What Is Justification By Faith ?

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Sam

THREE ASPECTS OF SALVATION

1. JUSTIFICATION: This is a judicial term bringing to our minds a courtroom scene. Man, guilty and condemned before God, is acquitted and declared righteous --but is justified.

2. REGENERATION AND ADOPTION: This suggests a household scene. The soul, dead in trespasses and sins, needs a new life, which new life is imparted by a Divine act of regeneration. The person then becomes a child of God and a member of His household.

3. SANCTIFICATION: This suggests a temple scene, for the word is connected primarily with the worship of God. Set right in relation to God's law and born again to a new life, the person is henceforth dedicated to the service of God. Bought with a price, he is no longer his own; he departs not from the temple (figuratively speaking) but serves God day and night (Luke 2:37). He is sanctified by God and self-given to God.

All three of these terms describe the same experience of salvation and all begin with the hearing of the Gospel. They do not necessarily speak of different experiences but rather give us different pictures of the same great experience of being saved. All three of these blessings of grace were procured by the atoning death of Christ and imparted to man by the Holy Ghost. ...

Through justification --man is declared righteous
Through regeneration --man becomes a child of God, a member of the body of Christ, a member of the Kingdom of God
Through sanctification --man becomes a saint.

All of these are necessary for full New Testament Salvation

page 116 of Dividing the Word of Truth, by Ralph V. Reynolds

Exactly right sir! Justification is not the totality of salvation or the salvation process. It is the beginning. Without which man could not approach God and receive forgiveness

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by J-Roc

It means we are in right standing before God...the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us so that HIS righteousness (not our own) is counted toward us...

...read the book of Romans and you'll learn all about this there.

Amen and amen! It's a contrast of standing before God on our own merits versus Christ's merits AS US.

Originally Posted by Sam

THREE ASPECTS OF SALVATION

1. JUSTIFICATION: This is a judicial term bringing to our minds a courtroom scene. Man, guilty and condemned before God, is acquitted and declared righteous --but is justified.

I disagree that man is acquitted. God actually has declared us guilty (as Paul tells us in Romans) but our punishment was borne for us by Christ.

2. REGENERATION AND ADOPTION: This suggests a household scene. The soul, dead in trespasses and sins, needs a new life, which new life is imparted by a Divine act of regeneration. The person then becomes a child of God and a member of His household.

The point at which regeneration takes place may be subject to debate. I prefer to put justification and adoption together.

3. SANCTIFICATION: This suggests a temple scene, for the word is connected primarily with the worship of God. Set right in relation to God's law and born again to a new life, the person is henceforth dedicated to the service of God. Bought with a price, he is no longer his own; he departs not from the temple (figuratively speaking) but serves God day and night (Luke 2:37). He is sanctified by God and self-given to God.

There are two aspects of sanctification: 1) being set apart by God for His use (a one-time act that occurs at the point of justification) and; 2) the life-long process of conforming to the image of Christ, part of which includes the serving God that you described.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Chan

I disagree that man is acquitted. God actually has declared us guilty (as Paul tells us in Romans) but our punishment was borne for us by Christ.

That is true. He died AS US.

It reminds me of the saying, "I should have been crucified." That is incorrect. I WAS crucified with Him. That is how God saw it.

Originally Posted by Scott Hutchinson

What is meant by The Terms Being Justified By Faith ?
When does Justfication occur ,and how ?
Where is this found in the Bible ?

I think that this question has been extremely poorly phrased, as almost every claimed Christian group, sect and cult claims to teach Justification by faith. The real issue isn’t are we justified by God’s grace through faith, but are we justified by God’s grace through faith ALONE. Allow me to illustrate, Roman Catholics (RC’s) will claim that we’re justified by grace through faith, but the RC Church denies that this is by grace alone! Instead, they claim that the grace of God (i.e. salvation) is mediated to us through the seven sacraments of the RC Church, of which water baptism is one of these channels of grace. This position is known as baptismal regeneration, and it doesn’t claim that water baptism saves us, as if just being baptised in water without faith and repentance can regenerate a person. It teaches that the grace of God is mediated through the rite or sacrament of water baptism. It goes without saying that the most extreme (obey Acts 2:38 or go to hell) Oneness Pentecostal position is also baptismal regenerationist, as a person cannot be saved by grace through faith ALONE, but water baptism is also needed for justification to take place, therefore the grace of God in this most extreme position is mediated though an act (of water baptism) which we have to do ourselves. This adds works to God’s grace and thus equates to salvation or justification not by faith alone, but salvation by God’s grace and via our own works!


((PS, I'm no0w saving posts to my memory stick and writing them at home, I'm particularly pround of the posts which I've written on this thread)).

Originally Posted by keith4him

I agree, but faith is a process and salvation has many aspects, faith and repentance leading to justification, union with Christ, regeneration, sanctification and glorification follow.

Even the articles of faith of the UPCI says that we are justified at faith.

Almost every false sect and cult teaches the error that we’re justified by faith, most regarding faith as some kind of theological tick list, where just like a woman armed with a shopping list all you have to do to be saved is to do the various things (which you almost have to tick off a list). The UPCI is similar to many other sects in that by teaching justification by faith, they consequently reject the Protestant doctrine of justification by Grace through faith ALONE. Thus by doing this, whilst the UPCI seem to be similar to the Protestant position to the gullible and the untaught, in reality just like the Roman Catholics, the UPCI official position (taking just one illustration) is that Water Baptism is a channel through which the grace of God is given to us. This position is commonly known as Baptismal Regeneration, it doesn’t teach salvation by water baptism alone, but instead regards water baptism as a means by which the grace of God is then given to us as we obey and comply with God’s tick list of commands.

So the UPCI claims that justification is given to us effectively (even if they’ll never admit to it) as some kind of wage, which we earn as we obey a tick list of God’s various commands; repentance, faith, confession, water baptism, tongues, no TV, certain hair cuts, regular tithing and evangelism etc. The God of the UPCI loves us only dependent upon our works for him and not simply dependent upon his work on the cross for us. So the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the possession of various Spiritual gifts and even being born-again is insufficient for most (if not all) UPCI ministers. For most UPCI ministers will happily condemn tongues speaking, Assemblies of God, Baptist and Anglican people to hell as unsaved, even if they do claim to have been born again, to have been adopted as Children of God and are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues!

The reason for this hard hearted UPCI position which most if not all UPCI ministers believe is the false doctrine of salvation by faith! For we’re not saved by our own faith, but by God’s grace and that through faith (Ephesians 2:9), why even this true saving faith is given to us by God as a gift (2nd Timothy 2:25) and so we can’t possibly earn it or ever deserve it. Furthermore it’s also given to us whilst we’re still lost in our sins and still unregenerated (Romans 4:1-5). Notice especially Romans 4:5, where we read that God … ‘justifies the ungodly.’ That my friends is true salvation, which is by grace through faith ALONE, it’s this fact which above all else consequently disproves the heresy of salvation by faith. The RC, JW, LDS and UPCI religions all teach a variation on the same theme, namely that God justifies the Godly, as we obey his tick list of various salvation commands. Different cults focus upon different commands and so come up with different tick lists. But they all need to read Romans 4:5, and discover the true God of the Bible, who only ever justifies the ungodly whilst they are still undeserving and still in their sins, without any tick lists whatsoever!



((I think that this is the best post I've written for a long time, I've put a particular amouint of effort into this post and have been blessed with certain discoveries, particularly re Romans 4:5)).