Salvation through
Justification
Lesson 28
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Therefore,
since we have been justified through
faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have gained access by faith into
this grace in which we now stand. And
we rejoice in the hope of the glory
of God. – Romans 5:1,2
The Way to Eternal
Life is Through Jesus
Consider these five
statements:
1.
The only way a sinner can receive
eternal life is through
justification.
2.
Justification is a legal standing in
the court of Heaven in which a sinner
is viewed as though he has not broken
the law (is without sin).
3.
Justification occurs when a person
becomes willing to obey the authority
of the Holy Spirit and live a life of
faith.
4.
Justification can be illustrated in
the following way: Angels record the
words, actions and motives of every
person. Within the books of records
is a faithful record of each
person’s life. When a sinner
becomes willing to obediently submit
to the authority of the Holy Spirit
and live by faith, Jesus justifies
that sinner by placing His perfect
life over the record of the sinner.
As long as the covering of Jesus
remains intact, that sinner is not
under the penalty of sin. He is free
of the condemnation which God’s
law demands.
5.
An absolute knowledge of God is not
required for justification. However,
a sinner’s ongoing obedient
submission to the Holy Spirit is
required for the continuation of
justification.
Blessed Assurance
Any sinner can receive
the assurance of eternal life right
now, this very minute, if he or she
agrees to obediently submit to the
demands of the Holy Spirit. If you
are willing at this very moment to
go, to be, and to do all that the
Holy Spirit asks of you, rejoice! The
assurance of eternal life is yours
through a heavenly process called
justification. Whenever this
transforming moment occurs, a new
life of faith begins. Of course, a
sinner can return to his sinful ways
at any time because the power of
choice still remains.
(Ezekiel 18) Just
because we are willing to submit to
the demands of the Holy Spirit today
does not mean that we have to submit
to His sanctifying demands tomorrow.
To a large extent, the internal
authority of the Holy Spirit is
limited by our desire and
cooperation. If a person so desires,
He can be permanently turned away.
(Matthew 12:31,32)
How can we tell if the
Holy Spirit is pressing us for
submission? How can we distinguish
between the guilt produced by the
Holy Spirit or some kind of false
guilt? The urging of the Holy Spirit
always conforms to Heaven’s
constitution of love. We are to love
the Lord with all our hearts, mind
and soul, and we are to love our
neighbor as we love ourselves. The
difference between false guilt and
guilt imposed by the Holy Spirit
becomes easier to differentiate as we
learn more about Jesus. Jesus is the
Author and Finisher of our faith. His
example helps us understand many
things about the properties of life.
A growing knowledge of Jesus Christ
sets us free of unnecessary guilt and
burdens that God has not imposed.
The process of
entering into the assurance of
eternal life happens in a rather
predictable way, although it is not
limited to this process. Here’s
my experience: The Holy Spirit
produced a strong feeling and
relentless conviction that I was
guilty of sin before God. My guilt
and condemnation weighted often on my
mind, because unbeknown to me at the
time, the Holy Spirit was trying to
motivate me to “get right”
with God. Eventually, I recognized my
condemnation as a sinner and I wanted
pardon from my sins. I desired to
know God. I had heard enough to know
that people who do wicked things have
no hope of a future life and I did
not want to miss out on Heaven. I did
not know much about God in those
days, but I believed God would be
pleased with me if I stopped doing
things that I knew were wrong. I also
knew that it was impossible for me to
stop sinning and I wondered how God
dealt with human beings like me. The
problem was simple: He wanted me to
stop sinning, but I could not stop
sinning. How could I be saved and go
on sinning? In those days, I did not
understand the wonderful offer of
justification.
Over time as my
spiritual maturity developed, I
became willing to go, to be, and to
do as God directed in my life –
no holds barred. I did not become a
Christian by invitation. That is, I
did not decide to become a Christian
by walking down the isle of the front
of a Church. One day I made a
commitment to God and became a
Christian. I was at work when I
resolved that from now on, I would be
a follower of Jesus Christ, no matter
what the cost. It I remember
correctly, one of my first decisions
involved restitution. I understand
that God’s grace and forgiveness
were not a whitewash for wrongdoing.
From my personal Bible study, I
concluded that God required me to
make restitution to those whom I had
defrauded in the past. So, I began to
make restitution from past wrongs as
best I knew how. This was expensive,
and it required several hundred
dollars. After reviewing my past and
making every wrong right as far as
possible, I confessed my sins to God
and have had perfect peace about them
ever since. I was happy and
truly free of guilt, which made me
feel much closer to God. I resolved,
by God’s grace, not to do those
things again. Do not be fooled! Sin
is always expensive! Sin will take
you farther than you want to go and
cost you more than you want to pay.
During this transforming process in
my life, some of my friends fled.
They thought I had become a religious
fanatic.
By faith, I accepted
God’s assurance that He was
pleased with my actions. I was
happier and felt closer to god,
although my understanding of God and
His will was very limited. Thirty
years later, my peace and joy remain.
As long as I continue to obey the
demands of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, I know that Jesus justifies
me before the Father as though I am
without sin, even though I am a
sinner. Because of this, I am at
peace with God and have the joyful
assurance of salvation. Yes, I still
sin, but now I understand a few
things about dealing with sin. First,
accidental or unintentional sin does
not bring eternal death. John says,
“All wrongdoing is sin, and
there is sin that does not lead to
death.” (1 John 5:17) Second, I
am prone to sin and rebellion because
I am under the curse of sin. Paul
noticed the same thing after being a
Christian for about 25 years. He
wrote, “But I see another law at
work in the members of my body,
waging war against the law of my mind
and making me a prisoner of the law
of sin at work within my
members.” (Romans 7:23)
Last, when I do sin
there is a process that I must
obediently follow. First, I have to
acknowledge to the Holy Spirit that I
understand the guilt He is imposing
in my heart because I have sinned.
Next, I have to confess to my
neighbor that I have sinned against
him and I must provide restitution as
far as possible. Last, I turn to
Jesus. John says, “If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness.” (1
John 1:9) This order of events is
well stated in Scripture. (Matthew
5:23-26) If I am faithful in dealing
with the sin problem, my willingness
to go, to be and to do God’s
will is affirmed. Jesus sees the
evidence of my faith and He, my
Savior and Lord, grants me the
covering of His righteousness.
Justification is
possible for three reasons. First,
God’s offer of justification is
based on nothing but God’s love
for man. “For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal
life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through
him.” (John 3:16,17) second,
Jesus came to Earth and He lived a
perfect life so that He might cover
us with His righteous life! “For
if, when we were God’s enemies,
we were reconciled to him through the
death of his Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be
saved through his life!” (Romans
5:10) Last, Jesus is qualified to
justify repentant sinners because He
paid our penalty for sin. In other
words, sinners cannot be justified as
sinless people if the penalty upon
sinners has not been removed. Jesus
provided the necessary restitution
for every sinner. The merits of this
restitution are transferred to
sinners when they submit to the
demands of the Holy Spirit. When I
became willing to submit to
God’s will, Jesus covered my
sinful life with His perfect life.
(Romans 5:17) Notice, I emphasized
the word willing. Works does not
justify us. Works are a reflection of
the motives and desires of our heart.
We can do right for the wrong reason
(legalism) and we can attempt to
justify wrong doing (rebellion).
Making restitution in order to be
saved is a corrupt motive. An honest
motivation that prompts appropriate
restitution comes from a deeper
understanding of what loving our
neighbor is all about.
A parallel between all
sinners and Adam and Eve’s
Garden of Eden experience provides an
excellent illustration. When Adam and
Eve sinned, they lost the covering of
light that covered their bodies.
Realizing their shame, they ran and
hid from God. They tried to cover
their nakedness with some large itchy
fig leaves, but Jesus used this
opportunity to present a wonderful
object lesson. Jesus killed a
flawless sacrificial lamb and I
presume He covered the naked pair
with its skin. (Genesis 3:7-21) The
parallel for every sinner is that we
too, stand naked before God. He knows
whom we are, where we are, and He
knows all of our sins. Any attempt to
cover up (or justify) sin is foolish.
Jesus offers “His perfect
skin” as the Lamb of God, the
spotless wedding garment of His
righteousness, to all of us. If we
surrender our will to God and daily
submit to the Holy Spirit, Jesus
covers our nakedness with His perfect
righteous life. Therefore, when the
Father sees us wearing the robe of
Jesus’ righteousness, we stand
before God fully clothed as though we
never sinned!” (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Justification is available to every
person who has lived, regardless of
religious background.
Just as Though I Have
Never Sinned
My joy and peace is
full because I know that when the
Father looks at me, He see me as
though I am without sin.
Christ’s perfect life of
righteousness can cover the worst
sinner. Justification does not
require works, deeds or proof that I
am a changed man. The thief on the
cross did not prove that he was a
changed man, but he was granted the
righteousness of Jesus that very day.
(Ephesians 2:8,9; Luke 23:43) I am
sure the thief would have become a
different man if he could have lived
longer. The profound beauty of
justification is that it begins in
Heaven the moment we become willing
to submit to the authority of the
indwelling Spirit. As long as we
continue in a submissive attitude (to
be, to go, to do) toward God’s
authority over our lives, we have the
assurance of eternal life.
This, in a nutshell,
is how my justification and yours
begin before God through Christ. Even
though the process is simple, it is a
miracle! How the Holy Spirit
transforms a rebellious heart into a
submissive heart is a mystery that
God alone knows, but it does happen!
(John 3; Romans 8) So, if you are
missing the joy and peace that comes
from “letting go and letting
God,” if you have not
experienced the full assurance of
God’s salvation through the
justification that Jesus offers, if
you have not grasped something about
God’s great love for you, review
the process and implement those
portions that remain unfinished in
your life. If the Holy Spirit is not
beating you up with that strong and
relentless conviction that you need
salvation, perhaps you need to slow
down and ask God to speak to your
heart! The Spirit will reveal your
true condition before God if you open
your heart. I have been there, and my
testimony is not unusual. Submit to
the Holy Spirit’s prompting,
confess your sins, and provide
restitution where possible and joy
and peace will surely follow.
That’s Not All
Now comes the scary
part! When a person receives the
assurance of salvation through
justification, he or she begins a
faith-journey. The journey may seem
frightening at times, because you do
not know where the journey may lead,
but you know who is leading. You may
not know which road you will take,
but you know where you will end up.
You don’t know how you will get
there, but a way will be made. In
short, walking with Jesus is a scary
experience at times, because The Good
Shepherd leads His sheep over
dangerous mountain trails and through
the deepest ravines to take them
home. The scary part should not be
the travail of travel, but the
possibility of losing sight of The
Good Shepherd. When two people stand
at the marriage alter and unite their
lives by agreeing to vows of
fidelity, they begin a journey of a
lifetime that will take them through
uncharted waters. So it is when we
join ourselves to Jesus. People who
join themselves to Jesus begin a
journey that is uncharted to the
human eye. Marriage requires
fidelity, loyalty, faith and love and
so does the journey with Jesus.
Basic Law
By definition,
“basic law” is an instinct
or inherent ability to rationally
determine right from wrong. Most
young people exhibit this phenomenon
at an early age. When a child has
achieved enough maturity to determine
right from wrong on his or her own,
that age is often called the age of
accountability. Thomas Jefferson
eloquently noted the presence of
“basic law” in the
“introduction” of the Bill
of Rights for the U.S. Constitution.
He wrote, “We hold certain
truths to be self evident…”
In other words, intelligent people
can determine right from wrong
because “basic law” is
operating and this feature is self
evident within all humanity. Yet, the
opposite is just as true. If someone
does not want to understand or agree
with the truth, no one can show him
or her the truth! In fact, people who
want to justify evil are the first to
deny what is right. (John 3:20)
God created human
beings with reasoning powers. Even
before Eve tasted the forbidden
fruit, God wanted man to distinguish
between good and evil. If people
strive to live right and be honorable
– no matter what religion they
belong to – they are doing all
that God asks of them.
God does not hold a
person guilty who does not know His
will, but God will condemn a person
who refuses to accept the truth! This
is a critical point in understanding
how salvation operates. Knowing does
not save man or agreeing with
absolute truth, instead man is saved
by faithfully living up to all he
believes to be righteous and true.
Closely study Paul’s comment:
“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do
not have the law {the knowledge of
God penned by Moses, but they}, do by
nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even
though they do not have the law,
since they show the requirements of
the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing
witness {when they do wrong}, and
their thought now accusing {them of
their wrong deeds}, {this confirms
they know from right and wrong and
their conscience is} now even
defending them. This {is how the
judgment} will take place on the day
when God will judge men’s
secrets through Jesus Christ, as my
gospel declares.” (Romans
2:14-16, insertion mine.)
The word law as used
by Paul in this context is a
reference to Moses writings. The
point Paul is making is that God
judges the heart and takes into
consideration the knowledge base that
is in the heart. Therefore, Gentiles
who know nothing about the true God
and His ways will be judged by the
same process as Jews and Christians
who have had every opportunity to
know God and His ways. God
righteously judges each person on the
basis of his or her knowledge base
and the resulting actions.
(Ecclesiastes 12:13,14) People who
live up to the high ideals of what
they honestly believe God wants of
them demonstrates the kind of faith
that pleases God! James also supports
the concept of basic law. He says,
“Anyone, then who knows the good
he ought to do and doesn’t do
it, sins.” (James 4:17)
I do not want to leave
you with the impression that God is
not concerned with absolute right and
wrong. He is very concerned about
absolute right and wrong. The Ten
Commandments are ten absolutes.
Period. They are not “Ten
Suggestions” or a place to
negotiation. Jesus himself wrote the
Ten Commandments on tables of stone
and His eternal law is more enduring
than stone. Still, God understands
that everyone on Earth does not know
about His absolutes or the terms and
conditions within the Plan of
Salvation. Therefore, He righteously
judges each person on their knowledge
base, actions and willingness to
search for and submit to higher
truths as the Holy Spirit leads. God
does not require that we know or
understand all His marvelous truths
in order to receive salvation, for no
one on Earth understands everything
there is to know about God! However,
God does require that we submit, by
faith, to a growing spiritual process
so that we might know His will. (1
Thessalonians 4:1-8) If we honestly
submit to the leading of the Holy
Spirit, as we understand it, to go,
to be and to do His will, God is
pleased. If we endeavor to grow in
knowledge and understanding, Jesus
will bless us with a deeper
understanding of truth!
Nothing on Earth
compares to walking with God. He is
anxious to reveal the issues and ways
of life! God knows our knowledge base
and the motives that prompt our
actions and still loves us in spite
of our great ignorance. But, and this
is an emphatic “but,” God
is not pleased when we compromise our
beliefs or shrink back from the
demands of faith. Jesus said,
“If anyone is ashamed of me and
my words, the Son of Man will be
ashamed of him when he comes in his
glory and in the glory of the Father
and of the holy angels.” (Luke
9:26)
While we are on the
topic of ignorance and law, consider
the practical side of ignorance of
the law. Since man cannot read the
heart or determine the motives of
another man, man has to take an
opposite approach to the issue of
ignorance and law. Man’s laws
take the perspective: “Ignorance
is no excuse for breaking the
law.” So when a person gives the
excuse, “But officer, I did not
know the speed limit was
35…”we should not be
surprised when the officer writes a
traffic citation.
Salvation Includes
Full Restoration
The Plan of Salvation
begins with “basic law.”
Realization that we need a Savior
comes after we sense guilt and become
aware of sin’s penalty. Without
the presence and operation of basic
law, there would be no guilt and
salvation would not be deemed
necessary or desirable, because an
infant cannot reason. The Bible does
not support infant baptism. The
notion of infant baptism originally
began from a distortion of
Christ’s teaching. Jesus
answered {Nicodemus}, I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom
of God unless he is born of water and
the Spirit.’” (John 3:5,
insertion mine.) S superficial
reading of this text can result in
this twisted meaning: “Unless a
person is baptized by water, he or
she cannot receive eternal
life.” In ancient times, the
Christian Church abused this text and
unfortunately, the tradition
continues today. History reveals that
the early church used baptism and
other rituals to control the access
to salvation. If people were cut off
(or excommunicated) from the rituals
offered by the Church, they were
considered eligible for eternal life.
Since adherents believed the rituals
were mandatory for salvation, this
gave a great deal of control to the
Church. The Church implemented infant
baptism because infant mortality
rates were very high. To ensure that
every infant would enter Heaven, the
Church taught that children had to be
baptized as soon as possible. Of
course, an appropriate
“gift” to the Church was
also expected. Obviously, an infant
does not know one thing about basic
law, guilt or salvation, and the
Bible clearly teaches that salvation
does not come through rituals or
works of the flesh. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Let us examine the
meaning of John 3:5. No one can enter
the kingdom of God unless (a) his or
her heart is made alive to spiritual
matters by the Holy Spirit, and (b)
he or she is washed clean of
rebellion. During the time of
Nicodemus, it was customary to
immerse Gentiles converts who wished
to become citizens of Israel in the
Jordan River. The Jews regarded
baptism by immersion as a symbolic
act indicating death (burial) to the
past and resurrection to a new life.
In other words, a Gentile went down
into the water and a Jew came out!
Jesus used the symbol of baptism to
make a point with Nicodemus that if a
person wants to become a member of
God’s kingdom, he or she too,
must be “born of water” to
become a member of a new kingdom.
(Romans 6:1-7)
The Bible reveals that
children are born with the assurance
of salvation until they choose
otherwise. In other words, God does
not hold children accountable for sin
until they know better
(accountability begins when basic law
states working within a young person
– James 4:17) Since Jesus paid
the price for every sinner and
children are not held accountable for
sin, what prevents them from having
the assurance of salvation? Some
Christians believe just the opposite,
believing that a child is born
condemned to eternal death. This was
the reasoning used in ancient times
when infant baptism began. But
consider this: If God considers an
adult sinner a saint because of his
or her faith in Jesus Christ’s
atonement, why not a mere child, who
is simply too young to know right
from wrong? God is much more generous
than man and God loves every child
– for such is the kingdom of
Heaven! (Matthew 19:14)
How Man Became Unsaved
Why is justification
necessary in the Plan of Salvation?
What makes salvation necessary in the
first place? Why did Jesus have to
die on the cross? What issues are
involved between God and man? These
are very important questions and we
will examine them.
According to the book
of Genesis, God created man in His
image, forming him out of dirt. God
placed man in the Garden of Eden,
where he had unrestricted access to
the Tree of Life. As long as man had
access to the fruit on the Tree of
Life, man’s life was sustained
indefinitely. The point must be made
that Jesus created man (and even the
angels) as mortal beings. The word
“mortal” means subject to
death, having a beginning and the
possibility of an end. The word
“immortal” means to have no
beginning or end and is the term that
applies only to God. (1 Timothy
6:15,16; Hebrews 7:3; Revelation
1:18) Many people are surprised to
learn the Bible teaches that human
beings are mortal because they have a
beginning and the possibility of an
end. Genesis 2:7 says, “The Lord
God formed the man from the dust of
the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the
man became a living being.”
(Italics mine.) Adam did not exist as
some intelligent entity prior to his
creation. The soul of Adam came into
existence on the sixth day of
Creation when God put the breath of
life into a body made of dirt. In a
similar manner, the soul of Adam
ceased to exist when the breath of
life was taken from his body of dirt.
After his death, Adam does not exist
as some intelligent entity. The soul
of man is mortal. “The soul who
sins is the one who will die. The son
will not share the guilt of the
father, nor will the father share the
guilt of the son. The righteousness
of the righteous man will be credit
to him, and the wickedness of the
wicked will be charged against
him.” (Ezekiel 18:20) Jesus told
Adam,” You are free to eat any
tree in the garden; but you must not
eat from the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eat of it
you will surely die.” (Genesis
2:16,17) For me, the Bible is clear.
Adam and Eve were to be executed the
very day they sinned. The penalty of
is death by execution. Most
Christians overlook this important
point. There are two types of death.
Death caused by disease, accident or
“natural causes” is the
consequence of sin, but the penalty
for sin is death by execution. This
is why it was necessary for Jesus to
be executed at Calvary and this also
explains why the wicked will be
executed by fire at the end of the
1,000 years. Many Bible students have
difficulty interpreting Genesis
2:16,17 because Adam and Eve did not
die the day they sinned. The reason
they were not slain that very day is
this: Jesus immediately went before
the Father and offered to die in
man’s place. The Father accepted
the offer of Jesus and their
execution was stayed. Ever since that
fateful day, Jesus has fulfilled two
roles in Heaven. He is our
intercessor and He is the Lamb of
God. Later in this book, we will
consider how these two roles reflect
two unique processes that are
necessary for man to be fully
reconciled with God.
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