new perspectives on prisons

in new perspectives on paul, n.t. wright holds that 'justification' is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in. i agree.

'justification' and 'justification by faith' are two different things. 'justification' is the verdict which will be reaffirmed in the future (ie. God's declaration that someone is in), while 'justification by faith' is the anticipation in the present of the verdict which will be reaffirmed in the future ('faith' being the anticipation in the present).

'justification by faith' does not mean that we are 'justified' for eternity ('justification' means that we are 'justified' for eternity). 'justification by faith' means that we are 'justified' for eternity insofar as we live 'by faith' in the present. of course, genuine faith is that which perseveres until the present gives way to eternity.

the point is that 'justification by faith' is not about going to heaven in the future. 'justification by faith' is about being in heaven in the present - insofar as we live by faith.

in the same vein, life on earth does not prevent us from storing up treasures in heaven. in fact, life on earth is the very means by which we store up treasures in heaven - insofar as we live by faith.

insofar as we live by faith, we live according to the will of God. insofar as we do not live by faith, we live in sin, for 'everything that does not come from faith is sin' (Romans 14:23b, NIV). insofar as we live in sin (by continuing to sin in the present and/or by harbouring unconfessed sin from the past), we have no assurance that we are saved. indeed, we may very well not be saved.

faith - 'being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1, NIV) - is only as genuine as the last confession and repentance of sin.

new perspectives on prisons

a prisoner to sin is only 'justified' on the day of God's judgment. however, a prisoner to sin is 'justified by faith' from the moment he makes a conscious decision to live by faith, to live according to the will of God. to this end, the process of sanctification begins on earth (justification by faith-sanctification-justification).

a prisoner is only 'released' on the day of his release. however, a prisoner is 'released by faith' from the moment he makes a conscious decision to rehab, renew and restart. to this end, the process of rehabilitation begins in prison (release by faith-rehabilitation-release).

waiting for a prisoner to be released before beginning the process of rehabilitation is like waiting for a prisoner to sin to be judged before beginning the process of sanctification. there is no such thing.