Sinners' in the Biblical sense of the word are those who persist in their rebellion against God and whose sins still count against them because of their unbelief.

Of course, all of us were once 'sinners'. Paul says that it was 'while we were still sinners that Christ died for us' (Romans 5: 8). But this is true in a logical rather than in a historical sense. Logically speaking, all of us, both before and after the time of Jesus, were sinners in God's eyes until Jesus died for us. But his atoning death has changed that. Now all those who believe, both before and after the time of Jesus, can be counted as 'righteous'.

It is the death of Jesus that has enabled God to count as righteous all those who have believed in Him in the past and all those who will believe in Him in the future so that they are no longer regarded as 'sinners' but as 'righteous'. We who were once 'sinners' in God's eyes are now counted as 'righteous' on account of our faith. Had it not been for the death of Jesus this would not have been possible and we who were once 'sinners' would have remained so.

But this verse also means that, in the course of their lifetime, when anyone who has been a sinner, living in rebellion against God, repents and turns back to Him, He graciously forgives their sin and declares them righteous. And, as long as they continue in faith, they will continue to be regarded as righteous and will finally receive the reward of eternal life on the day of judgement.

Notes

1. Paul's Gospel In Romans And Galatians by Roger Forster and Paul Marston

2. We Believe In The Christian Doctrines Of The New Testament by Roger Forster and Paul Marston