Three Points About Justification

An old school teacher of mine had a saying, "get over over it, life sucks then you die". In these words, as morbid as that sounds, lies a revealing confession of how she and much of the world perceive the human condition. We are not here on planet Earth with any eternal purpose; nothing really has any meaning, so just get over it. Without Christ, you see, there is no transcendent peace to govern suffering, grief and hardship we all face. We ask then, can a certain peace be known so that our existence can mean more than "life sucks then you die"?"

The scriptures offer a promise of peace of inexpressible worth – peace with God. We do not have peace with God by nature. Thus, as Augustine said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." Human disobedience of God's holy law created a divine vacuum in the soul of man. Every tear, every evil, every wrong originates from the reality that we are in a state of rebellion against God. There is no peace. Our hope, then, lies in the work of the mediator Jesus Christ. We read in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The first aspect of peace with God is that it is objective in nature. This distinction helps us differentiate peace with God from the peace of God. Peace with God is a declaration on God's part that, because Christ's substitutionary death removes the sinner's guilt acquired through sin, we are legally counted as righteous. This is not to be confused with being made righteous; rather, in justification, the Christian is declared righteous. Consequently, there is no longer hostility between God and the sinner. We receive a new legal status. God can then justly treat the believer in Christ as if they had never sinned at all!

The second reality is that peace with God is entirely His work on our behalf. Justification is received as a free gift and does not depend on or include any human good works. This is why Paul says "justification by faith", signifying that faith in Christ is the vehicle God employs to impart His unmerited favour and grace (Romans 4:16). We cannot do anything to earn peace with God ourselves; we require special saving grace if we are to be reconciled to Him. We require God to credit the work of Christ to us freely if we are to enjoy peace with God. This is why the reformer Martin Luther referred to faith credited apart from works as 'alien righteousness'. The phrase aptly describes the reality that the righteousness we need to commune with God, both now and in the new creation, must come independently of us.

This raises our third point: if peace with God comes free of charge, on what basis can God do this? The answer is through Jesus Christ. In Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, we see God's solution to our great dilemma of how sinful man can be reconciled to a holy God. For God cannot simply forgive a person without a legitimate way of doing so; otherwise, it would make Him unjust. Jesus' substitutionary atonement, whereby He suffered God's wrath on our behalf, is the means by which God can justly forgive the sinner.

Thus, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is that sure place where peace can be found. His life given tells us it is true, and His empty tomb proclaims that it is lasting. Do you have this peace with God?