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Justification by faith By W. J. Grier

 Mr. Chairman and Christian friends, the topic assigned to me has been this theme
of justification by faith. I suppose that the reason it's on the program, one of
the reasons at any rate, is that it was on this doctrine more than any other
that the great clash came at the time of the Reformation over four centuries ago.
The groundwork for the discussion of this subject has been laid for me in the
paper that was given yesterday by Reverend Paul Cook on the authority of
scripture. That authority being recognized, it simply remains to us, what
is the teaching of scripture on this great subject? This great question, how
can man be just with God? What question is there that relates to man's condition?
What question is there that is more important than this question? As we
approach the topic, our first great basic presupposition is, as I've already
hinted, the authority of scripture. But then there are also two other basic
biblical presuppositions. The first is the absolute holiness and infinite
perfection of the great God, and the second is the sinfulness and lost estate
of men. We have these before us, these two basic presuppositions, in that vision of
Isaiah, which you heard, read, just now, and they come before us everywhere, in
scripture, from the third chapter of Genesis, right all the way through. Now, in
the light of these truths, the question then is, how can man, a lost sinner, become
right with this infinitely holy God, the God of the Bible? This God demands a
perfect righteousness. He has said, be ye holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Nothing else but what is perfect will pass muster in his sight, and we have no
perfection to present. We are lost, guilty, hell-deserving sinners. This is
made plain to us in both testaments, not only the new, but also the old. The Psalmist
says in Psalm 143, enter thou not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy
sight no man living is righteous. And the Prophet Isaiah emphasizes this also, we
are all become, we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our
righteousnesses are as a polluted garment. As for the witness of the New
Testament, it is sufficient to point to the great arraignment in the early
chapters of Romans, of the whole world. The whole world is guilty before God,
under God's condemnation, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Now in discussing the question of justification, it is necessary to say a
word or two about the meaning of the word justify. In an address at the Irish
Baptist College a year or two ago, Professor John Murray declared, rightly
declared, that it was one of the perversities of the controversy,
controversy about justification. It was one of the perversities of the
controversy that it should ever have turned on the meaning of the word
justify. Roman authorities have taken it as a process of making
righteous, whereas Orthodox Protestant theologians take it as an act of God's
free grace, declaring or pronouncing a sinner, the sinner, the sinner who
believes to be righteous in his sight. Now there should never have been the
slightest doubt about the meaning of the word. The latest Greek lexicon, one of the
best that has ever been produced, I think the very best, is by two Lutheran
scholars, Arndt and Gingrich, and they say that the word justify, the Greek word
decaio, is used by Paul, these are their words, almost exclusively of God's
judgment or God's verdict. The situation is much the same with the Hebrew word
sadak. It is translated so frequently, justify, the Old Testament, especially in
the hyphial and pial forms of the verb. I needn't spend time on this point, it's
enough to say that Lutherans like Arndt and Gingrich, Calvinists like
Professor John Murray, an Anglican like Dr. Alfred Plummer, and a Roman Catholic
like Professor Hans Kuhn, all agree that in Paul the word means to declare to be
righteous. Let us take a look at the Old Testament teaching. We are not to look in
the Old Testament for the full Pauline doctrine of justification, but we have
anticipations of it. We find in the Old Testament, first, the idea appearing of a
righteousness, not of works, a righteousness which comes from God. In
Isaiah chapter 45 at verse 25 we read, in Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be
justified and shall glory. In Isaiah 53, a great chapter about the suffering
servant, in Isaiah 53 we have the idea of justification based on atonement, by the
knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many. In Jeremiah 33 16
the Lord says of Zion, this is the name whereby she shall be called the Lord our
righteousness. Secondly, the Old Testament bears witness to the imputation of
righteousness in a negative fashion, namely in its references to the
non-imputation of sin. In the 32nd Psalm, the first two verses we read,
blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, blessed is
the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Thirdly, there is also witness
to the concept of this concept in the Old Testament indirectly, in that the
Old Testament religion is a religion of faith. We are not to look as I've said
for the full statement of justification in the Old Testament, the full New
Testament statement of the Epistles of Paul. The real question is, does the Old
Testaments teach salvation by works or salvation by faith? And there should be
no doubt about the answer in the minds of any of us, that the Old Testament
teaches salvation by faith. Faith is the centre of the Old Testament religion on
the subjective side. We may note two Old Testament statements to
which the New Testament itself appeals. The first is from Genesis 15 verse 6.
He, that is Abraham, believed in Jehovah and he reckoned a tomb for righteousness.
Abraham renounced all hope, all hope in himself, in response to a promise which
God alone could fulfil. The other Old Testament text that is quoted in
the New Testament, in this connection, is from the prophet Habakkuk, the
second chapter, the fourth verse. The just shall live by faith. Here, as over
against the pride and glorying of the Chaldeans, there is said, act of
trust in a sovereign God in a situation that is humanly hopeless. There is no
doubt that the New Testament suffuses this Old Testament saying
with a fullness of meaning that would not have been so played to the Old
Testament saints as to the New Testament people. One is reminded of Dr.
Warfield's comparison of the Old Testament scriptures to a room that is
richly furnished but dumbly lit and the introducing of the full light of the New
Testament into, so to say, the Old Testament room, reveals the riches of the
furnishers, the riches that are there. Among the Old Testament passages bearing
in justification we should not pass over the third chapter of the Prophet
Zechariah where the high priest Joshua is arrayed as if it were in a law
court. He is the representative of the people and he is clothed in filthy
garments which are indicative of his guilt and sitting is at his right hand
to be his accuser. How can he ever answer the evil one when he is arrayed with
filthy garments that bear witness against him? Well he stands as where
before the tribunal of God clothes in filthy garments and sitting at his right
hand to be his accuser yet Jehovah rebukes it and orders the removal of the
filthy garments and the clothing of Joshua in rich apparel while the angel
of the Lord looks on approvingly. What a picture this is of the removal of sin
and of the the wondrous change of raiment that is provided as the New
Testament shows us so clearly through Christ. Now we come to the Gospels and we
must remember that with the Jews in the time of our Lord's ministry the
dead letter of the law had taken the place, as Dr. Gerhardus Vos says, had
taken the place of the living God. The religion was a self-centered religion
a religion of two of outward observances so their hearts had become a
fertile soil for self-righteousness and hypocrisy. We must remind ourselves too
that in the Gospels as in the Old Testament we are not to expect the full
statement that we have in the Epistles of Paul of the doctrine of justification.
The death of Christ and its atoning significance lie at the basis of this
doctrine and that death had not yet taken place. So it is and Dr. Gerhardus
Vos uses these words historically unwarnable. It is historically
unwarnable to read into the parable of the Pharisee and the publican where the
latter went down to his house justified rather than the other the whole doctrine
of imputed righteousness. The same applies to the parable of the wedding
feast and the wedding garment. In the teaching of Jesus there is not the
sharp distinction betwixt the righteousness that is imputed and the
righteousness of inward life and conduct. Indeed in the Gospels righteousness
generally refers to conformity of heart and life to the will of God. Yet Paul's
teaching was anticipated in the teaching of Jesus in three respects. First Jesus
emphasized that in the pursuit of righteousness the satisfaction of God
should be the chief concern. The satisfaction of God, the Holy God. This
idea carried to its logical conclusion demands a God provided righteousness.
Secondly Jesus affirmed that the righteousness demanded by God was vastly
above the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. He says so in the sermon
on the mountain. And also he pointed to the rich young ruler and dealt with the
rich young ruler who claimed to have fulfilled the commandments but whose
standard was far too low because the true standard is the holiness of God.
And thirdly Jesus affirmed that this righteousness is obtained by true
disciples. Such as hunger for it he says shall be filled. It is for
disciples only and so rests on acceptance with God which and this is
particularly emphasized in the Gospel of John is by faith in Jesus Christ. As we
come to the teaching of the epistles and in particular to Paul we should note
what has been obvious already the progressive nature of revelation in
Scripture. It is like the harvest first the blade then the ear then the full corn
in the ear and now we come to the full statement of the doctrine in the
epistles of Paul. Dr. Ian Morris says in his book on the apostolic preaching of
the cross that Paul uses the conception of justification so
frequently that we are compelled to think that with him it was a dominant
idea. That's the end of the quote from Dr. Morris. In Romans 1 16 to 18 Paul states
the great theme of that epistle the epistle to the Romans it is the gospel
which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth for therein
is revealed a righteousness of God from faith to faith for the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
And the Apostle speaks of it again in Romans chapter 3 now apart from the law
a righteousness of God has been revealed a righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ unto all who believe that he might be just and the justifier of
him who believeth in Jesus. In chapter 5 again we read being justified by faith
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and later in the chapter
the Apostle adds they that receive the abundance of grace and the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life through Christ Jesus for as through one
man's disobedience many were made many many were made sinners so by the
obedience of one shall many be constituted righteous. In first
Corinthians 1 30 the Apostle says that Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom from
God and righteousness and in second Corinthians 5 where he is speaking of
the ministry of reconciliation he states what lies at the very heart of this
ministry in the closing verse of that chapter verse 21 him who you know sin he
made to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
In Philippians 3 8 and 9 Paul counts all things but loss that he says I may gain
Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law
but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from
God by faith and it is we might notice many of you here acquainted with the
Greek the righteousness of God which is from God is excellent righteousness from
God by faith the righteousness of which Paul speaks is emphatically a divine
righteousness as dr. professor John Murray says it is one that is
characterized by the perfection belonging to all that God is and all
that he does it is revealed to us if it were not revealed we would never have
known it and it is identified with the obedience of Christ and is credited to
those who believe so that his perfect of by his perfect obedience they are
constituted righteous in the sight of God we celebrate at this time to come
now to and the Reformation for a moment we celebrate the 450th anniversary of
Luther's nailing his theses to the church door as was mentioned by the
Rev. Roland Lamb there is no mention of justification by faith in the 95 theses
but if from this fact some would conclude and I have noticed that one at
any rate seemed to be coming to that conclusion one minister to whom I was
speaking over some months ago and if they if anyone were to come to this
conclusion that Luther wasn't acquainted with the doctrine of justification by
faith at this time the conclusion would be false it is clear from his lectures
on Romans which were delivered in 15 15 15 16 and his lectures on Galatians
delivered in 15 16 15 17 that he was acquainted with it and it is also played
not only from his lectures but also from his letters of that period Luther was
not as yet of course emancipated from Rome this is apparent in the theses
themselves he was he has not yet cast off the Pope belief in purgatory is
still implied even in the theses and it is not so much against indulgences that
he protests as against the abuse of indulgences when the theses were
republished in his collected works in 1545 he wrote in the preface I allow
them to stand that by them it may be shown how weak I was and in what a
fluctuating state of mind when I began this business another acknowledgement
must be made and that is this that unfortunately Luther himself was not
precise in his statement of this great doctor with which his name is so much
associated let me give a few quotations from his lectures on Galatians which
were given in 15 16 published in 15 19 his comment on one of his comments on
you will not be a Christian unless you cast away your own righteousness and
rely on faith alone note those words rely on faith alone another quotation
from his comments on Galatians 3 verse 12 on the basis of faith grace and
blessing and the blessing of justification would be given to all who
believe on him and then from the lectures on Galatians in 1531 the first
series published in 1535 faith he says begins righteousness and imputation
perfects it till the day of Christ that's one nice comment on Galatians 3
6 and again the same on the same verse these two things make Christian
righteousness perfect the first is faith in the heart which is a divinely
granted granted gift the second is that God reckons this imperfect faith as
perfect righteousness for the sake of Christ his son reckons this imperfect
faith as perfect righteousness and dealing with the forgiveness of sins he
says on Galatians 3 6 this is accomplished by imputation on the
account of the faith by which I begin to take hold of Christ and on his account
God reckons imperfect righteousness as perfect righteousness and sin does not
sin even though it really is sin and here's a another statement from his
comments also on Galatians 3 6 he defines Christian righteousness as these
are his words a divine imputation or reckoning us righteousness or to
righteousness for the sake of our faith for the sake of our faith in Christ or
for the sake of Christ it's true that he has a better statement in his lectures
on Romans on in 15 15 15 16 when he writes of Christ is taking away all our
sins and in exchange his righteousness is ours it is evident that Luther lacked
clarity in his view on the relationship of faith to justification it is false to
say as he does say at points that we are justified on the basis of faith or on
the account of faith and the the Holy Spirit was very exact in the use of
prepositions in the New Testament and he never says that a man is justified on
account of his faith that in the Greek is the episton and it's not used but
what he does use is the preposition dear not with the accused of but with the
janitor the episteos through faith through faith we are not we are no more
justified on the basis of faith then we are justified on the basis of works for
even the holiest do not attain to perfect faith so that we are no more
justified that we repeat on the basis of of faith then on the basis of our works
the sole meritorious ground of our justification is Christ and his
righteousness faith is the instrumental cause it is like the hand of the beggar
stretched out to receive an amp it is no merit for it is a self-renouncing grace
a grace that cast herself cast all upon Christ renouncing all human merit I have
the privilege of sitting as a student under the teaching of dr. Casper
Worcester hodge always been grateful to God for the privilege and I can remember
dr. Casper Worcester hodge saying that there was obscurity in Luther's
statement on the matter of justification by faith and that he had never even got
quite rid of that obscurity although his statements became clearer in his later
days and also it would seem that that Luther at times when he uses the word
justification includes more under than he should have included in other words
he used it in a wider sense than we use the expression justification by faith
when we use it in its proper sense now John Calvin John Calvin is more precise
in his language he says we simply explain justification to be an
acceptance to be an acceptance by which God receives us into his favor and
esteems us as righteous persons and we say that this consists in the remission
of sins and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ that is from
book 3 of the Institute's chapter 11 and he goes on to say if faith were to
justify of itself and you'll notice this is over against it some of Luther's
statements if faith were to justify of itself or by by an intrinsic efficacy
being always weak and imperfect it never could effect this but in part and thus
it would be a defective justification which would only confer on us a partial
salvation Calvin closes this 11th chapter of the third book of his
institutes by saying that we obtain justification before God solely by the
intervention of the righteousness of Christ and adding he adds a beautiful
illustration from Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century as follows this is the
very close of this the 11th chapter the third book Calvin's institutes Ambrose
appears to me to have been most to have most elegantly adverted to the blessing
of Jacob as an illustration of this righteousness when he says now that is
when Ambrose says this is a quotation from Ambrose that as he who did not
merit the birthright in himself personated his brother put on his
garments which gave forth the most pleasant order and thus introduced
himself to his father that he might receive a blessing to his advantage though
under the person of another so we conceal ourselves under the precious
purity of Christ our firstborn brother that we may obtain an attestation of
righteousness from the presence of God Calvin rings clears a bell on this issue
and here I as I come now to the present-day situation I would like to
say a few words about Christians who perhaps all of us have met who lay
stress on what we might call the penalty paying aspect of the work of Christ but
are silent as to the law-keeping aspect of the work of Christ and now I had the
privilege of sitting under just Casper Wister hodge and one of his fellow
professors was dr. JT Machen when dr. Machen was dying in the hospital in
North Dakota Bismarck North Dakota still in the midst of his years his last
message that he sent was on this very matter he said this I am so thankful for
the active obedience of Christ no hope without it no hope without it it was
something that rejoiced his heart in the hour of death it's something that I
trust rejoices the hearts of believers here today George Whitfield used to cry
in his sermons oh the righteousness of of Christ the righteousness of Christ I
may be pardoned for mentioning it in almost every sermon I must turn though
to another more serious aspect of the present-day situation in much of
Protestantism this doctrine that Luther termed the article the doctrine of the
standing or the falling of the church in much of Protestantism today this
doctrine has been abandoned in the north of Ireland one of our leading
denominations issued a new hymnary 40 years ago and the cast out of it that
great him Jesus thy blood and righteousness my beauty are my glorious
and I fear that in so much of the Protestant Church of today this
doctrine is not only neglected but in parts it is even detested now that this
this could be seen that from what happens sometimes that when men give
assent to the creeds of their churches we had a leading Anglican who when he
was giving his assent to the 39 articles not so long ago had a tilted article 13
which deals with works before justification of course some will point
out to us for our consolation that in the Church of Rome there's a new stance
on this matter have you not heard they may say to us of Hans Kohl who in a
recent volume this volume that I have here issued by Sheed and Ward entitled
Christianity Divided in this volume the 13th article that last article is by
Hans Kohl and he defines in this article justify us pronounce righteous and makes
mention of justification by faith alone now admittedly Hans Kohl uses some
Protestant language in this this article but we refuse to be comforted because
first of all because Hans Kohl has also written a book in which he seeks to make
out that the Council of Trent was in substantial agreement with the Protestant
reformers four centuries have passed and Hans Kohl has made this wonderful
discovery that others could not see as a matter of fact he attempts the same
impossible feet as John Henry Newman attempted in tract 90 in which he
attempted to reconcile the doctrines of the Church of England of the articles
with the teaching of Rome but the second reason why we refused to be comforted is
this that even in this very article we where he uses some Protestant language
he also says I quote by being cleansed in the same baptism we have been
justified and sanctified and in spite and this is in this article too in spite
of disclaiming is disclaiming at one point in the article the confusing of
of justification and sanctification at another point he seems still guilty of
that old Roman error when he says here I quote again when God declares a man just
he draws him into the very righteousness of God and thus effects a transformation
of man's very being it is also clear from the article that to him the basis
of justification is not the righteousness of Christ but thirdly
third reason why we refuse to be comforted it is also very much in order
to point out that there has been no repudiation of the Council of Trent on
the part of Vatican II or of Hans Kohl and the Council of Trent pronounced its
anathema on those who teach justification by faith alone through
grace alone so then we are we are called upon to battle for this truth and
proclaim it and glory and the Apostle Paul made such a stand for it in the
Epistle to the Galatians stand such as we should seek to make today he yielded
he tells us by way of subjection no not for an hour that the truth of the gospel
might continue with us yea he pronounced in that very Epistle the tremendous
anathema of God on all who undermined this very truth all who undermined this
very truth this tremendous anathema and why did he do it he did it because of
his passionate love for the gospel and for the souls of men and so we need to
take a stand a clear stand for this truth today may this love for the gospel
and for the souls of men mark us still let us follow Luther even perhaps in his
strong language and I'm quoting from his comment on Galatians chapter 2 toward
the close of that chapter when he urged men to cast down to hell all
human works and merits and look alone to the Son of God who by his death gives
righteousness and life this doctrine as the 39 article say is a most wholesome
doctrine and full of comfort let us hold fast to it let us glory it let us bear
witness to it let us be willing even to come to all things but lost for it there
may be someone here in the audience even today and you are not arrayed in the
sight of God in that spotless row of the Redeemer's righteousness oh there's such
a one here even today will you come as Bunyan's pilgrim came to the cross where
the filthy garments were taken away he was clothed in the spotless robe even
today this can come to you and let me add this we glory in the imputed
righteousness of Christ but we are concerned also stress has been laid on
this in our meetings that righteousness should also be woven into the very warp
and woof of our daily living imputed righteousness we glory it imparted
righteousness to whom we for it we hunger and thirst may God fill our
hearts afresh today with this great doctrine of the imputed righteousness of
our blessed Lord so thankful for except dr. Machen no hope without it so say
many of us here today
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