Taking a break from our series on Romans, I want to deal with the doctrine of justification, subtitled, The Biblical Doctrine of Justification by Grace in Christ. through faith alone according to the Holy Scripture as maintained in the historic Orthodox Christian faith. We're going to first look at an introduction to this topic area. Our scripture text is Romans 3, verses 21 through 26. 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 through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, Because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Shall we look to the Lord our God and pray? Father, we are so thankful for your word and what it means to us. And we ask, O Holy Father, that we would settle our hearts and our minds as we go through and study this great doctrine of Your redemption. We ask, O Father, that You would bless us, encourage us, strengthen us, give us greater measure of faith to go forward to advance the cause of Christ in our own life and in this world as representatives of Your Church. For we ask it in Christ's most precious and holy name. Now we ask, Father, You would give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive that which Your Word and Spirit would teach us. In Christ's name, Amen. Throughout the history of the church, there have been, in particular, four areas that I have noted that have come under attack either from within or outside of the church itself. One of the key areas is, of course, the Bible. Whether or not the Bible is the inerrant inspired word of God or not has always been a major battle, not only within Christianity, but from outside of the church. People have constantly attacked the Bible saying it's nothing but a book of men, or it's a book written who were somewhat religiously inspired, and yet it is still their writing. but it cannot be the infallible and errant word of the living God. And so we've seen these ongoing constant attacks throughout the history of the church. Another area is the doctrine of the Trinity, denying that there is even such a thing as a triune God. One in substance, three in persons. Another area has been the doctrine of Christ's deity. The doctrine that says Christ is the Son of the living God. He is the one who came and made propitiation for our sin. If He is not God, He cannot redeem us. It's impossible. for him to be a sacrifice apart from being truly divine in his nature. And of course, this has been a very hard hit area against the church. But the fourth area has not been a hit as often, especially in the early church, as much as it has since the time of medieval theology and in particular, the Reformation. And that is this doctrine of justification by faith. It is constantly and has constantly been under attack ever since the Reformation. Because the doctrine of justification by faith alone, as a doctrine of the Reformation, was a counter doctrinal move to the dominant church of its time, the Church of Rome, as well as the Church of the East, the Eastern Orthodox Church. As relating to this doctrinal issue, justification, I want to draw your attention to the reason why this doctrine should continually be included in this list. In the Solae Deo Gloria publication entitled, Justification by Faith Alone, John F. MacArthur, Jr., a contributor to the book, makes this observation concerning the importance of this doctrine in the history of the church. And I quote, no doctrine is more important to evangelical theology than the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The Reformation principle of sola fide. Martin Luther called it the article that determines whether the church is standing or falling. History provides plenty of objective evidence to affirm Luther's assessment. Churches and denominations that hold firmly to sola fide remain evangelical. Those willing to yield at this point inevitably capitulate to liberalism. revert to sacerdotalism, or embrace even worse forms of apostasy. Historic evangelicalism has therefore always treated justification by faith as a central biblical distinctive, if not the single most important doctrine to get right." What John MacArthur has said is very important for us. I do not believe there is a doctrine more essential to Orthodox Christianity, upon which out of that doctrine flows our proper understanding. And it's not the most important doctrine, but it is one of the great anchors of doctrines within the church. For when justification by faith is wrong, The Church goes awry from its history and heritage, and of course, apart from the teaching of Scripture in its most purest expression. This series on justification is designed to treat the topic from a biblical, historical, and creedal perspective. We must realize that there is no room for misstatement concerning this doctrine. It is that important to the church. Just to relate how important it is, let me go back to Martin Luther. As Luther began to realize the very essential nature of this doctrine. We're talking about a man who is looking at the issues concerning redemption as one who is a part, coming out of, if you will, the medieval scholastic theology of the Roman Catholic Church. When Luther begins to realize the true teaching of redemption, how that man can be made right with God, of a period of time, he began to see the distinctiveness of that doctrine, that even within the historical church, and Luther considered the western church the historical church, though it had departed in many of its practices from apostolic Christianity, nevertheless it still was the heritage of the true church. He began to realize that the church was going in an absolute different direction than that which the apostles had set forth and established through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when they were writing the rest of the canon of Scripture. And Luther began to say, you know, one of the central themes of redemption that is essential for us to understand is the work of God in His grace through Christ to redeem us and make us right with Him. Listen to what Luther states as he understood the essential importance of this doctrine of justification. And I quote, This doctrine, that is justification by faith, is the head and the cornerstone It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the Church of God. And without it, the Church of God cannot exist for one hour. For no one who does not hold this article, or, to use Paul's expression, this sound doctrine, is able to teach a right in the church or successfully to resist any adversary. This is the heel of the seed that opposes the old serpent and crushes its head. This is why Satan in turn cannot but persecute it." Luther says, you see, justification is so tied to Christ. that if you alter its teaching, then you have altered the very meaning and purpose of Christ in His redemption, a purpose in which He was to crush the head of the serpent. Is it no wonder that this doctrine will be attacked more than any other doctrine? And if you successfully attack this doctrine, it really doesn't matter what you say about the Bible, about the Trinity, about divinity, because once you've altered this doctrine, And you must understand, this is why the Reformers and the Puritans were so adamant about teaching the doctrine of justification correctly. That's why they were such precisionists on these issues. For if this doctrine is wrong, even if you maintain, as Rome did, a Trinitarian view, a deity view of Christ, Believe that the Bible was the Word of God. Nevertheless, once they altered the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they took the church in a different direction. And that direction was apostasy. They were departing from the faith. Now, just before I go on to read Luther, just for your historical context, You must understand that in the history of the church, the church dealt with questions of heresy. One of the questions during the Reformation posed to Philip Melanchthon was this. Why does not Rome persecute the Roman Catholic Church? Why do not the Reformers persecute the Roman Catholic Church as Rome has persecuted the reformers for heresy. And Melanchthon said, because true heresy has primarily been pinned around two major doctrines, the Trinity and the deity of Christ. Rome has never denied the essentials of the fundamentals. What they've done is added to the doctrine of redemption and all of its theological connections, which has not been a denial of essential truth, but they have added so much to the truth that the truth no longer is the truth. Too much has now become too little, because what they have not denied in essence They have apostatized from in practice and in teaching by altering the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of redemption. And so, within that structure you must understand, although, We would not necessarily say someone who altered justification by faith was a heretic historically. Today, the term heresy or heretic does not and has not been applied in that historical context only. And you'll see that, as I quote a few people here. But the importance, Luther is saying, is this. Don't you understand? Even if you have the Bible as the Word of God, even if you maintain the distinctive of the Trinity and the deity of Christ. What is worse is you have the form of historic Christianity and yet at its heart you have denied it when you deny justification by faith. Luther goes on to state, and I quote, whoever departs from the article of justification does not know God. Now, if you want to know why Luther is so vilified after the Reformation and the history of the church is because of statements like that. Luther's answer is, as you know, a Christian cannot but know this doctrine, and he who does not know it simply does not know God. Whoever departs from the article of justification does not know God and is an Idolater. For when this article has been taken away, nothing remains but error, hypocrisy, godlessness, and idolatry. Although it may seem to be the height of truth, worship of God, holiness, etc. When you destroy the doctrine of justification by faith, you root out the heart of the gospel. In that which is being propagated then is a false gospel. Now, theologically, we may be correct to say someone might truly, I don't know if you can say it in spite of the fact of God's sovereignty, someone might alter. We have Arminians who do not teach justification by faith properly at all. And yet we've still identified many of them as being a part of the church. Historically, we would probably be accurate to say they're not heretics, but the problem is, is they're propagating a false gospel. It's not the purity of God's Word as it relates to redemption in Christ. It is altering the very purpose and essential nature of redemption when they do not teach the doctrine right. And it will lead to apostasy. The Lutherans were very tough. I mean, we try to somewhat be beneficial. Well, you know, some of our erring brothers just get this dark little wrong. Luther comes along and says, of course, you can see Luther's characters coming through here. He's a very staunch individual. I mean, the guy who stands up against the whole world of the church and takes it on, it's not some wimpy little guy who neatly announced the gospel. This is a guy with real character. Listen to how he deals with it. He who denies this doctrine doesn't know God, and he's involved in idolatry. That is a very hardcore statement. Nothing remains, he says, when you've taken away the truth of justification by faith alone. Error, hypocrisy, godlessness, idolatry. That's all you have. You don't have the gospel. in its purity. Luther, of course, confirms the worst about those who deny the doctrine itself. And I quote, if the article of justification is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost at the same time. And all the people in the world who do not hold to this justification are either Jews or Turks, papists or heretics. You get four categories with Luther. Take your choice. You deny the doctrine of justification by faith alone, you've got to either be a Jew, a Turk, referring to the fact that they're Muslim, a Papist, or a heretic. For there is no middle ground between these two righteousnesses. That is the righteousness of God, or Christ, and the righteousness of man. The active one of the law and the passive one which comes from Christ. Therefore, the man who strays from Christian righteousness must relapse into the active one. That is, since he has lost Christ, he must put his confidence in his own works." Luther has clearly given us direction that we can neither add nor subtract to this doctrine. lest we fall short of God's glory and honor in the truth that He has given to us. That truth that redemption is truly all of grace. It is all of God. On the one hand, we must not fall into the false theological position of what is called semi-Pelagianism or synergistic redemption. That is the idea of a cooperative work between God and man, that which was being propagated at the time of the Reformation by the Church of Rome. Nor, on the other hand, can we fall into the theological position of antinomianism. As Samuel Horsley noted when he wrote, and I quote, that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law was the uniform doctrine of our first reformers. It is a far more ancient doctrine. It was the doctrine of the whole College of Apostles. It was more ancient still. It was the doctrine of the prophets. It is older than the prophets. It was the religion of the patriarchs. And no one who has the least acquaintance with the writings of the first reformers will impute to them more than to the patriarchs, the prophets or apostles, the absurd opinion that any man leading an impenitent, wicked life will finally, upon mere pretense of faith, obtain admission into heaven." On the one hand, there must be a balance. We are saved by faith alone. But faith itself is never alone, because the testimony and the evidence of true faith is the good works that God has ordained for us. And so the pretense of arguing faith is all that is necessary with nothing else considered leads eventually to that damnable doctrine of antinomianism. We do not need the law of God. We are free from the law, free from its curse, free to do as we please. And that we cannot. in any way support as a doctrine of the church. The doctrine of justification must carefully, as the Reformers and Puritans did, carefully be defined and considered in order to avoid any misrepresentation of the gospel. We must give full attention to the doctrine even from its earliest developments through to its theological maturity and expression as defined by our own creedal statements. Well, having said that, then let me continue on. By way of talking about the importance of this doctrine of justification by faith, R.C. Sproul makes this observation about the ongoing controversy that continues even to this day. We have been hearing about it and we've been reading about it and the various conflicts that have gone on on this doctrine of justification. He writes, and I quote, Every generation throughout church history has seen doctrinal struggles and debates. Heresies of every conceivable sort have plagued the church and provoked fierce argument, even schism at times. But no doctrinal dispute has ever been contested more fiercely or with such long-term consequences as the one over justification. There were other ancillary issues debated in the 16th century, but none so central or so heated as justification. Historians often describe justification as the material cause of the Reformation. That is, it was the substantive and core issues of the debate. It was this doctrine that led to the worst rupture Christendom ever experienced and the fragmentation of the church into thousands of individual denominations." I think it would be proper for us to state that the importance of a correct interpretation An application of the doctrine of justification by faith is essential to the whole knowledge of saving grace, including doctrines of election, calling, regeneration, repentance, adoption, the church and its ministry in the presentation of the gospel, as well as the rightful administration of the sacraments. This doctrine, in all of its connections, gives great implication to what we are and what we believe. If this historic doctrine, which is the centerpiece of the Reformational theology, cascades in disrepute among the Christian church, the church itself shall be destroyed. Because the way of salvation will have been lost to a false gospel. Listen to what Charles Haas wrote, and I quote, How can a man be just with God? The answer given to this question decides the character of our religion and have practically adopted our future destiny. To give a wrong answer is to mistake the way to heaven. It is to err where error is fatal because it cannot be corrected. If God requires one thing and we present another, How can we be saved? If he has revealed a method in which he can be just and yet justify the center, and if we reject that method and insist upon pursuing a different way, how can we hope to be accepted? The answer, therefore, which is given to the above question should be seriously pondered by all who assume the office of religious teachers and by all who rely upon their instructions." Listen to what the German theologian Zacharias Ersinius writes in a more polemical way concerning this doctrine of justification, and I quote, The doctrine of justification, which now follows is one of the chief articles of our faith, not only because it treats of those things which are fundamental. But also because it is most frequently called in question by heretics. The controversies between the church and heretics have respect principally to two points. that one is concerning God and the other concerning the justification of man in the sight of God. And as such is the importance of these doctrines, that if either one of them be overthrown, other parts of our faith easily fall to pieces. Hence it becomes necessary for us to fortify and establish ourselves especially in these doctrines against all the assault of heretics." I cannot express to you the importance that you will find in the history of the church that has been laid upon this doctrine of justification by faith alone. It's not a phrase you find in Scripture, justification by faith alone. It is clearly one of our developed articles of doctrine, but derived from the teaching of Scripture alone. The biblical truth of justification is simply that God pardons and accepts believing sinners only on the basis of Christ's righteousness. That's the whole argument. Either we are redeemed through Christ's righteousness, or we are redeemed in some other fashion. There is no other position. This is why we so adamantly maintain the importance of teaching the pure truth of God's Word, especially concerning redemption. Because once you move one letter away from this definite article of faith, you have added or subtracted some type of a component that has altered the truth of Christ's righteousness as necessary for our redemption. We see this expressed in our Scripture text. Look at Romans 3, 21-26. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law, apart from the ability of man to do anything to make himself right with God, to be just, legally accepted with God, is revealed. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets are a testimony to this truth. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Christ. It is tied to Christ through faith. "...to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate..." What? Righteousness. Because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God justly condemns all men. Paul says all have fallen short of the glory of God. All men have sinned. And God, being just, condemns all who transgress His law. But in order to demonstrate His righteousness, the purpose of God in Christ, He hath chosen a people to be redeemed in His Son. And those who have been given faith by the work of the Spirit are made right with God on the basis not of something they could do, apart from the law, apart from man's ability, apart from anything the law could have done for man. It is accomplished in Christ Jesus alone. The Paulian doctrine of justification by faith is an analytical exposition of truth in all of its theological connections. It impacts the whole doctrinal system of faith. It impacts what we practice concerning that faith. One needs to understand that according to the Holy Scripture, the doctrine of justification determines the whole character of Christianity, as it being a true organic union in Christ upon the basis of His righteousness alone. Further, we should consider that justification clearly defines the saving significance of Christ's life and death by relating both. And that is Christ's death and life as it relates to the law of God. In Romans 8, verses 3-4, Paul wrote, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, what did He do? He condemned the sin. Sin could not redeem man. God must redeem Him by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He condemned sin and the flesh. That the righteous requirement of the law, that which the law demands, perfect obedience, No transgression might be fulfilled in us. We do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This is the essential truth that we've been studying for weeks now. In the act of justification, we see God's justice in condemning and punishing sin, as well as in His mercy in pardoning and accepting sinners. That's what this doctrine is about. Again, Romans 3, 21 through 26, look at the last part of that passage. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith. Christ, clearly the intermediary, the propitiation, the substitute, the penal substitute who redeems us through his death. as a propitiation by His blood through faith. That is, we must believe what Christ has done according to the promise of God concerning His Son as He has set it forth in the Scripture. Through faith, we believe that to be the case, and in believing by faith that which is given to us as a result of the regenerative work of the Spirit, we are declared. We are declared right, legally, with God. We should also clearly note the justification by faith is that work of Christ as the legal surety to whom we are to believe. That is, attuning death and resurrection by the regenerative work of the Spirit. The sinner is thus declared right and in true union with God by grace. through faith alone. 2 Thessalonians 2, 13-14, Paul wrote, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation. Election is a part of that relationship to this doctrine. For salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. If He has appointed the means of the Gospel by which He calls men to Himself through His Son, must not that Gospel be presented in purity? How can you believe what God has said if what you have heard is not the truth of what God has done? The question is, how can you believe a falsehood? How can you believe a lie? How can you believe a deception and still be redeemed? That's the question. We must believe the truth. But in believing the truth, we must understand the very essential nature of that truth. That it is Christ alone whose righteousness makes us declared right with God by faith. It's nothing that we bring. It's not a man-made faith. It is a gift from God. Remember what Ephesians 2, 8-10 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Now note, one aspect of this doctrine also demands in its proper theological connection, Not that works bring us to a place of God accepting us, but as a result of being accepted by God on the basis of faith alone, given to us by God, added to that. Not an acceptance. But in a living faith is those works that God has ordained that we should walk in them. Thus justification directly leads to an understanding correctly of sanctification of the believer. And even in that doctrine of sanctification, The believer is dependent upon the righteousness of Christ that preserves, as well as maintains and fulfills its work in glorification to the day of the resurrection through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are sustained at all times in the righteousness of Christ. There's never a point in which we shall ever stand right with God based upon something we could do. But even in our sanctification, the human element can produce nothing but righteousness of filthy rags. But in the righteousness of Christ and the Spirit of God applying that redemption to us, we can produce the good works that come from the Spirit indwelling us, applying Christ's righteousness. Thus we profess that biblical morality for the Christian is law-keeping out of gratitude to the Savior, whose gift of righteousness made law-keeping needless for acceptance, but a testimony of the works of righteousness as ordained by God of those who profess faith in Christ. It's not out of the need for acceptance, but rather as a testimony to the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to us. Well, lastly, and as quickly as we can, justification provides the basis on which Christianity becomes a living faith, in that it is the only means of acceptance by God to escape His wrath and condemnation. Justification is the heart of the biblical gospel. And to alter the truth is to create a gospel that knows not the sovereign God of redemption, nor of His saving grace, nor of His Son, Jesus Christ. That's what the church has said over and over again. That's what the theologians were saying. That's what Luther, Yersinius, that's what all of those men were saying. You can't alter this without altering the very character of Christianity. And thus there is a necessity of defending the truth of justification against all attacks. James Buchanan wrote concerning the need for personal acceptance and experience of this doctrine as it relates to an individual realizing its true meaning, and I quote, there are many, even in Protestant communities who have long been familiar with the sound of the gospel. to whom this inward sense of it, in its application to their own souls, would be nothing less than a new spiritual revelation." You know what he's saying? Well, we've heard the gospel so much, and we're so attuned to it. The truth is, people have heard the doctrine of justification, but the problem is, if they really personally grasp the doctrine, if they truly have really come to the understanding, having been united to Christ by His Spirit, It would actually be a new revelation to them, even though it's been an old gospel that we've been preaching. He says the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Christ is the old doctrine of the Reformation. And the still older doctrine of the gospel, yet the vivid apprehension of its meaning and the cordial reception of its truth must be a new thing in the experience of everyone. When he is first enabled to realize and to believe it. the free pardon of all sin, and the sure title to eternal life, conferred by the mere grace of God and resting solely on the redemption and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, this as the actual and immediate privilege of every sinner on the instant when he began to rely on Christ alone for salvation as He is offered to him individually in the Gospel of God." Buchanan said it's not enough for the church just to have the doctrine. It's important that the people embrace that truth. Begin to rely upon the righteousness of Christ when they truly have, by the Spirit, been renewed and they recognize this great truth. The impact upon their life will be unmistakable. Why do we have so many people today running around, teaching, preaching, practicing the Christian faith who are just so wishy-washy about their salvation? Because the dominant doctrine today in the church is not a correct understanding of justification by faith alone. And what I've been trying to say to you in our series in Romans that we've been dealing with this issue, And what I'm saying to you today is this, you cannot settle your redemption apart from the truth. And the key element of this truth is how is a man right with God? Either he's going to be right on the basis of Christ's righteousness alone, or he's going to depend upon himself in some methodological redemption that he has created through his own ability. There is no middle ground here. It is either Christ alone, or it is man that's fundamental to the formula of redemption. But Buchanan says, you know what, the problem is, even in Protestant circles, we don't have people who truly have understood and realized the necessity of relying upon Christ. But had they do it, it would be a new experience and revelation for them as well. Because once one settles their heart upon this doctrine and its understanding and implication and application of redemption, One may settle their heart and their life as to their redemption, as to their salvation, to whom they really belong in Christ Jesus alone. Well, let me just ask in closing, do you know this very nature of being pardoned from sin? Do you know what it means to be forgiven? I'm not asking you to feel like you've been forgiven. It's not an experiential thing. Can you know through the Scripture, by the testimony of God's Spirit with us, that we have been granted pardon in Christ Jesus? Because we believe that element of truth. And it is witnessed by those good works that God has ordained in our life as a testimony to the truth of Christ in us. It is the only sure title for everlasting life. One of the great aspects of this current justification controversy that has come out was the men who have been propagating this among some of the reformed people said, well, one of the things we're having a problem with is trying to convince our people that they have eternal life. They keep wishy-washing around. I'm not really sure if I'm redeemed. My answer is that the problem is you're preaching a false gospel. That's why they don't understand it. If you'd been teaching and preaching the truth of the Scripture as set forth in our own creedal positions, you would have settled their heart and their mind. But instead, you've gone to the emotions, you've gone to the very basics of their human nature, to try to make them feel comfortable with themselves and not with a real understanding of being accepted by God through Christ alone. And that which they want to escape, they have made even worse. For you cannot escape that question of eternal salvation At any point in time when man is an element in the formula, it just can't be done. Well, therefore, over the next few weeks, we're going to be continuing looking at this doctrine. We're going to look at the doctrine from not only the historical development of it within the church, we're going to look at the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. We're going to spend time talking about its true proper meaning. We're going to be looking at Paul in particular, who spends much time on this doctrine. And then we're going after that to examine the current controversy. I don't know how long I'm going to spend on that because so much has been written already. But I want to bring it out and make it very clear. We must set our course carefully when it comes to this doctrine in the history of the church. I agree with Luther 100 percent. If this doctrine is lost, the church is lost. The problem is we do not live in a generation that will stand for sound doctrine. This is not what people want to hear. They want to hear something about men. We have become the humanist generation. And it's not just in the things of the world. It's in the things of the church. including its doctrine and all of its practices. But when you have the doctrine right here, it will get all the other theological connections and bring them into their proper perspective concerning not only what we believe, but how we practice that belief. Let us assure ourselves of one thing, that we know This doctrine of justification. We know this righteousness is of Christ, upon which I stand right with God alone. And let us have great consolation and steadfastness in that faith, in that belief. as the most definite article of our church, that in Him and Him alone, by faith, we stand not only right, but eternally redeemed in Christ. Shall we pray?