JUSTIFICATION

BY FAITH ALONE

Lesson 4 for October 22, 2011

 THE PATH TO JUSTIFICATION
Which is the right path?
Starting from Starting from
THE WORKS OF THE LAW THE FAITH OF CHRIST

Through Through
PERSONAL EFFORT FAITH (believing)

Adding the We receive

FAITH OF CHRIST JUSTIFICATION

Once we are justified, we

live a life of obeying God

In order to know which is the right way, we must define what “JUSTIFICATION”,
“WORKS OF THE LAW”, “FAITH OF CHRIST” and “FAITH” mean
 JUSTIFICATION
What does “justification” mean?
Justification is a legal term, used in courts of law. It deals with the
verdict a judge pronounces when a person is declared innocent of
the charges brought against him or her.
It is the opposite of
condemnation. Additionally,
because the words just and
righteous come from the same
Greek word, for a person “to be
justified” means that the person
also is counted as “righteous.”
Thus, justification involves more
than simply pardon or forgiveness;
it is the positive declaration that a
person is righteous.
 JUSTIFICATION
According to Paul, who need justification?
1. The “Gentile sinners” (Galatians, 2: 15 NIV; Ephesians, 2: 12)
2. Everyone who has ever sinned, both Jews or Gentiles. “For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans, 3: 23)
 THE WORKS OF THE LAW

According to the Jewish interpretation in Paul's time,

doing “the works of the law” involved to obey everything
that was ordered in the inspired writings rigidly.
That included all the Old Testament, although they put
special emphasis on the Pentateuch. They frequently
added their own traditions to that.
THE WORKS OF THE LAW
In 1st Century BC Essenian
(Jewish) writings that where
found in the Dead Sea, the
author writes that if these
“works of the law” are followed,
“you will be reckoned righteous”
before God.
Nevertheless, Paul's concept is
totally different: “by the works of
the law no flesh shall be
justified” (Galatians, 2: 16)
 THE FAITH OF CHRIST
What does the term “the faith of Christ” means?
How is it related to justification?
“Therefore we know that a man is not
justified from the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus the Messiah, and we
believe in him, in Jesus the Messiah, that
from his faith, that of the Messiah, we
might be justified, and not from the works
of the law” (Gálatas, 2: 16, traducción siria)
It may seem odd to us, but our faith doesn't justify us.
We are justified before God by the faith of Christ, by the faithfulness Jesus
showed in his life free of sin and in his undeserved death.
 FAITH
What is faith? How is it related to “the
faith of Jesus”?
Faith in an act of willingness by which we
make Jesus' expiatory sacrifice ours for
forgiveness of sins, and we accept being
justified by the life free of sin that Jesus
lived in our place.

“The only way in which he can attain to

righteousness is through faith. By faith he can
bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord
places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s
account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in
place of man’s failure, and God receives,
pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul,
treats him as though he were righteous, and
loves him as He loves His Son”

E.G.W. (Selected Messages, vol. 1, cp. 57, pp. 367)

 X
THE PATH TO JUSTIFICATION
Starting from Starting from
THE WORKS OF THE LAW THE FAITH OF CHRIST

Through Through
PERSONAL EFFORT FAITH (believing)

Adding the We receive

FAITH OF CHRIST JUSTIFICATION

Once we are justified, we

live a life of obeying God

“knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith
in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be
justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the
works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Galatians, 2: 16)
“Grace is unmerited favor, and the believer is justified without any merit of
his own, without any claim to offer to God. He is justified through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who stands in the courts of heaven as the
sinner’s substitute and surety. But while he is justified because of the merit
of Christ, he is not free to work unrighteousness. Faith works by love and
purifies the soul. Faith buds and blossoms and bears a harvest of precious
fruit. Where faith is, good works appear. The sick are visited, the poor are
cared for, the fatherless and the widows are not neglected, the naked are
clothed, the destitute are fed. Christ went about doing good, and when men
are united with Him, they love the children of God, and meekness and truth
guide their footsteps. The expression of the countenance reveals their
experience, and men take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus
and learned of Him. Christ and the believer become one, and His beauty of
character is revealed in those who are vitally connected with the Source of
power and love. Christ is the great depositary of justifying righteousness
and sanctifying grace”

E.G.W. (Selected Messages, vol. 1, cp. 62, pp. 398)