The Bible warns us of “doctrines of devils” 1 Timothy 4:1. We must take heed to the fact that “many deceivers are entered into the world” 2 John 7, because we are told that “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” 2 John 9-11. Why are we given such harsh language over doctrinal issues? Because they are very important to the fact of determining if a person will be saved or be lost.
Doctrines determine, as we have read above, who have Christ and who do not, this is why we are also told: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” 1 Timothy 4:6, and “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1 Timothy 4:16. The doctrine that we are dealing with today is one of the most important doctrines of salvation without which the church cannot survive as the true church of God. It is the doctrine of Justification. Martin Luther, the great protestant reformer called this doctrine “the article with and by which the church stands, without which it falls.” Luther. quoted in R.C. Sproul, Grace Unknown, p. 59. While the Bible presents this doctrine as the transformative center of the Plan of Salvation, and as that doctrine which defines how the change from the experience of sin to the experience of holiness takes place in the believer, most Evangelicals present the doctrine as occurring upon man with no change of his sinful character, but as a change in God’s condemnatory attitude to man because of his sins. Observe quotations about this blasphemous perversion of the doctrine. We are told that when God justifies a believer imputing righteousness to him the believer remains unchanged.
“Imputation does not change one’s nature; it only affects one’s legal standing … Christ’s obedience, His merit, His personal righteousness is imputed to (credited to, set to the account of) the believer. This in no way changes the believer’s nature (any more than the imputation of sin to Christ changed His nature); it only affects the believer’s legal standing before God.” David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, Romans An Interpretative Outline, p. 30. “… the righteousness for which we are justified is neither anything done by us nor wrought in us, but something done for us and imputed to us.” Ibid, p. 31. “That believers are not dead to the influence or power of sin in their lives is proved both by the Bible and Christian experience.” Ibid, 46. “No believer is able to understand why he sins; it is a mystery beyond his reach … the renewed man condemns himself, and justifies God, even while he confesses and mourns his inability to conform to the divine requisitions … Paul looked for deliverance from indwelling sin but not while in the flesh, and neither can we! … Although the believer is plagued with indwelling sin, his sin can never condemn him.” Ibid, pp. 60,61. Such is the nature of this false justification teaching and its results. Imagine being told this. “… the single most serious flaw in trying to understand justification is to suppose that it means “to make righteous” in the sense of actually producing righteousness in the one justified …” Philip De Courcy, Standing Room Only, p. 320. “In its theological sense, justification is a forensic, or a purely legal term. It is not a work done within the sinner, but a work done on behalf of the sinner. It describes what God declares about the believer, not what he does to change the believer … In fact, justification effects no actual change whatever in the sinner’s nature or character.” Ibid, p. 321. “In biblical terms, justification is a divine verdict of “not guilty-fully righteous.” it is the reversal of God’s attitude toward the sinner. Whereas He formerly condemned, He now vindicates … When Paul mentions justification, he means the act of God at salvation whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous while still in a sinning state.” Ibid, pp. 322,339. What blasphemy it is to assume that it is God’s attitude that changes and not the sinful state of the justified person. Let us look at two more examples of this perverted justification doctrine taught by Evangelicals. “Though we have been redeemed from the curse of sin, we have not been redeemed from the presence of sin.” Edward John Carnell, Christian Commitment, p. 258. “The church is a fellowship of forgiven sinners, not a fellowship of former sinners. Christ removes the judicial condemnation of pride and self-sufficiency, but he does not remove the pride and self sufficiency.” Ibid, p. 260. I know that by now you are deeply shocked at this salvation in sin doctrine, but all this confirms that Evangelicals do not really have Jesus Christ. Now let us see what the Scriptures teach about Justification. Justification is presented as putting the Righteousness of God into us, this must change the person. “Even the righteousness of God which is through faith of Jesus Christ into [the Greek is “eis”-into] all and upon all them that believe …” Romans 3:22. Justification is seen here as delivering us actually from sin. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should no longer serve sin. For he that is dead is justified [Greek text] from the sin … Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord … But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that type of doctrine which was delivered you. Being made free from sin ye became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:6,7,11,17,18. Justification is presented as a change from a sinful state to that of a righteous state, and is presented as the same as sanctification (separation from sin) and washing, certainly, this is a change of character. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolater, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Justification is presented as causing Christ to live in us by the faith of Christ, surely, again, this must change us placing Christ within instead of sin. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ … I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:16,20. Justification is the gift of the Spirit within the heart, surely, this must be a change of character, since sin cannot dwell in the presence of God. “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham … That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through the faith.” Galatians 3:7-9,14. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6. Justification gives us peace which is to have the spiritual mind. This is clearly a change of mind. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1. Again, we can clearly see the change from ungodliness to righteous living in this present world, being redeemed from all iniquity and purified. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and righteously and Godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:11-14. In this Scripture, Justification is called “washing”, “regeneration”, and “renewing”, words which all show it to be a change of character, or a purification of the heart. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured forth on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7.
We have therefore seen that the Bible clearly teaches a Justification that is subjective, that is transformative, that separates us from sin and gives us inner Righteousness. This is totally unlike Evangelicals teachings which must be given up if they are to be saved. Amen.
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