Faith unto Righteousness

Romans 4:4-5 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

Continuing through this short Bible study on the topic of Justification, I came to the relationship between faith and righteousness. The doctrine of justification is at the heart of the gospel, for justification explains how we are found acceptable to God. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “justification” as: The act of justifying; a showing to be just or conformable to law, rectitude or propriety; vindication; defense. Our disobedience to God's commands admits no justification. In theology, remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of Christ.

Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

In justification, God solved the legal or judicial problem that we have on account of our being sinful lawbreakers who have violated His commandments, and He does so by means of a legal declaration of our status, not by inward transformation. Clearly, when a judge acquits an innocent person, they are not changing that person but merely making a declaration about that person’s status before the law. Having considered the evidence, the judge declares legally that the defendant is not a lawbreaker based on the evidence. Notably, the word “acquitting” translates the Greek verb dikaioó, which is the same verb used in Romans 4:5 when the Apostle Paul says that God justifies the ungodly. The Strong’s Dictionary of bible words translates this word as: to show or regard as just. In justification, God does not change a person, although all who are justified have been given a new heart to believe in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-5, 8 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

But what are the facts upon which the Lord justifies us? The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “faith” as: In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to His guidance, and dependence on His merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation. As we have seen, the righteousness of Christ is the basis for our justification. We must have faith, but faith itself is not the righteousness that justifies us.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Evangelism Explosions explains that many people mistake two things for saving faith: (1) Saving faith is not mere head knowledge, like believing certain historical facts. The Bible says that the devil believes there is one God, so believing that there is one God is not saving faith. (2) Saving faith is also not mere temporal faith, that is, trusting God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs. Now these are good, and you should trust Christ for these, but they are not saving faith! Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than in what you or I have done to get us into Heaven. Saving faith is pleasing to God, but as even our faith is imperfect, it cannot serve as the meritorious basis for our justification.

Our faith is the instrument of justification  because through it God counts or imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to our account. Our faith is unto righteousness – it is the means through which we receive the obedience of Christ, which is the righteousness that justifies us.

Blessed in Christ.