| Christian Life and Doctrine | September 1969 |
The Prerequisites of Our Justification
ONE of the most delightful studies of the Bible is that of justification. Through the study of this doctrine we may be helped to a better understanding of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and also of how our relationship with our Heavenly Father is attained. Our study here will be devoted to the subject of the justification of the members of the Christian church, during the Gospel Age. The prerequisites of our justification are those things which are necessary and which must take place before our justification can become a fact.
Our English words “justification” and “righteousness” both come from the same Greek root. The meaning of this Greek root is “to be made right.” Therefore, a simple definition of the word “justification” is “to make right,” “to make righteous.” The Bible repeatedly states that it is God who justifies, therefore the proper thought behind this word justification should be “to be made right with God.” That is, to be made right, or righteous, in the sight of God. Justification, as it pertains to the Christian church, is the arrangement by which God recognizes us as righteous, no longer sinners, and therefore acceptable to him. And being thus acceptable to God, he begets us to a spiritual life that permits us to have fellowship and communion with him. If this is a proper definition, then one of the prerequisites of our justification must be the removal of any estrangement, of any discord, that may exist between God and the one thus justified. But, someone may say, how is this possible? We are all sinners. We were born sinners. How can righteousness be conferred upon anyone born imperfect? What is the Bible answer?
Each of the following Scripture texts presents a prerequisite of our justification:
We are justified by His grace.—Romans 3:24
We are justified by the blood of Christ.—Romans 5:9
He was raised again for our justification.—Romans 4:25
We are justified by faith.—Romans 5:1
These texts all apply to the justification of the Christian church. But besides these expressions, let us keep in mind the statement of Romans 8:33: “It is God that justifieth.” No one else!
By Grace
With this introduction, let us study the prerequisites of our justification. Romans 3:21-24 reads: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ [‘through faith in Jesus Christ,’ RSV] unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Let us emphasize the last phrase, “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This text introduces to us a righteousness without (apart from) the law of Moses; that is, a righteousness not dependent upon the deeds of the Law. The Jewish people tried to attain righteousness through keeping the Law, but they failed. So this text of Scripture introduces us to a righteousness, or a justification, that is obtained by “faith of [in] Jesus Christ.” Everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, needs this justification if he is to be made right with God. The Bible says that by the deeds of the Law no flesh shall be justified. (Rom. 3:20) But here justification is manifested, or is laid open to our view, “even the righteousness for justification] of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” Today’s English Version reads: “But now God’s way of putting men right with himself has been revealed and it has’ nothing to do with the Law … but is by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Both Jewish and Gentile believers need this righteousness. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) Adam in his perfection was crowned with glory and honor, but none of his children have enjoyed the glory of human perfection. All have sinned. All are imperfect. Paul’s statement in Romans 3:24 carries a beautiful thought: “Being justified freely by his grace.” God’s grace is his unmerited favor, by his love, by his loving-kindness; for it is because of his great love for us that he arranged for our justification. Therefore, the first prerequisite of our standing before God in righteousness is our Heavenly Father’s love for us.
Had it not been for his love, his grace, his great goodness toward us, there would be no opportunity for us to be other than sinners in the sight of God—every one of us; none excepted. This realization brings to our minds the scripture we all love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” He gave, and we are justified freely, gratuitously, by his grace. The gift of his Son was not without cost to him. It cost him much; it cost him the death of his beloved Son. And it was not without cost to our Lord Jesus; it cost him crucifixion and death. But freely, gratuitously, without cost to us, it opened up a new and living way; a way for us to come back into fellowship and communion with God.
Think for a moment of the love of our Heavenly Father for us! He was the one that was sinned against. It was his instruction that was flouted in the Garden of Eden. It was the pair who owed so much to him who disobeyed and sinned against him. And yet it was our rather in heaven who made the first overture toward a reconciliation. And at what a cost! He arranged the first step so that those under condemnation could be brought back into fellowship with him. A wonderful expression of love! So God’s grace, his loving-kindness, was the first prerequisite in providing the way for our justification. Through his love he provided the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
By His Blood
Another prerequisite is found in Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” We are “justified by his blood,” and Romans 3:25,26 supports the thought that the blood of Christ is necessary for our justification: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
And again, in Ephesians 2:13, we read: “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” So the blood of Christ is a very important prerequisite to our standing of justification before God. The “sins that are past” (Rom. 3:25) refer, of course, to the adamic sins. The wrath of God (Rom. 5:9) refers to the condemnation of Adam under which all mankind is born.
We recognize that the “blood of Christ” has primary reference to his death. The “life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Lev. 17:11) Shed blood results in the death of the life that existed in the body. Thus we understand the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. A life for a life. Jesus died for Adam and thus redeemed him and his race.—I Cor. 15:21,22
Acts 20:28 reads as follows: “Takeheed therefore … to feed the church of God, which he [Jesus] hath purchased with his own blood.” Now, if we are purchased with Jesus’ precious blood, then our relationship with God is certainly dependent upon that purchase price. We cannot separate Christ’s sacrifice from salvation. Our salvation depends upon it. In I Peter 1:18,19 we read: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
The sacrifice of the passover lamb is the type. The passover lamb died, the firstborn lived. The offering of a life to God is the essential thing in sacrifice and, therefore, blood becomes a symbol of sacrificial death. And the blood of Christ becomes to us the realization that he sacrificed his life for us.
The expression “being … justified by his blood” informs us that the ransom is indeed a prerequisite of our justification, and that it plays a very important part in our relationship with God. To us who understand the philosophy of the ransom and the part it plays in our deliverance from God’s condemnation, this doctrine becomes a very important truth—a fundamental truth that clearly teaches that our redemption which is from God is through Christ Jesus.
By His Resurrection
Another prerequisite is found in Romans 4:24,25, which reads: “Jesus our Lord … was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Christ was “delivered,” that is, delivered up in death, for our offences. But had he remained dead, none of the human race could ever be accounted righteous in the sight of God. Therefore, he was raised from death that we might be justified. Let us remember that justification depends upon a change from being at enmity with God to being reconciled to him; from being under condemnation, to being freed from condemnation.
Hebrews 9:23 speaks of the tabernacle types, and tells how these would give place to “better sacrifices,” and then in the 24th verse we read: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” We wish particularly to emphasize the phrase, “now to appear in the presence of God for us.” When Christ entered into the presence of God for us he did not have in his possession the blood of a bull, nor the blood of a goat, but he had what his own blood represented, the merit of his ransom sacrifice; the merit of a perfect life that had been laid down in sacrifice for us.
And had he not done that, we would not be justified. John 10:17,18 reads: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
These are the words of Jesus. And how true they were! It was indispensable that he take up that life again in order to accomplish the fruition of his death. “No man taketh it from me,” he said. That was not true of Adam. Adam’s life had been taken from him because of his disobedience to God’s law. But Christ was always obedient to his Father’s will; he willingly, gladly, voluntarily laid down his life in sacrifice. His life was his own to give or to keep, but he chose to give it. “I have power to take it again,” he said.
This is not to say that Christ raised himself from death; he was raised from the dead by the power of his Heavenly Father. This truth is stated in Acts 2:24, Acts 10:40, and in many other texts of Scripture. And when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Father to the spirit life, he took again that unforfeited life merit that he had given up in sacrifice; not as literal blood, but as redemptive merit, as purchasing power—as a value to redeem Adam, who had forfeited his life. He took it, and appeared in the presence of God for you and me, as this was necessary before we could be released from adamic condemnation through the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
By Faith
Our next prerequisite is found in Romans 5:1, 2 and 10: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. … For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” God’s love, God’s grace in providing a way through the gift of his Son was the first step toward our justification. Christ’s faithfulness even unto death, his resurrection, his appearing in the presence of God for us was the next step toward our justification.
In considering this subject of justification, let us emphasize in our minds the importance of God’s part, and the importance of the part of our Lord Jesus. But we also have a part. Our part is the full exercise of our faith. Faith is an active principle in the life of every child of God. If our faith is inactive, it is “dead, being alone.” (Jas. 2:17) But how do we exercise our faith toward justification? We do so by an enthusiastic consecration of ourselves to God. This faith which moves us to consecration is necessary for our justification. We are “justified by his blood,” and “his blood” is the merit of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And for whom can the merit of Jesus Christ be applied? Only for those who have truly consecrated themselves to God. Through the imputation of Christ’s merit, we are covered with the robe of his righteousness, and thus we are acceptable to God through the merit of the Beloved.
Note again the statement of our text: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Not the peace of a tranquil soul, although the peace “of” God is also very important. This text, however, tells us we have peace with God; that is, we are no longer at enmity, no longer in opposition to God. We have now become reconciled; we are at peace with him: This peace of reconciliation is possible only because we have had imputed to us the merit of Christ’s blood. We are righteous before God, because we are thus covered. Why does the Heavenly Father see us and account us as being righteous, or clean, or right before him? Only because we are covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness!
And only because of this have we been released from condemnation and wrath and made right, or righteous, before God. Thus, we are justified in God’s sight. Only those consecrated to God may receive this redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and of them Paul said: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” (Rom. 8:1) All others are at enmity with God. One of the connotations of the word “peace” in Romans 5:1 is reconciliation. It is the same word that is used in the text, “and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) We may have thought of this text as referring only to the fact that there would be no more wars or conflicts between nations. It does mean this; but it means more than this. It brings us joy in the realization that the time is coming when there will be reconciliation, or peace, between God and man; and because of that reconciliation there will be “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”—Luke 2:10,11
So again: being justified by faith we have peace, reconciliation, with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son. We have learned that we are justified “by his blood,” by the imputation of the merit of his sacrifice. Thus we know that the exercise of faith, as we have exercised that faith in consecration, is a prerequisite of partaking of the merit of his sacrifice, and is therefore a prerequisite of our justification.
In Romans 3:26 we read: “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” This is one of the most beautiful texts that the Apostle Paul, under inspiration, has written in his explanation of justification. Several other translations read: “that he might be just and yet the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.”
Our Heavenly Father was just in sentencing man to death. But if the sentence was just, how could he remove that sentence and still be just? He can do so only because of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ; only because the merit of the ransom is extended to those who have full faith in our Lord Jesus, for he died the Just for the unjust. This text, therefore, emphasizes God’s justice, just as his grace emphasizes his love. But it also emphasizes his eternal and essential consistency. He provides the way whereby we may come to him and be justified, the way that enables him to be just and yet the justifier. He condones nothing. He provides his Son that he can be just and yet be the justifier of the ones made acceptable through faith in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
God Is for Us
In Romans 8:31-34 we find this message: “What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
Here is a specific statement. It is God’s elect; that is, the church, the consecrated, whom God justifies during this Gospel Age. In these verses the inspired Apostle Paul presents an important truth. Notice how this is stated in the Emphatic Diaglott: “What shall we say, then, to these things? Since God is for us, who can be against us? Surely he who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up on behalf of us all, how will he not with him also graciously give us all things? Who will bring an accusation against God’s chosen ones? Will that God who justifies?” Note that it is God’s chosen ones, the elect, the consecrated, whom God justifies. The Diaglott rendering continues: “Who is he who condemns? Will that anointed one who died; and, still more, who has been raised; who also is at the right hand of God, and who intercedes on our behalf?” These words should encourage every child of God!
The subject of justification need not be so difficult to understand as some have thought. Let us keep this beautiful doctrine just as simple as it is presented to us in the Word of God. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that the elect, by virtue of the merit of Christ’s blood being imputed to them, are made righteous and acceptable to God. Justification is not a process of being made right, but a right condition already attained.
Does God deal with anyone before his consecration? There is no doubt that he does. Not only are the Scriptures clear on this point, but the experiences of every child of God confirm that God does deal with those who are in the way of righteousness. The Scriptures say, “No man can come to me [Jesus], except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) Possibly the expression, “the drawings of the Lord,” most beautifully expresses the experience of our own lives prior to consecration. Our providences, our experiences, as we sought after the Lord, made us realize that the drawings of God, through the power of his Spirit, were directing us in the way of truth and righteousness. Yes, directing us through his providences toward the act of consecration and to our justification.
In Colossians 1:20-22 we find the following statement: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross [Please note how this statement harmonizes with what we have been studying], by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven; and you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”
Isn’t this a magnificent text with which to conclude this study? But justification is only the beginning, and leads us on to the subject of sanctification. For just as justification changes our status before God, sanctification daily changes us as we grow in grace and in knowledge. Thus we develop as “new creatures” and thus we go on towards the completion of the good work begun in us. Therefore, let us consider indeed, the privilege that we enjoy of being justified in God’s sight, and let us also appreciate the privilege that we have of daily sanctification through the power of the truth. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) At last our day will be done, and we will hear those longed-for words, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”—Matt. 25:23
We also rejoice in the knowledge that the blood of the cross goes further. It extends the redemption blessings to the world of mankind, so that at the close of the thousand-year reign of Christ and the church all the obedient of earth will have been reconciled to God, and their enmity removed. “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”—Eph. 1:10