REVISITING THE BELIEVER'S POSITIONAL RICHES IN CHRIST

Part XI: Applying The Truth That Believers Are Justified By God

I. Introduction

A. All of the world's false religions teach human merit or work is necessary for man to acquire salvation.

B. However, one of the 33 riches of divine grace the believer in Christ possesses the instant he trusts in Christ is justification as a gift from God. (Lewis S. Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. III, "Soteriology," p. 245-246)

C. This truth means that God requires nothing from man but faith alone in Christ alone for God to save him:

II. Applying The Truth That Believers Are Justified By God.

A. The instant a person trusts in Christ as Savior, God imputes to him Christ's righteousness, Romans 5:12-21.

B. Based on that imputation of Christ's righteousness, God declares the sinner righteous, justifying him as a gift:

1. Once one believes in Christ, he is given Christ's righteousness.

2. Recognizing this fact, God pronounces him "just," thus justifying him, Ibid., p. 247; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

3. Human boasting is then excluded, for justification is solely God's function, Rom. 3:26-28; Eph. 2:8-9.

C. The application of this truth counters the beliefs the world's false religions as we can illustrate (as follows):

1. Roman Catholicism via the Council of Trent holds one is justified by God if he trusts in Christ plus keeps its "sacraments" of baptism, confirmation, the mass, penance, extreme unction, orders and marriage. Yet, since God justified by faith alone in Christ alone, keeping these sacraments is fruitless, Romans 3:24, 26.

2. Islam teaches one must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life and do good works (or die in holy war automatically to enter heaven) and thus hope to gain heaven in the end, SIM-NOW, July-Aug. 1989, p. 5. However, if God alone justifies one by faith alone in Christ alone, such works are fruitless!

3. Protestant Arminians teach one is justified by faith in Christ, but that he must maintain his faith in Christ or lose his justified status. (Assemblies of God Bylaws, Art. VIII, Sec. 1) However, if one is "justified" apart from human merit or works, faith must not be a human work (Romans 4:4-5), so nothing a believer does or fails to do after God has justified him can alter his justified status before God. (Galatians 3:3)

4. Some Protestant Charismatics claim one must speak in tongues or be baptized to be justified. However, God justifies one by faith alone in Christ, so these works cannot produce salvation! (Ephesians 2:8-9)

5. Mormonism holds one must repent, be baptized and endure to the end to be justified (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 27:13-21), and that this is the true gospel versus what Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches of justification by faith alone in Christ. However, Paul in Galatians 1:8-9 claimed that if he or an angel from heaven taught any other gospel than what he had taught of justification by faith alone in Christ (Galatians 3:3: 1:8-9), precisely what Mormonism does by teaching Joseph Smith received an updated gospel of faith plus works from the angel Moroni, he is to be excommunicated! One is justified by faith alone in Christ!

6. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that only the 144,000 of Revelation 7:1-8 go to heaven due to good works, that this number is now filled so that current believers only hope to be re-created after Armageddon. (Van Baalen, Chaos of the Cults, 1973, p. 272; Salem Kirban, Jehovah's Witnesses, 1972, p. 62-63) However, Revelation 7:9-14 reports people from every group worldwide besides the 144,000 Hebrews of verses 1-8 will be in heaven during the future Great Tribulation before Armageddon in Revelation 19, that they will be justified by the blood of the Lamb, Christ, Rev. 7:14! Thus, all who trust in Christ are justified by faith.

7. Judaism holds God justifies those who belong to Abraham's physical lineage and keep the Mosaic Law [or Gentiles who become proselytes to Judaism] (cf. Romans 9:6-8, 31-32) Yet, Paul states that justification is not by these works or credentials, but by faith alone in Christ, Romans 9:30-33; Philippians 3:3, 4-9.

8. Classic modern psychology (Freud, Jung, Rogers, Adler, Maslow, Ellis) and Liberal Theology hold that man is intrinsically good, not evil, that he needs no salvation from alleged "sin." (Martin and Deidre Bobgan, Psychoheresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity,1987, p. 1-259) However, Romans 3:10-26 presents man as helplessly doomed for eternal divine judgment due to sin, that he must be justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ without any human merit or meritorious works to be saved by God!

Lesson: A human becomes righteous before God when God gifts him with His declaration that that person is righteous since God has imputed him with Christ's righteousness when he trusts in Christ. This process, known as justification, is by faith alone in Christ alone versus all religions that teach human merit or works for salvation.

Application: (1) If we have tried to justify ourselves by works, may we instead trust in Christ. (2) If we have trusted in Christ, may we relax and rejoice! God is the One Who justified us, so who can condemn us? (Romans 8:33)