Justification and the Trinity

8/14/2019 Justification and the Trinity

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Welcome to Learning and Living the God-centered life

Carmel Baptist Church

www.learningandlivingtheword.com

April 19, 2009


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DOCTRINE OF GOD

The Trinity

Why should we as Christians study the Trinity? Because God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through His

word as God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit andtherefore if we want to know Him we must know Him as triune!

Definition of the TrinityGods whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally,

simultaneously and fully to each of the three Persons of theGodhead, so that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit each is fullyGod while each in His own personal expression in role and activity,of one eternal and undivided essence.


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The two key views or aspects of the cross

View #1 of the crossThe view of the cross that focuses upon the significance of what

Jesus accomplished in relationship to how we would stand beforeGod. ( Atonement, Propitiation, Justification )

View #2 of the crossThis focuses upon the significance of what Christ accomplished inrelationship to the bondage that the powers of sin, death and the devilhave over us. The fact is we come into this world enslaved to sin andhere the cross presents to us the important work of Christs death. Itis His death on the cross which has redeemed and delivered us fromthese evil powers. ( Redemption, Ransom )


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The problems of humanity are notHeart DiseaseDiabetesAlzheimersThe greatest problem with all humanity is

SIN

Cancer


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Sin is a two-fold problem

Problem #1 (Problem with the heart)

There is an internal problem. Man himself is crooked, defiled and perverse.

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed theevil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, Mark 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit,

sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. Mark 7:23 All these evil things proceed from within and defilethe man.


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Sin is a two-fold problem

Problem #2 (Problem with the law)

There is an external aspect to the problem of sin. Not only do Ihave a bad heart but in fact I also have a bad record. I have acriminal record in the eyes of Gods law.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, hehas become guilty of all.


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If a person is not a Christian then we know these two things:

Sin is defiling and enslaving who they areAnd its also condemning them for what they have done.

On the one hand sin is reigning and ruling over them. It has achain around the neck and is bidding them to do its work.

But the very penalty of that sin is crying out for their death.

Just think if that person could change today and never sin again,they would still have to deal with all those past crimes that call for their death.


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But when a man starts to hear and fall under the conviction of the law,then the name of Jesus will mean something to him.

Matt. 1:21 and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Jesus takes care of the internal problem with regeneration and He

takes care of the external problem with justification .

The key question throughout all of history is simply this:

How can a wicked, evil and rebellious man ever be considered right before a holy and just God?


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IF SIN IS THE BAD NEWSAND EACH OF US IS GUILTY OF SIN BEFORE GODTHEN WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS


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JUSTIFICATION

Justification is an instantaneous act of God in which He thinks of our

sins as forgiven and Christs righteousness as belonging to us. In sodoing He declares us to be righteous in His sight.


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JUSTIFICATIONMartin Luther said this the doctrine upon which the church either stands or falls.

In the creed we confess that the church is holy and yet the church isholy in so far as it embraces and is covered with the righteousnessof Christ.

And that occurs when the church proclaims such a true gospel asthe NT presents and lives by it.

This means the holiness and righteousness of the church is fully

dependent upon the righteousness and holiness of Christ and thatalone.

It further means that each individual is unto themselves sinfuland we may only reckon ourselves as holy and righteous in our

standing before God solely on the basis of the justifying work andthe atonement that is ours in Christ Jesus.


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As we begin to study

The following will observations from Scripture regarding

justification

We all have heard the expression familiarity breeds contempt.

And unfortunately we have been around the church and Christian jargon for so long that these things become mundane and worthlessto us.

But these are truths from the Bible that need to be taught,understood, embraced and lived out in our Christian lives.


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OBSERVATION #1

Justification is based on the blood of Jesus.

Rom. 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

1John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus HisSon cleanses us from all sin.

In other words when God justifies a man, He is not looking at the

man. But rather God is looking at the blood of Christ.

When God justifies a man, He does not justify based on anything inthe man.


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A man goes to heaven on the basis of what someone else has done.God doesnt justify a man because he is or has become in anywaygodly.

But rather we learn from Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifiesthe ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Do you feel unworthy of your justification?Well if you do then you are exactly right because you in fact do notdeserve it, nor have you earned it.

Everything about a man cries out against justification but God justifies on the basis the blood of Christ.This of course includes our repentance and our faith.But these are the means of but not ground or cause for

justification


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QuestionWhen the judge condemns the guilty man for his crime, does the

judge make that man bad on the inside?

Answer - of course NOT!

The judge is simply bring a declaration about him from the outside

based on what he has done.

Therefore justification is our standing before God in terms of Hislaw.And having been justified we stand before Him as innocent basedon the blood of Christ.


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OBSERVATION #3

Justification has no grading by degrees.

When a person is justified, that person is 100% justified right thenand right there.

A person is either 100% righteous in the eyes of Gods law or a person is 100% condemned.

Illustration:Here is a man who has 7 counts of murder against him and he is

absolved of 6 of those crimes, he is still a condemned man.

James 2:10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point,

he has become guilty of all.


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If you have one thought, one word or one action that breaks the lawof God, then you are a condemned man.

If there is one sin that you need to pay for then you will be in

hell forever, because that one sin carries an infinite offense againsta God whose holiness is infinite.

Rom. 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for thosewho are in Christ Jesus.

If you are a Christian then you are 100% justified in the eyes of Gods law.

The righteousness that you have is the very righteousness of Christ.

Phil. 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousnessof my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith inChrist, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of

faith,


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This doesnt matter how you feel or even how you fail, this haseverything to do with Christ.

Illustration:The apostle Paul who knew God better that all of us in this class.And yet Pauls justification is no greater than those of us in here,who are in Christ.

Illustration:Son of Sam the killer who got converted while in prison.And though he did some terrible and evil things his justification isnot less than any of ours.


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Observation #4

Justification is more than a pardon.

In our country the governor of the president has the power to pardon a criminal.And sometimes a wicked man is pardoned.

When a guilty man is pardoned is the crime paid for?Was the threatened sentence of the law carried out?

Ezek. 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father aswell as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

If God were to overlook sin then He would not be just. But He is just so there is penalty for sin and that is death.

Pardon gets a man off the hook without justice being satisfied.


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OBSERVATION #5

Justification is both positive and negative

Rom. 4:6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man towhom God credits righteousness apart from works:Rom. 4:7 BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS

HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. Rom. 4:8 BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORDWILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

The negative side of justification is that God will not impute sin tothat man.

On the positive side He reckons or imputes righteousness not on

the basis of works.


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It is scriptural to compare sin with a debt. Forgive us our debtsas we forgive our debtors.Matthew 18 the parable of the man that owed so much money.We owed millions and millions and God says the debt has been

paid which brings us up to zero.

But there must be positive obedience in order that we can join

Him in heaven. And that is exactly what Christ does when weget the righteousness of Christ.Romans 5:1-2Rom. 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have

peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,Rom. 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction

by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hopeof the glory of God.


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Not only were we rebelling and fighting God but more importantlyGod was mad with us.

Illustration:The criminal is running and he has his gun. The police are after him with their guns and they surround him and the criminal throwsdown his gun.

Now what is wrong with this picture?The criminal throws his gun down and the police then throw their guns down.Why dont they do this?Because they will hold the gun on that man until justice has beensatisfied.


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When it says now that we have peace with God, it is saying thatGod has put down His gun against us.

God is not mad at me in any way, shape or form because He seesme as fully obedient to His law.

Hope is the joyful expectation of what I know is coming.

This is the positive side of justification.


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OBSERVATION #6

Justification is once for all.

Rom. 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

The word justified in the Greek is dikaioo, which in Romans 5:1 isin the aorist tense and the passive voice.

In other words a person doesnt get justified and then fall under condemnation and then get justified and fall under condemnation.

Then we read in Romans 5:2Rom. 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction byfaith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of theglory of God.

The verb stand is in the perfect/active/indicative


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Therefore justification puts us in a whole new standing with God.

Illustration #1

A man who is unkind to his wife. He goes to work and a coupleof hours later he thinks and says to himself that was sin. He thenasks God to forgive Him and then calls his wife and asks for her to forgive his rudeness.

Suppose you die between the unkind words to your wife and before you repent and ask forgiveness, will you now go to hell?

This man remains in a justified state while he has sin that remainsunconfessed.


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Illustration #2You get up and have an argument and know that you did wrong

because you did it on purpose.

And later that day you go through what you did before.If you had died between that period of time would you go to hell?Answer - No

Why are you miserable all day when you have a sin that is on purpose? Because you are a child of God.

This man is no longer a criminal that is before a judge but a childthat is in the arms of his Father. Because this man has passed fromthe realm of sin and darkness into the realm of life andrighteousness in Christ


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There may be times where God may still have to discipline you asHis child but this is very different from judicial punishment.Judicial punishment is suffering that is inflicted to satisfy justice.

Discipline is suffering inflicted because of love for the one that is being chastened.

If God has to take you to the wood shed then He holds your handand carries you on the way back.

If justification was not once for all then we would have to get justified again and again after every sin we commit.Hebrews Chapter 10:1-17

When I now come to confess my sins I do not come as a criminal before a judge but as a child before a loving Father .


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OBSERVATION #7Justification is received by faith

Faith is not the ground but rather the instrument or the channel bywhich a person receives the gift of righteousness.

When someone comes to you and says what must I do to besaved?If you tell them to make a decision or just ask Christ into your heartwhat you are doing is directing them inside.

You direct men to faith in Christ. The Bible says that we must call

on Him and whoever calls on Him will be saved.

Faith is the opposite of doing something. Justifying faith realizesthat all you can do is to receive the righteousness of Christ and

throw yourself on the mercy of the cross.


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We are not saved by faith in our faith. But rather we are saved byfaith in Christ.

Faith is like the eye that can not look at itself but must look at theobject.

Illustration:

John 3:14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even somust the Son of Man be lifted up;John 3:15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

Peter walking on water was fine when he looked at Christ. Butwhen his eyes left Christ and he looked at the wind and water hestarted to sink.


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In Summary:

Justification is based on the blood of Jesus.

Justify means to declare as righteous not to make righteous.

Justification has no grading by degrees.

Justification is more than a pardon.

Justification is both positive and negative

Justification is once for all.

Justification is received by faith


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ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THE STUDY OF JUSTIFICATION


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Therefore justification is a term used in the NT to answer thequestion so what? in regard to this atoning work that we have beenspeaking about in the cross of Christ.

And that is to say on the basis of innocent suffering as payment for our sins by the Lord Jesus Christ, God accepts that as an atonementfor our sin not as an excuse for our sin.

In other words our sins are paid for by Christ. And on the basis of that vicarious atonement, He the innocent paying for us the guilty,when that payment is made, almost like a judge in a court of law,God accepts that payment declaring us that are sinners to berighteous.

Sin has not been swept under the rug or just let by-gones be by-gones but rather Christ has made full payment for our sins.


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What God does in justification is after we have believed in Christ,which means we have trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sins, thenGod declares that we have no penalty for our sins or we are now right

in His sight.Scriptural Support

Romans 8:1 - Therefore there is now no condemnation for those whoare in Christ Jesus.

Romans 4:6-8 - just as David also speaks of the blessing on the manto whom God credits righteousness apart from works:Rom. 4:7 BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS

HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.Rom. 4:8 BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORDWILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.


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But the forgiveness for our sins is only part 1 of our justification. Atthis point it makes us morally neutral but does not give us favor withGod.

Illustration:A student goes to seminary and flunks all of his classes the first year and then through much grace an administrator takes all the Fs awayand says now there are no marks against you. At this point will thestudent get his degree?Answer - No, because that student still has to go to class and pass thecourses in order to earn the degree.Just having the Fs removed doesnt mean that you have credits to pass

and get a degree.

So by analogy when we have all our sins removed it just leaves us atneutral. There is no positive record of obedience.


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Illustration:You go for your drivers license test and on the first day out you runa stop sign and have a wreck. And the DMV instructor says OK you were a little nervous I am going to tear this one up but you needto come back next week and do it again and pass.Just having you mistakes wiped out does not give you a driverslicense.

Once we get our sins forgiven we still have not passed the test so tospeak.

In order for God to declare us righteous in His sight He must giveus the merits of perfect righteousness and here is where He gives usa gift of the record that Jesus earned.


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Scriptural Support

Isaiah 61:10

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness...

This represents something positive that He has put over us.

Romans 3:21-22 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been

manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;


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Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness(Genesis 15:6)

Romans 5:19 For as through the one mans disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will bemade righteous.

So how can God declare us to be righteous when in fact you are

not?


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The acknowledgement of that comes by way of God saying to usthat we are innocent and right in His sight. Justification is our innocence and righteousness in our standing before God on the

basis of the atoning work of Christ on the cross.This righteousness of Christ is given to us through a process calledIMPUTATION.

Some synonyms for the word IMPUTE would be to reckon, regardor to credit;

The word impute means to think of as belonging to. Therefore Godthinks of the righteousness of Christ as belonging to us.


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And that reckoning and regarding is not God playing a game withHim pretending that the sinner is really not that bad or looking theother way. He now thinks of us as righteous because He imputes,that is He gives to us the righteousness of Christ which has beenwon on the cross.

Romans 4:3

For what does the Scripture say? ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. It was reckoned or counted or thought of by God as belonging to Abraham.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,


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2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that wemight become the righteousness of God in Him .

Therefore it is in Christ that we become something that we werenot.We become the righteousness of God in Christ.

Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my ownderived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, therighteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith ,


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So the record of Christ which was lived in total obedience to God isthought of as ours.And that is why it is so important to read the gospels so that youcan see this life and understand how this righteousness works.

God can declare us to be righteous based on the fact that Heimputes the righteousness of Christ to us.

This means that IMPUTATION is essential to the heart of thegospel.

So why does Martin Luther say that the doctrine of justification byfaith is the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls?


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Because it is upon this that all sinful human beings stand or fall.

In the creed we confess that the church is holy and yet the churchis holy in so far as it embraces and is covered with therighteousness of Christ.

And that occurs when the church proclaims the true gospel, the

Christ crucified gospel, as the New Testament presents and lives by it.

This means the holiness and righteousness of the church is fullydependent upon the righteousness and holiness of Christ and thatalone.


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It further means that each individual is unto themselves sinful andwe may only reckon ourselves as holy and righteous in our standing before God solely on the basis of the justifying work andthe atonement that is ours in Christ Jesus.

In summary regarding justificationLegal Standing

Once for all timeEntirely God's work Perfect in this lifeSame in all ChristiansExternal to us

Justification and the Trinity

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