Justification

 Justification 

Q. 50. What is justification?

A. It is God’s forgiving sinners, and treating them as if they had never sinned.   This is where we are going today.  Children's Catechism

Where have we been?

Q. 36. What is that sinful nature which we inherit from Adam called?

A. Original sin.

Q. 37. What does every sin deserve?

A. The wrath and curse of God.

Q. 38. Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature?

A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.

Q. 39. What is a change of heart called?

A. Regeneration.

Q. 40. Who can change a sinner’s heart?

A. The Holy Spirit alone.

We saw that unbelievers do not have free will to regenerate themselves... Ch 9 " Of free will".."Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to 

any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being 

altogether averse from that good,and dead in sin,  is not able, by his own 

strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto."---Romans 6:18,22- " Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."   " But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."  Scriptures  ---Colossians 1:13- "who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."

---the means is faith in Christ alone for justification.

Today we ask what is justification?

Those whom God effectually calleth he also freely justifieth; a not by 

infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by 

accounting and accepting their persons as righteous: not for anything 

wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone: not by 

imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obe

dience, to them as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and 

satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and 

his righteousness by faith: which faith they have not of themselves, it is 

the gift of God.   

Rom. 8:30; Rom. 3:24. 

" Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified, them He also glorified."

" Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Read Romans 4 about how Abraham received faith  ....Note Rom 4:10 " How was it then reckoned ( Abraham's faith)  when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision?  Not in circumcision , but in uncircumcision" ...." it was imputed to him" 4:23  " But for us also , to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."   

imputed in greek is  "logízomai (the root of the English terms "logic, logical") – properly, compute, "take into account"; reckon (come to a "bottom-line"), i.e. reason to a logical conclusion (decision)."  biblehub.com

Perhaps no better saying is this one to talk about such things that are too high for us, and dwell with the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Horatius Bonar once said in the preface of his 'Looking to the Cross' (1851): ( a Scottish churchman and poet.---who wrote hymns that are well known " I Heard the Voice of Jesus say" as well as 600 hymns he wrote)

"A believing man will be a humble man. He will think little and speak little about himself. True faith carries us above this pride, self-esteem, and vainglory… He will…refrain from giving prominence to self in any of his proceedings. His great object will be to hide self; and not only to forget it himself, but to make others forget it too. The man that is still proud, boastful, vainglorious, self-confident has good reason to suppose that he has never yet believed."