Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification

Justification by Faith Alone - 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2016-11-15

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his exposition of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, focusing on the subjects, essence, ground, method, and instrumental means of justification. He emphasizes that justification is an act of God's free grace for sinners, consisting of both pardon of sin and imputation of Christ's righteousness, received by faith alone as the sole instrument.

[John Weaver] Alright, if you would open your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 1. I started this message last night. I told you that I would be finishing it tonight. I will take a few moments to try to review and bring those few that are here tonight that were not here last night up to date. But the title of the message is Sola Fidei, or justification by faith alone. So if you look in Romans 5, in verse 1, the Scripture says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Note, if you would, the phrase, being justified by faith. Last night I pointed out that justification is a legal, judicial, forensic term. It is a term of the law courts. I also pointed out How justification differs from regeneration and sanctification.

[John Weaver] Although they go together, they are not the same. They are different. So, there is no such thing as a justified, unregenerate, unsanctified person. All those whom God justifies, He regenerates and He sanctifies as well. So, I gave you a definition that we were trying to work our way through. The definition was simply this. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all of their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrong in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them, and received by faith alone." I went last night and showed you all through the Bible how justification is a legal verdict. It is a legal pronouncement. It is a pronouncement of the judge in light of the standard of the law. When we got to looking at that, we understood that God and God alone is the author of justification. I showed you in the Bible how justification is ascribed to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] You remember God the Father justifies as He declares us righteous, God the Son justifies as He imputes His righteousness, and God the Holy Spirit justifies as He seals up our pardon and seals up our life until the day that our Lord comes to take us. But notice if you would, all three persons of the Godhead are dealt with in justification. I pointed out the difference between the ontological trinity and the economical trinity. So God is the author of justification. And then secondly, we looked last night at the source of justification, and we saw that justification is, the source is God's free grace. Justification is always by the grace of God. And I pointed out how the word freely, when the Bible speaks in Romans chapter 3 and verse 24, being justified freely by His grace, It means that we're justified without a cause. The Greek word is dorion. It's the same exact word that is translated in John 15, verse 25, where our Lord said, but they hated me without a cause. So as there was nothing in Jesus Christ that drew forth the hatred of man, so there was nothing in us that drew forth the grace of God.

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible teaches us that God is called the God of all grace. in 1 Peter 5 and verse 10. So free grace then is the very core of the Gospel. And free grace is the only hope of fallen man. We do not have the slightest merit. In fact, the truth is, all we have is demerit. And God does not save us because of anything in us or because of anything that we do. He saves us just merely out of His free grace. In fact, in Isaiah 43 and verse 25, He said, I, even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. So, God says, I do this not for you particularly, but for my own sake. And then in Psalm 106 and verse 8, the Bible says, nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake.

[John Weaver] that He might make His mighty power to be known. But notice He saved them for His name's sake. So we cannot look for one moment outside of the grace of God for any motive or any reason why He should notice us or why He should save us. So we are justified freely by His grace. Nothing in us drew forth or merited the grace of God. And I told you repeatedly last night, the source is merely the free grace of God.

[John Weaver] Do you remember that passage in Titus chapter 3? beginning there with verse 3 and going through verse 7. The Apostle Paul says, For we ourselves sometimes were foolish and disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, But according to His own mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that, being justified by grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." But notice, if you would, being justified by grace.

[John Weaver] So tonight I want to pick up where we left off. Remember, if you would, the definition. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners. So the third point tonight is the subject or the subjects of justification. And the Bible teaches us very clearly the subjects are sinners. So you ask the question, since justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, Who are those whom God justifies? So I could answer that question for you from three particular standpoints. So let me show it to you from the Bible. First of all, from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, those whom He justifies are His elect. So if you'll look again in Romans 8 and verse 33, here's the question. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. So here, those whom God justifies are referred to as God's elect.

[John Weaver] If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and notice if you would, verses 3 and 4. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4. The Apostle Paul said it like this, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

[John Weaver] Now look carefully at verse 4, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Notice that God chose us in Him, that is in Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world. And if you would turn right on over to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 8 and 9. Paul is writing to Timothy, and he wants to make sure that Timothy is not ashamed of his bonds. And he says it like this in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor me as prisoner, for Paul was in prison at the time. But he says, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Now look what God has done, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

[John Weaver] So when you look at the subjects of justification from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, the answer is God justifies His elect. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13, verses 38 and 39, we see next the subjects of justification. Notice Acts 13, verse 38.

[John Weaver] The Bible says, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, that is Jesus Christ, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things. from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." So from the standpoint of the quickening of the Holy Spirit, those whom God justifies are those who believe.

[John Weaver] If you'll skip down to Romans chapter 4 very quickly. Romans chapter 4, and notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. We're still pointing out the fact from the standpoint of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. In Romans 4 and verse 23, the Bible says this, Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, that is Abraham, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. So actually, from the standpoint then of the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, the subject are those who believe. But thirdly, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, look in Romans 4 and verse 5. The Bible says this, Romans 4 verse 5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, His faith is counted for righteousness. Notice if you would, the subjects here are the ungodly or sinners.

[John Weaver] So if you contemplate the subjects under God's eternal decree, the subject are His elect. If you contemplate the subjects based upon the person and work of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. If you contemplate the subjects of justification based upon who we are and what we are, we're the ungodly. We're the sinners. The Apostle Paul made this exceedingly clear in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 and 3.

[John Weaver] He said, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein time passed, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. So the Apostle Paul is making it exceedingly clear, in and of ourselves, we were and are the children of wrath. So when the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 4 and verse 5, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, he is describing what we are in and of ourselves.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to understand what verse 5 is actually saying. but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." I want you to note, if you would please, that God does not justify those that try their best. He does not justify the moral. He does not justify the upright. He does not justify the self-righteous. He does not justify those who try to make their good works outweigh their bad works. No. He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness and have nothing in and of themselves. They have no acceptable works. They have no good deeds. They have absolutely nothing to recommend them unto God. They are sinners, they are ungodly, and they are undone. So the subjects of justification are sinners. Now, if you look back at verse 5 of Romans 4, I want to give you a quote in just a moment. But in verse 5 he says, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

[John Weaver] John Owen, the Puritan scholar, said this, To say he who worketh not is justified through believing is to say that his works Whatever they may be have no influence upon his justification, nor hath God in justifying him any respect to them. Wherefore he alone who worketh not is the subject of justification, The person to be justified, that is, God considereth no man's works, no man's duties of obedience in his justification, seeing we're justified freely by His grace.

[John Weaver] Now, if you were to take the time to study Romans chapter 4, you're going to find that there are two historical figures that the Apostle Paul places in Romans chapter 4 as illustrations of justification by faith. Those two historical persons are Abraham and David. Now, when you stop and think about Abraham, he's known in Scripture not only as the friend of God, but he's also known as the father of the faithful. But do you remember where God found Abraham? Do you remember what he was when God found him? Abram, at that time, was living in Ur of the Chaldees, and he was an idolater. He was not seeking after God. God found him. God came to him. And God, in His grace and mercy, saved him. The same thing with David. You stop and think about David. You say, well, yes, the Scripture says David was a man after God's own heart. That is true. The Scripture does say that. But may I remind you that David was an adulterer. He was also a murderer.

[John Weaver] He was not one that deserved anything from God. He was a sinner in a multitude of other ways as well. And yet it was the grace of God that came to David and saved him. So here the Apostle Paul is giving us what you and I would call a divine miracle. God comes to sinners with a mercy that is righteous in spite of all of their depravity and in spite of all their rebellion. He enables sinners then, through faith in Jesus Christ, to enter into a new and blessed relationship with Himself. So mercy is extended through Jesus Christ to the very chief of sinners. That's why the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. So, Jesus Christ saves the very cheapest of sinners. Now, this is interesting. The Gospel of Jesus Christ differs from all other religions. It differs from all other false religions. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not hold out hope for the moral, the upright, the Pharisee, the self-righteous, the good individual who thinks he is so good.

[John Weaver] No, no, no. The Bible does not hold out any hope for those individuals. Instead, The Bible holds out hope for those that are sinners, those that are wicked, those that are ungodly, those that are undone. What did Jesus Christ say? I came to seek and to save that which was lost. He did not come to seek and to save the Pharisee. He did not come to seek and to save those who had no need of Him. No, I came to seek and to save those that are lost. So the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ can be extended then to the chiefest of sinners. There's a hymn. I really love the hymn. I hope you're aware of it. The title of it is, Come Ye Sinners.

[John Weaver] Let me just give you the stanzas, then I'll tell you the chorus. The stanza goes like this. Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power. Come ye thirsty, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify, true belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall, if you tarry till you're better, you will not come at all.

[John Weaver] Let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream, all the fitness he requires is to feel your need of Him. And in the course, I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are 10,000 charms." So when he says, come ye sinners, that is an invitation to those who have nothing in and of themselves. They are the ungodly. They're the undone. They're the hopeless and the helpless.

[John Weaver] And this is what the gospel sends forth a call unto. People that are lost and undone. So the subjects of justification, in and of themselves, is the fact that they are sinners.

[John Weaver] Now, let's go a little bit further. Let's talk about, fourthly, the essence of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight. I want you to stop and think about this for a moment. If you just followed what I said, the essence of justification deals with that which justification really consists. And in this definition, it consists of two parts.

[John Weaver] One is a negative, one is a positive. So the negative is this, He pardons all of our sins. And the positive is that He accepts and accounts our persons righteous in His sight.

[John Weaver] Now, both of these aspects of justification are absolutely necessary. Let me just show you how most of the time we do not consider both parts of justification. We normally think about forgiveness of sins. And that's it. I've heard preachers ask this question. I've heard well-meaning Christians ask this question. And they're usually asking it to a lost loved one or a lost friend. And the question usually goes something like this. Do you not want your sins forgiven in order that you might go to heaven? Now, I want you to stop and think about this with me.

[John Weaver] Let me make a statement and watch you gasp for breath. Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven. If you get in the presence of God, you need far more than forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins alone may keep you from punishment, but it would not get you into the presence of God. Why? Because to get in the presence of God, you not only have to have the negative dealt with, that is your sins, your transgressions, your iniquities, You have to also have a perfect righteousness.

[John Weaver] You have to be accepted and accounted as righteous in His sight. So, there must be a righteousness as well as forgiveness of sins.

[John Weaver] Now, as sinners, we sustain a two-fold relationship unto God. First, as a responsible creature, born under the law, we are answerable, responsible, and accountable unto Him.

[John Weaver] Secondly, as a guilty criminal for violating that law, having transgressed that law, we must answer to Him. And I want you to understand something. I know that since we are totally depraved, according to the Scripture, We have lost our ability to please God. That's what the Scripture says. So then they that are in flesh cannot please God, Romans 8. But although we lost our ability, we did not lose our responsibility. We are still obligated to glorify and to please our Heavenly Father. Because we're still His creatures. We may have lost our ability, but we did not lose our responsibility. So, when God justifies us, in the essence of justification, there must be a part that deals with our sins, our transgressions, and there must be a part whereby we are accepted and accounted righteous in His sight. And so justification actually deals with both of those. For instance, first in justification, there is an acquittal from guilt and condemnation because we have broken and transgressed His law. In Galatians 3 and verse 13, the Bible says this, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us.

[John Weaver] For as it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree." So Jesus Christ then dealt with that curse. He dealt with the broken penalty of that law. He now gives us forgiveness of sins. But secondly, there must be in justification a reception into God's favor, and that reception into God's favor has to be on the sentence of the law's approval in God's sight through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to explain this verse a little bit later. But in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, the Bible says,"...for He," that is God the Father,"...for He," God the Father,"...hath made Him," that is God the Son,"...to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Did you hear that? So, we're not only forgiven, we are to have a righteousness in Jesus Christ. When you get to 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30, the Bible says,"...but of Him," that is God the Father,"...but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." So Jesus Christ not only forgives us of our sins, He's actually made unto us our righteousness.

[John Weaver] So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ has not only paid all of my debt, He has also fully discharged all of my responsibilities. My lawgiver is my law fulfiller. So, in justification, God then pardons all of my sins, and then He accepts and accounts me righteous in His sight. So, the essence of justification That's two parts. You must be forgiven. That is true. But you also must be given a perfect righteousness.

[John Weaver] So let me go further. Fifthly, we need to look at the ground of justification. Here it is. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight."

[John Weaver] Now listen, here's the ground,"...not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ." So again here, we have a negative and a positive. First, the negative,"...not for anything wrought in them or done by them.

[John Weaver] Now, Scripture makes it clear that our justification does not depend upon our works. I quoted Titus 3 and verse 5 earlier tonight, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So obviously, here's a verse that says, not by works of righteousness. I want you to turn and look in the book of Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. If you do not know this verse, I would encourage you to memorize it, because it is a very powerful verse. Notice, if you would please, Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. Look what the Apostle Paul says. Here's something that you should absolutely know. So he says, Galatians 2 and verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

[John Weaver] Wow. In Romans 3, in verse 28, the Apostle said it like this, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Why does the Apostle Paul say in verse 16 of Galatians 2, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law? He says, we know this. He says,"...by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." How can the Apostle Paul be absolutely sure that no one has ever been or ever will be justified by the works of the law? Here's how. The law demands three things from every sinner. The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to show you this a little bit later. Jesus Christ is the only one that has ever rendered those three things to the law of God. The law of God demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience. So, everyone in this room is a sinner. So let's just assume something. Let's just assume that everyone in this room, all of a sudden, got absolutely perfect. And neither you nor I ever sinned again in word, deed, or thought until the day that we died. From this moment forth, we lived absolutely perfect life. We gave a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience to God's law exactly the way the law demands. Here's my question. If we became perfect right now from the rest of our lives and rendered to the law that which it desired and demanded, would that be sufficient to get us into heaven?

[John Weaver] And the answer is no. Because what about those sins that we committed before we got perfect? You see, what the Apostle Paul is telling us, it's absolutely impossible for anyone to be saved by the law. Our works can never be meritorious because we cannot possibly render to the law that which it demands. I was preaching this past week and I quoted a verse where David said, I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love. And I looked at our people and I said, do not tell me that you never had a vain thought. Because if you tell me you've never had a vain thought, then I'm telling you, you have never prayed. Because is it not true that when you pray many times, all of a sudden, thoughts come into your mind. You think, where did that come from? Here I am praying and all of a sudden, here's something just the opposite. I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love. We cannot give to the law that which it demands. A fallen creature cannot do that.

[John Weaver] Our best is nothing but failure. That's why in Isaiah 64 and verse 6, Isaiah said, but we are all as an unclean thing. Notice, we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. All of our righteousnesses are nothing but a filthy rag. It's impossible to be saved by works. If it was possible, to be saved by our works, then Jesus Christ died in vain.

[John Weaver] There was no reason for Him to die. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Galatians 3 and verse 21, Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid! For if there had been a law which could have given life, then righteousness should have been by the law. Paul says there's no law that could give life. It's impossible to be justified by the works of the law.

[John Weaver] So notice if you would this definition again. I want you to think with me. Justification is an act of God's free grace on the sinners in which He pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ." Now listen to this,"...not for anything wrought in them or done by them." So we understand that nothing done by us will secure our justification. But what about those things that are wrought in us?

[John Weaver] Well, simply stated, we are not justified because of repentance. We're not justified because of faith. We may be justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but we're not justified on account of faith. Nor are we justified through regeneration. Nor are we justified because we believed. Those are things that are wrought in us. So, we're not justified by any works that we have done or anything that is wrought in us.

[John Weaver] You say, but I believe. But that's not the ground of your justification. But I repented. That's not the ground of your justification. But I'm regenerate. That's not the ground of your justification. What is the ground of our justification? Not for anything wrought in us or done by us, but only but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Did you hear that phrase, only for the perfect obedience? You know, I told you a little bit earlier, Jesus Christ is the only one that ever gave to God's law exactly what the law demanded.

[John Weaver] You remember that passage in Galatians 4, 4 and 5? But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Why was Jesus Christ made under the law? And the answer is, so that He could perfectly fulfill that law. Do you remember what He said to those Pharisees in John 8 in verse 36?

[John Weaver] He said, which of you convinces me of sin? Not one could point to anything that Jesus Christ had ever done that was wicked, wrong or sinful. And in John chapter 8 in verse 29, He says to the Father, for I only do always those things that please Him. Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient to God the Father and to the law of God and He gave His life. In other words, His whole person, His whole work is referred to as the satisfaction of Christ. He satisfied the Father's anger. He satisfied the Father's wrath. He satisfied the Father's holiness. He satisfied the Father's justice. You remember the Bible says, Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation. You should study the word propitiation. The word propitiate means to appease, to satisfy. Jesus Christ in His sacrifice and in His obedient life appeased and satisfied God the Father. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. And notice, if you would please, what is said concerning Christ in this passage.

[John Weaver] Hebrews chapter 13, beginning there with verse 10. I wish I had time just to preach on this verse. This is a powerful, powerful verse. Notice, if you would, Hebrews 13, verse 10. We read, We have an altar where they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. Now, you remember the book of Hebrews is written to those who are warning to go back to the tithes and the emblems. Jesus Christ is our true tabernacle. Jesus Christ is our true altar. Jesus Christ is our true sacrifice. So, the apostle says here, we have an altar, talking about Jesus Christ. whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." In other words, if you want types and emblems and shadows, you have no right to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Note verse 11,"...for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought in the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach." And of course, over and over in the scripture, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 8, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 10, that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. But Jesus Christ offered himself once and for all. And we are justified, the ground of our justification is based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is this work that God honors, because God does not set aside His law. His law is holy.

[John Weaver] That's what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7. His law is holy, just, and good. And Jesus Christ came and submitted that law and obeyed that law perfectly. Therefore, you read in Romans chapter 3, that He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. So God is absolutely just. He has not negated His law. He has not nullified His law. He has not set aside His law. It has been totally and completely fulfilled and obeyed by Jesus Christ. And then Jesus Christ died as our surety and as our substitute and as our sacrifice. And so, Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, His person and work is the total ground of justification.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the sixth point, and I want you to listen and pay attention. That is the method of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace in the sinners in which he pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ. By God, imputed unto them." What is imputation?

[John Weaver] I'm working right now on a series of sermons dealing with imputation, and although I'm going to deal with it lightly here, it is far deeper and there is far more involved than you and I could hit at in just a few moments. But the method of God's justifying us is through imputation. And if you do not understand the doctrine of imputation, you cannot possibly be sound in the faith. In fact, you're going to find the word impute or imputation used over and over in the Scripture.

[John Weaver] Now, in one sense of the word, We already know what it means. In another sense of the word, we don't know what it means. So here's the illustration. Amy goes to the mall and she goes in the dress shop and she sees the most beautiful dress she's ever seen in her entire life and she immediately wants it. And she looks at the price tag on the dress and she looks in her purse and she doesn't have enough money. But she wants that dress. It's the only one in her size and she really wants it.

[John Weaver] And so she reaches down and gets this little plastic card out and she hands it to the sales lady and says, impute this to my husband's account. No, she doesn't say that. What she says is, charge it. Do you realize to charge is to impute? When you impute, you credit to someone or put to someone's account. We use the word charge. Paul used the same word basically.

[John Weaver] In the book of Philemon, chapter 1, only one chapter there, in verse 18, you remember Onesimus was the runaway slave. He had stolen from Philemon and ran down to Rome. I don't know what he did, but he did something wrong and he got thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. And while he was there, God saved him. And when his time was up, Paul sent Onesimus, the runaway slave, back to Philemon.

[John Weaver] And he says, to receive him as myself. In other words, you treat this man exactly the way you would treat me. And then he said this in verse 18, If he hath wronged thee, or o'erth thee ought, put that on my account. I will pay it." So when he said, put that on my account, here's what he said, impute it to me. Charge it to me. Whatever he owes you, put that on my account.

[John Weaver] Now, there are only three acts of imputation in the Bible. The first one is the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity. which is very easily proven, which I'll give you some verses. The second one is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And the third one is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. Now, as far as the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity is concerned, We're taught very clearly in Romans 5 in verse 18, Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation. And then of course in verse 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, And when you get to Romans 5 and verse 12,"...wherefore, as by one man sin entered in the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Notice, if you would please, death is proof positive that Adam's sin is imputed to his posterity.

[John Weaver] But I do want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. We read the book, or I quoted the verse earlier, but I want you to see it now in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. This is not dealing just with, this is not dealing now with Adam's imputation of his sin to his posterity, but it's actually dealing with the imputation of believer sins to Christ and of Christ's righteousness to believers. Notice if you would, verse 21, For he, that is God the Father, hath made him, that is God the Son, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now this is the classic verse on imputation. One author said it like this, Christ was not made sin by the infusion of depravity, nor are we made righteous by the infusion of holiness.

[John Weaver] Though personally holy, our surety, the Lord Jesus Christ, did by entering our law place, render Himself officially liable to the wrath of God. And so though personally unholy, we are by virtue of our legal identification of Christ, being received in the favor of God. As the consequence of Christ being made sin for us was that the Lord laid on Him the iniquities all. So the consequence of Christ's obedience being reckoned our count is that God lays righteousness upon all them that believe. As our sins were the judicial ground of the sufferings of Christ, by which sufferings He satisfied justice, so Christ's righteousness is the judicial ground of our acceptance with God by which our pardon is an act of justice.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to think about this. Look in verse 21 again. I want to explain it like this. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. This in reality is very simple. If I were to hold up this tube of chapstick and this little pocket knife, if I were to take this tube of chapstick and place it right here, and I would tell you this is all the sins of the believers. This is what made us deserve wrath and punishment. We've sinned grievously against God. We've trespassed against His law. We've violated His Word. Jesus Christ, here in this pocket knife, has come and obeyed the law of God perfectly. He has worked out an absolute perfect righteousness. And now He is about to suffer the wrath and anger of God. Why? Because all of our sins are now being imputed or charged to his account.

[John Weaver] He's going to be officially guilty, although he was personally innocent. And once he pays that account, He's already worked out that perfect righteousness, and what God does then, He takes that full satisfaction of Christ and that perfect righteousness, and He imputes it and charges it back over here to believers. So, the believer's sins were imputed to Christ, which made Him officially and judicially liable, and then His righteousness is imputed to us, which now makes us stand in favor of God, and in right relationship to the law of God, so that God can be just and the justifier, and pronounce us justified.

[John Weaver] That's why Paul asked in Romans chapter 4 and verse 1, What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Well, go back to Romans chapter 4. Let me show you what he says that Abraham has found. Look at it. Romans chapter 4. The question is asked in verse 1, What shall we say that Abraham, our father, pertaining in the flesh, is found? Skip down to verse 11. And he, that is Abraham, received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had being yet uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though he be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. Look in verse 22. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

[John Weaver] It was charged in his account. Verse 24, But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, charged our account, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. So the framework of the imputation is the eternal covenant in which we are made one in Jesus Christ. God imputes our righteousness to us because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It's ours because we receive it, but it's His because He did it and He worked it out. He likewise imputed our sins to Him. But what God does in justification is that He actually unites us to Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] He is our head, we're his body. So as Jesus Christ now is perfectly obedient, so are we. As Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous, so are we. Horatius Boner wrote this. Listen. Here is the truth of imputation. Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die. Another's life, another's death, I'll stake my whole eternity. Not on my tears which I have shed, not on the sorrows I have known, another's tears, another's griefs, on these I rest and rest alone." So what is imputation? Imputation is when God took our sins and imputed it to Christ and took the righteousness of Christ and imputed it to us and we are resting totally, completely upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is not Jesus Christ plus. It is not Jesus Christ but or Jesus Christ and. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Now, one last point.

[John Weaver] the instrumental means of justification. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything done by them or wrought in them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them and received by faith alone." And the one little word alone makes the difference between truth and error.

[John Weaver] So let me put it like this. Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith. Faith is neither the ground nor the substance of our justification. But it is simply the hand which receives the divine gift as it is offered in the gospel. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Philippians 3 and verse 9, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So he said in Romans 3 and verse 22, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Then in Romans 3 and verse 8, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

[John Weaver] So you have to ask this question. How are we justified by faith? And the instrumental means is by faith alone. Here's what Thomas Goodwin said, listen carefully, this is a wonderful explanation. He says, and asks the question, how are we justified by faith? Having given a threefold negative answer, not by faith as a joint cause with works, the Romanist, not by faith as an act of grace in us, Arminians, not by faith as it receives the Spirit's witness, Antinomians, we now turn to the positive answer. Faith justifies only as an instrument which God has ordained and appointed to the apprehension and the application of Christ's righteousness. When we say that faith is the instrument of our justification, let it be clearly understood that we do not mean that faith is an instrument whereby God justifies, but the instrument whereby we receive Christ. Christ has merited righteousness for us, and faith in Christ is that which renders it meet in God's sight, the purchased blessings be assigned. Faith unites to Christ, and being united to Him, we are possessed of all that is in Christ, so far as is consistent with our capacity of receiving Christ, and receiving, and God's appointment in giving, having been made one with Christ in spirit, God now considers us one with Him in law."

[John Weaver] So he says, the only reason faith works is basically because God ordained faith to receive and apprehend Jesus Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism, question 73 is this, how does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God? The answer is, faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which always accompany it, or good works that are the fruits of it, nor is it the grace of faith or any act thereof were imputed to him for its justification, but only as it is an instrument by which he receives and applies Christ and His righteousness. So you have to ask yourself this question. Why does the Bible speak of being justified by faith alone when obviously everyone in this room knows faith does not always travel alone. It brings other graces with us and it always produces good works in us. So why then does the Bible always say that we are justified by faith alone? And the answer is because faith is the only grace that is absolutely, totally receptive.

[John Weaver] Justifying faith is nothing more than an outstretched hand receiving the righteousness of God by receiving Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel. That's all faith is. It's a means to apprehend and to receive Jesus Christ. Stephen Charnock, the old Puritan, said this, and therefore it is observed that our justification by faith is always expressed in the passive and not in the active. We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us.

[John Weaver] The efficacy is in Christ's blood. The reception of it is in our faith. So, all we are are beggars with outstretched hands, and faith is the hand that receives Christ. It receives His person and work. And the only reason faith is viable, the only reason faith works, is because God ordained it and God appointed it.

[John Weaver] Now, I told you when I began this message last night, It is not our faith that saves us. Faith does not look to itself. Faith looks to an object, and the object of our faith is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who saves us. Faith is just the means to get to Christ. Let me give you a poor illustration, but one that I think you can understand.

[John Weaver] Let's suppose that I am actually starving to death. I haven't had anything to eat in 40 days. I'm perishing. And Tony comes along and he says, well, Pastor, you don't have to die. Here's this great big bowl of cereal that I've got here. Fresh milk and cereal. Help yourself. But I've been without food for 40 days and I'm weak and I'm unable to get that big, heavy bowl of cereal to my mouth. And so I think, what good is that bowl of cereal? I'm starving to death. I'm helpless. I'm weak. I can't lift it. I can't get to it. And then Tony says, oh, here, by the way, here's a spoon. and I take that spoon, and I eat that cereal, and light comes back into my eyes, and I get energy, and I live, would it not be absolutely stupid of me to hold up that spoon and say, the spoon saved my life? Did the spoon save my life? No. It was the milk and cereal that saved my life. The spoon was just the instrument to get to that life-saving nourishment.

[John Weaver] Faith is nothing more than the spoon which dips into the righteousness and the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is true that faith does not travel alone. Everybody in this room can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But how often we stop there and never quote verse 10. For we are His workmanship, created into Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath foreordained that we should walk therein.

[John Weaver] What is the Bible saying? Faith alone receives Christ, but faith never ever travels alone. Now, one last illustration. I don't know if you've ever studied this in the Bible, but did you notice that in the Bible, the Bible speaks of a weak faith A strong faith and a great faith. So let me ask you, which faith is required to get the saving work of Jesus Christ in your life? Is it the weak faith? Is it the strong faith? Or is it the great faith? Well, let me take a Bible illustration.

[John Weaver] You remember how the people were bitten by serpents in the wilderness? They were dying. God told Moses to make a brazen serpent and hold it up, and everyone who looked would live. Well, let me change it just a little bit. Here there's a bad virus going around. And everyone who gets this virus dies. And you die within 30 days. But once you get it, you're dead. That's it. You're going to die. And let's suppose that I come along and I say that in this pocket knife, There is power and there is power to cure you of that virus. And if you merely touch this pocket knife, you would be healed. And here's a person who's had the virus for 29 days.

[John Weaver] One more day and death is sure. And that person very weakly raises one hand and just barely touches that knife and is instantly healed. Here's another man that has just gotten the virus. He's only had it two days. He still has his strength. And he comes up and he grabs the pocket knife and he mashes the pocket knife and he's healed. Here's another one that comes up and is just able to get it and hold on to it and is healed. Which one of those three was healed? All of them.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter if you had a weak faith, a strong faith, or a great faith. When you touched it, You were healed. I've had people say to me, Brother Weaver, I don't know if my faith is the right kind of faith. Let me ask you something. Do you remember that woman with the issue of blood? What did she say? If I can but just touch the hem of his garment, I shall be healed. And she touched it, and she was instantly healed. It is not the quantity of faith that counts. It can be weak, it can be strong, or it can be great.

[John Weaver] But if it receives Jesus Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the Gospel, It brings God's salvation and God's justification. We're justified by faith alone because faith alone receives Christ as He's offered in the Gospel. Have you ever stopped to thank God for what He's done in saving you? Have you ever stopped to thank God, you justified me. And yet I don't understand. I've never understood everything that you did for me. But now I know. My sins are forgiven.

[John Weaver] I have a perfect righteousness. I'm united to Jesus Christ. And what you did for me, it was only by your free, sovereign, unmerited grace through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And if you're trusting in Jesus Christ alone, you should be glorifying God and thanking God every day for His unspeakable gift. For without Jesus Christ, we would still be undone, ungodly, and lost, without hope. But in Him, we have life and salvation. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

[John Weaver] We thank You for Your Word, for Your truth, for Your blessing. Thank You for Your justification. Thank You. for Jesus Christ. Thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the Word of God. Thank you for working in our hearts and our lives. And we ask your blessing upon your people. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

Justification by Faith Alone - 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1118161617591
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-11-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 145: Justification by Faith Alone — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	79

Formatted Transcript

Review of Previous Message

Weaver reviews the definition of justification as a legal, forensic act of God's free grace, distinct from regeneration and sanctification, and the roles of the Trinity.

Alright, if you would open your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 1. I started this message last night. I told you that I would be finishing it tonight. I will take a few moments to try to review and bring those few that are here tonight that were not here last night up to date. But the title of the message is Sola Fide, or justification by faith alone. So if you look in Romans 5, in verse 1, the Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:1

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Note, if you would, the phrase,

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:1

"being justified by faith."

Last night I pointed out that justification is a legal, judicial, forensic term. It is a term of the law courts. I also pointed out how justification differs from regeneration and sanctification.

Although they go together, they are not the same. They are different. So, there is no such thing as a justified, unregenerate, unsanctified person. All those whom God justifies, He regenerates and He sanctifies as well. So, I gave you a definition that we were trying to work our way through. The definition was simply this: Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all of their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them, and received by faith alone. I went last night and showed you all through the Bible how justification is a legal verdict. It is a legal pronouncement. It is a pronouncement of the judge in light of the standard of the law. When we got to looking at that, we understood that God and God alone is the author of justification. I showed you in the Bible how justification is ascribed to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

You remember God the Father justifies as He declares us righteous, God the Son justifies as He imputes His righteousness, and God the Holy Spirit justifies as He seals up our pardon and seals up our life until the day that our Lord comes to take us. But notice if you would, all three persons of the Godhead are dealt with in justification. I pointed out the difference between the ontological trinity and the economical trinity. So God is the author of justification. And then secondly, we looked last night at the source of justification, and we saw that justification is, the source is God's free grace. Justification is always by the grace of God. And I pointed out how the word "freely," when the Bible speaks in Romans chapter 3 and verse 24, "being justified freely by His grace," it means that we're justified without a cause. The Greek word is dorean. It's the same exact word that is translated in John 15, verse 25, where our Lord said, "but they hated me without a cause." So as there was nothing in Jesus Christ that drew forth the hatred of man, so there was nothing in us that drew forth the grace of God.

The Subjects of Justification

The subjects are sinners, viewed from three standpoints: God's eternal decree (the elect), the Spirit's quickening (believers), and our own nature (the ungodly).

So tonight I want to pick up where we left off. Remember, if you would, the definition. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners. So the third point tonight is the subject or the subjects of justification. And the Bible teaches us very clearly the subjects are sinners. So you ask the question, since justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, who are those whom God justifies? So I could answer that question for you from three particular standpoints. So let me show it to you from the Bible. First of all, from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, those whom He justifies are His elect. So if you'll look again in Romans 8 and verse 33, here's the question. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." So here, those whom God justifies are referred to as God's elect.

If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and notice if you would, verses 3 and 4. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4. The Apostle Paul said it like this,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:3-4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

Now look carefully at verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:3-4

"according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."

Notice that God chose us in Him, that is in Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world. And if you would turn right on over to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 8 and 9. Paul is writing to Timothy, and he wants to make sure that Timothy is not ashamed of his bonds. And he says it like this in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 8, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor me as prisoner," for Paul was in prison at the time. But he says, "but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now look what God has done, "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

So when you look at the subjects of justification from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, the answer is God justifies His elect. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13, verses 38 and 39, we see next the subjects of justification. Notice Acts 13, verse 38. The Bible says, "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man," that is Jesus Christ, "is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." So from the standpoint of the quickening of the Holy Spirit, those whom God justifies are those who believe. If you'll skip down to Romans chapter 4 very quickly. Romans chapter 4, and notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. We're still pointing out the fact from the standpoint of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. In Romans 4 and verse 23, the Bible says this,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:23-24

"Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,"

that is Abraham,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:23-24

"but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification."

So actually, from the standpoint then of the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, the subjects are those who believe. But thirdly, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, look in Romans 4 and verse 5. The Bible says this, Romans 4 verse 5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Notice if you would, the subjects here are the ungodly or sinners.

So if you contemplate the subjects under God's eternal decree, the subjects are His elect. If you contemplate the subjects based upon the person and work of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. If you contemplate the subjects of justification based upon who we are and what we are, we're the ungodly. We're the sinners. The Apostle Paul made this exceedingly clear in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 and 3. He said,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:1-3

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein time passed, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

So the Apostle Paul is making it exceedingly clear, in and of ourselves, we were and are the children of wrath. So when the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 4 and verse 5, "but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly," he is describing what we are in and of ourselves.

Now I want you to understand what verse 5 is actually saying. "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." I want you to note, if you would please, that God does not justify those that try their best. He does not justify the moral. He does not justify the upright. He does not justify the self-righteous. He does not justify those who try to make their good works outweigh their bad works. No. He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness and have nothing in and of themselves. They have no acceptable works. They have no good deeds. They have absolutely nothing to recommend them unto God. They are sinners, they are ungodly, and they are undone. So the subjects of justification are sinners. Now, if you look back at verse 5 of Romans 4, I want to give you a quote in just a moment. But in verse 5 he says, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

John Owen, the Puritan scholar, said this, "To say he who worketh not is justified through believing is to say that his works, whatever they may be, have no influence upon his justification, nor hath God in justifying him any respect to them. Wherefore he alone who worketh not is the subject of justification, the person to be justified, that is, God considereth no man's works, no man's duties of obedience in his justification, seeing we're justified freely by His grace." Now, if you were to take the time to study Romans chapter 4, you're going to find that there are two historical figures that the Apostle Paul places in Romans chapter 4 as illustrations of justification by faith. Those two historical persons are Abraham and David. Now, when you stop and think about Abraham, he's known in Scripture not only as the friend of God, but he's also known as the father of the faithful. But do you remember where God found Abraham? Do you remember what he was when God found him? Abram, at that time, was living in Ur of the Chaldees, and he was an idolater. He was not seeking after God. God found him. God came to him. And God, in His grace and mercy, saved him. The same thing with David. You stop and think about David. You say, well, yes, the Scripture says David was a man after God's own heart. That is true. The Scripture does say that. But may I remind you that David was an adulterer. He was also a murderer.

He was not one that deserved anything from God. He was a sinner in a multitude of other ways as well. And yet it was the grace of God that came to David and saved him. So here the Apostle Paul is giving us what you and I would call a divine miracle. God comes to sinners with a mercy that is righteous in spite of all of their depravity and in spite of all their rebellion. He enables sinners then, through faith in Jesus Christ, to enter into a new and blessed relationship with Himself. So mercy is extended through Jesus Christ to the very chief of sinners. That's why the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief." So, Jesus Christ saves the very chiefest of sinners. Now, this is interesting. The Gospel of Jesus Christ differs from all other religions. It differs from all other false religions. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not hold out hope for the moral, the upright, the Pharisee, the self-righteous, the good individual who thinks he is so good.

No, no, no. The Bible does not hold out any hope for those individuals. Instead, the Bible holds out hope for those that are sinners, those that are wicked, those that are ungodly, those that are undone. What did Jesus Christ say? "I came to seek and to save that which was lost." He did not come to seek and to save the Pharisee. He did not come to seek and to save those who had no need of Him. No, "I came to seek and to save those that are lost." So the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ can be extended then to the chiefest of sinners. There's a hymn. I really love the hymn. I hope you're aware of it. The title of it is, "Come Ye Sinners."

Let me just give you the stanzas, then I'll tell you the chorus. The stanza goes like this: "Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power. Come ye thirsty, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify, true belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall, if you tarry till you're better, you will not come at all." "Let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream, all the fitness he requires is to feel your need of Him." And in the chorus, "I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are ten thousand charms." So when he says, "come ye sinners," that is an invitation to those who have nothing in and of themselves. They are the ungodly. They're the undone. They're the hopeless and the helpless.

And this is what the gospel sends forth a call unto. People that are lost and undone. So the subjects of justification, in and of themselves, is the fact that they are sinners.

The Essence of Justification

Justification consists of two parts: the negative (pardon of all sins) and the positive (acceptance and accounting as righteous). Both are necessary for acceptance with God.

Now, let's go a little bit further. Let's talk about, fourthly, the essence of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight. I want you to stop and think about this for a moment. If you just followed what I said, the essence of justification deals with that which justification really consists. And in this definition, it consists of two parts. One is a negative, one is a positive. So the negative is this, He pardons all of our sins. And the positive is that He accepts and accounts our persons righteous in His sight.

Now, both of these aspects of justification are absolutely necessary. Let me just show you how most of the time we do not consider both parts of justification. We normally think about forgiveness of sins. And that's it. I've heard preachers ask this question. I've heard well-meaning Christians ask this question. And they're usually asking it to a lost loved one or a lost friend. And the question usually goes something like this. "Do you not want your sins forgiven in order that you might go to heaven?" Now, I want you to stop and think about this with me.

Let me make a statement and watch you gasp for breath. Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven. If you get in the presence of God, you need far more than forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins alone may keep you from punishment, but it would not get you into the presence of God. Why? Because to get in the presence of God, you not only have to have the negative dealt with, that is your sins, your transgressions, your iniquities, you have to also have a perfect righteousness. You have to be accepted and accounted as righteous in His sight. So, there must be a righteousness as well as forgiveness of sins.

Now, as sinners, we sustain a two-fold relationship unto God. First, as a responsible creature, born under the law, we are answerable, responsible, and accountable unto Him. Secondly, as a guilty criminal for violating that law, having transgressed that law, we must answer to Him. And I want you to understand something. I know that since we are totally depraved, according to the Scripture, we have lost our ability to please God. That's what the Scripture says. "So then they that are in flesh cannot please God," Romans 8. But although we lost our ability, we did not lose our responsibility. We are still obligated to glorify and to please our Heavenly Father. Because we're still His creatures. We may have lost our ability, but we did not lose our responsibility. So, when God justifies us, in the essence of justification, there must be a part that deals with our sins, our transgressions, and there must be a part whereby we are accepted and accounted righteous in His sight. And so justification actually deals with both of those. For instance, first in justification, there is an acquittal from guilt and condemnation because we have broken and transgressed His law. In Galatians 3 and verse 13, the Bible says this, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us."

"For as it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree." So Jesus Christ then dealt with that curse. He dealt with the broken penalty of that law. He now gives us forgiveness of sins. But secondly, there must be in justification a reception into God's favor, and that reception into God's favor has to be on the sentence of the law's approval in God's sight through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, I'm going to explain this verse a little bit later. But in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, the Bible says, "...for He," that is God the Father, "...for He," God the Father, "...hath made Him," that is God the Son, "...

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 5:21

to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

Did you hear that? So, we're not only forgiven, we are to have a righteousness in Jesus Christ. When you get to 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30, the Bible says, "...but of Him," that is God the Father, "...but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." So Jesus Christ not only forgives us of our sins, He's actually made unto us our righteousness.

So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ has not only paid all of my debt, He has also fully discharged all of my responsibilities. My lawgiver is my law fulfiller. So, in justification, God then pardons all of my sins, and then He accepts and accounts me righteous in His sight. So, the essence of justification, that's two parts. You must be forgiven. That is true. But you also must be given a perfect righteousness.

So let me go further. Fifthly, we need to look at the ground of justification. Here it is. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight.

The Ground of Justification

The ground is not anything in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, who fulfilled the law and satisfied divine justice.

Now listen, here's the ground, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ." So again here, we have a negative and a positive. First, the negative, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them." Now, Scripture makes it clear that our justification does not depend upon our works. I quoted Titus 3 and verse 5 earlier tonight, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." So obviously, here's a verse that says, "not by works of righteousness." I want you to turn and look in the book of Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. If you do not know this verse, I would encourage you to memorize it, because it is a very powerful verse. Notice, if you would please, Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. Look what the Apostle Paul says. Here's something that you should absolutely know. So he says, Galatians 2 and verse 16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Wow. In Romans 3, in verse 28, the Apostle said it like this,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:28

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Now let me ask you a question. Why does the Apostle Paul say in verse 16 of Galatians 2,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:28

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law"

? He says, we know this. He says, "...by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." How can the Apostle Paul be absolutely sure that no one has ever been or ever will be justified by the works of the law? Here's how. The law demands three things from every sinner. The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.

Now, I'm going to show you this a little bit later. Jesus Christ is the only one that has ever rendered those three things to the law of God. The law of God demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience. So, everyone in this room is a sinner. So let's just assume something. Let's just assume that everyone in this room, all of a sudden, got absolutely perfect. And neither you nor I ever sinned again in word, deed, or thought until the day that we died. From this moment forth, we lived absolutely perfect life. We gave a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience to God's law exactly the way the law demands. Here's my question. If we became perfect right now from the rest of our lives and rendered to the law that which it desired and demanded, would that be sufficient to get us into heaven?

And the answer is no. Because what about those sins that we committed before we got perfect? You see, what the Apostle Paul is telling us, it's absolutely impossible for anyone to be saved by the law. Our works can never be meritorious because we cannot possibly render to the law that which it demands. I was preaching this past week and I quoted a verse where David said, "I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love." And I looked at our people and I said, do not tell me that you never had a vain thought. Because if you tell me you've never had a vain thought, then I'm telling you, you have never prayed. Because is it not true that when you pray many times, all of a sudden, thoughts come into your mind. You think, where did that come from? Here I am praying and all of a sudden, here's something just the opposite. "I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love." We cannot give to the law that which it demands. A fallen creature cannot do that.

Our best is nothing but failure. That's why in Isaiah 64 and verse 6, Isaiah said, "But we are all as an unclean thing." Notice, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away." All of our righteousnesses are nothing but a filthy rag. It's impossible to be saved by works. If it was possible to be saved by our works, then Jesus Christ died in vain.

There was no reason for Him to die. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Galatians 3 and verse 21, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid! For if there had been a law which could have given life, then righteousness should have been by the law." Paul says there's no law that could give life. It's impossible to be justified by the works of the law.

So notice if you would this definition again. I want you to think with me. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ. Now listen to this, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them." So we understand that nothing done by us will secure our justification. But what about those things that are wrought in us? Well, simply stated, we are not justified because of repentance. We're not justified because of faith. We may be justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but we're not justified on account of faith. Nor are we justified through regeneration. Nor are we justified because we believed. Those are things that are wrought in us. So, we're not justified by any works that we have done or anything that is wrought in us.

You say, but I believe. But that's not the ground of your justification. But I repented. That's not the ground of your justification. But I'm regenerate. That's not the ground of your justification. What is the ground of our justification? Not for anything wrought in us or done by us, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Did you hear that phrase, "only for the perfect obedience"? You know, I told you a little bit earlier, Jesus Christ is the only one that ever gave to God's law exactly what the law demanded.

You remember that passage in Galatians 4, 4 and 5? "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Why was Jesus Christ made under the law? And the answer is, so that He could perfectly fulfill that law. Do you remember what He said to those Pharisees in John 8 in verse 36? He said, "Which of you convinces me of sin?" Not one could point to anything that Jesus Christ had ever done that was wicked, wrong or sinful. And in John chapter 8 in verse 29, He says to the Father, "for I only do always those things that please Him." Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient to God the Father and to the law of God and He gave His life. In other words, His whole person, His whole work is referred to as the satisfaction of Christ. He satisfied the Father's anger. He satisfied the Father's wrath. He satisfied the Father's holiness. He satisfied the Father's justice. You remember the Bible says, "Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation." You should study the word propitiation. The word propitiate means to appease, to satisfy. Jesus Christ in His sacrifice and in His obedient life appeased and satisfied God the Father. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. And notice, if you would please, what is said concerning Christ in this passage.

Hebrews chapter 13, beginning there with verse 10. I wish I had time just to preach on this verse. This is a powerful, powerful verse. Notice, if you would, Hebrews 13, verse 10. We read, "We have an altar where they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." Now, you remember the book of Hebrews is written to those who are warning to go back to the tithes and the emblems. Jesus Christ is our true tabernacle. Jesus Christ is our true altar. Jesus Christ is our true sacrifice. So, the apostle says here, "we have an altar," talking about Jesus Christ, "whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." In other words, if you want types and emblems and shadows, you have no right to Jesus Christ.

Note verse 11, "...for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought in the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach." And of course, over and over in the scripture, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 8, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 10, that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. But Jesus Christ offered himself once and for all. And we are justified, the ground of our justification is based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is this work that God honors, because God does not set aside His law. His law is holy.

That's what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7. His law is holy, just, and good. And Jesus Christ came and submitted that law and obeyed that law perfectly. Therefore, you read in Romans chapter 3, "that He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." So God is absolutely just. He has not negated His law. He has not nullified His law. He has not set aside His law. It has been totally and completely fulfilled and obeyed by Jesus Christ. And then Jesus Christ died as our surety and as our substitute and as our sacrifice. And so, Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, His person and work is the total ground of justification.

The Method of Justification: Imputation

God justifies through imputation: our sins are imputed to Christ, and His righteousness is imputed to us, so that we are legally righteous in Him.

Now, here's the sixth point, and I want you to listen and pay attention. That is the method of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners in which he pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed unto them. What is imputation? I'm working right now on a series of sermons dealing with imputation, and although I'm going to deal with it lightly here, it is far deeper and there is far more involved than you and I could hit at in just a few moments. But the method of God's justifying us is through imputation. And if you do not understand the doctrine of imputation, you cannot possibly be sound in the faith. In fact, you're going to find the word impute or imputation used over and over in the Scripture.

Now, in one sense of the word, we already know what it means. In another sense of the word, we don't know what it means. So here's the illustration. Amy goes to the mall and she goes in the dress shop and she sees the most beautiful dress she's ever seen in her entire life and she immediately wants it. And she looks at the price tag on the dress and she looks in her purse and she doesn't have enough money. But she wants that dress. It's the only one in her size and she really wants it.

And so she reaches down and gets this little plastic card out and she hands it to the sales lady and says, "impute this to my husband's account." No, she doesn't say that. What she says is, "charge it." Do you realize to charge is to impute? When you impute, you credit to someone or put to someone's account. We use the word charge. Paul used the same word basically. In the book of Philemon, chapter 1, only one chapter there, in verse 18, you remember Onesimus was the runaway slave. He had stolen from Philemon and ran down to Rome. I don't know what he did, but he did something wrong and he got thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. And while he was there, God saved him. And when his time was up, Paul sent Onesimus, the runaway slave, back to Philemon.

And he says, "to receive him as myself." In other words, you treat this man exactly the way you would treat me. And then he said this in verse 18, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on my account. I will pay it." So when he said, "put that on my account," here's what he said, impute it to me. Charge it to me. Whatever he owes you, put that on my account.

Now, there are only three acts of imputation in the Bible. The first one is the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity, which is very easily proven, which I'll give you some verses. The second one is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And the third one is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. Now, as far as the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity is concerned, we're taught very clearly in Romans 5 in verse 18, "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation." And then of course in verse 19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners." And when you get to Romans 5 and verse 12, "...wherefore, as by one man sin entered in the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Notice, if you would please, death is proof positive that Adam's sin is imputed to his posterity.

But I do want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. We read the book, or I quoted the verse earlier, but I want you to see it now in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. This is not dealing just with, this is not dealing now with Adam's imputation of his sin to his posterity, but it's actually dealing with the imputation of believer sins to Christ and of Christ's righteousness to believers. Notice if you would, verse 21, "For he," that is God the Father, "hath made him," that is God the Son, "to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Now this is the classic verse on imputation. One author said it like this, "Christ was not made sin by the infusion of depravity, nor are we made righteous by the infusion of holiness."

"Though personally holy, our surety, the Lord Jesus Christ, did by entering our law place, render Himself officially liable to the wrath of God. And so though personally unholy, we are by virtue of our legal identification of Christ, being received in the favor of God. As the consequence of Christ being made sin for us was that the Lord laid on Him the iniquities all. So the consequence of Christ's obedience being reckoned our count is that God lays righteousness upon all them that believe. As our sins were the judicial ground of the sufferings of Christ, by which sufferings He satisfied justice, so Christ's righteousness is the judicial ground of our acceptance with God by which our pardon is an act of justice."

Now, I want you to think about this. Look in verse 21 again. I want to explain it like this. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." This in reality is very simple. If I were to hold up this tube of chapstick and this little pocket knife, if I were to take this tube of chapstick and place it right here, and I would tell you this is all the sins of the believers. This is what made us deserve wrath and punishment. We've sinned grievously against God. We've trespassed against His law. We've violated His Word. Jesus Christ, here in this pocket knife, has come and obeyed the law of God perfectly. He has worked out an absolute perfect righteousness. And now He is about to suffer the wrath and anger of God. Why? Because all of our sins are now being imputed or charged to his account.

He's going to be officially guilty, although he was personally innocent. And once he pays that account, He's already worked out that perfect righteousness, and what God does then, He takes that full satisfaction of Christ and that perfect righteousness, and He imputes it and charges it back over here to believers. So, the believer's sins were imputed to Christ, which made Him officially and judicially liable, and then His righteousness is imputed to us, which now makes us stand in favor of God, and in right relationship to the law of God, so that God can be just and the justifier, and pronounce us justified. That's why Paul asked in Romans chapter 4 and verse 1, "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?" Well, go back to Romans chapter 4. Let me show you what he says that Abraham has found. Look at it. Romans chapter 4. The question is asked in verse 1, "What shall we say that Abraham, our father, pertaining in the flesh, is found?" Skip down to verse 11. "And he," that is Abraham, "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had being yet uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though he be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also." Look in verse 22. "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."

It was charged in his account. Verse 24, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed," charged our account, "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead." So the framework of the imputation is the eternal covenant in which we are made one in Jesus Christ. God imputes our righteousness to us because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It's ours because we receive it, but it's His because He did it and He worked it out. He likewise imputed our sins to Him. But what God does in justification is that He actually unites us to Jesus Christ. He is our head, we're his body. So as Jesus Christ now is perfectly obedient, so are we. As Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous, so are we. Horatius Bonar wrote this. Listen. "Here is the truth of imputation. Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die. Another's life, another's death, I'll stake my whole eternity. Not on my tears which I have shed, not on the sorrows I have known, another's tears, another's griefs, on these I rest and rest alone." So what is imputation? Imputation is when God took our sins and imputed it to Christ and took the righteousness of Christ and imputed it to us and we are resting totally, completely upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is not Jesus Christ plus. It is not Jesus Christ but or Jesus Christ and. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Now, one last point.

The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone

Faith alone is the instrument that receives Christ and His righteousness; it is not the ground of justification but the hand that apprehends the gift.

the instrumental means of justification. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything done by them or wrought in them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them and received by faith alone. And the one little word "alone" makes the difference between truth and error. So let me put it like this. Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith. Faith is neither the ground nor the substance of our justification. But it is simply the hand which receives the divine gift as it is offered in the gospel. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Philippians 3 and verse 9, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." So he said in Romans 3 and verse 22, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Then in Romans 3 and verse 28, "therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

So you have to ask this question. How are we justified by faith? And the instrumental means is by faith alone. Here's what Thomas Goodwin said, listen carefully, this is a wonderful explanation. He says, and asks the question, "how are we justified by faith?" Having given a threefold negative answer, not by faith as a joint cause with works, the Romanist, not by faith as an act of grace in us, Arminians, not by faith as it receives the Spirit's witness, Antinomians, we now turn to the positive answer. Faith justifies only as an instrument which God has ordained and appointed to the apprehension and the application of Christ's righteousness. When we say that faith is the instrument of our justification, let it be clearly understood that we do not mean that faith is an instrument whereby God justifies, but the instrument whereby we receive Christ. Christ has merited righteousness for us, and faith in Christ is that which renders it meet in God's sight, the purchased blessings be assigned. Faith unites to Christ, and being united to Him, we are possessed of all that is in Christ, so far as is consistent with our capacity of receiving Christ, and receiving, and God's appointment in giving, having been made one with Christ in spirit, God now considers us one with Him in law.

So he says, the only reason faith works is basically because God ordained faith to receive and apprehend Jesus Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism, question 73 is this, "How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?" The answer is, "Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which always accompany it, or good works that are the fruits of it, nor is it the grace of faith or any act thereof were imputed to him for its justification, but only as it is an instrument by which he receives and applies Christ and His righteousness." So you have to ask yourself this question. Why does the Bible speak of being justified by faith alone when obviously everyone in this room knows faith does not always travel alone. It brings other graces with us and it always produces good works in us. So why then does the Bible always say that we are justified by faith alone? And the answer is because faith is the only grace that is absolutely, totally receptive.

Justifying faith is nothing more than an outstretched hand receiving the righteousness of God by receiving Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel. That's all faith is. It's a means to apprehend and to receive Jesus Christ. Stephen Charnock, the old Puritan, said this, "and therefore it is observed that our justification by faith is always expressed in the passive and not in the active. We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us." "The efficacy is in Christ's blood. The reception of it is in our faith." So, all we are are beggars with outstretched hands, and faith is the hand that receives Christ. It receives His person and work. And the only reason faith is viable, the only reason faith works, is because God ordained it and God appointed it.

Now, I told you when I began this message last night, it is not our faith that saves us. Faith does not look to itself. Faith looks to an object, and the object of our faith is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who saves us. Faith is just the means to get to Christ. Let me give you a poor illustration, but one that I think you can understand. Let's suppose that I am actually starving to death. I haven't had anything to eat in 40 days. I'm perishing. And Tony comes along and he says, "Well, Pastor, you don't have to die. Here's this great big bowl of cereal that I've got here. Fresh milk and cereal. Help yourself." But I've been without food for 40 days and I'm weak and I'm unable to get that big, heavy bowl of cereal to my mouth. And so I think, what good is that bowl of cereal? I'm starving to death. I'm helpless. I'm weak. I can't lift it. I can't get to it. And then Tony says, "Oh, here, by the way, here's a spoon." And I take that spoon, and I eat that cereal, and light comes back into my eyes, and I get energy, and I live, would it not be absolutely stupid of me to hold up that spoon and say, "The spoon saved my life"? Did the spoon save my life? No. It was the milk and cereal that saved my life. The spoon was just the instrument to get to that life-saving nourishment.

Faith is nothing more than the spoon which dips into the righteousness and the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is true that faith does not travel alone. Everybody in this room can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." But how often we stop there and never quote verse 10. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath foreordained that we should walk therein." What is the Bible saying? Faith alone receives Christ, but faith never ever travels alone. Now, one last illustration. I don't know if you've ever studied this in the Bible, but did you notice that in the Bible, the Bible speaks of a weak faith, a strong faith, and a great faith. So let me ask you, which faith is required to get the saving work of Jesus Christ in your life? Is it the weak faith? Is it the strong faith? Or is it the great faith? Well, let me take a Bible illustration.

You remember how the people were bitten by serpents in the wilderness? They were dying. God told Moses to make a brazen serpent and hold it up, and everyone who looked would live. Well, let me change it just a little bit. Here there's a bad virus going around. And everyone who gets this virus dies. And you die within 30 days. But once you get it, you're dead. That's it. You're going to die. And let's suppose that I come along and I say that in this pocket knife, there is power and there is power to cure you of that virus. And if you merely touch this pocket knife, you would be healed. And here's a person who's had the virus for 29 days.

One more day and death is sure. And that person very weakly raises one hand and just barely touches that knife and is instantly healed. Here's another man that has just gotten the virus. He's only had it two days. He still has his strength. And he comes up and he grabs the pocket knife and he mashes the pocket knife and he's healed. Here's another one that comes up and is just able to get it and hold on to it and is healed. Which one of those three was healed? All of them.

It doesn't matter if you had a weak faith, a strong faith, or a great faith. When you touched it, you were healed. I've had people say to me, "Brother Weaver, I don't know if my faith is the right kind of faith." Let me ask you something. Do you remember that woman with the issue of blood? What did she say? "If I can but just touch the hem of his garment, I shall be healed." And she touched it, and she was instantly healed. It is not the quantity of faith that counts. It can be weak, it can be strong, or it can be great.

But if it receives Jesus Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the Gospel, it brings God's salvation and God's justification. We're justified by faith alone because faith alone receives Christ as He's offered in the Gospel. Have you ever stopped to thank God for what He's done in saving you? Have you ever stopped to thank God, "You justified me. And yet I don't understand. I've never understood everything that you did for me. But now I know. My sins are forgiven."

"I have a perfect righteousness. I'm united to Jesus Christ. And what you did for me, it was only by your free, sovereign, unmerited grace through the person and work of Jesus Christ." And if you're trusting in Jesus Christ alone, you should be glorifying God and thanking God every day for His unspeakable gift. For without Jesus Christ, we would still be undone, ungodly, and lost, without hope. But in Him, we have life and salvation. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Justification as a Legal Act

Summary: Justification is a forensic declaration by God, not a process of inner transformation, distinct from regeneration and sanctification.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'justification is a legal, judicial, forensic term. It is a term of the law courts.'

Free Grace as the Source

Summary: Justification originates solely from God's free grace, without any merit or cause in the sinner.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'the source is God's free grace... we're justified without a cause... nothing in us drew forth the grace of God.'

Sinners as the Subjects

Summary: God justifies the ungodly, not the righteous or self-righteous; the subjects are elect, believers, and sinners by nature.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness... they are sinners, they are ungodly, and they are undone.'

Twofold Essence: Pardon and Righteousness

Summary: Justification includes both forgiveness of sins and the imputation of a perfect righteousness, both necessary for acceptance with God.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven... you have to also have a perfect righteousness.'

Christ's Work as the Sole Ground

Summary: The ground of justification is exclusively the perfect obedience and satisfaction of Christ, not human works or inward graces.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ.'

Imputation as the Method

Summary: God justifies by imputing our sins to Christ and Christ's righteousness to us, a legal transaction based on union with Christ.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'the believer's sins were imputed to Christ... and then His righteousness is imputed to us.'

Faith Alone as Instrument

Summary: Faith is the sole instrument that receives Christ's righteousness; it is not a work but a receptive hand, and it never travels alone.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification... faith is the hand that receives Christ.'

Key Arguments

Justification is for the ungodly, not the righteous

Summary: God justifies those who have no works or righteousness of their own, contrary to all other religions that offer hope to the moral.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'He does not justify the moral... He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness.'

Forgiveness alone is insufficient for salvation

Summary: To stand before God, one needs not only pardon of sin but also a perfect righteousness, which is provided in Christ.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven... you have to also have a perfect righteousness.'

The law demands personal, perfect, perpetual obedience

Summary: No sinner can be justified by the law because it requires an obedience that only Christ has rendered.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.'

Imputation is the legal mechanism of justification

Summary: Our sins are charged to Christ, and His righteousness is credited to us, so that God remains just in justifying sinners.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'God took our sins and imputed it to Christ and took the righteousness of Christ and imputed it to us.'

Faith is the sole receptive instrument, not a meritorious work

Summary: Faith justifies only as it receives Christ; it is not the ground of justification but the means appointed by God.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Charnock: 'We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us. The efficacy is in Christ's blood. The reception of it is in our faith.'

Scripture References

Romans 5:1

Context: Introduction: 'Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Romans 3:24

Context: Justification is freely by God's grace, without cause.

John 15:25

Context: The word 'freely' (dorean) is the same as 'without a cause' in this verse.

1 Peter 5:10

Context: God is called the God of all grace.

Isaiah 43:25

Context: God blots out transgressions for His own sake.

Psalm 106:8

Context: God saved them for His name's sake.

Titus 3:3-7

Context: We are justified by grace, not by works of righteousness.

Romans 8:33

Context: God justifies His elect; no charge can be laid against them.

Ephesians 1:3-4

Context: God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

2 Timothy 1:8-9

Context: God saved us according to His purpose and grace given in Christ before the world began.

Acts 13:38-39

Context: All who believe are justified from all things.

Romans 4:23-24

Context: Righteousness is imputed to those who believe on Him who raised Jesus.

Romans 4:5

Context: God justifies the ungodly; faith is counted for righteousness.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Context: We were dead in sins and by nature children of wrath.

1 Timothy 1:15

Context: Christ came to save sinners, of whom Paul is chief.

Galatians 3:13

Context: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Context: God made Christ sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1 Corinthians 1:30

Context: Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Galatians 2:16

Context: A man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Christ.

Romans 3:28

Context: A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Historical References

John Owen

Context: Quoted on justification: 'To say he who worketh not is justified through believing is to say that his works... have no influence upon his justification.'

Abraham

Context: Used as an illustration of justification by faith; he was an idolater when God found him.

David

Context: Used as an illustration of justification by faith; he was an adulterer and murderer.

Horatius Bonar

Context: Quoted on imputation: 'Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die...'

Thomas Goodwin

Context: Quoted on how faith justifies: 'Faith justifies only as an instrument... to the apprehension and application of Christ's righteousness.'

Westminster Larger Catechism, Q.73

Context: Quoted on faith justifying as an instrument receiving Christ and His righteousness.

Stephen Charnock

Context: Quoted: 'We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us. The efficacy is in Christ's blood.'

Important Quotes

Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven. If you get in the presence of God, you need far more than forgiveness of sins.

Significance: Highlights the necessity of both pardon and imputed righteousness in justification.

He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness and have nothing in and of themselves.

Significance: Emphasizes that justification is for the ungodly, not the self-righteous.

The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.

Significance: Explains why no one can be justified by works of the law.

Christ was not made sin by the infusion of depravity, nor are we made righteous by the infusion of holiness.

Significance: Clarifies the forensic nature of imputation, not a change of substance.

Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith.

Significance: Defines the precise role of faith as instrument, not ground.

Discussion Questions

Why is it important to distinguish justification from regeneration and sanctification, even though they always accompany each other?

Context: Weaver stressed that justification is a legal declaration, not an inward transformation.

How does the truth that God justifies the ungodly challenge our natural tendency to rely on our own goodness?

Context: Weaver emphasized that God does not justify the moral or self-righteous.

Why is forgiveness of sins alone insufficient for salvation, and what does the requirement of perfect righteousness teach us about God's holiness?

Context: Weaver argued that both pardon and righteousness are necessary.

In what ways does the doctrine of imputation provide assurance to believers?

Context: Weaver explained that our sins are charged to Christ and His righteousness to us.

How does understanding faith as a mere instrument help guard against making faith a work?

Context: Weaver used the spoon illustration to show faith is only the means to receive Christ.

Applications

Rest in Christ's righteousness alone

Summary: Believers should find their assurance not in their own works or faith's strength, but solely in the perfect obedience and satisfaction of Christ imputed to them.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'It is not Jesus Christ plus. It is not Jesus Christ but or Jesus Christ and. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone.'

Glorify God for His free grace

Summary: Recognizing that justification is entirely of grace should lead believers to continual thanksgiving and praise.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts: 'you should be glorifying God and thanking God every day for His unspeakable gift.'

Offer the gospel to the ungodly

Summary: Since Christ justifies the ungodly, the gospel call should be extended to the worst of sinners, not just the outwardly moral.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ can be extended then to the chiefest of sinners.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:03:52Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:14:01Z

Clean Transcript

Justification by Faith Alone - 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, if you would open your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 1. I started this message last night. I told you that I would be finishing it tonight. I will take a few moments to try to review and bring those few that are here tonight that were not here last night up to date. But the title of the message is Sola Fide, or justification by faith alone. So if you look in Romans 5, in verse 1, the Scripture says, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Note, if you would, the phrase, "being justified by faith." Last night I pointed out that justification is a legal, judicial, forensic term. It is a term of the law courts. I also pointed out how justification differs from regeneration and sanctification.
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Although they go together, they are not the same. They are different. So, there is no such thing as a justified, unregenerate, unsanctified person. All those whom God justifies, He regenerates and He sanctifies as well. So, I gave you a definition that we were trying to work our way through. The definition was simply this: Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all of their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them, and received by faith alone. I went last night and showed you all through the Bible how justification is a legal verdict. It is a legal pronouncement. It is a pronouncement of the judge in light of the standard of the law. When we got to looking at that, we understood that God and God alone is the author of justification. I showed you in the Bible how justification is ascribed to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
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You remember God the Father justifies as He declares us righteous, God the Son justifies as He imputes His righteousness, and God the Holy Spirit justifies as He seals up our pardon and seals up our life until the day that our Lord comes to take us. But notice if you would, all three persons of the Godhead are dealt with in justification. I pointed out the difference between the ontological trinity and the economical trinity. So God is the author of justification. And then secondly, we looked last night at the source of justification, and we saw that justification is, the source is God's free grace. Justification is always by the grace of God. And I pointed out how the word "freely," when the Bible speaks in Romans chapter 3 and verse 24, "being justified freely by His grace," it means that we're justified without a cause. The Greek word is dorean. It's the same exact word that is translated in John 15, verse 25, where our Lord said, "but they hated me without a cause." So as there was nothing in Jesus Christ that drew forth the hatred of man, so there was nothing in us that drew forth the grace of God.
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Now, the Bible teaches us that God is called the God of all grace in 1 Peter 5 and verse 10. So free grace then is the very core of the Gospel. And free grace is the only hope of fallen man. We do not have the slightest merit. In fact, the truth is, all we have is demerit. And God does not save us because of anything in us or because of anything that we do. He saves us just merely out of His free grace. In fact, in Isaiah 43 and verse 25, He said, "I, even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." So, God says, "I do this not for you particularly, but for my own sake." And then in Psalm 106 and verse 8, the Bible says, "Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake."
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that He might make His mighty power to be known. But notice He saved them for His name's sake. So we cannot look for one moment outside of the grace of God for any motive or any reason why He should notice us or why He should save us. So we are justified freely by His grace. Nothing in us drew forth or merited the grace of God. And I told you repeatedly last night, the source is merely the free grace of God.
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Do you remember that passage in Titus chapter 3, beginning there with verse 3 and going through verse 7? The Apostle Paul says, "For we ourselves sometimes were foolish and disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His own mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that, being justified by grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." But notice, if you would, "being justified by grace."
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So tonight I want to pick up where we left off. Remember, if you would, the definition. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners. So the third point tonight is the subject or the subjects of justification. And the Bible teaches us very clearly the subjects are sinners. So you ask the question, since justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, who are those whom God justifies? So I could answer that question for you from three particular standpoints. So let me show it to you from the Bible. First of all, from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, those whom He justifies are His elect. So if you'll look again in Romans 8 and verse 33, here's the question. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." So here, those whom God justifies are referred to as God's elect.
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If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and notice if you would, verses 3 and 4. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4. The Apostle Paul said it like this, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."
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Now look carefully at verse 4, "according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." Notice that God chose us in Him, that is in Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world. And if you would turn right on over to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 8 and 9. Paul is writing to Timothy, and he wants to make sure that Timothy is not ashamed of his bonds. And he says it like this in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 8, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor me as prisoner," for Paul was in prison at the time. But he says, "but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now look what God has done, "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
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So when you look at the subjects of justification from the standpoint of God's eternal decree, the answer is God justifies His elect. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13, from the standpoint of the effects produced by the quickening of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13, verses 38 and 39, we see next the subjects of justification. Notice Acts 13, verse 38.
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The Bible says, "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man," that is Jesus Christ, "is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." So from the standpoint of the quickening of the Holy Spirit, those whom God justifies are those who believe.
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If you'll skip down to Romans chapter 4 very quickly. Romans chapter 4, and notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. We're still pointing out the fact from the standpoint of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. In Romans 4 and verse 23, the Bible says this, "Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him," that is Abraham, "but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification." So actually, from the standpoint then of the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, the subjects are those who believe. But thirdly, from the standpoint of what we are in and of ourselves, look in Romans 4 and verse 5. The Bible says this, Romans 4 verse 5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Notice if you would, the subjects here are the ungodly or sinners.
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So if you contemplate the subjects under God's eternal decree, the subjects are His elect. If you contemplate the subjects based upon the person and work of the Holy Spirit, it is those who believe. If you contemplate the subjects of justification based upon who we are and what we are, we're the ungodly. We're the sinners. The Apostle Paul made this exceedingly clear in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 and 3.
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He said, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein time passed, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." So the Apostle Paul is making it exceedingly clear, in and of ourselves, we were and are the children of wrath. So when the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 4 and verse 5, "but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly," he is describing what we are in and of ourselves.
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Now I want you to understand what verse 5 is actually saying. "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." I want you to note, if you would please, that God does not justify those that try their best. He does not justify the moral. He does not justify the upright. He does not justify the self-righteous. He does not justify those who try to make their good works outweigh their bad works. No. He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness and have nothing in and of themselves. They have no acceptable works. They have no good deeds. They have absolutely nothing to recommend them unto God. They are sinners, they are ungodly, and they are undone. So the subjects of justification are sinners. Now, if you look back at verse 5 of Romans 4, I want to give you a quote in just a moment. But in verse 5 he says, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
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John Owen, the Puritan scholar, said this, "To say he who worketh not is justified through believing is to say that his works, whatever they may be, have no influence upon his justification, nor hath God in justifying him any respect to them. Wherefore he alone who worketh not is the subject of justification, the person to be justified, that is, God considereth no man's works, no man's duties of obedience in his justification, seeing we're justified freely by His grace."
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Now, if you were to take the time to study Romans chapter 4, you're going to find that there are two historical figures that the Apostle Paul places in Romans chapter 4 as illustrations of justification by faith. Those two historical persons are Abraham and David. Now, when you stop and think about Abraham, he's known in Scripture not only as the friend of God, but he's also known as the father of the faithful. But do you remember where God found Abraham? Do you remember what he was when God found him? Abram, at that time, was living in Ur of the Chaldees, and he was an idolater. He was not seeking after God. God found him. God came to him. And God, in His grace and mercy, saved him. The same thing with David. You stop and think about David. You say, well, yes, the Scripture says David was a man after God's own heart. That is true. The Scripture does say that. But may I remind you that David was an adulterer. He was also a murderer.
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He was not one that deserved anything from God. He was a sinner in a multitude of other ways as well. And yet it was the grace of God that came to David and saved him. So here the Apostle Paul is giving us what you and I would call a divine miracle. God comes to sinners with a mercy that is righteous in spite of all of their depravity and in spite of all their rebellion. He enables sinners then, through faith in Jesus Christ, to enter into a new and blessed relationship with Himself. So mercy is extended through Jesus Christ to the very chief of sinners. That's why the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief." So, Jesus Christ saves the very chiefest of sinners. Now, this is interesting. The Gospel of Jesus Christ differs from all other religions. It differs from all other false religions. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not hold out hope for the moral, the upright, the Pharisee, the self-righteous, the good individual who thinks he is so good.
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No, no, no. The Bible does not hold out any hope for those individuals. Instead, the Bible holds out hope for those that are sinners, those that are wicked, those that are ungodly, those that are undone. What did Jesus Christ say? "I came to seek and to save that which was lost." He did not come to seek and to save the Pharisee. He did not come to seek and to save those who had no need of Him. No, "I came to seek and to save those that are lost." So the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ can be extended then to the chiefest of sinners. There's a hymn. I really love the hymn. I hope you're aware of it. The title of it is, "Come Ye Sinners."
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Let me just give you the stanzas, then I'll tell you the chorus. The stanza goes like this: "Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power. Come ye thirsty, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify, true belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall, if you tarry till you're better, you will not come at all."
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"Let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream, all the fitness he requires is to feel your need of Him." And in the chorus, "I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are ten thousand charms." So when he says, "come ye sinners," that is an invitation to those who have nothing in and of themselves. They are the ungodly. They're the undone. They're the hopeless and the helpless.
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And this is what the gospel sends forth a call unto. People that are lost and undone. So the subjects of justification, in and of themselves, is the fact that they are sinners.
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Now, let's go a little bit further. Let's talk about, fourthly, the essence of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight. I want you to stop and think about this for a moment. If you just followed what I said, the essence of justification deals with that which justification really consists. And in this definition, it consists of two parts.
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One is a negative, one is a positive. So the negative is this, He pardons all of our sins. And the positive is that He accepts and accounts our persons righteous in His sight.
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Now, both of these aspects of justification are absolutely necessary. Let me just show you how most of the time we do not consider both parts of justification. We normally think about forgiveness of sins. And that's it. I've heard preachers ask this question. I've heard well-meaning Christians ask this question. And they're usually asking it to a lost loved one or a lost friend. And the question usually goes something like this. "Do you not want your sins forgiven in order that you might go to heaven?" Now, I want you to stop and think about this with me.
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Let me make a statement and watch you gasp for breath. Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven. If you get in the presence of God, you need far more than forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins alone may keep you from punishment, but it would not get you into the presence of God. Why? Because to get in the presence of God, you not only have to have the negative dealt with, that is your sins, your transgressions, your iniquities, you have to also have a perfect righteousness.
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You have to be accepted and accounted as righteous in His sight. So, there must be a righteousness as well as forgiveness of sins.
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Now, as sinners, we sustain a two-fold relationship unto God. First, as a responsible creature, born under the law, we are answerable, responsible, and accountable unto Him.
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Secondly, as a guilty criminal for violating that law, having transgressed that law, we must answer to Him. And I want you to understand something. I know that since we are totally depraved, according to the Scripture, we have lost our ability to please God. That's what the Scripture says. "So then they that are in flesh cannot please God," Romans 8. But although we lost our ability, we did not lose our responsibility. We are still obligated to glorify and to please our Heavenly Father. Because we're still His creatures. We may have lost our ability, but we did not lose our responsibility. So, when God justifies us, in the essence of justification, there must be a part that deals with our sins, our transgressions, and there must be a part whereby we are accepted and accounted righteous in His sight. And so justification actually deals with both of those. For instance, first in justification, there is an acquittal from guilt and condemnation because we have broken and transgressed His law. In Galatians 3 and verse 13, the Bible says this, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us."
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"For as it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree." So Jesus Christ then dealt with that curse. He dealt with the broken penalty of that law. He now gives us forgiveness of sins. But secondly, there must be in justification a reception into God's favor, and that reception into God's favor has to be on the sentence of the law's approval in God's sight through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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Now, I'm going to explain this verse a little bit later. But in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21, the Bible says, "...for He," that is God the Father, "...for He," God the Father, "...hath made Him," that is God the Son, "...to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Did you hear that? So, we're not only forgiven, we are to have a righteousness in Jesus Christ. When you get to 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30, the Bible says, "...but of Him," that is God the Father, "...but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." So Jesus Christ not only forgives us of our sins, He's actually made unto us our righteousness.
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So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ has not only paid all of my debt, He has also fully discharged all of my responsibilities. My lawgiver is my law fulfiller. So, in justification, God then pardons all of my sins, and then He accepts and accounts me righteous in His sight. So, the essence of justification, that's two parts. You must be forgiven. That is true. But you also must be given a perfect righteousness.
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So let me go further. Fifthly, we need to look at the ground of justification. Here it is. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight.
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Now listen, here's the ground, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ." So again here, we have a negative and a positive. First, the negative, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them."
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Now, Scripture makes it clear that our justification does not depend upon our works. I quoted Titus 3 and verse 5 earlier tonight, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." So obviously, here's a verse that says, "not by works of righteousness." I want you to turn and look in the book of Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. If you do not know this verse, I would encourage you to memorize it, because it is a very powerful verse. Notice, if you would please, Galatians chapter 2 and verse 16. Look what the Apostle Paul says. Here's something that you should absolutely know. So he says, Galatians 2 and verse 16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
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Wow. In Romans 3, in verse 28, the Apostle said it like this, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
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Now let me ask you a question. Why does the Apostle Paul say in verse 16 of Galatians 2, "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law"? He says, we know this. He says, "...by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." How can the Apostle Paul be absolutely sure that no one has ever been or ever will be justified by the works of the law? Here's how. The law demands three things from every sinner. The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.
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Now, I'm going to show you this a little bit later. Jesus Christ is the only one that has ever rendered those three things to the law of God. The law of God demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience. So, everyone in this room is a sinner. So let's just assume something. Let's just assume that everyone in this room, all of a sudden, got absolutely perfect. And neither you nor I ever sinned again in word, deed, or thought until the day that we died. From this moment forth, we lived absolutely perfect life. We gave a personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience to God's law exactly the way the law demands. Here's my question. If we became perfect right now from the rest of our lives and rendered to the law that which it desired and demanded, would that be sufficient to get us into heaven?
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And the answer is no. Because what about those sins that we committed before we got perfect? You see, what the Apostle Paul is telling us, it's absolutely impossible for anyone to be saved by the law. Our works can never be meritorious because we cannot possibly render to the law that which it demands. I was preaching this past week and I quoted a verse where David said, "I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love." And I looked at our people and I said, do not tell me that you never had a vain thought. Because if you tell me you've never had a vain thought, then I'm telling you, you have never prayed. Because is it not true that when you pray many times, all of a sudden, thoughts come into your mind. You think, where did that come from? Here I am praying and all of a sudden, here's something just the opposite. "I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love." We cannot give to the law that which it demands. A fallen creature cannot do that.
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Our best is nothing but failure. That's why in Isaiah 64 and verse 6, Isaiah said, "But we are all as an unclean thing." Notice, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away." All of our righteousnesses are nothing but a filthy rag. It's impossible to be saved by works. If it was possible to be saved by our works, then Jesus Christ died in vain.
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There was no reason for Him to die. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Galatians 3 and verse 21, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid! For if there had been a law which could have given life, then righteousness should have been by the law." Paul says there's no law that could give life. It's impossible to be justified by the works of the law.
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So notice if you would this definition again. I want you to think with me. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ. Now listen to this, "...not for anything wrought in them or done by them." So we understand that nothing done by us will secure our justification. But what about those things that are wrought in us?
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Well, simply stated, we are not justified because of repentance. We're not justified because of faith. We may be justified in faith and through faith and by faith, but we're not justified on account of faith. Nor are we justified through regeneration. Nor are we justified because we believed. Those are things that are wrought in us. So, we're not justified by any works that we have done or anything that is wrought in us.
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You say, but I believe. But that's not the ground of your justification. But I repented. That's not the ground of your justification. But I'm regenerate. That's not the ground of your justification. What is the ground of our justification? Not for anything wrought in us or done by us, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Did you hear that phrase, "only for the perfect obedience"? You know, I told you a little bit earlier, Jesus Christ is the only one that ever gave to God's law exactly what the law demanded.
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You remember that passage in Galatians 4, 4 and 5? "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Why was Jesus Christ made under the law? And the answer is, so that He could perfectly fulfill that law. Do you remember what He said to those Pharisees in John 8 in verse 36?
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He said, "Which of you convinces me of sin?" Not one could point to anything that Jesus Christ had ever done that was wicked, wrong or sinful. And in John chapter 8 in verse 29, He says to the Father, "for I only do always those things that please Him." Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient to God the Father and to the law of God and He gave His life. In other words, His whole person, His whole work is referred to as the satisfaction of Christ. He satisfied the Father's anger. He satisfied the Father's wrath. He satisfied the Father's holiness. He satisfied the Father's justice. You remember the Bible says, "Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation." You should study the word propitiation. The word propitiate means to appease, to satisfy. Jesus Christ in His sacrifice and in His obedient life appeased and satisfied God the Father. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. And notice, if you would please, what is said concerning Christ in this passage.
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Hebrews chapter 13, beginning there with verse 10. I wish I had time just to preach on this verse. This is a powerful, powerful verse. Notice, if you would, Hebrews 13, verse 10. We read, "We have an altar where they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." Now, you remember the book of Hebrews is written to those who are warning to go back to the tithes and the emblems. Jesus Christ is our true tabernacle. Jesus Christ is our true altar. Jesus Christ is our true sacrifice. So, the apostle says here, "we have an altar," talking about Jesus Christ, "whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." In other words, if you want types and emblems and shadows, you have no right to Jesus Christ.
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Note verse 11, "...for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought in the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach." And of course, over and over in the scripture, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 8, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 10, that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. But Jesus Christ offered himself once and for all. And we are justified, the ground of our justification is based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is this work that God honors, because God does not set aside His law. His law is holy.
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That's what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7. His law is holy, just, and good. And Jesus Christ came and submitted that law and obeyed that law perfectly. Therefore, you read in Romans chapter 3, "that He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." So God is absolutely just. He has not negated His law. He has not nullified His law. He has not set aside His law. It has been totally and completely fulfilled and obeyed by Jesus Christ. And then Jesus Christ died as our surety and as our substitute and as our sacrifice. And so, Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, His person and work is the total ground of justification.
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Now, here's the sixth point, and I want you to listen and pay attention. That is the method of justification. Justification is the act of God's free grace unto sinners in which he pardons their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in his sight, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed unto them. What is imputation?
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I'm working right now on a series of sermons dealing with imputation, and although I'm going to deal with it lightly here, it is far deeper and there is far more involved than you and I could hit at in just a few moments. But the method of God's justifying us is through imputation. And if you do not understand the doctrine of imputation, you cannot possibly be sound in the faith. In fact, you're going to find the word impute or imputation used over and over in the Scripture.
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Now, in one sense of the word, we already know what it means. In another sense of the word, we don't know what it means. So here's the illustration. Amy goes to the mall and she goes in the dress shop and she sees the most beautiful dress she's ever seen in her entire life and she immediately wants it. And she looks at the price tag on the dress and she looks in her purse and she doesn't have enough money. But she wants that dress. It's the only one in her size and she really wants it.
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And so she reaches down and gets this little plastic card out and she hands it to the sales lady and says, "impute this to my husband's account." No, she doesn't say that. What she says is, "charge it." Do you realize to charge is to impute? When you impute, you credit to someone or put to someone's account. We use the word charge. Paul used the same word basically.
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In the book of Philemon, chapter 1, only one chapter there, in verse 18, you remember Onesimus was the runaway slave. He had stolen from Philemon and ran down to Rome. I don't know what he did, but he did something wrong and he got thrown into the dungeon with the Apostle Paul. And while he was there, God saved him. And when his time was up, Paul sent Onesimus, the runaway slave, back to Philemon.
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And he says, "to receive him as myself." In other words, you treat this man exactly the way you would treat me. And then he said this in verse 18, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on my account. I will pay it." So when he said, "put that on my account," here's what he said, impute it to me. Charge it to me. Whatever he owes you, put that on my account.
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Now, there are only three acts of imputation in the Bible. The first one is the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity, which is very easily proven, which I'll give you some verses. The second one is the imputation of believers' sins to Christ. And the third one is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to believers. Now, as far as the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity is concerned, we're taught very clearly in Romans 5 in verse 18, "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation." And then of course in verse 19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners." And when you get to Romans 5 and verse 12, "...wherefore, as by one man sin entered in the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Notice, if you would please, death is proof positive that Adam's sin is imputed to his posterity.
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But I do want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. We read the book, or I quoted the verse earlier, but I want you to see it now in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. This is not dealing just with, this is not dealing now with Adam's imputation of his sin to his posterity, but it's actually dealing with the imputation of believer sins to Christ and of Christ's righteousness to believers. Notice if you would, verse 21, "For he," that is God the Father, "hath made him," that is God the Son, "to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Now this is the classic verse on imputation. One author said it like this, "Christ was not made sin by the infusion of depravity, nor are we made righteous by the infusion of holiness."
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"Though personally holy, our surety, the Lord Jesus Christ, did by entering our law place, render Himself officially liable to the wrath of God. And so though personally unholy, we are by virtue of our legal identification of Christ, being received in the favor of God. As the consequence of Christ being made sin for us was that the Lord laid on Him the iniquities all. So the consequence of Christ's obedience being reckoned our count is that God lays righteousness upon all them that believe. As our sins were the judicial ground of the sufferings of Christ, by which sufferings He satisfied justice, so Christ's righteousness is the judicial ground of our acceptance with God by which our pardon is an act of justice."
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Now, I want you to think about this. Look in verse 21 again. I want to explain it like this. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." This in reality is very simple. If I were to hold up this tube of chapstick and this little pocket knife, if I were to take this tube of chapstick and place it right here, and I would tell you this is all the sins of the believers. This is what made us deserve wrath and punishment. We've sinned grievously against God. We've trespassed against His law. We've violated His Word. Jesus Christ, here in this pocket knife, has come and obeyed the law of God perfectly. He has worked out an absolute perfect righteousness. And now He is about to suffer the wrath and anger of God. Why? Because all of our sins are now being imputed or charged to his account.
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He's going to be officially guilty, although he was personally innocent. And once he pays that account, He's already worked out that perfect righteousness, and what God does then, He takes that full satisfaction of Christ and that perfect righteousness, and He imputes it and charges it back over here to believers. So, the believer's sins were imputed to Christ, which made Him officially and judicially liable, and then His righteousness is imputed to us, which now makes us stand in favor of God, and in right relationship to the law of God, so that God can be just and the justifier, and pronounce us justified.
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That's why Paul asked in Romans chapter 4 and verse 1, "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?" Well, go back to Romans chapter 4. Let me show you what he says that Abraham has found. Look at it. Romans chapter 4. The question is asked in verse 1, "What shall we say that Abraham, our father, pertaining in the flesh, is found?" Skip down to verse 11. "And he," that is Abraham, "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had being yet uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though he be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also." Look in verse 22. "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."
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It was charged in his account. Verse 24, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed," charged our account, "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead." So the framework of the imputation is the eternal covenant in which we are made one in Jesus Christ. God imputes our righteousness to us because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It's ours because we receive it, but it's His because He did it and He worked it out. He likewise imputed our sins to Him. But what God does in justification is that He actually unites us to Jesus Christ.
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He is our head, we're his body. So as Jesus Christ now is perfectly obedient, so are we. As Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous, so are we. Horatius Bonar wrote this. Listen. "Here is the truth of imputation. Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die. Another's life, another's death, I'll stake my whole eternity. Not on my tears which I have shed, not on the sorrows I have known, another's tears, another's griefs, on these I rest and rest alone." So what is imputation? Imputation is when God took our sins and imputed it to Christ and took the righteousness of Christ and imputed it to us and we are resting totally, completely upon the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. It is not Jesus Christ plus. It is not Jesus Christ but or Jesus Christ and. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Now, one last point.
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the instrumental means of justification. Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners in which He pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in His sight, not for anything done by them or wrought in them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ by God imputed unto them and received by faith alone. And the one little word "alone" makes the difference between truth and error.
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So let me put it like this. Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith. Faith is neither the ground nor the substance of our justification. But it is simply the hand which receives the divine gift as it is offered in the gospel. The Apostle Paul said it like this in Philippians 3 and verse 9, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." So he said in Romans 3 and verse 22, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Then in Romans 3 and verse 28, "therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
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So you have to ask this question. How are we justified by faith? And the instrumental means is by faith alone. Here's what Thomas Goodwin said, listen carefully, this is a wonderful explanation. He says, and asks the question, "how are we justified by faith?" Having given a threefold negative answer, not by faith as a joint cause with works, the Romanist, not by faith as an act of grace in us, Arminians, not by faith as it receives the Spirit's witness, Antinomians, we now turn to the positive answer. Faith justifies only as an instrument which God has ordained and appointed to the apprehension and the application of Christ's righteousness. When we say that faith is the instrument of our justification, let it be clearly understood that we do not mean that faith is an instrument whereby God justifies, but the instrument whereby we receive Christ. Christ has merited righteousness for us, and faith in Christ is that which renders it meet in God's sight, the purchased blessings be assigned. Faith unites to Christ, and being united to Him, we are possessed of all that is in Christ, so far as is consistent with our capacity of receiving Christ, and receiving, and God's appointment in giving, having been made one with Christ in spirit, God now considers us one with Him in law.
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So he says, the only reason faith works is basically because God ordained faith to receive and apprehend Jesus Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism, question 73 is this, "How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?" The answer is, "Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which always accompany it, or good works that are the fruits of it, nor is it the grace of faith or any act thereof were imputed to him for its justification, but only as it is an instrument by which he receives and applies Christ and His righteousness." So you have to ask yourself this question. Why does the Bible speak of being justified by faith alone when obviously everyone in this room knows faith does not always travel alone. It brings other graces with us and it always produces good works in us. So why then does the Bible always say that we are justified by faith alone? And the answer is because faith is the only grace that is absolutely, totally receptive.
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Justifying faith is nothing more than an outstretched hand receiving the righteousness of God by receiving Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the gospel. That's all faith is. It's a means to apprehend and to receive Jesus Christ. Stephen Charnock, the old Puritan, said this, "and therefore it is observed that our justification by faith is always expressed in the passive and not in the active. We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us."
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"The efficacy is in Christ's blood. The reception of it is in our faith." So, all we are are beggars with outstretched hands, and faith is the hand that receives Christ. It receives His person and work. And the only reason faith is viable, the only reason faith works, is because God ordained it and God appointed it.
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Now, I told you when I began this message last night, it is not our faith that saves us. Faith does not look to itself. Faith looks to an object, and the object of our faith is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who saves us. Faith is just the means to get to Christ. Let me give you a poor illustration, but one that I think you can understand.
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Let's suppose that I am actually starving to death. I haven't had anything to eat in 40 days. I'm perishing. And Tony comes along and he says, "Well, Pastor, you don't have to die. Here's this great big bowl of cereal that I've got here. Fresh milk and cereal. Help yourself." But I've been without food for 40 days and I'm weak and I'm unable to get that big, heavy bowl of cereal to my mouth. And so I think, what good is that bowl of cereal? I'm starving to death. I'm helpless. I'm weak. I can't lift it. I can't get to it. And then Tony says, "Oh, here, by the way, here's a spoon." And I take that spoon, and I eat that cereal, and light comes back into my eyes, and I get energy, and I live, would it not be absolutely stupid of me to hold up that spoon and say, "The spoon saved my life"? Did the spoon save my life? No. It was the milk and cereal that saved my life. The spoon was just the instrument to get to that life-saving nourishment.
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Faith is nothing more than the spoon which dips into the righteousness and the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is true that faith does not travel alone. Everybody in this room can quote Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." But how often we stop there and never quote verse 10. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath foreordained that we should walk therein."
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What is the Bible saying? Faith alone receives Christ, but faith never ever travels alone. Now, one last illustration. I don't know if you've ever studied this in the Bible, but did you notice that in the Bible, the Bible speaks of a weak faith, a strong faith, and a great faith. So let me ask you, which faith is required to get the saving work of Jesus Christ in your life? Is it the weak faith? Is it the strong faith? Or is it the great faith? Well, let me take a Bible illustration.
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You remember how the people were bitten by serpents in the wilderness? They were dying. God told Moses to make a brazen serpent and hold it up, and everyone who looked would live. Well, let me change it just a little bit. Here there's a bad virus going around. And everyone who gets this virus dies. And you die within 30 days. But once you get it, you're dead. That's it. You're going to die. And let's suppose that I come along and I say that in this pocket knife, there is power and there is power to cure you of that virus. And if you merely touch this pocket knife, you would be healed. And here's a person who's had the virus for 29 days.
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One more day and death is sure. And that person very weakly raises one hand and just barely touches that knife and is instantly healed. Here's another man that has just gotten the virus. He's only had it two days. He still has his strength. And he comes up and he grabs the pocket knife and he mashes the pocket knife and he's healed. Here's another one that comes up and is just able to get it and hold on to it and is healed. Which one of those three was healed? All of them.
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It doesn't matter if you had a weak faith, a strong faith, or a great faith. When you touched it, you were healed. I've had people say to me, "Brother Weaver, I don't know if my faith is the right kind of faith." Let me ask you something. Do you remember that woman with the issue of blood? What did she say? "If I can but just touch the hem of his garment, I shall be healed." And she touched it, and she was instantly healed. It is not the quantity of faith that counts. It can be weak, it can be strong, or it can be great.
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But if it receives Jesus Christ as He is fully and freely offered in the Gospel, it brings God's salvation and God's justification. We're justified by faith alone because faith alone receives Christ as He's offered in the Gospel. Have you ever stopped to thank God for what He's done in saving you? Have you ever stopped to thank God, "You justified me. And yet I don't understand. I've never understood everything that you did for me. But now I know. My sins are forgiven."
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"I have a perfect righteousness. I'm united to Jesus Christ. And what you did for me, it was only by your free, sovereign, unmerited grace through the person and work of Jesus Christ." And if you're trusting in Jesus Christ alone, you should be glorifying God and thanking God every day for His unspeakable gift. For without Jesus Christ, we would still be undone, ungodly, and lost, without hope. But in Him, we have life and salvation. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.
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We thank You for Your Word, for Your truth, for Your blessing. Thank You for Your justification. Thank You for Jesus Christ. Thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the Word of God. Thank you for working in our hearts and our lives. And we ask your blessing upon your people. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:03:52Z

Justification by Faith Alone - 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his exposition of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, focusing on the subjects, essence, ground, method, and instrumental means of justification. He emphasizes that justification is an act of God's free grace for sinners, consisting of both pardon of sin and imputation of Christ's righteousness, received by faith alone as the sole instrument.

Review of Previous Message

Weaver reviews the definition of justification as a legal, forensic act of God's free grace, distinct from regeneration and sanctification, and the roles of the Trinity.

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:1

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Note, if you would, the phrase,

Scripture Reading — Romans 5:1

"being justified by faith."

Last night I pointed out that justification is a legal, judicial, forensic term. It is a term of the law courts. I also pointed out how justification differs from regeneration and sanctification.

The Subjects of Justification

The subjects are sinners, viewed from three standpoints: God's eternal decree (the elect), the Spirit's quickening (believers), and our own nature (the ungodly).

If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 1, and notice if you would, verses 3 and 4. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4. The Apostle Paul said it like this,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:3-4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

Now look carefully at verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 1:3-4

"according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:23-24

"Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,"

that is Abraham,

Scripture Reading — Romans 4:23-24

"but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification."

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:1-3

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein time passed, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."

And this is what the gospel sends forth a call unto. People that are lost and undone. So the subjects of justification, in and of themselves, is the fact that they are sinners.

The Essence of Justification

Justification consists of two parts: the negative (pardon of all sins) and the positive (acceptance and accounting as righteous). Both are necessary for acceptance with God.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 5:21

to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

The Ground of Justification

The ground is not anything in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, who fulfilled the law and satisfied divine justice.

Wow. In Romans 3, in verse 28, the Apostle said it like this,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:28

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Now let me ask you a question. Why does the Apostle Paul say in verse 16 of Galatians 2,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:28

"knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law"

The Method of Justification: Imputation

God justifies through imputation: our sins are imputed to Christ, and His righteousness is imputed to us, so that we are legally righteous in Him.

The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone

Faith alone is the instrument that receives Christ and His righteousness; it is not the ground of justification but the hand that apprehends the gift.

Justification by Faith Alone - 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1118161617591
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-11-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 145: Justification by Faith Alone — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	79

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Previous Message: Weaver reviews the definition of justification as a legal, forensic act of God's free grace, distinct from regeneration and sanctification, and the roles of the Trinity.
The Subjects of Justification: The subjects are sinners, viewed from three standpoints: God's eternal decree (the elect), the Spirit's quickening (believers), and our own nature (the ungodly).
The Essence of Justification: Justification consists of two parts: the negative (pardon of all sins) and the positive (acceptance and accounting as righteous). Both are necessary for acceptance with God.
The Ground of Justification: The ground is not anything in us or done by us, but solely the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, who fulfilled the law and satisfied divine justice.
The Method of Justification: Imputation: God justifies through imputation: our sins are imputed to Christ, and His righteousness is imputed to us, so that we are legally righteous in Him.
The Instrumental Means: Faith Alone: Faith alone is the instrument that receives Christ and His righteousness; it is not the ground of justification but the hand that apprehends the gift.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Justification is for the ungodly, not the righteous

God justifies those who have no works or righteousness of their own, contrary to all other religions that offer hope to the moral.

Weaver states: 'He does not justify the moral... He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness.'

Forgiveness alone is insufficient for salvation

To stand before God, one needs not only pardon of sin but also a perfect righteousness, which is provided in Christ.

Weaver argues: 'Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven... you have to also have a perfect righteousness.'

The law demands personal, perfect, perpetual obedience

No sinner can be justified by the law because it requires an obedience that only Christ has rendered.

Weaver explains: 'The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.'

Imputation is the legal mechanism of justification

Our sins are charged to Christ, and His righteousness is credited to us, so that God remains just in justifying sinners.

Weaver says: 'God took our sins and imputed it to Christ and took the righteousness of Christ and imputed it to us.'

Faith is the sole receptive instrument, not a meritorious work

Faith justifies only as it receives Christ; it is not the ground of justification but the means appointed by God.

Weaver quotes Charnock: 'We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us. The efficacy is in Christ's blood. The reception of it is in our faith.'

Scripture References

Romans 5:1: Introduction: 'Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Romans 3:24: Justification is freely by God's grace, without cause.
John 15:25: The word 'freely' (dorean) is the same as 'without a cause' in this verse.
1 Peter 5:10: God is called the God of all grace.
Isaiah 43:25: God blots out transgressions for His own sake.
Psalm 106:8: God saved them for His name's sake.
Titus 3:3-7: We are justified by grace, not by works of righteousness.
Romans 8:33: God justifies His elect; no charge can be laid against them.
Ephesians 1:3-4: God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
2 Timothy 1:8-9: God saved us according to His purpose and grace given in Christ before the world began.
Acts 13:38-39: All who believe are justified from all things.
Romans 4:23-24: Righteousness is imputed to those who believe on Him who raised Jesus.
Romans 4:5: God justifies the ungodly; faith is counted for righteousness.
Ephesians 2:1-3: We were dead in sins and by nature children of wrath.
1 Timothy 1:15: Christ came to save sinners, of whom Paul is chief.
Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.
2 Corinthians 5:21: God made Christ sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Galatians 2:16: A man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Christ.
Romans 3:28: A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Historical References

John Owen: Quoted on justification: 'To say he who worketh not is justified through believing is to say that his works... have no influence upon his justification.'
Abraham: Used as an illustration of justification by faith; he was an idolater when God found him.
David: Used as an illustration of justification by faith; he was an adulterer and murderer.
Horatius Bonar: Quoted on imputation: 'Upon a life I have not lived, upon a death I did not die...'
Thomas Goodwin: Quoted on how faith justifies: 'Faith justifies only as an instrument... to the apprehension and application of Christ's righteousness.'
Westminster Larger Catechism, Q.73: Quoted on faith justifying as an instrument receiving Christ and His righteousness.
Stephen Charnock: Quoted: 'We are justified by faith, not that faith justifies us. The efficacy is in Christ's blood.'

Important Quotes

Forgiveness of sins alone will not take you to heaven. If you get in the presence of God, you need far more than forgiveness of sins.

Highlights the necessity of both pardon and imputed righteousness in justification.

He justifies those who are absolutely destitute of righteousness and have nothing in and of themselves.

Emphasizes that justification is for the ungodly, not the self-righteous.

The law demands a personal obedience, a perfect obedience, and a perpetual obedience.

Explains why no one can be justified by works of the law.

Christ was not made sin by the infusion of depravity, nor are we made righteous by the infusion of holiness.

Clarifies the forensic nature of imputation, not a change of substance.

Faith alone is the instrumental means of justification. A man is justified in faith, through faith, and by faith, but never on account of faith.

Defines the precise role of faith as instrument, not ground.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why is it important to distinguish justification from regeneration and sanctification, even though they always accompany each other?

[Context]

Weaver stressed that justification is a legal declaration, not an inward transformation.

[Question]

How does the truth that God justifies the ungodly challenge our natural tendency to rely on our own goodness?

[Context]

Weaver emphasized that God does not justify the moral or self-righteous.

[Question]

Why is forgiveness of sins alone insufficient for salvation, and what does the requirement of perfect righteousness teach us about God's holiness?

[Context]

Weaver argued that both pardon and righteousness are necessary.

[Question]

In what ways does the doctrine of imputation provide assurance to believers?

[Context]

Weaver explained that our sins are charged to Christ and His righteousness to us.

[Question]

How does understanding faith as a mere instrument help guard against making faith a work?

[Context]

Weaver used the spoon illustration to show faith is only the means to receive Christ.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:14:01Z