Introduction
In Exodus 34, when YHWH reveals His name to Moses, He stresses that while He is “merciful and gracious,” He also, “Will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34: 6-7, ESV). The mercy of God and the justice of God are both vital to God’s essence. If God loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Ps. 45:7), how, can God justify wicked humans? What does “justify” mean? What must happen for justification to occur? What do humans do to receive justification? What are the benefits of justification? How long will justification last? How long does it take to be justified? Using passages like Romans 3:21-26, among others, this paper will seek to answer these questions about the multi-faceted topic of Justification.
Definition
The Greek word …show more content…
Melanchthon writes, “To be justified does not mean than an ungodly man is made righteous, but that he is pronounced righteous in a forensic manner.” This definition, birthed in the Reformation, contrasted the Augustinian view which, according to McGrath, was a an “internal righteousness, something God works within us.” Calvin, who viewed justification as a benefit of one’s union with Christ, states that justification is “the acceptance with which God receives us into his favor as righteous men . . . it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.” His definition has two main components: a removal and an addition. The forgiveness (remission) of sin is the removal, while the crediting (imputation) of righteousness is the …show more content…
3:24). Since sinful humans “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8), Paul uses the phrase “justified by his grace” to show that justification is a unilateral act of divine intervention. In this passage, Paul makes clear “the origin of their justification” is “in the undeserved love of God,” not in law and works. Plainly, “God’s justifying verdict is totally unmerited.” Lloyd-Jones, reflecting on divine grace, asserts, “The gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of
In Exodus 34, when YHWH reveals His name to Moses, He stresses that while He is “merciful and gracious,” He also, “Will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34: 6-7, ESV). The mercy of God and the justice of God are both vital to God’s essence. If God loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Ps. 45:7), how, can God justify wicked humans? What does “justify” mean? What must happen for justification to occur? What do humans do to receive justification? What are the benefits of justification? How long will justification last? How long does it take to be justified? Using passages like Romans 3:21-26, among others, this paper will seek to answer these questions about the multi-faceted topic of Justification.
Definition
The Greek word …show more content…
Melanchthon writes, “To be justified does not mean than an ungodly man is made righteous, but that he is pronounced righteous in a forensic manner.” This definition, birthed in the Reformation, contrasted the Augustinian view which, according to McGrath, was a an “internal righteousness, something God works within us.” Calvin, who viewed justification as a benefit of one’s union with Christ, states that justification is “the acceptance with which God receives us into his favor as righteous men . . . it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.” His definition has two main components: a removal and an addition. The forgiveness (remission) of sin is the removal, while the crediting (imputation) of righteousness is the …show more content…
3:24). Since sinful humans “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8), Paul uses the phrase “justified by his grace” to show that justification is a unilateral act of divine intervention. In this passage, Paul makes clear “the origin of their justification” is “in the undeserved love of God,” not in law and works. Plainly, “God’s justifying verdict is totally unmerited.” Lloyd-Jones, reflecting on divine grace, asserts, “The gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of