By Gary Ray Branscome
To be justified in the sight of God is to be absolved of
all guilt, vindicated of any wrongdoing, and declared
innocent and blameless before the court of divine justice. Now, in regard to
justification, the Bible plainly tells us that even though we all deserve Gods
condemnation and wrath, The blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us of all sin (1John 1:7). And, the phrase
Justification by Faith points to the fact that we receive that cleansing
through faith in Christ. Therefore, to be justified by faith is to be justified
by what Christ did [His shed blood], rather than by what we do.
The Doctrine of Universal Condemnation
Romans 3:9-20 All
men, both Jews and Gentiles, are all under sin; As it
is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They
have all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable; there is
none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with
their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of serpents is under
their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are
swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the
way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now
we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the
world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no
flesh shall be justified in His sight, for
the knowledge of sin comes by the law, and All
of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6).
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith
Romans 3:21-28 But
now the righteousness of God without the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets, Even the righteousness of God, that
is by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who 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. Whom God has 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; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might
be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is
excluded. By what law? of
works? No: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law. [Note: faith without the deeds
of the law is faith alone.]
In understanding what the Bible is saying about our
justification it is important to understand that we are justified by the
forgiveness Christ secured for us by His death on the cross, not our faith.
There is no particular virtue in faith. Our faith can be described as a hand
that passively accepts Gods free gift of forgiveness. Or as
Christ Himself put it, This is my blood
which is shed for many for the
forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). For Christ
also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might
bring us to God, (1Peter
That being understood, the Bible describes our
justification both in terms of the sin and condemnation that is removed when we
come to faith in Christ, and the righteousness that is imputed to us as a
result of our sin being removed.
The words, The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us of all sin, testify
to the forgiveness that Christ won for us through His death on the cross (1John
1:7). The words, All the prophets testify of Him, that
through His name whoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins, again testify to that
forgiveness (Acts
The
following passages all testify to the fact that, we are absolved of all guilt,
and declared righteous before the court of divine justice because of the forgiveness that is
ours in Christ forgiveness that we receive through faith in His blood (Romans
5:2).
For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just will live by faith (Romans
But now the
righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which comes through faith in
Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe (Romans 3:21-22).
What does the scripture say? Abraham believed
God, and it was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3).
These are those who
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb
(Revelation
When
a man does not work, but trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5).