The Glorious Doctrine of Justification

 

Justification is one of the major truths of Christian truths. Without a proper view of this doctrine, salvation is not possible. Justification can be interpreted as our standing with God, no longer being the objects of His wrath and curse but now being objects of His love and grace. Justification is an instantaneous action, it is not progressive. Not one believer is more justified than another. A truth that insepperable from justification is that of sanctification. From the moment we are justified we begin to be sanctified, that is set apart, made holy, or conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

One point I’d like to add is this: The people of God have always been justified the same way. There is no difference in justification between the Old Covenent and the New Covenent, it as always been by grace through faith. The Jews who were under the Law were justified by their faith in the coming Messiah and his future work and we who are no longer under the Law are saved by faith in the Messiah who has come and has completed his work. We, as New Covenant believers, are no better or more justified than the regenerate who were under the Old covenant.

Justification is a legal act. God is the judge and we are the guilty party deserving punishment. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, and we are sinners who are worthy of our just wage or pay, which is death. As much as a laborer is worthy is his wages (1 Tim. 5:18), sinners are worhty of death. If we were righteous, our due payment would be life, but so that no man may boast (Eph. 2:9) we are justified (or made to be righteous) by God’s grace and Christ’s blood. It was decreed in God’s sovereign plan that Adam would fall and bring sin into the world, corrupting human nature and necessitating a Saviour. God’s plan for humanity is the most magnificant and the most revealing of God’s nature and glory, it is the best plan. It is plan A. Though some may say that God is cruel and unjust for allowing man to fall and become sinful, it is in fact, the most just and most glorious thing imaginable.

A distortion of this doctrine is a distortion of Christianity as a whole. Justification by grace through faith alone is the only way to salvation, but not only is this act necessary, but also a belief and trust in this act. Without faith, man cannot be justified, without grace, a man cannot have faith. That is why it is necessary to believe and hold to this doctrine. If a person does not believe this doctrine, the rest of their beliefs will be twisted and unbiblical.

Christianity has seen many attacks on the doctrine of justification, but it has prevailed victorious over the opposition becuase of it is grounded in the Scriptures alone. We must know that we ill be met with more opposition, the fight is not over yet, and we cannot be discouraged or frustrated by this fact. By God’s grace we will perservere.

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Scotty

Arminians and the Tip of the Iceberg

Think of an iceberg. What we see on the surface of the water is only ten percent of the whole iceberg, but under the surface of the water is the other ninety percent, a magnificently large, beautiful and seemingly indestructable mass of ice. In some ways, our doctrine can be compared to our vision of the iceberg. The more doctrine we comrehend, the more of God we comprehend. How does this apply to the Doctrines of Grace? Well, the Doctrines of Grace are such revealing truths, they reveal to us God’s soverignty, majesty, power grace and so much more, and they reveal them to us in ways that others cannot know if they do not hold to these truths.

As for the title of this blog, I mean that Arminians and the doctrines they hold to, show only the “tip of the iceberg”, so to speak. They cannot see God in the ways that a Calvinist can. They cannot understand God’s character in the ways that the Reformed Christian can. Does this mean that we who hold to the Reformed Doctrines are more spiritual than those who do not? Of course not. But the knowledge and comprehension of these truths are signs of spiritual maturity. The Scriptures speak of Christians being as infants (1 Pet. 2:2) , who should be moving on from “milk”, but only if the Lord wills(Heb. 6:3).

So let us be thankful for the truths that we hold to and that God has revealed Himself to us in such magnificent ways.

In Christ,
Scotty

Apologetics or Christ? Feeling Convicted.

Over the past few months, my dad, a close friend and I, have been on a major Apologetics kick. We’ve listened to hours upon hours of Dr. Greg Bahnsen on worldviews,  apologetics and logic. We’ve read books by Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, Greg Bahnsen, Gary DeMar and Rousas J. Rushdoony. We’ve read articles by Van Til, Clark, Bahnsen, Vincent Cheung  and many more. So we have been devoted to the study of Presuppositional Apologetics for months now and we have gained vast amounts of knowledge, all the while, trying to keep it Christ-centered. Yet lately, I feel as if Christ has been lost from my study of apologetics (I can’t speak for my dad or friend) and now I use my new found knowldge against unbelivers (and sometimes belivers) just to prove a point. As I’ve been reading What Jesus Demands from the World, by John Piper, I feel that I should be concentrating more on strengthening my relationship with Jesus Christ and less on learning how to argue better. 

Please don’t here what I’mm not saying, that apologetics isn’t important, but for me, I believe that my time should be better spent in prayer and meditation. Being able to defend our faith is of extreme importance, but even Musilms have apologists, yet we as Christians have what all other faiths lack, a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe, and I do not want to take that for granted. So I’ll still study and learn but with God’s grace, I hope I can balance it with more prayer, reading and meditation. And with God’s grace, I hope others can also find that balance. 

In Christ,

Scotty