Justification

[MoreCoffee]

A good comprehensive concordance will be useful for this thread.

What does the new testament have to say about Justification. And what does the LXX say about it? The LXX will help us to grasp which words in Hebrew were translated by the Greek words that we get Justification from.

 

[Josiah]

.

This was the KEY ISSUE in the Reformation. It was the one issue over which the church of the day used to excommunicate Luther, split the denomination and drive the Reformation. There were several other main issues (ecclesiology, epistemology and several others), but this was the “deal breaker.” And this issue is at the very heart, the very center of Christianity…. It is the “keystone” by which Christianity stands or falls.

We must begin with a definition: Often, Christians use the words "justifcation" and "salvation" interchangably. By “salvation” Protestants mean justification in the narrow sense. The word means "to rescue" and Protestants tend to hold that we were spiritually DEAD and unable to rescue ourselves, we NEED a savior, the savior, someone outside ourselves, indeed God Himself, to rescue us. Since Vatican 2, SOME Catholics refer to this as "initial grace."

By "justication" and "salvation" Protestants mean our changed relationship with God, our spiritual coming to life, some call this "Born again (born a second time - first physical, second spiritual)" It is not at all to be mixed or confused with sanctification (discipleship, Christian living) which is what results and follows from justification – what we are to do as Christians (those justified). Here, when we say “salvation” we mean it in this sense of narrow justification. We are NOT at all dismissing the Call to perfect holiness, divine love, absolute moral perfection, service to all as unto God, and the sharing of the Gospel with all 7.7 billion people on Earth.... salvation does not cancel the Law BUT it does remove the curse of the Law, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is forgiveness; for the saved, the Law remains but the Gospel is now present too.


+ Christ IS the Savior!

Salvation (in this sense) all hinges on one pretty simple but very, very critical question (all eternity hinges on it): WHO is the Savior?

IF you answer "Jesus" then Jesus is the Savior. Not you - not a bit, not at all, not now, not ever, not in any way or shape or form or manner. Salvation is entirely, wholly, completely wrapped up in Jesus. Alone. Salvation is the work of Jesus, the accomplishment of Jesus, something Jesus does. It's entirely HIS work. HIS heart. HIS love. HIS mercy. HIS gift. HIS blessing. His life, His death, His resurrection. His Cross, His blood, His sacrifice. His righteousness, His obedience, His holiness. Not you. Not yours. Not in whole. Not in part. Not now. Not ever. You may have some other role in some other matter (Christian living, for example), but not this. The "job" of Savior belongs to Jesus. Not you.

IF you answer "me!" then you are the Savior. Not Jesus - not a bit, not at all. Not now, not ever. Not in any way, shape or form or manner. Salvation is all wrapped up in YOU. In YOUR works. YOUR will. YOUR love. YOUR efforts. YOUR merits. YOUR obedience. YOUR righteousness. YOUR decisions. Your surrendering. YOUR holiness. YOUR sacrifice. Not Jesus. Not Jesus'. Jesus may have some other role in some other matter, just not this one. The Savior is you.


Here’s the problem…..

While the Catholic Church was ONCE crystal clear that Jesus is the exclusive SAVIOR (even officially declaring so at the Council of Orange in 529), all this had gotten seriously gummed up. For centuries before Luther, the “answer” was pretty much: ME. The typical view in Luther’s time was that rather than being the Savior, Jesus actually had two very different roles:

Jesus the Possibility-Maker. The “spin” was that Jesus did all that is necessary to make salvation possible. By His life, death and resurrection, He opened the gate to heaven, and made it POSSIBLE to us to be saved. Of course, that’s true – but its light years away from saying He’s the Savior! People were told THEY had to get THEMSELVES through those gates – thus the actual “job” of salvation is our own. People were told that Jesus is not the Savior (you have that job) rather He is the possibility-maker. Some stressed that we save ourselves by our works or our faith, others had other ideas in how we save ourselves but they are all embracing that while Jesus makes salvation possible – we actually save ourselves by what WE do, something(s) we can point to that WE did.

Jesus the Helper. But we can’t do it by our own innate strength and ability – we need HELP. The medieval church of the west defined the word “grace” (in justification) as “help.” Or as it is sometimes put today, “Grace is the divine ‘gas’ God puts in your ‘tank’ so that YOU ultimately can get YOURSELF where you need to be.” This “help” became the focus of the concept of salvation – the HELP we need (and get) so that we can save ourselves. HELP from the Roman Catholic Church…. HELP from the official current “Saints” declared by the Roman Catholic Church, HELP from the “Treasury of Merits” of the Roman Catholic Church, HELP from the Virgin Mary, etc. Jesus too began to be proclaimed as our HELPER. If YOU adequately tap this “help” you can save yourself. But that’s lightyears away from proclaiming that Jesus saves!


There are really just two places to look: To the mirror OR to the Cross. There are really only two religions in the world: Trusting in Christ or trusting in self. When we stop looking to the perfect, divine CHRIST and instead look in the mirror to the sinful, flawed, limited SELF – either uncertainty and fear result (as we realize how lacking we are) OR pride/boasting results if we conclude the guy in the mirror in one awesome dude. Most lacked the ego for the second – so fear, insecurity reigned as people HOPED someday to save themselves but….


Continues in next post....



.

 

[Josiah]

Continuing from above....


+ Monergism vs. Synergism – The DEBATE


These are the theological terms used for the “two sides” in this critical debate (that ultimately split the Roman Catholic Church in 1521). Note, all agreed that sanctification (discipleship, the life of a Christian, what one does as a Christian with faith and the Holy Spirit) certainly IS synergistic (no debate there). But central to the entire debate centered on salvation - the COMING of the Holy Spirit, of spiritual life, of the application of the Gospel and work of Christ, the coming of the gift of faith) - "salvation" in the sense Luther and Calvin meant it (as the Catholic Church well knew).

Monergism (One-side) is the conviction that salvation is God’s gracious gift. Jesus is THE one, exclusive, all-sufficient Savior. This conviction is the basis for the “rally cries” of the Reformation: Sola Gratia – Solus Christus – Sola Fide. Soli Deo Gloria! The “sola, solus, soli” are all Latin for exclusively, solely, alone, only. The Reformation is a solid, bold, confident proclamation that salvation is all about Jesus!

Lutherans and Calvinists express this teaching by 4 Latin phrases. They are ONE, united, inseparable teaching (they cannot be separated) but are sometimes discussed individually.

SOLA Gratia – Grace Alone: it’s all about God’s heart! It all begins with and happens because of God’s heart, His unconditional and unearned love, favor, mercy and gifts. “For God so loved the world…..”

SOLUS Christus – Christ Alone: It’s all the result of what Jesus did/does; Christ is the Savior! “… that He gave His only begotten son”

SOLA Fide – Faith Alone: Which faith trusts/embraces/apprehends; faith as God’s work, too. How the work of Christ is applied to the individual. “whosoever believes in Him”

SOLI Deo Gloria – God ALONE has all the glory, gets all the “credit.” ALL the above is God’s doing. The arrow comes down….. a blessing….. a gift….. an inheritance….


Synergism (Two-sides, Cooperation). This was the Catholic position against Luther. Our salvation, the Roman Catholic Church of the day insisted, is a cooperative venture: Jesus does his part (opening those gates) and we do ours (walking through them). Luther, it insisted, was a heretic for holding to the view of monergism, for holding that Jesus is the all-sufficient Savior. The Catholic Church insisted Jesus has to do His part good enough (and He did), AND equally we now gotta do our part good enough (ultimately it's WE who do that part that actually results in our entering heaven... to quote my Catholic Deacon, "Jesus actually saves no one, it makes it POSSIBLE for all to be saved").

Luther stressed it’s all a GIFT from God! God’s doing! Luther stressed God’s mercy, favor, and unconditional love. The church then stressed it’s instead a cooperative venture – Jesus opening the “gates” and insuring we are offered sufficient help – we needing to “tap” that sufficiently, do all the “stuff” we need to do, and (ultimately) get ourselves saved.

Monergism vs. Synergism. Jesus alone vs. Jesus and Me. In the Reformation, it came down to these two basic, mutually exclusive views. Luther would not recant and so was excommunicated (by the way, Luther desired to submit BOTH views to a true ecumenical council and submit to its ruling, but that never happened).


Know that there are LOTS of modern forms of synergism (it’s alive and well and living in a lot of churches – some of which are “Protestant”). Synergism is any form of Jesus PLUS me. When salvation (in the sense we are speaking of here) is said to require: “You must surrender the steering wheel of your life!” “You must recite the sinner’s prayer!” “You must dedicate your life to Jesus!” If it’s “you” – it’s not all about Jesus. If it’s ‘you’ then it’s looking in the mirror, not to the Cross. Beware of “Yeah, Jesus is the Savior BUT you gotta (fill in the blank) !” That’s a contradiction. That’s synergism… it’s ultimately looking in the mirror, trusting in self, denying Jesus as the Savior. AGAIN, that IS true in Sanctification (the Christian life) but not in Justification (the BECOMING a Christian).


A Problem....

Scripture itself uses the terms "justification" and "salvation" in two ways: By far the most common is the sense in which Protestants use it, the ESTABLISHMENT of a changed relationship (SOME Catholics now use it this way too, sometimes called "initial grace") but modern Catholics often use the term in the very rare way, as the WHOLE of our ENTIRE relationship with God, of everything related to faith and life, of both our COMING to life and our LIVING this life. While theologians are very careful to define terms, lay people often don't - meaning they "talk past" each other. Some Catholics use the term "salvation" when they mean what Protestants do with "sanctifiction" for example. SOME of the problem is terminology, but there remains a very basic difference in our understanding: Who is the Savior? Is it Jesus (Protestants) or Jesus and ME (Catholicism)? Is Jesus the Savior or is He PART Savior (the part that saves no one) or rather than Savior, He's the possibility-maker, the divine helper, the offerer?




Continues in next post....



.

 

[Josiah]

Continuing from above....


+ Some Scriptures

Law

“You must be morally perfect just as your Father in heaven is morally perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

“You must be holy for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 20:26).

“For all people sin and fall short of God’s requirements” (Romans 3:23).

“There is no one that does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12).

“By our efforts will no one be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

“If salvation were through our keeping of the law then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21).

Gospel

“God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but has everlasting life!” (John 3:16),

“God shows His love for us in that while we were enemies, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

“God saved us not because of deeds done by us but in virtue of His own mercy, that we might be saved by His grace” (Titus 3:5),

“For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your doing but it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

“Everyone that believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins through His name” (Acts 10:43)

“Sirs, what must we do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” Acts 16:30-31

“Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” 1 John 2:2

“Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” - John 1:29

“The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

“God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” 2 Cor. 5:19

“Because I live, you will live also.” John 14:19


Faith


“For by grace you have been saved through faith in Christ, and all this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

“”You did not chose Me but I chose you” John 15:16

“Those whom He predestined He also called and those whom He called He also justified” Romans 8:30

“There is a remnant of believers, chosen by God’s grace” Romans 11:5

“In love God chose us before the foundations of the world for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” Ephesians 1:4-5

“The one without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand (accept) them.” 1 Cor. 2:14

“No one is capable of professing ‘Jesus is Lord’ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:3


+ Some quotes

Luther’s explanation of the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, given me clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He gives me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him.

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won [delivered] me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.

From Luther’s “Bondage of the Will”

"Man’s salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another -- Christ alone, who alone is Savior. As long as a man is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and away from salvation.”



Thank you!


Blessings!


Josiah



.

 

[Fritz Kobus]

^ Well said, all three posts!

And Ephesians 2:8-10 sums things up very well.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Saved by Grace to serve in Grace.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Thank you to @Josiah for the theological briefing.

If I pick the KJV as source bible translation (as a kind of agreed bible used in Protestant circles) and use a concordance I get these scriptures (an exhaustive list for 'justify').

Justify found in KJV: Exodus 23:7, Deuteronomy 25:1, Job 9:20, Job 27:5, Job 33:32, Isaiah 5:23, Isaiah 53:11, Luke 10:29, Luke 16:15, Romans 3:30, Galatians 3:8, Sirach 7:5, Sirach 10:29, Sirach 13:22, Sirach 42:2

Exodus 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
Deuteronomy 25:1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgement, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
Job 9:20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 33:32 If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.
Isaiah 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Luke 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Sirach 7:5 justify not thyself before the Lord; and boast not of thy wisdom before the king.
Sirach 10:29 Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul? and who will honour him that dishonoureth his own life?
Sirach 13:22 When a rich man is fallen, he hath many helpers: he speaketh things not to be spoken, and yet men justify him: the poor man slipped, and yet they rebuked him too; he spake wisely, and could have no place.
Sirach 42:2 Of the law of the most High, and his covenant; and of judgement to justify the ungodly;

What sort of definition do those passages produce?

 

[MoreCoffee]

Justify found in KJV: Exodus 23:7, Deuteronomy 25:1, Job 9:20, Job 27:5, Job 33:32, Isaiah 5:23, Isaiah 53:11, Luke 10:29, Luke 16:15, Romans 3:30, Galatians 3:8, Sirach 7:5, Sirach 10:29, Sirach 13:22, Sirach 42:2

Justify in these verses means
Exodus 23:7 - acquit
Deuteronomy 25:1 - acquit
Job 9:20 - claim to be righteous
Job 27:5 - say you are right
Job 33:32 - prove you right
Sirach 7:5 - say you're righteous
Sirach 10:29 - acquit
Sirach 13:22 - excuse
Sirach 42:2 - acquit
Isaiah 5:23 - acquit
Isaiah 53:11 - make righteous
Luke 10:29 - show himself right
Luke 16:15 - portray yourselves as righteous
Romans 3:30 - made righteous
Galatians 3:8 - make righteous

The ideas in the word justify are about acquitting, being right, being righteous, and being made righteous.

 

[brightfame52]

To declare righteous.