Of Justification, XI:1

Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely justifies: not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.

Persons familiar with the concept of the ordo salutis, or the "order of salvation," sometimes referred to as the "golden chain," will recognize that starting with the previous chapter the Confession has embarked upon an exploration of the spiritual events attending salvation. Here the link of justification is fastened to the initial link of the effectual call, at which we have just finished looking.

Justification in the NT is predominantly a legal concept. It amounts to a declaration of righteousness, a legal judgment. The sinner, brought before the bar of God's holy and perfect justice, expects condemnation but in Christ receives justification. The way in which this works out is the subject of the whole chapter.

Those whom God has called effectively--those whom the Spirit has regenerated--are justified freely by God. All those; there is no such thing as an unjustified regenerate. Just what this means is then set out in a series of (mostly negative) statements:

1. When he justifies a sinner, God does not infuse righteousness into him. He does not make the sinner in and of himself righteous. Instead, God calls the sinner righteous or imputes righteousness to him; the basis of this declaration/imputation we have yet to see. This concept is fired directly against the Roman Catholic idea of infusion. It is the reason Roman Catholic apologists decry the Protestant concept of justification as a "legal fiction"--they don't understand how God can justifiably declare an unrighteous person righteous if he is not in fact righteous himself.

2. God justifies a sinner by pardoning his sins and accepting him as righteous. Again, the basis for a holy and just God being able to do this is forthcoming. God does not, as the mistaken wag once remarked on his deathbed, simply forgive people because "that's his job."

3. The reason for God's pardoning and accepting the sinner has nothing to do with anything done in him (by God) or by him. Instead, the basis of justification is for the sake of Jesus Christ alone. Here the Confession hints at what is forthcoming.

4. Nor does God impute or credit faith/belief or any other "evangelical obedience" (repentance, confession, etc) as the basis of righteousness. It is not because I believe in Christ--my faith, which in any event does not arise from me even though I exercise it--but because I believe in Christ that I am justified. On such simple distinctions and emphases do much truth and error rise.

5. Finally we get to the meat of the matter. God, in justifying a sinner who exercises faith in Christ, imputes or counts toward that sinner the obedience and satisfaction--the real righteousness--of Christ himself. Those who rest upon Christ and his righteousness alone by faith are justified by God.

6. This faith, as already remarked, is not of the sinner himself, but is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

The recovery and proclamation of this stupendous concept by Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation. It is the heart of the gospel.

There is much more to be unpacked in the next few days. This subject is of critical importance. It has always come under attack whenever it has been boldly proclaimed. It is today under renewed attack. The biblical Christian must strive to make this concept part of his very warp and woof.

Tomorrow: The instrumental cause of justification.