two kinds of justification

by God's grace, i made a number of theological discoveries for myself in 2008 which have fundamentally reshaped the way i think about (and approach) God. at the same time, there is so much more to learn!

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

with the ongoing discourse between John Piper and N.T. Wright on the future of justification, as well as questions of justification naturally arising from new perspectives on faith and works, moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism and the new creation, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of justification.

to begin with, justification is the declaration that 'therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:1-2, NIV).

the question is not whether justification is by faith alone. clearly, justification is not by faith alone.

"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:24 (NIV)

the phrase 'justification by faith alone' is not only not biblical, it is actually unbiblical.

the question is whether justification by faith and justification by works refer to the same thing. is there only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, or are there two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works?

[we should not confuse justification by works (ie. justification by deeds) with justification by works of the law (ie. justification by works of the Old Covenant). just because we are not justified by works of the law does not mean that we are not justified by works. we are justified by works, just not by works of the law.]

two kinds of justification

it cannot be that there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works. if there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, then the thief on the cross would not have been fully justified - because he did not perform any works. however, the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works. therefore, there are two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works.

[the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works - not because justification is by faith alone, but because he could not perform any works regardless if he wanted to. if he could perform any works but did not, then he would not have been fully justified.]

more precisely, there are two kinds of justification - justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future (ie. from the point of justification by faith). it just so happened that for the thief on the cross, his future - once he was saved - was not to 'remain in the body' (Philippians 1:24, NIV) but to 'depart and be with Christ' (Philippians 1:23, NIV).

for the rest of us, justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future are inextricably linked. justification by faith in the present should result in justification by works in the future, and justification by works in the future should result from justification by faith in the present.

given that we have been justified by faith in the present, we should not sit back and relax from the point of justification by faith, but ensure that we will be justified by works in the future to the extent that we are building for the kingdom from the point of justification by faith.

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)

to be sure, God does not judge us on what we do not do with what we do not have. however, God does judge us on what we do with what we have.

[we should not confuse the bema judgment of believers (at the first resurrection) with the great white throne judgment of unbelievers (at the second resurrection). the former determines the extent to which believers are rewarded for what they do with what they have, while the latter determines the extent to which unbelievers are punished for what they do not do with what they have.]

past, present and future

i used to think that justification is a past verdict, believing that we have already been justified by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past. i now think that in one sense, justification is a present verdict; in another sense, justification is a future verdict.

justification is not a past verdict because while Christ's finished work on the cross in the past is both necessary and sufficient for justification by faith, we are not justified by faith until we receive Christ's finished work on the cross in the past by faith in the present. the righteousness of God in Christ is unconditionally given by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past but conditionally received by faith in the present.

justification is a present verdict in the sense that we are justified by faith in the present. from the point of justification by faith, we have 'crossed over from death to life' (John 5:24, NIV). this is why 'we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand' (Romans 5:1-2, NIV).

justification is a future verdict in the sense that we are justified by works in the future. from the point of justification by faith, we are judged by our works. this is why 'if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God' (Hebrews 10:26-27, NIV).

after reading and listening to N.T. Wright (and, i hasten to add, John Piper) for a while, i do grasp his position that 'justification [by faith] in the present is based on God's past accomplishment in Christ, and anticipates the future verdict [of justification by works]'. when he says that 'justification [by works] is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in', i think he simply means that we are not saved by our works (we are saved by faith), but our works declare that we have been saved by faith.

in other words, justification by works in the future is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in. on the other hand, justification by faith in the present is not about God's declaration that someone is in, but about how someone gets in to God's people.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works [of the law], so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

we are saved by faith, but once we have been saved by faith, our works determine the extent to which we receive our reward or merely escape through the flames in the end.

all in all, we inherit by faith the righteousness of God in Christ in the past, become a new creation in Christ in the present, and hope for 'our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies' (Romans 8:23, NIV) in Christ in the future!

The past we inherit
The present we create
But for those who hope, work and play
The best is yet to be!

- T.W. Hinch, Principal of ACS (1929-1947)