Gospel as Center: chapter 9

Justification - what's it all about?

• What is justification? It's not being made righteous per se, but rather being declared righteous. This is God's legal decision, so it is binding. Also, He does not merely remove the unrighteousness, but He replaces it with a full dose of Jesus Christ's perfect righteousness in each person who receives Him.
• Why do we need justification? We have broken every single commandment of God, and breaking of but one destroys any perfection we could hope to have.
• Why is justification the "chief article" of our faith? "There is no hope of salvation without it" (p. 154).
• Where does it come from? God and His grace - He possesses and originates righteousness. Romans 3 tells us that "God still perserves His righteousness" since He is unlimited (p. 157).
• Why can we be justified? Jesus lived and died perfectly and applies that perfection to us. "There is no justification without crucifixion" (p. 159). The righteousness is imputed to us - credited to our account; it is both active (fulfilling the law) and passive (dying to pay sin's wages)
• How are we justified? By faith in Christ, the empty hand that receives His gifts without expectation. Trying works-righteousness is throwing filthy rags in His face.
• What is the goal of justification? Works that now glorify God because of the motive and ability behind them! And this justification can never depart from us, for God stuck it there.