THE DOCTRINE OF

 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

A Look at God's Word by
Gary Ray Branscome

  Although the doctrine of justification by faith has endured violent opposition and weathered a maelstrom of controversy, no informed person can deny that the Bible teaches it, for the Apostle Paul referred to it many times and presented it quite clearly in the third chapter of the book of Romans. That being the case, the purpose of this essay is to look at what Romans 3:10-28 has to say.


AN OVERVIEW


    To justify someone is to absolve them of guilt, to vindicate them of any wrongdoing, to free them from blame, or show them to be innocent. Therefore, spiritually speaking, a just person is someone who is innocent, righteous, or blameless before God. The doctrine of “Justification by Faith” then addresses the question of what makes us righteous in the sight of God. And, Paul’s presentation of that doctrine consists of two parts. In the first he explains why the deeds of the law cannot justify anyone (Romans 3:10-20). In the second, he explains how we are justified (Romans 3:21-28).


PART ONE

THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN


9   Are we [Jews] better than they [Gentiles]? No, in no wise: for we have before proved
Both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13  Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14  Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15  Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16  Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17  And the way of peace have they not known:
18  There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

[Comment: In verses ten through eighteen Paul quotes several passages that condemn all who are under the law. He then states two important truths. In verse 19 he tells us that the law condemns everyone who is under it in order to silence every boast of righteousness by showing the whole world to be guilty. In verse 20 he concludes by saying that the law, can never make us righteous in the sight of God, because God gave it to reveal our guilt.]


PART TWO

THE GRACE OF GOD


21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25  Whom God hath 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;
26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

[Comment: In part two, Paul explains that since the law cannot make us righteous, God has now revealed a way to become righteous without the law (verse 21), even the righteousness that is accounted to all who trust in Christ (verse 22). For if we have all fallen short of what the law requires, being cleansed of sin by the forgiveness that is ours through faith in Christ Jesus (verses 23-26), then we are “justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (verse 28).]

SOME PASSAGES THAT RELATE TO WHAT PAUL SAID


The words, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace,” tell us that the grace spoken of in verse 24 consists of forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7).

The words, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” explain why Paul refers to Christ’s blood as a “propitiation” and why he sees faith in Christ’s blood as a source of forgiveness (1 John 1:7, verse 25).

    Since the words, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” tell us that Abraham was justified through faith in God’s promise, they tell us that the faith by which we are justified is faith in God’s promise of forgiveness in Christ (Galatians 3:6, verse 28).


PAUL AND JAMES


    Even though the Apostle Paul carefully explains why the law cannot make us righteous, those who want to be motivated by the law are continually trying to find some way around his words. Therefore, as soon as they learn that James said, “by works a man is justified and not by faith only,” they assume that the words of James negate what Paul said (Romans 3:28, James 2:24). In their blindness they then feel free to ignore Paul’s warnings against trusting in works. However, a careful examination of what James said makes it clear that Paul and James were talking about two different things. When Paul spoke of faith he was referring to faith in Christ. In contrast, the words, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble,” make it clear that the faith James regarded as “dead” was not faith in Christ at all. Likewise, when Paul spoke of works he was referring to works of righteousness, or obedience to the law. In contrast, the words, “Was not Rahab the Harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way,” make it perfectly clear that the works James had in mind were not works of obedience, or righteousness, but what we would call the fruits of faith (James 2:19, 20, 25). Therefore, James was not saying that we need works of righteousness in addition to faith. Instead he was saying that if a person truly has faith in Christ it will make a difference in their life.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS


    Those who profess to trust in Christ for righteousness, while trying to please God or gain His favor by their works, are not really trusting in Christ at all. For if they really trusted in Christ, they would be trusting in His blood, rather than works, to bring God’s favor, and they would believe that since their sins have been washed away God no longer sees any unrighteousness in them.

    Those who seek righteousness by the law, compare themselves with others and judge those who sin willfully to be less righteous than they. However, God sees no difference between them, for in either case they are not sorry for their sin. [Romans 2:1 and 3:19-20, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Hebrews 10:26, Galatians 5:4]



CONCLUSION


    The Biblical doctrine of Justification by Faith can only be understood and appreciated by those who know that the law condemns them. All who delude themselves into thinking that they are even partly righteous will not see Justification by Faith as a way of being righteous, but as a way of getting away with being unrighteous. What the world at large fails to understand is that seeking righteousness by the law places them under the law, and all that are under the law are condemned by the law, for God designed it to condemn everyone (Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:10).