An Intro To Biblical Justification

This is one of those terms where the common-place use of the term has changed from its technical meaning

Modern English

When we say “Was he justified?” we mean “Did he have a good reason to do that?”

Technical Meaning

However, the word comes from Latin meaning “to make Righteous” or “to do Righteousness.”

... Where “Righteous” means “to be Right”, which in a Biblical context means “to be Holy”

Justification is “How can we stand before a Holy God?”

Or, to put it in more common language…​

That’s the question of how do we become Holy (the process — whereas Justification is about our Status)

How this happens is a very big & important topic on its own, and we’ll talk about it in more detail next time

For now, we’re covering our standing before God as a distinct (but obviously very tightly-related) topic

Are you a “good person” or not?

Do you do nice things for others?

Do you “live your truth” so that others may likewise be empowered?

Have you made the world a better place?

There is no Original Sin (“No soul shall bear the burden of another”), but just as a child of a drug addict suffers the consequences of their parent, they are not “guilty” of drug-use.

It is solely God’s choice for Salvation — He’s not bound by the need for sins to be “paid for.”

While He can save anyone He chooses, He does look much more favorably on those that seek after Him, which means following the tenents of Islam. ^*

God heals and transforms us through Baptism, enabling us to do His will, and is the first step of a lifelong journey.

It is through the Sacraments that we continue to receive His Grace, empowering/enabling us to do the good works that make us Holy and merit Justification/Salvation. ^*

We are declared to be Righteous the moment we believe in God’s gift of Salvation.

While there is a transformation that happens in the believer’s soul and good works that flow from that (Sanctification), nothing we do can contribute to the completed work of Christ on the cross that bought us Salvation.

https://ehills.org/about-us/who-we-are/what-we-believe/

That was His primary purpose here, so he said a lot…​

To get a good feel, it’s worthwhile to take a look at His longest recorded sermon: The Sermon on the Mount

In fact, after clarifying for an entire chapter what’s meant by “not the least stroke of the pen” where He gives standards that vastly surpass anything the religious leaders would have dared (turn the other cheek, no fleeting lustful thoughts, no burst of anger against someone, love your enemies, etc.).

He sums up the introduction to the sermon with

When you read about Sin in the Bible, it’s talked about in a very objective, status-oriented way, akin to a “legal standing.” As the old truism says: We aren’t sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners.

That’s a whole study on its own, but notice as you read the Bible how much it leans on objective, universal Truth, not what our actions or feelings have to do with it. The only part that has anything to do with us is if we believe Him or not…​

God has saved us from the just consequences of our sins by declaring us to be Holy in His sight, which is accounted to us through Faith in the completed works of Jesus.

It’s a promise, not a contract where we have our own terms to uphold. It’s “did and done,” accounted to us (imputed) based solely on what Christ did.

…​or do you choose to call Him a liar? That everything He’s done for you really isn’t enough.

Let’s take another look at the statement of faith we have at eHills

We are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone — but not by a faith that IS alone.

We’ll look at our response to this Grace next time, when we look at Sanctification