On Justification

Justification is important to me, because I know with great certainty that I did not earn my salvation but it was given to me strictly by grace. As a result, I was moved to research justification by grace. These are my findings:

The concept of justification is introduced in the Old Testament by the power of the law, and later expressed in the New Testament by the power of faith in the resurrected Christ. The elements that compose the act of justification are: the resurrection of Christ, repentance, forgiveness, and faith, all by the works of the Holy Spirit. Justification by human efforts is also explored as a contradiction to what Paul speaks of in scripture.

If we look at what is central to Christian faith we will find the Son of God crucified at Calvary. Central if not pivotal to the lives of believers is the sacrifice endured at the cross and the end result which allowed for justification before God in Christ Jesus.

It is necessary to explore the need for a savior anticipated in the Old Testament in light of the end result which is the redemption from sin. In Genesis 3:15 we find the first reference to a Messiah which is promised to Eve by God as a means to the snake’s destruction (who we perceive as Satan):

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

It is in this anticipated Messiah that mankind hopes for salvation. However, prior to the arrival of this Savior, Mosaic law is rendered by God in an effort to lead His Hebrew people by righteous works (or obedience of the law.) Justification then can be construed as a matter of human works and not a matter of faith, which is technically incorrect, but worth noting. It is Christ who fulfills the law in its entirety thereby making justification a matter of confidence in the conviction that Christ paid the penalty for all sins. And it is in this justification that sinners are absolved from blame. Nevertheless, inquiry regarding human effort remains where righteous works are concerned as stated in James 2:14: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” Is then justification acquired in human might through good works or by the power of the Holy Spirit alone? After discussing justification in Paul’s epistles a conclusion will be drawn that justification by faith alone is the only way unto the salvation as offered by Christ.

Faith as defined here is the point of contact with the Holy Spirit and any subsequent revelation of God that arises from this connection is a faith that cannot be willed in human might, but can only be credited to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit alone (Eph. 2:8). Without the Spirit of God any awareness of God would not be possible and the sacrifice on Calvary would be simply unknowable. At the heart of Paul’s epistles is the credit he appoints to the Holy Spirit as his beginning and end to all that is Christ: “Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit” (Rom. 15:17-19).

It is essential to accept that justification is acquired by faith alone, because the alternative would imply that mankind could earn salvation. The idea that human beings are worthy at any level to receive forgiveness of their sins is inconsistent with the death of Jesus Christ. The Messiah was offered as a sacrifice long before He walked the earth incarnate to do away with man’s sin, including the original sin which took place in Eden through Adam. After the fall of man, it would necessitate God’s Son to redeem everyone and everything through his death and subsequent resurrection.

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

If man were to hold any self redeeming abilities, then the law of Moses would have been enough to warrant justification by mere obedience. If man were capable of self-justification then the act of God in Jesus Christ would be unnecessary. This mindset becomes a problem, because the redeeming act of Christ is self sufficient and absent of any human contribution. The mere notion that man could contribute to justification in any manner results in a co-redemption with the son of God, which also lacks in sense, because the act of Christ is complete and absolute not deficient in any manner.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose: (Phil. 2:12-13). Here, faith is an awakening within an awareness of the existence of Christ. Paul’s exhortations to “struggle against sin is not a reference to faith as a matter of works but rather an invitation to honor God in our lives through our actions. In other words, the abstinence of sin is in reverence to a Holy God. The struggle to “work out our salvation” is not the point of grace where justification is found, but rather it is the forgiveness and repentance where the point of salvation begins. A struggle to pursue a holy life in an effort to be godly is inevitable in the presence of the selfless God who offered absolution of sins in the first place. For example, “If it is the case that God saved me and that I am aware of this grace then it follows that I would reciprocate the act of love to honor God’s commands.” This reciprocity is not an enforced expectation but rather a willful point of surrender by the believer to a God worthy of obedience.

The Epistles of Paul were closely reviewed for congruence concerning the claim that the Holy Spirit is responsible for justification. Further inquiry is sought in Old Testament prophecy that a Messiah was promised to recover God’s people from hardship. The focus of this research is intended to explore the writings of Paul in an effort to understand how the absolving of all sin is gained by means of grace and not human effort. The difficulty in accepting this assertion is that the offering appears too great for not having earned any of it. In human terms, we gather what we sow, and the notion that our eternal fate rests in grace can be difficult to comprehend in terms of logic. God’s grace is at the root of the act and this is not easily explained without the element of faith in the greater good of God.

Notably, God’s greater good and purpose concerning justification can only be understood through the power of the Holy Spirit. In the eyes of logic, it is the case that the son of a carpenter was crucified for my sins. Reason would argue that this Nazarene was nothing more than another man claiming to be God. In a faithless audience without the Holy Spirit, this man proclaiming his own deity was without merit. Not only was he claiming to be a direct offspring of a God who could not be seen, but he was putting himself out to be God Himself and the “sacrificial lamb” consistent with Passover law who would wipe away the sins of mankind. These extraordinary claims made by Jesus (as an ordinary man in the eyes of logic) warranted his crucifixion. And it is here where the crux of faith lies because without the outpouring and presence of His Spirit we are unable to believe in our own might that the carpenter’s son is Jesus Christ the Son of God. God’s purpose is a simple one that has more to do with unreasonable faith and little to do with much else. The purpose and mission is His Son through and by the revelation of His Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the point of justification is introduced in Genesis whereby faith Abraham believes in a promise from God in spite of natural obstacles that exist. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3). Righteousness here is denoted as “without guilt or sin.” Notably, Abraham was not repenting of any sins, but rather expressing his faith. Further, as is noted in Romans 4:11: “(Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.”

Faith as a measure of confidence in the Truth (i.e. a statement of God or God Himself) is introduced via Abraham and His willingness to trust God’s ability and word.

This literature is significant, because Abraham’s faith acts as a prelude to trusting in a God that could only be experienced through faith. This is relative to Paul’s explanation of justification, because only through faith are we acquainted with the Son of God and similarly, the offer of justification in his sacrifice are by faith alone.

In the New Testament, justification is by and through the power of the Holy Spirit alone, “so that no one may boast before Him” (1 Cor. 1:29). It is clear that God is credited for righteousness on every level including the faith it takes to receive salvation in Christ: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—“ (Eph. 2:8).

Zechariah 4:6 states, “Not by my power, but by the power of the Holy Ghost.” It is here that we find the force and strength behind the mission and the certainty of the outcome behind God’s purpose, which is our salvation. Similarly, this salvation is attained only by and through the Spirit that empowered Christ to fulfill His mission that a believer finds justification by faith.

In this justification we are free of all sin. However, the offer of salvation is available only to those who accept and believe. Essentially, the entire scope of justification by faith and as a result of salvation is an offer in its entirety, because it simply could never be attained by human means or earned. In summary, as the gospel clearly delineates the power of the Spirit in justification is without human works: “Who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Tim. 1:9.)

In conclusion, this research to explore the source of justification as by and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Justification is consistently referenced in scripture first in anticipation of a Messiah who would fulfill the prophecy and later the actual fulfillment thereof in its entirety by the power of the Holy Spirit as expressed in the New Testament. Justification is free from works and scripture supports this claim.