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8/6/2019 Condensed Theology Lecture 32
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Condensed Theology
A Primer in Systematic Theology
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Soteriology:
The Doctrine of Salvation
What does the Bible teach about
salvation?
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Review
Primordial Union with Christ
Temporal Union with Christ
Monergism Synergism
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Temporal Union with Christ
The Initiating Acts of God
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Temporal Union with Christ:
Gods Initiating Acts
(Effective) Calling
Regeneration
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Temporal Union with Christ
A Divine Response to Faith and
Repentance: Justification
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Justification Defined
Justification is the act of Gods free grace
by which he justly pardons all our sins,imputes our sin to Christ and Christs
righteousness to us, accepts us asrighteous in his sight, and declares us not
guilty.
Justification is received by faith alone.
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Justification Is an Act of Gods
Free Grace
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Justification by Grace
Rom 3:23-24: for all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God, being justified as a giftby His grace through the redemption which is inChrist Jesus.
Eph 2:8-9: For by grace you have been savedthrough faith; and that not of yourselves, it is thegift of God; not as a result of works, so that noone may boast.
Titus 3:7: so that being justified by His gracewe would be made heirs according to the hopeof eternal life.
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Justification Entails the Just
Pardon of All Our Sins
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Justification: Just Pardon
Rom 4:4-8: Now to the one who works, hiswage is not credited as a favor, but as what isdue. But to the one who does not work, butbelieves in Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is credited as righteousness, just as Davidalso speaks of the blessing on the man to whomGod credits righteousness apart from works:"BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESSDEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE
SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED ISTHE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOTTAKE INTO ACCOUNT."
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Justification: Just Pardon
If you understand the justice of God, theidea that God would pardon a guiltyperson is absurd.
Exod 23:7: Keep far from a false charge, anddo not kill the innocent or the righteous, for Iwill not acquit the guilty.
Prov 17:15 He who justifies the wicked andhe who condemns the righteous, Both of themalike are an abomination to the LORD.
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Justification Entails theImputation of Our Sin to Christ,
and Christs Righteousness to Us
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Justification and Imputation
2 Cor 5:21: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin onour behalf, so that we might become the righteousnessof God in Him.
Rom 5:17-19: For if by the transgression of the one,
death reigned through the one, much more those whoreceive the abundance of grace and of the gift ofrighteousness will reign in life through the One, JesusChrist. So then as through one transgression thereresulted condemnation to all men, even so through one
act of righteousness there resulted justification of life toall men. For as through the one man's disobedience themany were made sinners, even so through theobedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
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Justification and Imputation
Once Christ took on our sin, God then fulfilled the demands of hisjustice through the death of his son.
Rom 3:21-26: But now apart from the Law the righteousness of Godhas been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all
those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned andfall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His gracethrough the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom Goddisplayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. Thiswas to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearanceof God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the
demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, sothat He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith inJesus.
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Justification Is a Verdict of
Not Guilty
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Justification = Not Guilty
Matt 12:37: For by your words you will bejustified, and by your words you will becondemned.
Rom 3:19-20: Now we know that whatever theLaw says, it speaks to those who are under theLaw, so that every mouth may be closed and allthe world may become accountable to God; 20
because by the works of the Law no flesh will bejustified in His sight; for through the Law comes
the knowledge of sin.
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Justification = Not Guilty
Rom 8:1: Therefore there is now nocondemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Rom 5:16: The gift is not like that which camethrough the one who sinned; for on the one hand
the judgment arose from one transgressionresulting in condemnation, but on the other handthe free gift arose from many transgressionsresulting in justification.
Some have objected to the forensic (not guilty)character of justification, calling it a legalfiction.
You are declared not guilty even though you are.
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Justification = Not Guilty
But is this really what were saying,
Youre not guilty even though you are?
Not at all.
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Justification = Not Guilty
Justification does not mean that God looksat you just-as-if you never sinned.
Justification means that God declares theungodly not guilty because Jesus hasbeen condemned as guilty in our place.
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Justification = Not Guilty
Bearing shame and scoffing rude/In myplace condemned he stood/Sealed mypardon with his blood/Hallelujah! What a
savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless we/Spotless lambof God was he/Full atonement, can it
be?/Hallelujah! What a savior!
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Justification = Not Guilty
Justification allows us to be ungodly personsconstituted righteous in Gods sight through our
union with Christ ( which involves the imputation
of Christs righteousness to us). The forensic component of justification does not
turn salvation into a legal fiction; rather, it is asovereign declaration of what is true of us by
virtue of our union with Christ.
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Justification Is Received by
Faith Alone
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Without faith there is no justification
Faith alone, plus or minus nothing is allthat is required for justification
The ground of justification
Romanism and justification
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Without faith there is no justification Rom 3:25a-26: whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith.26for thedemonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the
present time, so that He would be just and the justifierof the one who has faith in Jesus.
Gal 2:16: nevertheless knowing that a man is notjustified by the works of the Law but through faith inChrist Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus,so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and notby the works of the Law; since by the works of theLaw no flesh will be justified.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Without faith there is no justification
See Romans 4
Rom 5:1: Therefore, having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through ourLord Jesus Christ.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Faith alone, plus or minus nothing is allthat is required for justification
Eph 2:8-9: For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and that not ofyourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a resultof works, so that no one may boast.
Rom 3:20: because by the works of theLaw no flesh will be justified in His sight; forthrough the Law comesthe knowledge of sin.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Faith alone, plus or minus nothing is all that isrequired for justification Gal 2:16: nevertheless knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the Law but through faith in
Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus,so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and notby the works of the Law; since by the works of theLaw no flesh will be justified.
Gal 3:11: Now that no one is justified by the Lawbefore God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS MANSHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
Gal 5:4: You have been severed from Christ, youwho are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallenfrom grace.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Faith alone, plus or minus nothing, is allthat is required for justification.
Without faith no one can be justified.
But this does not mean that faith is theultimate causeof our justification.
It is the instrumentalcause of our justification
Grudems paycheck illustration
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Without faith there is no justification
We are not justified by faith, we are justifiedby God throughfaith.
Our trust in Christ is not the ground of ourjustification. Praise the Lord!
How often has your faith faltered?!
The ground of our justification is the work ofGod in Jesus Christ.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
The ground of our justification is not faith, but thework of God in Jesus Christ
Rom 3:24-25a: being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in Hisblood through faith.
Rom 8:33-34: Who will bring a charge against God'select? God is the one who justifies; who is the onewho condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes,rather who was raised, who is at the right hand ofGod, who also intercedes for us.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
The ground of our justification is not faith, but thework of God in Jesus Christ
Rom 3:21-22: But now apart from the Law the
righteousness of God has been manifested, beingwitnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even therighteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ forall those who believe; for there is no distinction.
Rom 10:3: For not knowing about God'srighteousness and seeking to establish their own,they did not subject themselves to the righteousnessof God.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
The ground of our justification is not faith, but thework of God in Jesus Christ Rom 5:17-19: For if by the transgression of the one,
death reigned through the one, much more those who
receive the abundance of grace and of the gift ofrighteousness will reign in life through the One, JesusChrist. So then as through one transgression thereresulted condemnation to all men, even so throughone act of righteousness there resulted justification oflife to all men. For as through the one man's
disobedience the many were made sinners, even sothrough the obedience of the One the many will bemade righteous.
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Justification, By Faith Alone
Objection to justification by faith alone,plus or minus nothing:
What about Jas 2:24?
Jas 2:24: You see that a man is justified byworks and not by faith alone.
Justification in James
Faith and works in James Different example from Abrahams life
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Summary of Justification
Justification is the act of Gods free grace
by which he justly pardons all our sins,imputes our sin to Christ and Christs
righteousness to us, accepts us asrighteous in his sight, and declares us not
guilty.
Justification is received by faith alone.
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Justification and Roman
Catholicism
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Justification and Catholicism
The Holy Spirit has the power to justifyusthrough faith in Christ and through Baptism(1994 RCC, par. 1987).
Justification is not only the remission of sins,
but also the sanctification and renewal of theinterior man (1994 RCC, par. 1989 citing withapproval Council of Trent).
Justification is conferred in Baptism, thesacrament of faith. It conforms us to therighteousness of God, who makes us inwardly
just by the power of his mercy (1994 RCC, par.1992).
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Justification and Catholicism
[J]ustification entails the sanctification of [the innermans] whole being (1994 RCC, par. 1995).
Justification includes the remission of sins,sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man (1994
RCC, par. 2019). [N]o one can merit the initial graceof forgiveness and
justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved bythe Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then meritforourselves and others the graces needed for our
sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, andfor the attainment of eternal life (1994 RCC, par. 2010,italics in original).
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Justification
Immense Practical Implications
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Justification: Implications
The doctrine of justification meansthat in Gods sightthe ungodly man, now in Christ, has perfectly kept themoral law of God, which also means in turn that inChrist he has perfectly loved God with all his heart, soul,mind, and strength and his neighbor as himself.
It means that saving faith is directed to the doing anddying of Christ aloneand not to the good works orinner experience of the believer.
It means that the Christians righteousness before God isin heavenat the right hand of God in Jesus Christ and
not on earthwithin the believer. It means that the ground of our justification is the
vicarious work of Christ forus, not the gracious work ofthe Spirit inus.
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Justification: Implications
It means that the faith-righteousness of justification is notpersonal but vicarious, not infused but imputed, notexperiential but judicial, not psychological but legal, notour own but a righteousness alien to us and outside ofus, not earned but graciously giventhrough faith inChrist that is itself a gift of grace.
It means also in its declarative character that justificationpossesses and eschatological dimension.By Gods actof justifying the sinner through faith in Christ, the sinner,
as it were, has been brought, before the time, to theFinal Assize and has already passed successfullythrough it, having been acquitted of any and all chargesbrought against him!
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Justification: Implications
Your salvation is secure.
You will never be punished by God foryour sin.
We will have a tendency to bring oursanctification into our justification, andwhen we do we miss the gospel.
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Justification: Implications
The cross chart
Gods Holiness
My Sinfulness
Christs Work
on the Cross
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Justification: Implications
The cross chart
Gods Holiness
My Sinfulness
Christs Work
on the Cross
Legalism
Antinomianism
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Justification: Implications
The cross chart
Gods Holiness
My Sinfulness
Christs Work
on the Cross
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Justification: Implications
Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians aresolidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. Manyhave so light an apprehension of Gods holiness and the extent and
guilt of their sin that consciously they see little need for justification,although below the surface of their lives they are deeply guilt-ridden
and insecure. Many others have a theoretical commitment to thisdoctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on theirsanctification for justification...drawing their assurance ofacceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience ofconversion, their recent religious performance or the relative
infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience. Few knowenough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luthers
platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming thewholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground foracceptance.