justification by faith

Justified by faith or by works? (James 2:14-26) – Part 4

POST OVERVIEW. The fourth in a series of articles on James 2:14-26. The purpose of these articles is to give the believer a correct understanding of this passage by providing a number of different approaches to this text. The goal is that, through these studies, the believer will see that James’ teaching here does not conflict with the New Testament’s doctrine of justification by faith. (See also Post #652, 5/24,2023, Post #653, 5/25/2023 and Post #654, 5/30/2023.)

This passage in James 2:14-26, and especially 2:21-25, has caused controversy in the faithful community because it appears that James is, in these verses, directly contradicting the doctrinal teaching of the apostle Paul, that a person is justified by faith alone and not by works. The main point of our study is to demonstrate that James and Paul are in full agreement on the gospel.

In our previous lessons on James 2:14-26, we have seen that, when James teaches that a person is “justified by works,” we need to understand how James uses the word “justify” (δικαιόω in Greek) and what he means by “works.” In Post #653, we showed that James uses “justify” in the sense of “give evidence for a claim” and in Post #654, we discovered that the “works” of James 2:14-26 are not done by unbelievers to merit salvation but are done by believers to make their invisible faith visible through faithful acts. These two lessons alone would be sufficient to defuse the claim of conflict between James and Paul.

But there is yet more evidence in the New Testament that makes a disagreement between James and Paul on such a major point of doctrine impossible. This next point will be about the personal acquaintance that the two men had with one another.

GALATIANS AND THE RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP

First, we turn to Galatians 2:9. In that verse, James gives to Paul the right hand of fellowship at the “Jerusalem council” because of their agreement on the “truth of the gospel” (2:5). Paul was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised (2:7) and Peter was entrusted with that same gospel to the circumcised. Note that “those who were reputed to be pillars” gave each other “the right hand of fellowship” because they were in complete agreement on the content of the gospel. After reading passages in Galatians like 1:6-9; 2:14, 16, 21; 3:6-14 and 5:2-6, it is impossible to conceive of Paul giving the right hand of fellowship to James if James was still preaching a gospel of justification by faith plus works. If James was even the least bit fuzzy on justification by faith alone, he would have received from Paul treatment similar to what Peter received in Gal. 2:11-14. As Paul makes abundantly clear in Galatians and in other epistles, justification by faith alone is “a hill to die on.” After conferring together and comparing the gospels they preached (Gal. 2:1-10), there is no possibility that James and Paul did not agree completely on this aspect of the gospel.

OUR BELOVED PAUL AT THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL

Luke gives a more detailed account of this same “Jerusalem council” in Acts 15 and we would do well to review this event to corroborate our findings from Galatians. James and Paul both take major roles at this meeting. At that time, James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and Paul was emerging as the apostle to the Gentiles. Peter is also there, still as an apostle but by this time his leadership of the gospel movement has passed to James.

In the proceedings of the council, the apostle Peter declares that “God made no distinction between us and them (the Gentiles), cleansing their hearts by faith” (15:9). Thus Peter asserts justification by faith alone, saying that the Gentiles do not need to obey every jot and tittle of the Law of Moses to be saved (15:10). Then, in a statement that removes all doubt, Peter says, “But we believe that we (the Jews) are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way that they (the Gentiles) also are” (15:12). In this way, Peter has spoken for the circumcised and has made clear that Jews and Gentiles are saved in the same way. There is no need to add the Law to their faith. And if the Law does not need to be added to our faith, then it follows that neither do our “works.”

After Peter, as an apostle and a Jew, has declared that Jew and Gentile are saved by faith through grace, “Barnabas and Paul related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles” (15:12). It is certain that, as these two were describing their experiences among the Gentiles during their first missionary journey, they were also telling of how the Gentiles had been saved by the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18-24) and not by works.

After hearing Peter, the apostle to the circumcised, give his testimony of salvation by faith for both Jew and Gentile, and then hearing Paul, the apostle to the uncircumcised, give the same testimony, James leads “the apostles and the brethren who are elders” (15:23) to send men to Antioch “with our beloved (Barnabas and) Paul” telling the Gentile believers at Antioch that they do not need to adhere to the Mosaic Law in order to be saved.

SUMMARY. Having looked carefully at Acts 15, we see again that James and Paul were not at odds on the doctrine of justification by faith. Even at this early stage of the church, as the gospel was expanding into the territory of the Gentiles, it has already become firmly established among the apostles and church leaders that salvation is by faith apart from works of the Law. James believed this just as much as Paul did. Both men respected each other and were in firm agreement on the contents of the gospel. James could not write to the church at Antioch of our beloved Paul is he secretly rejected Paul’s most essential gospel doctrine.

We must conclude, therefore, that James is not teaching a doctrine of justification by works that is in contradiction to Paul’s teaching.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 6/2/2023                     #655

Justified by faith or by works? (James 2:14-26) – Part 3

POST OVERVIEW. The third in a series of articles on James 2:14-26. The purpose of these articles is to give the believer a correct understanding of this passage by providing a number of different approaches to this text. The goal is that, through these studies, the believer will see that James’ teaching here does not conflict with the New Testament’s doctrine of justification by faith. (See also Post #652, 5/24,2023 and Post #653, 5/25/2023.) This fairly long article focuses on the concept of “works.”

This is the third article in a series of studies of James 2:14-26. Let’s take a moment to review where we have been so far, where we are going in this article, and where we hope to go with the rest of the series.

BRIEF REVIEW

In my first post (#652), I had explained the main interpretive difficulty in the passage; namely, that it can seem that, in James 2:14-26, and particularly in 2:21-15, James is contradicting the core teaching of the New Testament about justification by faith. The apostle Paul teaches throughout his epistles that a sinner is “justified” (meaning “declared righteous”) solely on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, in Galatians, Paul states that a variation in the gospel on this point is anathema (Gal. 1:8, 9) and that those who preach this “other” gospel are cursed. Because of the New Testament’s teaching on “justified” and on “justification,” “justification by faith alone” became one of the five “Solas” of the Reformation. So, this is not a minor point. In my first post, I had proposed a plan of study that would allow us to examine James 2:14-26 using several different approaches to demonstrate that James is not contradicting any of the Bible’s teaching on what it means to be “justified.”

The second post of the series (#653) had begun to work through the points of the plan of study. Our first piece of information was that the verb “justify” has at least two meanings. Understanding how James uses this verb (and its related terms) in James 2:21-25 helps immensely in defusing the difficulties of the passage.

In this third article, we will focus most of our efforts on understanding the word and the concept of “works.”

THE CONCEPT OF “WORKS”

Broadly speaking, the concept of “works” relates to human effort or accomplishment. “Works” are things which the human does that affect the human’s relationship with the living God, either positively or negatively. The primary factor that determines whether “works” are pleasing to God or are perceived as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) is whether or not the one doing the “works” has believed in God and has been reconciled with God. In our day, the question would be, “Are you a follower of the Lord Jesus?” If the answer is yes, then your works are generally pleasing to God and, if not, then your works are an offense to Him and a stench in His nostrils.

Let me explain this a bit further and then clarify “works” by giving some examples. I said that the primary factor for evaluating “works” is whether or not the person working is a follower of Jesus. Why is that? It is because, when a person comes to faith in Jesus, their motivation for the “works” dramatically changes.

“WORKS” OF THE UNBELIEVER

When a person is not a believer in Jesus, he may still desire to benefit from religious activity or religious works. (In fact, a good working definition of a religion is a system of man-made human efforts intended to achieve some spiritual benefit.) Thus the unbeliever will do things prescribed by their particular religion to try to relieve themselves of guilt or to impress others or to make themselves good enough to be acceptable to their god(s) or to God. The point is that the one who “works” in this way is using their human effort to earn favor with the gods or with God.

The problem with these “works” is that they are as offensive to the living God as perhaps anything can be. These “works” offer man’s sinful efforts and his religious rituals as the means of making him acceptable to God, when God has sent His only Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on Calvary’s cross as the only acceptable sacrifice for sin and as the only means of reconciling God and man. In Acts 4:12, Peter declares,

“And there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

The only way to be justified before our holy God is to bow the knee to Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Savior. But, instead of repenting of sin and submitting to Jesus, man wants to continue in his wicked ways and to continue in his sin, so he offers to God a token performance of “works.” Jesus has willingly come from heaven to earth to die on the cross as the only means of rescue from the wrath of God, but by means of his “works,” man rejects the Son of God and offers instead his sin-stained man-made efforts. This is why Paul and the other New Testament writers and solid Christian churches today vigorously oppose any teaching that claims that we can be declared righteous by our “works.” Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone.

Consider these biblical examples. Cain offered to God his “works” of the fruit of the ground (Genesis 4) and he was rejected by God and perished. It was his religious “works” that Saul of Tarsus offered to God (Phil. 3:5-6), but for the apostle Paul those works were all “rubbish” (3:8). Nadab and Abihu offered religious “works” of strange fire before the LORD and were consumed in the flame (Leviticus 10). In the gospels, the Pharisees had all their religious rules, but Jesus repeatedly called them hypocrites. “Works” can never bring an unbeliever closer to God or forgive the unbeliever of one single sin. Any “work” that is using human effort or human performance to achieve favor with God is cursed.

“WORKS” OF THE BELIEVER

We have just described the “works” of the unbeliever and have seen that they are offensive to God, since they offer human effort as a replacement for the death of Christ. So, if this is the only kind of “works” known in the New Testament and if James is suggesting that the unbeliever is justified (“declared righteous”) by his own “works,” we have a major contradiction and a major problem.

But what we find as we examine Scripture is, first, that there are “works” which are entirely appropriate to the believer and which are, indeed, expected for every believer, and second, that James is certainly not suggesting that an unbeliever is justified (“declared righteous”) by his own “works.” Let’s take these two points one at a time.

In our previous post (#653), we have already demonstrated that, in James 2:21-25, “justified” is used in the sense of the believer giving outward, visible evidence of their inward, invisible faith. Their claim of faith is “justified” when they give sufficient evidence of their faith. But not only does James use “justified” in a non-salvific way in our study passage, but we also see that his examples, Abraham and Rahab, are people who are already believers and who already possess saving faith. (We will address this further when we look at Hebrews 11 in parallel with this passage in James in a later post.) Abraham and Rahab are presented not as examples of those who earned saving faith by their works, but rather as examples of those who demonstrated their saving faith by radical acts of faithfulness.

Finally, then, this passage cannot be about how the unbeliever achieves his own salvation by his “works,” because there is not even an unbeliever anywhere in the passage.

What we see instead is that it is incumbent upon the genuine believer to live a life marked by “good works” which give evidence to his claim of salvation. Calls for “good works” or “good deeds” which attest to an already-possessed salvation are common in the New Testament, and this is certainly the type of “works” that James has in mind here.

The following are places where this type of “works” appears in the New Testament:

Matthew 5:16 “Let men see your good works.”

Ephesians 2:10. It is instructive to read Ephesians 2:9 and 2:10 together. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, not as a result of works. For we are created in Christ Jesus for good works.” “Works” do not save, but “good works” should follow salvation.

Philippians 2:12. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

Colossians 1:10. Paul prays they would “bear fruit in every good work.”

2 Thessalonians 2:17. “Strengthen your hearts in every good work.”

1 Timothy 2:10; 5:10; 6:18. Good works are a mark of a faithful believer.

2 Timothy 2:21; 3:17. “prepared/equipped for every good work.”

Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14. Believers are to be “zealous for good deeds.”

Hebrews 10:24. “Stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”

1 Peter 2:12. The Gentiles glorify God because of your good deeds.

SUMMARY

We have seen that “works,” which are presented by the unbeliever as an attempt to merit or earn from God a declaration of righteousness (to be “justified”), are offensive to God and are condemned because these “works” are offered instead of faith in the crucified Christ.

We have also seen that “good works,” which are produced in and by the believer as a visible manifestation (a “justification”) of their invisible faith in Jesus, are expected and are approved by God because these “good works” are wrought through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is this latter category of “works” that James has in view in James 2:14-26.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/30/2023                   #654

Justified by faith or by works? (James 2:14-26) – Part 2

POST OVERVIEW. The second in a series of articles on James 2:14-26. The purpose of these articles is to give the believer a correct understanding of this passage by providing a number of different approaches to this text. The goal is that, through these studies, the believer will see that James’ teaching here does not conflict with the New Testament’s doctrine of justification by faith. (See also Post #652, 5/24,2023.)

A STUDY OF THE WORD “JUSTIFY”

Having given an introduction to this series of studies (See Post #652, 5/24/2023), we will begin with an examination of “justify.” This portion of our study will be a little technical, but it is necessary for us to look at definitions and to understand how this word and its related terms are used in the New Testament.

THE FIRST USE OF “JUSTIFY.” As we mentioned above, in the New Testament, the English word “justify” is a translation of the Greek word “δικαιόω.” This word is of profound significance in the gospel of salvation, because its most common usage has the meaning of “declare righteous.” The main message of the gospel is that any sinner who believes (“places their faith”) in the Lord Jesus Christ is immediately declared righteous, forgiven of all their sins, saved from the wrath of God, and has eternal life. In short, by faith he “has been justified.” (This is the passive use of the word “justify.”) This entire set of effects of faith in Jesus has been abbreviated as “justification by faith.” The consistent and abundant teaching of the New Testament is that we are “justified” (declared righteous, etc.) by faith and by faith alone in Christ alone and not on the basis of works. (See later in this series for a deeper understanding of “works” and also for how many times the Bible insists that being justified/justification is not by works.) This use of “justify” (declare righteous) is what the apostle Paul uses almost exclusively in his doctrinal teaching about the gospel of the Lord Jesus and his letters of Romans and Galatians are particularly filled with this doctrine. For this reason, most believers automatically think of “justify” and “to be justified” in terms of “not by works” and “justification by faith alone,” and become concerned and vocal when someone suggests that a sinner can earn salvation (be justified) based on his works. It thus becomes obvious why James 2:21-25 has created some confusion and controversy among believers because James blatantly affirms that Abraham and Rahab were justified by their works. What do we do with that?

A SECOND USE OF “JUSTIFY.” And here it is necessary for us to realize that, while the overwhelming majority of uses of “justify” or “be justified” relates to declaring someone righteous based on their professed faith in the Lord Jesus, there is also a minority use of the word, and it is this minority use of “justify” that James uses in our study passage. James uses “justify” in the sense of “giving outward evidence of an inward reality” or of “supporting a claim to possess an invisible quality.” Other synonyms could be “exhibited,” “demonstrated,” “proved,” or “gave evidence for.”

AN ILLUSTRATION OF “JUSTIFY”

When I was a purchasing manager several years ago, I had a supplier whose name was Jim Cooper. Jim was a big man. He was probably 6’ 5” and was broad and “thick.” When I shook his hand, my hand almost disappeared into his. He was big. One day we were talking and he mentioned that he was having some pain in his knees. “Yeah, it was probably from too many years playing football.” I paused for a second, then asked, “When did you play football? Were you ever a professional football player?” He said, “I played for the Dallas Cowboys in the late 70’s and 80’s.” I remembered the Cowboys of that era and that they were powerful teams, so I asked, “Do you have a Super Bowl ring?” “Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Super Bowl XII for the 1977 season.” “Would you mind bringing that ring in so I could see it? I have never seen a Super Bowl ring.” “Sure thing. Next time I come over I will bring it.”

Now, I did not doubt for a second that Jim could produce that ring. First, he was an honest man, so he was not lying to me, but second, he was a big man, and the possibility that he had played for the world champion Dallas Cowboys was not a stretch, at all. But at that point in time, Jim’s claim of having a Super Bowl ring was not justified. Jim would not “be justified” until his invisible claim of being on the 1977 Dallas Cowboys was validated (“justified”) by the visible evidence of a Super Bowl ring from Super Bowl XII.

And, true to his word, the next time Jim and I got together, he put his Super Bowl XII ring on the conference table so I could take pictures of it with my phone. Because he had produced tangible visible evidence of his unseeable claim, he was fully “justified.” Jim Cooper claimed to be a member of the World Champion Dallas Cowboys and then produced the ring that proved his claim. In this way, he was “justified.”

If, on the other hand, Jim had claimed to be on the Dallas Cowboys in 1977 but had no Super Bowl ring, there would have been a lot of doubt about his claim. Without tangible, visible evidence to validate his claim, his football career would remain a mere claim, a mere maybe.

This is the way that James uses the word “justify” in 2:21, 24, and 25. If a man claims to have saving faith, then he needs to “justify” (prove, validate) that claim by giving tangible supporting evidence. And the tangible evidence that James is seeking is the evidence of “works.”

SUMMARY OF “JUSTIFY”

After carefully examining the word “justify” and seeing that James uses the word in a very different sense than Paul and the other New Testament writers, we can conclude that there is no conflict or contradiction in James 2:14-26 when compared to other New Testament doctrinal teaching.

NEXT ARTICLE. In this article we have carefully looked at the word “justify.” In the next article, we will examine “works” by first defining what the biblical writers mean by “works” and second, by considering what the role of works is both before and after salvation (Point #2 in our list in Post #652, 5/24/2023). We will conclude the next article by documenting the verses in the New Testament which explicitly teach that “being justified” (“declared righteous”) and justification are always “by faith” and are never “by works.”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/25/2023                   #653

Justified by faith or by works? (James 2:14-26) – Part 1

POST OVERVIEW. The first in a series of articles on James 2:14-26. The purpose of these articles is to give the believer a correct understanding of this passage by providing a number of different approaches to this text. Through these studies, the believer will see that James’ teaching here does not conflict with the New Testament’s doctrine of justification by faith. (Also see previous Post #393, 4/26/2021, on this same passage.)

“But how can a man be in the right before God?” – Job 9:2

THE CRUCIAL QUESTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

From the time of the fall of man in Genesis 3 until the apostolic preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Job’s crucial question went unanswered. But after Pentecost, first the apostles and then the faithful church began to proclaim the good news that, now that Jesus has atoned for sins on the cross, all who repent and believe in Him can be declared righteous and can receive eternal life. That is the gospel we proclaim and by which we are saved. We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone.

HOW ARE WE JUSTIFIED?

But with this as a background, how do we understand James when he declares in his epistle, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works?” (James 2:21)? Perhaps even more unsettling is what we read a few verses later in James 2:24: “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Then finally James writes, “Was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works?” (2:25). Is James teaching another gospel in which the sinner is justified by faith plus his own works? Has James abandoned “justification by faith alone,” the central doctrine of the Reformation? Does the Holy Spirit-inspired Bible teach that there are actually two ways to be saved, one by faith in Jesus and another by faith plus works?

These are important questions that I want to address in a series of articles which consider James 2:14-26 and discern what James is teaching in this section of his epistle. As we go through these teaching articles, there are several key points that we will consider.

  1. The word that is translated “justify” (δικαιόω in Greek) or, in the passive, “to be justified,” has two different meanings depending upon the author’s intent. Therefore, we need to understand more about this word “justify.”
  2. An understanding of “works” in the New Testament. What do we mean by “works?” The difference between the role of works before salvation and the role of works after salvation must be considered.
  3. The personal relationship between Paul and James and their complete agreement on the content of the gospel.
  4. The New Testament’s abundant, explicit teaching that justification (God’s declaration of righteousness) is never by works.
  5. A comparison of Hebrews 11 with James 2 allows us to conclusively determine that James is using “justify” in a non-salvific sense.
  6. Finally, a careful, unbiased reading of James 2:14-26 makes the author’s purpose and meaning unambiguously clear.

This, then, will serve as an introduction to this mini-series on James 2:14-26. My plan is to work through each of these points in the list above (not necessarily in order) so that we remove any confusion about justification that might be created by this passage and we also pay attention to the warning that James is communicating here.

My next post will be about the meanings of “justify.” (Point #1 from the list above.)

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/24/2023                   #652

Thoughts on my righteousness before and after Christ

OVERVIEW. These thoughts on my righteousness, both absolute and practical, were captured from writing on December 29, 2022. Several terms will be discussed including “wholly unrighteous,” “absolutely righteous,” “practical righteousness,” and, in a subsequent post, “relative righteousness.”

WHOLLY UNRIGHTEOUS BEFORE CHRIST

Before salvation, that is, before a person’s initial saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, all people are wholly unrighteous. The Bible makes clear that “unrighteous” is the state of all unbelievers without exception. All are born absolutely unrighteous and, in that state, they remain unless they are rescued from that domain of darkness by Christ (Col. 1:13). There is no righteousness in them. All their righteous deeds are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Any efforts at works-righteousness despise the offering of Christ on the cross as the only atonement for sin (Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:7; Mark 10:45), because they substitute man’s sinful efforts for Christ’s perfect sacrifice. The Bible declares that, before my justification, there was no righteousness in me at all. I was a child of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3) and was subject to His full condemnation.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH IN CHRIST

But at the moment of my salvation, I was justified. That is, I was declared righteous by the Holy One of Israel because of my faith in Jesus and immediately there was imputed to my account the full righteousness of Christ. In a moment, I moved from wholly unrighteous to fully righteous (John 5:24; Acts 13:48; 16:31). At salvation, I was wrapped in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; confirm 2 Cor. 5:21)) and, from then on, I am viewed by God to possess (by the Lord’s imputation and declaration) the full righteousness of the Lord Jesus Himself. As a disciple of the Lord Jesus, I have received an absolute righteousness and I will be fully righteous for all of eternity.

PRACTICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS

This biblical doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s perfect righteousness to all who believe in Jesus can, however, cause some confusion, especially among those who have recently come to Christ. The confusion can take one of two forms. The new believer can think, “Well, since by faith the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to me, I do not need to be overly concerned about my ongoing sin.” This is a grievous error, because it suggests that the Lord does not make holy those He saves. (See also Matthew 5:6 and Romans 6:1-2; etc.) The other end of the spectrum is the idea that, “Since by faith the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to me, I should quickly cease from all sinning.” This latter error reveals a misunderstanding about the process of sanctification and about the disciple’s necessary growth in practical righteousness.

The Bible teaches that there are two types of righteousness that come to the person who trusts Christ as their Lord and Savior. We have already addressed the absolute righteousness of Christ that is imputed to every believer at the moment of salvation. This event is called justification when God declares the sinner righteous. But justification necessarily ushers in the process of sanctification, which is the lifelong journey in which the disciple of Jesus grows in practical righteousness. In the process of sanctification, through the use of the means of grace and by “working out one’s salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), the disciple of Jesus strives to close the gap between Christ’s perfect righteousness, which has been imputed to their account at salvation, and the disciple’s current experience of practical righteousness in their life. Slowly, steadily, “little by little” (Ex. 23:29-30; Deut. 7:22) God the Holy Spirit works together with the disciple as the disciple’s hunger and thirst for righteousness is satisfied (Matt. 5:6). As practical righteousness grows, the disciple becomes more evidently conformed to Christ (Romans 8:29) and brings forth more of the fruit of righteousness (Luke 3:8).

There is another term that I want to consider in this subject of righteousness, and it is the term “relative righteousness.” In his salvation, the believer has received the absolute righteousness of Christ and has embarked on the path of growing practical righteousness. What, then, is this “relative righteousness” of which we speak? Tune in next time!

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/4/2023                     #607

The disciple’s sanctification (Phil. 2:12-13)

POST OVERVIEW. This post is the second part of a series of articles on Philippians 2:12-13, exploring how the disciple of Jesus can “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.” Having discussed justification in the previous post (#579), we now examine the disciple’s sanctification. We will also explore how sanctification relates to discipleship. This is a foundational article in my own consideration of the broad topic of discipleship.

FROM BIRTH TO ETERNITY

If we were to give a simplified sequence of events in the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ from birth to eternity, there would be four major components: condemnation, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Condemnation is the condition of being an unforgiven sinner and being subject to the judgment and wrath of God for your sins. All people are born as sinners and all people are therefore born into this state of condemnation (Rom. 3:23). Justification describes the event when God declares the sinner to be righteous in His sight because of the sinner’s initial confession of faith in Jesus Christ. In justification, the disciple passes from death to life (John 5:24), becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and no longer experiences condemnation (Romans 8:1). After the disciple has been justified (declared righteous), he enters the stage of sanctification, which lasts till the end of his earthly life. Sanctification is the process of growing in practical holiness and Christlikeness, which means decreasing sin and increasing obedience. (Note: “Discipleship” occurs in the sanctification stage.) The final state for every disciple of Jesus Christ is glorification, when all the saints are in heaven forever in glorified, resurrection bodies. All disciples will receive their glorified bodies on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:14-17).

JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, AND DISCIPLESHIP

Since this consideration of justification and sanctification is in the context of discipleship, we need to see how these two ideas of justification and sanctification relate to the disciple of Jesus. In simple terms, the event of justification creates a disciple. We know that, prior to justification, the sinner is outside Christ, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). At justification, when the sinner believes in Jesus and is thus declared righteous, the sinner is converted into a disciple of Jesus. But if justification creates a disciple, sanctification grows a disciple into increasing Christlikeness. This is the process whereby the disciple learns “to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel” (Ephesians 4:1). It is apparent that sanctification is only possible if justification has already occurred, but we also know that, if justification has truly occurred, then it will certainly result in sanctification.

COMPARING JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

In further considering justification and sanctification, we can say that justification is necessarily “monergistic.” “Monergistic” means that justification, the event whereby God declares the sinner to be fully and forever righteous based on the sinner’s faith in Jesus, is exclusively the work of God. In the act of justification, God is the only actor. When God justifies the believing sinner, He imputes Christ’s perfect righteousness to the sinner’s account as if Christ’s righteousness were the sinner’s own, while the sinner passively receives Christ’s imputed righteousness based solely on his profession of faith. The point is that in justification, God is active and the sinner-disciple is passive.

By contrast, sanctification – the progressive decreasing of sin and the progressive increasing of practical righteousness – is a joint effort between the disciple of Jesus and God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the clearest statement of this biblical truth is in Philippians 2:12-13:

12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

THE WORK OF THE DISCIPLE

In these verses, Paul is certainly speaking about the disciple’s sanctification. As we consider the bolded part of the passage, the cooperative, joint effort between the disciple and the Lord is apparent. First, Paul commands the disciple to “work out his salvation.” The apostle does not have in mind some ongoing work by which the disciple earns or merits his salvation, for the Bible rejects the idea of human works meriting salvation in many places. Rather, he is instructing the disciple who has already been justified by his faith to labor with all his might so that his changed life will be vividly displayed in the outward fruit of repentance. In other words, “work out your salvation” means “be diligent and vigorous in your sanctification efforts so that, as time goes on, there is a closer and closer agreement between the righteousness your life displays and the full righteousness that has been imputed to you.” The point is that progress in sanctification depends on the disciple’s active efforts to grow in holiness.  

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

But while it is clear that sanctification depends on the disciple’s efforts, we also see that sanctification is dependent on the ongoing work of God the Holy Spirit. “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” When a disciple comes to faith in Jesus, then not only is the person declared righteous, but that person is also “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). Thus, from the moment of salvation, the disciple is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and He, the Holy Spirit, immediately begins to accomplish the ongoing, unconscious transformation of the disciple. For example, the disciple receives the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). The disciple also receives a spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12), which allows him to serve and edify the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit reveals sin to the disciple and guides him into all truth (John 16:9ff). The Holy Spirit allows the disciple to put sin to death (Rom. 8:13), leads the disciple (8:14), testifies to the disciple that he is a child of God (8:16), and intercedes for the disciple in prayer “with groanings too deep for words” (8:26). This is the work of the Holy Spirit in all believers and the result of this unconscious work of the Spirit is that the disciple grows in sanctification.

We have seen, then, that the disciple grows in sanctification both by the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, who is unconsciously and invisibly transforming the disciple, and by the disciple’s own efforts. While acknowledging the Holy Spirit’s necessary role in sanctification, we want to now turn our attention to the sanctification that is brought about by the disciple’s own efforts, for this is the sanctification that we can directly influence.

DEFINITION OF DISCIPLESHIP

Now we want to address the question, “What is the relationship between ‘discipleship’ and ‘sanctification’?” We remember that we defined sanctification as “the progressive decreasing of sin and the progressive increasing of practical righteousness in the life of the disciple of Jesus.” From this, we can say that a functional definition of discipleship is “the sanctification that is brought about in the disciple’s life as a result of the disciple’s  own conscious efforts.” This discipleship is what Paul has in mind in Philippians 2:12 when he commands us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Thus, in discipleship, the disciple of Jesus takes conscious actions to intentionally attack their sin and purposefully grow in their practice of righteous, Bible-approved acts until they finish the race.

Discipleship, then, is a logical outgrowth of justification, when the sinner passes from death to life (John 5:24) and is made a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Being made new in Christ generates in every disciple a desire for holiness and an ambition to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 5:9). This desire for holiness is part of the seed of justification and is a required product of the new birth such that, if the desire for holiness and the growth in Christlikeness are absent, the real occurrence of justification is brought into question.

In discipleship, then, the key words are “conscious,” “intentional,” and “purposeful.” This is because these conscious, intentional, purposeful actions to increase in holiness are the result of the disciple’s own planning and choices and reflections and efforts. This conscious, intentional activity is motivated by the disciple’s own desire for holiness and by his ambition to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus and is an example of the disciple “working out his salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). And while this activity is certainly empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit, its initiation and execution depend on the individual disciple.

THE DISCIPLE’S OWN RESPONSIBILITY

In the sense, then, that progress in discipleship depends on the disciple’s own wisdom and diligence and desire and activity and persistence, discipleship is similar to other human endeavors. In any human activity, those who are more diligent and energetic will make more progress in that activity than those who are less so. It is the same with the degree of sanctification you achieve from your own discipleship efforts. The spiritual resources for your sanctification have all been supplied. You have been set free from your slavery to sin (Romans 6), you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13), you have been given full access to God’s throne to send Him your prayers (Hebrews 4:16), you have been placed in His body the church so that you have brothers and sisters to encourage you, and you have His Word to read and to meditate on. You have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Now, with all these resources available to you, you are commanded to work out your salvation. Both because the disciple has received apostolic command to work out his salvation and because the disciple has been entrusted with divine resources for working out of his salvation, discipleship is each disciple’s own responsibility.

SDG                 rmb                 10/19/2022                 #582

The disciple’s justification (Phil. 2:12-13)

POST OVERVIEW. This post begins a short series of articles on Philippians 2:12-13, exploring how the disciple of Jesus can work out their salvation with fear and trembling. The first post examines the doctrine of justification as background for study of sanctification.

The New Testament introduces us to the incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and has as its central theme the gospel of salvation. This gospel states that, for anyone who will place their faith in Jesus and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, God will forgive their sins and will save them from His wrath and give them eternal life. After this salvation event, the believer commits to walk with Christ for the rest of their life in obedience to His commands. One of the words the New Testament uses for the event of salvation is justification, and the believer’s subsequent walk of increasing holiness is called sanctification. This short series is mostly on sanctification, but we first need to understand justification in order to fully understand sanctification.

JUSTIFICATION

We have already spoken about the salvation event as justification, but we need to be a little more precise. Justification is the event whereby a sinner is declared fully and forever righteous in the sight of God because of the sinner’s professed faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

Three things should be noted about this definition. First, this justification is an event, not a process. Although the journey to the point of salvation may take years, justification itself occurs at a point in time. It is a one-time, once-for-all event that has eternal results. This is the moment when the sinner passes from death to life (John 5:24). This is the moment of spiritual birth when one is born again (John 3:3, 5). God justifies the sinner when he initially professes his faith in Jesus. So, event, not process.

But second, in justification, the sinner is declared righteous on the basis of their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus. God declares as righteous the one who confesses Jesus as Lord. Thus the believer, having been declared righteous upon their initial faith in Jesus, is forever viewed as righteous. This also means that all true followers of Jesus are equally justified and equally righteous, even though there may be great differences in terms of the disciples’ actual progress in practical holiness. Justification is God’s declaration of righteousness, not a reward for the disciple’s own efforts.

Third, justification is based solely on the repentant sinner’s initial profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That is, “having heard the message of truth, the gospel of salvation” (Ephesians 1:13) and having understood that Jesus has come from heaven to die on the cross as a “ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), the sinner believes in Jesus and publicly professes Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior.

JUSTIFICATION IS ENTIRELY THE WORK OF GOD

Notice that, in justification, God is the only actor. The Bible presents justification as entirely the work of God. God is the One who justifies (Romans 8:33). God is just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26 in the powerful verses of 3:21-26). God is the One who justifies the circumcised (Jewish people) by faith and the uncircumcised (Gentiles) through faith (Romans 3:29-30). All this attests to the fact that our God is the One who does the work of justification. In justification, God is active and the believer is passive. God declares righteous and the believer receives righteousness. God is the actor and the believer is the object. It is God alone who “delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us into the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).

Having gotten a good handle on justification, in the next post in this series we will turn our attention to the corresponding subject of sanctification.

SDG                 rmb                 10/5/2022                   #579

Pearls from the Word: Philippians 1:6

INTRODUCTION. A series of posts on my musings on selected verses from Philippians. This post is on Philippians 1:6.

The book of Philippians was written by the apostle Paul from prison. But despite his circumstances, Paul writes to his beloved Philippians with joy, thanksgiving, confidence, and hope as he instructs them how to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27).

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. – Phil. 1:6

This verse gives strong encouragement to every believer in Jesus that he or she will continue to follow Christ all their days and will, on the last day, be perfected with a glorified body to live forever with the Lord. Yes, all that is here in this verse!

GOD BEGAN A GOOD WORK

In this verse, we read that Paul is confident because God has done an amazing work here in this church in Philippi. “He began a good work.” This “good work” can be restated as, “God has saved you. You were dead in your transgressions and separated from Christ, but then you heard the gospel and believed.” The “good work” that God began in you is the work of your salvation. You have been delivered from the domain of darkness. You have passed from death to life. By grace you have been saved. The “good work” that God began in you is that you have been born again and you are now a new creation in Christ. You have been justified by faith. So Paul’s confidence about God’s good work applies to every believer, to everyone in whom God began the work of salvation.

HE WILL PERFECT IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS

But Paul’s confidence is also this: If God indeed began a good work in you and you have become a born-again follower of Jesus, God has guaranteed that you will persevere in your faith until the end of your life and that finally, on the last day, when Jesus returns, you will receive your perfect glorified body for your eternity with the Lord in heaven.

The New Testament is consistent and clear: every single person who has believed in Jesus Christ will believe in Him to the end. This doctrine has been called “the perseverance of the saints” and is explicitly taught in the Scriptures, not only here in this verse, but also in passages like Romans 8:30, which says, “and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Justification is the beginning of our salvation and glorification is the end. Thus we can say with confidence that every person who has been justified by faith will certainly receive their glorified body on “the day of Christ Jesus.” The God who began the work of salvation by our justification will keep us until He perfects the work by our glorification.

BUT THERE’S MORE! And God also preserves us until the day of Christ Jesus. From the moment of our justification, the Lord is actively preserving us in the faith. We persevere because God is preserving us. As we journey through this world of sin, we “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), but the real power is from “God who is at work in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (2:13). Since God the Father chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), and since we have been redeemed by Christ’s blood (Eph. 1:7), and since we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13), we can be confident of this very thing, that God will keep us until the day of Christ Jesus.

So, fellow believer, be confident of this very thing: God has saved you, and God will preserve you, and God will give you a perfect glorified body when Jesus returns.

SDG                 rmb                 5/24/2022                   #535

Justified by faith and justified by works (James 2:14-26)

“Does the Bible teach that we are justified by faith alone, or does the Bible teach that we are justified by our works?” This question was one of the central issues of the Protestant Reformation and remains the main dividing line between evangelical Christians and Catholics. “Justification by faith alone” is a non-negotiable doctrine of the Christian faith because it is a central teaching of the New Testament. On the other hand, a major doctrine of Catholicism is that the Catholic is saved by faith and works. This teaching was firmly established as Catholic doctrine at the Council of Trent and is still the doctrine of the Catholic Church today. Thus, the two positions contradict one another. Justification is either by faith alone or it is by faith and human works, but both positions cannot be true.

A PROBLEM PASSAGE?

And this brings us to a passage in the New Testament book of “James” that seems to create a conundrum, because James explicitly states in James 2:24,

“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Now, it is a fact that the overwhelming majority of New Testament teachings on justification explicitly state that justification is by faith. “Works” are either expressly rejected within the passage or are prohibited by the context of the passage. (A list of these passages is given at the end of this article.) But now we see that this passage in James 2 seems to declare that justification is by works. In light of this verse and this passage, Catholics say that their doctrine of justification by faith plus works has biblical warrant.

Is this the case? Do Paul and James contradict one another in the fundamental doctrine of justification? Is there a contradiction in the New Testament, indeed, a major contradiction? Is the Bible ambiguous on how a sinner is justified? We will need to investigate this passage in James 2:14-26 to see if these things are so.

TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS

First, the good news is that there is no contradiction in the Bible’s teaching on justification. The Bible is the Holy-Spirit inspired, God-breathed infallible word of the living God and, as such, has no contradictions. The Bible is the Christian’s final source for all matters of faith and practice and is trustworthy. Therefore, we know from the outset that Paul and James do not contradict one another. But, having said that, we must nevertheless carefully consider this passage in James 2 and see why there is no contradiction with the rest of the New Testament.

Second, a reading of James 2:14-26 will reveal that James is addressing the situation where the person in view already has faith. James’ teaching in this passage requires that the person under consideration already professes faith in Jesus. In fact, the entire passage is predicated on a claim of saving faith. So, in this passage James is not addressing the question, “How does a person receive salvation?” Rather, this passage addresses the question, “Is the faith that you claim you have received a saving faith that manifests itself in works keeping with salvation?” The answers to these two questions cannot contradict each other because they answer two entirely different questions.

JAMES AND PAUL ON JUSTIFICATION

Paul’s teaching on justification is almost entirely focused on answering the first question above, “How is a sinner justified unto salvation?” Paul consistently and repeatedly answers that question with, “The sinner is justified by faith (alone).”

By contrast, in James 2:14-26, James is dealing with the second question; namely, “How is the faith that you claim justified (proven)?” James answers that question with, “The claim of faith must be justified (proven) by your works.” So, it may be said that James is, indeed, teaching “justification by works.” James is teaching that saving faith is “justified” by a changed life full of “works,” full of evidence that you are saved.

With that understanding as a background, the difficulties of James 2:14-26 disappear, and the passage flows easily.

INTERPRETING THE PASSAGE

  • 2:14-17 – James gives an example of faith without works. “What use is that (2:16)?” The expected answer is, “It’s not worth anything!” “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead.” A works-less faith is dead.
  • 2:18 – The difficulty of a claim of faith is that anyone can make such a claim. It may be a justified claim, or it may be an empty claim, but there is no way to tell based on the claim alone. Ah, but show me your godly works, and show me your obedience, and show me your fruit in keeping with repentance, and I will believe your claim of faith.
  • 2:19 – You can make a claim of faith and the demons can make a claim of faith, but if your claim is not justified by visible godly works, your claim will net you a demon’s reward.
  • 2:20 – James is now going to give illustrations of those who were justified by saving faith, because “faith without works is useless.”
  • 2:21-23 – Abraham proved the immensity of his faith by obediently being willing to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. The faith that had justified Abraham and that was reckoned to him as righteousness many years before (Genesis 15:6); that faith was justified and perfected when Abraham offered up Isaac on Moriah.
  • You see that Abraham was justified by faith, but Abraham’s faith was justified by his works.
  • 2:24 – “You see that a man is justified by works and not by (a claim of) faith alone.”
  • 2:25 – Even Rahab the harlot proved that she had saving faith because she risked her life by sending the spies out by another way. In this way, her invisible saving faith was made visible. So, she was justified by her works.
  • 2:26 – James concludes his argument, “Faith without works is dead.”

APPLICATION

            The first application of this teaching is to assure the believer that James and Paul are not at odds and the Bible is not unclear about justification. James and Paul are addressing two different questions and are using “justification” in two different ways.

            The second application would be as a possible Bible study opportunity for one of your Catholic friends. If your friend was willing to listen to this teaching from James AND also listen to the teaching on justification by faith unto salvation, you may be able to use this as an evangelistic opportunity.

            SDG                 rmb                 4/26/2021 #393

It is faith alone that saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.

“Justification by faith” verses or passages:
Romans 3:22, 24, 28, 30; 4:2-6; 5:1; 9:30-33; Galatians 2:16, 21; 3:6, 8, 11; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 11:6, 7, 17-19; 1 Peter 1:5, 9