Latest / Reformed Thinking / Justification Made Plain (Romans 3:24) | Charles Spurgeon

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Justification Made Plain (Romans 3:24) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to reform thinking. Great to be diving into this
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  topic. Today we're setting out to
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  really get under the hood of, well, what many call the
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  defining doctrine of the Protestant Reformation,
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  justification by faith. That's right.
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  And specifically, we want to understand it in its precise,
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  legal sense. It's easy to slip into thinking
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  about feelings or personal change, but the classical
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  sources, especially writers like Spurgeon we're drawing from, are
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  really insistent on the the forensic nature of it all.
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  Yeah, absolutely are. It's about a legal verdict, a
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  declaration by God as judge. So our mission today is to
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  unpack that. How does it work?
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  How can God, the ultimate standard of justice, declare
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  someone righteous when, well, his own law finds them guilty?
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  That's the big question, isn't it?
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  Feels like a paradox. A legal paradox, actually.
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  Exactly. And to frame it, we've got those
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  two key verses back-to-back in Romans 3.
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  First, there's the universal problem, verse 23.
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  For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
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  No exceptions there. That's the verdict on humanity.
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  Guilty as charged. But then immediately verse 24
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  hits us with the solution being justified freely by His grace
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  through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
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  Freely justified. So you have this absolute guilt
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  in one breath and absolute justification in the next.
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  Our job, then, is to explore the how.
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  What's the legal mechanism that bridges that gap between
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  universal guilt and this free justification?
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  That's what we need to get into. OK, so let's start with the term
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  itself. Justification.
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  The sources are really clear. It's a forensic term.
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  Right. Meaning it belongs in a
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  courtroom setting. It's legal language through and
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  through. Think tribunals, judges,
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  verdicts. It's not about making someone
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  inherently good on the inside, initially anyway.
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  It's about their legal standing. It's a declaration about
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  someone, not necessarily a change within them at that
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  moment. Very precisely.
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  It's an external pronouncement from the judge, and
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  understanding that helps to see why this divine justification is
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  so, well, unique. Because if you look at any
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  human. Court.
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  Yeah. In an earthly court, how do you
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  get justified? There's only one way, isn't
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  there? The sources say you must be
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  found not guilty. The evidence has to show you
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  didn't do it. To be justified means you're
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  proved to be a just man regarding the specific charge.
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  You are, legally speaking, innocent of that crime.
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  But what if the evidence is clear?
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  What if you are guilty? Then, in any human system,
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  justification is impossible. The court cannot justify a
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  guilty person. It would be a miscarriage of
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  justice, wouldn't it? Law has to reflect the facts.
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  So earthly law has no means of justifying someone who is
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  actually guilty of the charge. It just can't happen.
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  And this leads to that really important distinction the
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  sources make between pardon and justification.
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  They aren't the same thing, especially not in human terms.
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  Not at all. Think about it.
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  Historically, someone's convicted.
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  They're a criminal. The queen or a president might
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  grant a pardon. What does that?
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  Do it lets them out of jail, right?
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  It removes the penalty. Yes, it removes the penalty but
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  doesn't remove the guilt. The sources say no, the pardoned
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  person is still factually a real criminal.
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  A pardon can release them, but it can't wash that man's
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  character or change the historical record.
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  So the guilt remains even if the punishment is waived.
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  It's an act of mercy, not a declaration of innocence.
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  Exactly. Among men, if someone is guilty,
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  you can show mercy, you can pardon, but you cannot legally
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  declare them righteous or just regarding that crime.
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  There are no means for that. OK, so setting up that earthly
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  limitation really highlights the sheer wonder of what the Bible
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  claims God does. Because Romans 3.23 already
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  delivered the verdict on all of us.
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  Guilty. Right.
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  We all stand guilty before God's perfect law.
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  All have sinned. And yet the very next verse says
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  we are justified. That's the wonder of wonders.
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  As the sources put it, God achieved something legally that
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  is impossible to any tribunal upon earth.
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  He justifies the guilty. But how does he just ignore his
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  own law? Does he compromise his justice?
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  That's the crucial point. He doesn't.
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  The sources are adamant he upholds justice perfectly.
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  Justifying the guilty requires something extraordinary,
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  something that satisfies the law's demands while dealing with
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  the guilt. And that extraordinary something
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  the sources say remained for the ransom of Christ to affect.
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  It had to be something outside the normal legal framework,
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  something divinely initiated. So the key must lie in how
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  Christ's work functions as that ransom, that legal payment, if
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  earthly law can't just swap a guilty person for an innocent
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  one. How does divine law manage it?
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  Well, we have to remember God isn't just subject to the law.
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  He's the lawgiver. He establishes the terms, but he
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  does so justly. The penalty must.
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  Be paid. So it's not about waiving the
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  penalty, but about who pays it and how that payment is legally
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  credited. Exactly.
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  And that leads us straight into the mechanism substitution,
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  right? This is the absolute heart of
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  it. The sources call it this
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  marvelous doctrine of the changing of places of Christ
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  with poor sinners. It's not just a nice idea, it's
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  presented as a legal transaction.
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  A glorious substitution and interchange of places.
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  Like a divinely orchestrated legal maneuver, it takes our
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  guilt and swaps it for His righteousness.
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  Let's try to picture it as the sources describe.
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  Imagine the scene. The Sinner stands condemned at
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  God's bar of justice. The law demands punishment.
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  Then Christ steps in. He literally puts me aside and
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  stands himself in my stead. It's a substitution for the
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  purpose of judgment. And when divine justice demands
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  the plea, what does Christ say? He says guilty, which sounds
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  shocking because he's innocent. But he's not pleading guilty to
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  his own sin. He takes my guilt to be his own
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  guilt. He legally assumes the guilty
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  status of the one he represents. So he must be accounted guilty,
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  not because he's sinned, but because he voluntarily took on
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  the legal liability. Precisely.
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  Just as the Sinner was accounted guilty, now Christ is accounted
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  guilty in their place. The guilt is real, the charges
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  are real. They're just legally transferred
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  to the substitute. OK.
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  That's a critical point. The guilt isn't ignored, it's
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  reassigned. Right.
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  And this directly counters any idea that God is simply passing
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  over the penalty, that he's just letting sin slide.
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  The sources insist God must condemn and punish the rebel.
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  His justice demands it. He can't just look the other.
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  Way. But the amazing news is that the
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  penalty has been all paid. Paid in full by Christ.
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  It wasn't a token punishment, it was the actual curse, the full
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  weight of the laws demand against sin.
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  He endured it all, the curse, the misery, the separation.
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  He took the punishment for the Sinner.
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  And because he did that, having taken that man's sins on me and
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  put my righteousness on that man, he faces the punishment not
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  as an innocent bystander, but as the one legally responsible.
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  This whole arrangement, the substitution, feels like
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  something only God could authorize.
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  Absolutely. This is where the divine
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  declaration and consent comes in.
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  Human law couldn't handle this, as the sources say no earthly
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  monarch could have power to consent to such a change.
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  Imagine a judge letting an innocent volunteer serve a life
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  sentence for a murderer. It wouldn't be justice.
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  But God, as the Sovereign Lawgiver, had a right to
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  establish the terms of redemption, and in His infinite
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  mercy He consented to the arrangement.
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  His consent is what makes the substitution legally valid.
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  He accepts the substitutes payment as sufficient.
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  And because that payment is sufficient, completely
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  satisfying the demands of justice.
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  God can then declare to the believer the one represented by
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  Christ. I have punished Christ.
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  You may go free. That declaration I have punished
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  Christ is key. It's past tense.
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  The debt is settled. Justice is served.
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  Completely served, which means the believer is now legally free
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  from condemnation. The substitution wasn't just
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  about feeling better, it was about changing legal facts.
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  And if the payment was perfect and complete, the freedom must
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  also be perfect and complete. Exactly.
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  So when this substitution happens, it achieves 2 things
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  simultaneously. It's a two way transaction
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  really. It clears the negative record
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  and establishes a positive. One OK, so let's break that
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  down. The 1st result is what people
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  often think of first perfect Pardon, the removal of guilt.
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  Right. The sources say the moment a
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  Sinner believes puts their trust in Christ, their sins are no
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  longer his. Legally speaking, they've been
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  transferred. They were laid on Christ, paid
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  for by Christ, and now judicially they are gone, like
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  being cast into the depths of the sea.
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  So in the eyes of divine justice, that person ceases to
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  be regarded as a guilty being. Their guilt is all taken away.
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  This isn't like an earthly pardon where the conviction
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  still stands in the books. This is a complete clearing of
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  the record. It's described as a perfect
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  washing. The person is rendered totally
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  free from sin. Legally speaking, they stand
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  before God as if they had never sinned because the substitute
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  paid for it all. But, and this is crucial,
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  justification doesn't stop at just removing the guilt.
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  If it did, you'd be at 0 neutral.
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  But God requires positive righteousness for fellowship
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  with Him for heaven. So being not guilty isn't
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  enough, you need to be positively righteous.
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  Which brings us to the second outcome.
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  Perfect imputation. This is the other side of that
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  glorious substitution and interchange of places in the
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  moment. When Christ takes his sins, he
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  takes Christ's righteousness. It's an immediate crediting of
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  Christ's perfect record to the believer's account.
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  So the person doesn't just cease to be guilty.
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  No, they instantly become righteous.
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  He becomes meritorious in God's sight.
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  They receive the legal credit for Christ's perfect obedience
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  to God's law throughout his entire life.
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  That's what imputation means. Then it's an accounting term.
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  Christ's righteousness is imputed to them and accounted
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  theirs so that they are accepted.
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  It's put on their account Ledger.
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  Exactly. It's credited, not infused.
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  This is so important. It doesn't mean the believer
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  instantly becomes perfectly moral on the inside.
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  That sanctification, a different process.
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  Justification means Christ's external perfect righteousness
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  is legally counted as theirs. And that distinction provides
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  the basis for peace, doesn't it? Because our acceptance isn't
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  based on our own fluctuating internal state, but on Christ's
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  unchanged, using perfect record credited to us.
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  Precisely if it depended on us becoming perfect, we'd never
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  have assurance. But because it's a legal
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  declaration based on Christ's imputed righteousness, our
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  standing is secure from the very start.
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  The sources use some helpful illustrations to make this
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  exchange clearer. There's the David and Jonathan
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  analogy, right? Jonathan gives his royal robes
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  to David. It's a picture of the exchange.
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  Christ takes our sinful rags. We take Christ's righteousness,
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  his perfect royal garments. We are clothed in his status
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  before the king. And maybe even more detailed is
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  the parable of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah chapter 3.
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  Oh, that's a powerful 1. You see Joshua the high priest
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  standing before God, and Satan is right there ready to accuse
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  him. And Joshua is dressed in filthy
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  garments. Those.
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  Filthy garments representing his sins.
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  It's a picture of every guilty Sinner before a holy God.
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  Then what happens? God commands.
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  Take away the filthy garments from Him.
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  That's the first step. Pardon the removal of guilt.
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  The accusations are nullified. But it doesn't stop there.
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  No. Then God says clothe them with
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  change of raiment. He gets royal raiment, and the
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  sources connect this directly to the garments that Christ wore,
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  His perfect righteousness. So our filthy rags go to Christ
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  on the cross, and his perfect robes come to us.
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  A complete exchange, Pardon plus positive righteousness.
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  Exactly that dual action ensures the believer isn't just cleared
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  of past debts, but is positively qualified for eternal life.
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  They have the perfect credentials needed to stand
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  before God, credentials earned by Christ.
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  And because those credentials come from Christ, who is
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  perfect, the justification itself must have certain
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  qualities, like being immediate, complete, and permanent.
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  OK, so if this justification is based entirely on Christ's
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  perfect work being credited to us, what does that look like?
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  Let's talk about characteristic, a immediacy instantaneous
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  status. Yes, this is vital.
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  Unlike sanctification, our growth and holiness, which is a
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  lifelong process, justification happens in a moment.
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  The sources are really strong on this.
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  It's not gradual. It occurs instantaneously, the
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  very moment a person places their faith, their trust in
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  Christ for salvation. In that instant, the legal
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  declaration is made. No probation period, no waiting
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  time. The verdict is rendered
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  immediately. The Ham writer Joseph Hart
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  captured this, didn't he? He did very concisely.
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  The moment a Sinner believes and trusts in his crucified God, His
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  pardon at once he receives redemption in full through his
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  blood. At once he receives that
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  immediacy is key. Think about why it has to be
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  immediate. The righteousness being credited
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  is Christ's righteousness, which is perfect and complete.
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  You can't partially credit perfection the moment it's
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  applied. The status must be fully
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  perfect. The implication is pretty
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  staggering. The sources actually say that a
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  believer right now, today, is as much justified in God's sight as
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  he will be when he stands before the throne.
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  Their legal standing doesn't get more justified over time or even
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  in glory. It's already perfect because
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  it's Christ's. Which leads to that almost
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  unbelievable statement. Not the glorified spirits above
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  are more acceptable to God than the poor man below who is once
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  justified by grace. Just pause on that.
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  The weakest, newest believer trusting in Christ has the exact
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  same legal acceptance before God as the greatest St. in heaven.
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  Why? Because those stand closed in
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  the very same righteousness Christ's.
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  Wow, OK, that's immediacy. What about characteristic B?
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  Completeness. Perfection.
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  Well, it follows naturally, doesn't it?
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  If the righteousness is Christ's perfect righteousness, then the
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  justification must be total. It covers all his sins.
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  Past, present and future. Yes, because Christ's sacrifice
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  dealt with sin itself in his totality.
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  The sources talk about it like 1 enormous debt paid by an
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  infinite payment. Once paid, it's settled
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  completely. So it's described as perfect
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  washing, perfect pardon, perfect imputation, not partial, not
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  provisional. Meaning the believer is fully,
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  freely, and wholly accepted through Christ our Lord.
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  Accepted based on Christ's merit, not their own.
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  And this leads to that idea about how God sees the justified
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  person. Yes, this is perhaps the most
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  profound part because the believer is clothed in Christ's
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  righteousness. When God looks at them,
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  judicially speaking, he looks upon them as if he were Christ.
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  He accepts the believer as if He were my only begotten Son, full
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  of grace and truth. Which means, the sources argue,
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  God looks upon that justified Sinner with as much love and
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  affection as he ever looked upon his Son.
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  It's a love based on the imputed perfection of Christ.
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  OK. So it's immediate and complete.
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  What about characteristics? C Irreversibility.
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  Eternal security. If the justification is
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  instantaneous and perfect, based on Christ's finished work, then
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  it must also be permanent. It's granted irreversibly.
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  Why? Because a debt was paid.
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  Exactly. Since the debt has been fully
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  paid by Christ, the sources say the debt is paid and it will
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  never be asked for again. For God to demand payment again
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  from the believer would be unjust and would be asking for
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  the same debt twice. Double jeopardy.
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  So there is No Fear of a second change.
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  God doesn't declare someone righteous and then change his
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  mind. He doesn't grant a free pardon
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  and afterwards retract it and punish man.
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  That would violate his own justice, which was already
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  satisfied by Christ. This provides ultimate legal
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  security. As the sources remind us,
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  quoting Paul, none can condemn whom God justifies, and that
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  none can accuse those for whom Christ hath died.
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  The case is closed. The legal grounds for
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  condemnation are gone, the penalty paid, the righteous
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  status bestowed. And crucially, this security
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  isn't based on how well we hang on to our faith or how good we
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  are. It's based on the finality of
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  Christ's work in God's verdict. That declaration stands forever
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  because the merit behind a Christ's merit is eternally
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  perfect. That's the foundation for the
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  peace Paul talks about in Romans 5.
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  So let's try to pull this together.
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  We've gone through a very specific legal argument for how
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  God justifies sinners, and this isn't some fringe idea, is it?
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  Not at all. The sources are clear.
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  This doctrine of substitution, imputed righteousness, forensic
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  justification, It's professed by all Protestant churches that
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  hold to the classical Reformation understanding.
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  Groups like the Church of England, the Presbyterian Church
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  are mentioned. It's clearly identified as the
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  doctrine of Luther, central to his break with Rome.
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  It's presented as simply the plain teaching of Holy Writ.
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  The sources almost suggest that if it sounds strange the modern
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  years, perhaps we've drifted from the historical
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  understanding rather than the doctrine itself being odd.
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  Any system that tries to mix our works or efforts into the basis
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  of justification is seen as fundamentally misunderstanding
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  this forensic substitutionary core.
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  Right. So that cosmic debt transfer
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  system analogy we touched on might be helpful again.
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  Yeah, let's recap that. We start hopelessly in debt.
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  That's our guilt before God's law facing eternal ruin.
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  Then Christ, the infinitely wealthy benefactor, steps in.
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  First. He legally takes on our entire
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  debt, our guilt, and he pays it completely through his death.
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  That clears the negative Ledger. Justice is satisfied.
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  But he doesn't stop there. He then transfers his own
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  infinite wealth, his perfect righteousness, his merit to our
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  account. He imputes it to us.
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  So the positive Ledger is now filled with Christ's perfection.
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  And the result? An immediate, perfect and
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  permanent declaration of righteousness and freedom from
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  debt issued by God Himself. We who were bankrupt now have
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  the legal standing of the Sun. So what's the take away?
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  What does this mean for you listening right now?
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  The sources stressed that its significance is immense.
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  Our standing before God, our acceptance, is entirely outside
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  of our performance. It rests completely 100% on
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  Christ's finished work, His substitution, His payment, His
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  righteousness credited to us. And that is the basis for peace.
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  Romans 5.1 Again, being justified by faith, we have
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  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  The legal war is over. The case is closed favorably.
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  Our acceptance is secure, not because we're good enough, but
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  because Christ was good enough for us and His record is now
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  legally ours. This proceeds and actually
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  enables our growth and holiness, our sanctification.
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  It doesn't replace it, but it grounds it.
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  Legally, God sees no sin in Judah or iniquity in Israel,
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  meaning his justified people, because it's all been accounted
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  to Christ and Christ righteousness is accounted to
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  them. Total protection If the judge
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  declares the debt paid, the status granted it's
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  irreversible. You can rest in that finished
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  work. No Fear of double jeopardy.
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  It's a perfect imputation, consented to by God in his
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  mercy, ensuring believers go free and stay free, based
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  entirely on Christ's merit. Hashtag #outro.
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  And that brings us back to that powerful idea we discussed.
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  The believer here on earth right now is not less acceptable to
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  God than the glorified spirits above.
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  They share the exact same perfect legal standing.
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  So think about that for a moment.
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  If your acceptance by God today is identable to the acceptance
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  of Saints already in glory, what does that imply for how you
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  live? If you're standing rests on the
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  perfect imputation of Christ's righteousness, something already
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  complete, already irreversible, what could you possibly do to
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  improve that standing? What work, what religious
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  activity, what personal effort could add anything to the
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  perfection of Christ's righteousness already credited
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  to your account? Logically, nothing.
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  You can't improve on perfection. Your legal status is settled.
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  So maybe that realization should fundamentally change how we
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  approach things, how we speak, how we work, how we serve, and
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  maybe especially how we rest in God's grace in this life knowing
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  our acceptance isn't on the line.
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  It's a thought worth pondering deeply.
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  Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the forensic
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  heart of justification by Faith. Until next time on reformed
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  thinking.