THE NATURE OF SALVATION | JUSTIFICATION

1. The nature of Salvation

a) God has given us salvation at very great cost to Himself. By repentance and faith man can accept this salvation. Just what happens then? What is this salvation which he receives? Four words show some of the wonderful things that become ours when we receive God's salvation: Forgiveness, Justification, Reconciliation, and The New Birth.

2. What is Justification?

a) Forgiveness is taught in the Old Testament, but justification is taught mostly by Paul in the New Testament. What is the difference between forgiveness and justification?

b) When we receive forgiveness, the debt which we had because of our sins is taken away. When we are justified, we have a new standing before God. In the Old Testament a person might need to be forgiven many times, but in the New Testament a person is justified only once. He will never need to be justified again.

c) What does it mean to be justified?

i) It does not mean to be just. Man is not in himself just or righteous, although he can be justified. There is none righteous, no, not one, Romans 3:10.

ii) It does not mean to make just. God is said to be justified, Luke 7:29, Romans 3:4, but He always was just and so does not need to be made just.

iii) When a person is justified, he is declared to be just. God says he is justified because he is now in Christ. In the court of heaven the man who is in Christ is no longer guilty of sin and does not have to pay for his sins, 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is not because he is without sin, but because the Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty for his sins. So God's law cannot condemn him any more:

@1. Who shall lay any charge against God's elect? It is God that justifies, Romans 8:33.

d) In Romans justification is:

i) by grace, Romans 3:24;

ii) by righteousness, Romans 5:18-19, the obedience of Christ on the cross;

iii) by blood, Romans 5:9, which the Lord Jesus Christ shed on Calvary;

iv) by resurrection, Romans 4:25, which proved that God accepted the sacrifice of Christ on the cross;

v) by faith, Romans 5:1, which shows that man has accepted Christ's sacrifice for him.

e) Justification is also said to be by works, James 2:21, 25. This means that by his good works a man shows to others that he has been justified. Those who have been justified have peace in their hearts, Romans 5:1