The Miraculous Impact Of Justification By Faith: How Belief Can Change Your Life

Baker’s Biblical Dictionary tells us that justification means saying someone is right or fair. It’s a big word that means someone is not guilty, which can confuse a lot of folks today. We often doubt anything that sounds too much like strict rules, so we toss out stuff that seems too old-school legal. But, it’s cool to know that the people who wrote the Bible didn’t worry about this stuff like we do.

No one envisioned absolute justice in human society; however, the writers of Scripture were certain that the Almighty is a God of justice[1]. Justice is a central theme in the Bible. As a result of our justification by faith, we enjoy harmony with God through the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus (Romans 5:1).

What Is Justification By Faith?

Justification by faith is a legal position or context that God deems us to be in by his goodness and grace as a consequence of our faith, trust, and repentance in the atoning sacrifice of our Savior (Jesus died on the cross for humanity). It is righteousness, yet it is imputed, paid for, or given to mankind; it isn’t founded on our deeds.

Justification settles our debt of sins with God and exempts us from wrathful punishment. It provides the gift of peace with God as well as a connection with him and the gift of the Holy Spirit. All of this is given to us by him via justification. With justification, the righteousness of Jesus is simply attributed to us and accounted for when it is not legally due.

What Does It Mean To Be Justified By Faith?

Someone can’t be justified by their achievements, obedience to biblical laws, or acts of kindness. Consider the apostle Paul’s direct assertion written in Galatians 2:16: “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law, no one will be justified.”

The message is simple, straightforward, and understandable. “By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This means that the justification is God’s doing, not man’s, which is why everything we do will not justify ourselves. We have all sinned.

What Are The 3 Parts Of Justification?

1. Grace is both God’s role and the foundation for justification.
2. Blood is Christ’s contribution and the perfect means of justification.
3. Faith is our contribution, as is the process of justification.

10 Important Things About Justification By Faith

1. Justification By Faith Has Been A Long-Held Christian Belief

The teaching of justification by faith became established during the Reformation era of the Western nations, which began in the 16th century. However, Christians had been instructed and had encountered the teaching of justification by faith years prior to the Reformation. We have previously seen it in the Scriptures, though we also found information about it in the founding documents of the Catholic Church.

2. Justification By Faith Is A Belief That Is Found Throughout The Bible

The teaching of this Christian doctrine is included in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. This topic is taught and preached by Jesus in the story of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee, in which he said, “For some people who believe in themselves that they are righteous and treat others with contempt” (Luke 18:9).

3. Justification By Faith Comes From Protestant Theology

The theory of justification by faith, as we see it now, was initially proposed by Protestant theologians during the Reformation period. One instantly thinks of the phrase “justification by faith alone.” This serves as a way of reflecting the message of the Bible that we can’t be justified by our own efforts and virtuous compliance with God’s law, but instead by our faith in the fulfillment and worth of Christ on our behalf.

4. All Who Believe In God Are Included Among God’s People As A Result Of Their Justification By Faith

As an outcome, we find that this justification by faith includes communal implications. The justification we receive before God by faith leads to the formation of a faith family composed of all Christians, whether Gentile or Jewish, slave or free. Nonetheless, the teaching keeps on talking profoundly about the individual’s status before God, which has been well represented by its theological compositions throughout church history.

5. The Ultimate Justification By Faith Of Abraham

We have Biblical examples of men who were justified by faith. Abraham was one of them (who also had perfect justifying faith in God). He is mentioned in Genesis 15:5 and 6, “Then he (God) brought him outside and said, ‘Now look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. And he said to him, ‘So shall your seed be.’ And he believed in God and declared it righteous.”

The three aforementioned words—counted, believed, and righteousness—appear in the Holy Bible for the very first time, and they encompass all three facets of justification. We have to believe in the Creator, and he will credit our faith in him just like Abraham did in reply to God’s promise.

6. The Holy God Is Honored As A Result Of Justification By Faith

Justification by faith in some way brings God special praise and glory. It draws emphasis not on us and our tremendous faith but on our Savior and God’s magnificent gift of salvation through His beloved Son. “To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

7. Justification By Faith Does Not Imply That Man’s Genuine Faith Is The Exclusive Source Of Their Justification

Paul explicitly states (Romans 3:28) that we, as believers, are fully justified by our faith. But he doesn’t imply that our beliefs and faith are the sole reason why we are justified. For it is our faith that promotes and connects us to the Only Begotten Son of God (Christ died on the cross for the sins of humanity and rose for our salvation).

Faith entails both belief in the biblical message of the gospel and confidence in its sovereign power. It’s a gesture of the entire inner self (the heart, Roman 10:9) aimed toward God’s message, God himself, and particularly the Savior Jesus Christ.

8. Justification By Faith Means That People Aren’t Justified By Their Deeds

Justification by faith in the Bible is diametrically opposed to people’s justification by works of adherence to the law.

According to Isaiah, the justification we receive will come through the misery of Jesus Christ for our wrongdoings. And David preaches that “no one living is righteous before you,” implying that no one is going to be justified by their good actions, own righteousness, or compliance with the commandments. Instead, we are perfectly justified through faith in Jesus and the Lord.

9. Justification By Faith Indicates That Good Acts Will Inevitably Flow From Genuine Faith

In accordance with the teaching of justification by faith, God does not justify us through our good deeds or legalistic compliance. However, it also maintains that actions of love as well as good works must inevitably occur as the outcome of our faith.

Paul, for instance, claims that “In Christ Jesus, circumcision or uncircumcision has no value, but only faith works through love” (Galatians 5:6). And, according to James, the faith we have is “completed by” our actions (James 2:22); therefore, “a person is justified by works, not by faith alone” (James 2:24).

10. Justification By Faith Remains A Controversial Topic

It appears that the theory of justification by faith is constantly the subject of debate. This can be frustrating, particularly at a time when turmoil seems to loom around every turn. However, the realization that we aren’t the first to disagree on this issue may be reassuring. In fact, the most significant truths in church history have primarily arisen in the midst of debate.

Understanding The Significance Of Justification By Faith

Justification is a core Christian doctrine. Contemporary New Testament studies, according to some, require a “fresh view” of justification. Without getting into the depths of that dispute, we believe that justification is undoubtedly a biblical principle. These are examples of why justification is important:

Justification By Faith Is Written In The Bible

It’s possible to teach justification wrongly, i.e., by failing to emphasize the point that the outcomes of the divine Spirit must also come from justification. (This concept is what Jonathan Edwards termed “evangelical obedience.”) As mentioned in Romans 4:5, “However, to the person who does not work but trusts in God, who justifies the wicked, his faith is counted as righteous.”

Yet disagreeing with something because it may be mistreated is akin to avoiding vehicles because some people drive too fast.

Justification cannot only be wrongly proclaimed but may also be preached incorrectly, misunderstanding an expression of ‘sound’ terms for the real message or feeling compelled to impart specific technical principles as opposed to focusing on the message’s life and spirit. In simple terms, preaching justification entails preaching Christ, nothing more, nothing less.

Justification By Faith Is Confirmed By Experience

Our Christian lives must be guided by our Holy Bibles, not by our experiences. But experience is a valuable affirmation of the Bible’s truth, which it often employs as an effective teaching tool.

With this in mind, there is a great deal of experience that indicates that congregations and ministries regain strength, health, and influence once the gospel of justification is thoroughly and boldly enshrined at their core.

Our churches aren’t doing moral restoration and rehabilitation work. They are intended as centers of gospel hope and the building blocks for man’s complete spiritual life. It is a place for proper knowledge, comprehension, and the preaching of justification.

Justification possesses an extensive history of breaking tough hearts and repairing broken hearts in the fields of missionary work, cross-cultural interaction missions, and approaching the religiously nominal.

It glorifies God, affects people, and supports redemption (rather than cultural warfare, politics, or other kinds of “works”) at the very core of our churches.

How Are Men Justified?

What is needed in order to gain righteous standing? Is it true faith, genuine works, or a mixture of the two? The only answer is faith. In Galatians 2:16, Apostle Paul mentions, “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus…”

Furthermore, “…to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, for no one will be justified by works of the law.” Justification is either by works or through faith. Take note of three assertions concerning how men get justified:

• By the grace of God, men are all justified. As written in Titus 3:7, “Having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
• Men are justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Romans 5:9, “Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
• Men are justified through faith. As we read in Romans 3:28, “Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified [declared righteous] by faith apart from deeds of the law.”

Conclusion

By his own power alone, God cannot make someone holy and righteous. It necessitates a willing collaboration of free human beings who decide to do the correct thing for the sake of doing what is right since they love God as well as his way of living and because they all love and respect one another. They have the willingness to make personal sacrifices, put in work by faith, and bear the price.

However, as we learn in Romans 5:16, the justification of God, or righteousness, is a given gift to the believers from Christ’s righteousness. It does not come as an acknowledgment of something we have accomplished. It is given to us through God’s grace.