“Justification, Pt. 3”

“Justification, Pt. 3” is a sermon preached from Selected Scriptures, by Michael Beatty, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin – a confessional Reformed Baptist church subscribing to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.

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Introduction and Roadmap

So in terms of a roadmap of where we’re going, we’re going to—Lord willing—complete our study of justification today. I wanted to do that in a week, but we ended up having some good conversations. So I wanted to take the three weeks, and we’re going to move to sanctification next week and see how that fits into the Christian life. We’ll also talk about the uses of the law—thinking about the Christian life: How do the Ten Commandments apply to me? Or how do they apply to my non-believing friends? Are we going to start stoning people again? Fun questions like that.

And I completely blipped in terms of having the Q&A on the fourth Sunday for Sunday school. We’re going to start doing that next month. So if you have questions, there’s still the box to drop them in. Or you can email me, text me, or just tell me as they come up. I want to keep doing that, so please do talk to me about it. And if you have pressing questions, you don’t need to wait for the Q&A. Of course, you can talk to me anyway—we can do both.

But let’s begin with a word of prayer.

Lord, we thank You for the justification You’ve given to us through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the way in which You’ve declared us righteous. We ask that by Your Holy Spirit this morning, You would help us so that we might all the more trust that these things are true—not just for others, but for each and every one of us who are found in Him this morning. We pray for our service and for the hour which is to come. We ask that You would be pleased to even add to Your kingdom today as Your word goes forth—to the salvation of the lost, for the correction of Your people, and for the comfort of those who are trodden down. We know You are able to do all these things, and so we ask that You would do so for the sake of Your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Review of Justification: Three Key Points

Just by way of reminder, with justification, we had three points. The first was salvific. I don’t think that’s controversial—most Christian groups, I can’t think of a single one that disagrees on that point.

The second was that it’s forensic. And we talked a little bit about why that could be controversial in different areas but why it’s so important—because it’s a judgment. We all know that on the last day, the books are opened. And there we want to know that we’re going to receive a good judgment. Basically, we’re saying that with justification, we already know what that judgment is. We can know that our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and that we can have full confidence of that.

The Real-Life Weight of Justification

This has really big implications. Having been a Christian for 30 years, when I did my first funeral—and of course, having gone to seminary and already been in pastoral ministry for a while—I should have already known this. But it really came home to me that this is what we’re doing here. We come every week, but when someone dies, it’s about life and death. We want to know that when we put someone in the ground, we’re sowing a perishable body and the imperishable will be raised. That’s what we’re hoping for.

So this has really profound implications that we can sometimes—at least I—get lost in the weeds about, even after thinking it through. But it really drives it home that this is what we’re talking about, and that the stakes are really, really high.

If you’ve ever been to a funeral—and maybe your family is like mine—afterward there’s a meal, and there’s always that conversation: “What do you think about beloved relative so-and-so? God’s going to let him into heaven, right?” Then they start listing off all the reasons they think he should, and someone else chimes in, “Yeah, but this, this, and this.” We don’t want that. Because ultimately, that’s no hope at all. That’s just we hope it works out.

What we want is to have a clear statement. That’s why the forensic nature of justification is so important. It’s a judgment—not based on anything that we’ve done, but on what Christ has done.

Galatians 2: Justification Is Not By Works

I want to begin looking at Galatians chapter 2 this morning because we’re going to transition from this forensic statement about what Christ has done to answering the question: Is justification definitive? Or to put it another way: Is there a final justification?

And we’re going to answer: No.

There’s a lot of discussion about that, and I even printed off the Catholic Catechism. I want to read some things from there to draw that out, because a lot of the questions being generated were from that. And I think, with Milwaukee being so Roman Catholic, it’s helpful for us to think through. There’s a pretty good chance that if you’re talking to your neighbor, they’re probably Catholic.

Let’s read Galatians 2:15–21. This is one of the key passages I’d point to if you’re talking to a Roman Catholic about justification.

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners…”

Paul is simply saying that although Jew and Gentile are now alike, even if someone wanted to argue that Jews have some sort of priority, he himself is the best of all possible Jewish believers. He had the best teachers, he was the most righteous, the most zealous—even going out of his country to persecute those who he thought were undermining the faith.

He’s going to continue on to make the case that even he is ineligible to be justified by works of the law—though we might say he had the best chance of anyone.

“…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ…”

Faith, Not Works, as the Basis for Justification

“…So we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

A couple of things to notice here. The justification we’re speaking of is that declaration that someone is righteous—that someone is now made alive in Christ. But the important item to note is this: How does someone lay hold of that? How does someone make that theirs?

That’s the big question: How do I make this mine? Not just true for other people, but personally mine. And the answer is faith in Christ.

So, if you want to have the benefits of Christ—His righteousness, the grace He grants you by His Spirit, fellowship with Him, assurance that He is truly yours and you are truly His—then when you close your eyes in death, and when you open them, you’ll see Christ. How do we know these things are true for us?

Because we have faith in Him.

Notice again: “We have believed in order to be justified by faith in Christ.” That belief, or faith, comes first—and after that comes justification. So faith is the reason that someone is justified.

And we know from Ephesians 2 that faith is given by grace, not by works, so that no one may boast.

So ultimately, if anyone wants to be right with Christ—to have confidence on the last day—the only way is to be someone who has faith. And even that faith is given.

Paul then concludes: “…not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

Faith Plus Works? No—Christ Alone

If we say, “Faith plus works,” or put it another way—God kind of gets you started, like learning to ride a bike… Your parents give you a push (or in my case, they put me on top of a hill and told me not to fall), but then it’s up to you to keep going—that’s not how the Christian life works.

If the reason you make it to the end is because you did the work, then why did you get to heaven? Because you kept it steady.

That’s not the way it is.

If we say God got us started and we kept it going, then the reason we’re saved is because of something we did.

And we’re saying no to that.

Paul transitions in verses 17–21 and essentially says: if you want to be justified by your works—if you want God to take into account the good things you’ve done—there’s a different outcome.

Galatians 2:17–21 — A Life Now Lived by Faith

“But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Two things here.

That final sentence is crucial:

“If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

If we’re going to say we want to be justified by our works, then we’re saying Christ isn’t enough. He didn’t need to die. We simply could have been good.

Instead, our life is now different. We are seeking to die to the law in order to live to Christ.

Now—as an aside—we’re going to see in the weeks ahead how the law does continue to function in the Christian life. But not for salvific purposes. Not to establish our righteousness.

It’s out of thanksgiving that we do it. Out of gratefulness and because we love Jesus.

So here in Galatians 2, we see that if we want to be right with Christ, it’s by faith. And as one who has faith, we are already justified. We’ve already received the outcome—it’s already done.

And in verse 20, Paul writes:

“The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

So even the life we now live is by faith. All of this is important—and I hope I’m not over-laboring the point. But we’ll see why in a moment.

The Catholic View: Final Justification by Works?

The reason this matters so much is because many—including the Roman Catholic Catechism—will say:

“Yes, yes, yes. But it’s necessary to do good works, because in our final justification on the last day, they’re going to play some role in getting us into heaven.”

Maybe you weren’t good enough. So you go to purgatory for, you know, half a million years, or however long it might be, depending on how good or bad you were. However you’d like to look at it.

But that sort of view undermines the gospel entirely. It’s saying: I want to be justified by the works of the law.

Either Christ is enough, or He isn’t.

And we’re saying: He is.

Personal Testimony: The Futility of Works-Righteousness

“Yeah, I don’t mean to disturb you, but when I was a Catholic, I always had a spreadsheet in my head. I had to make sure that I did more good works than bad works or sins if I ever hoped to be saved, according to Catholic doctrine. And I knew the catechism—I read it—and that’s actually what forced me out. One of the major things that forced me out. Once I saw that it was all works-righteousness, it didn’t matter how much you sinned. As long as your works exceeded your sins, you were in. You were in.”

Yes. Thank you, Greg.

And I think that really gets to the heart of it. That’s the troubling thing with it.

Can a Catholic Be a Christian?

As an aside—because some people will sometimes ask me: Do you think someone can be a Christian and attend a Catholic church?

I think there’s lots of… God is very gracious. It’s possible for people simply not to know what they’re hearing or to not fully understand the doctrine.

Even Luther said that the gospel is still proclaimed in Rome—Christ is preached as crucified in the Mass. So there’s a lot of error, yes, but I think it’s very difficult to imagine someone who has read and fully assented to those doctrines and yet remains truly trusting in Christ alone.

I’d say there are different levels.

For instance, I’d have a much harder time saying a priest—or especially the Pope—could potentially be saved, as opposed to, say, Grandma-so-and-so, who just loves Jesus and attends her Catholic church because that’s all she’s ever known. She loves her family and she loves Christ.

So please hear me—I’m not trying to say blanket statements. I’ve gotten in trouble before when people say, “You didn’t know my grandma.” No, I didn’t. And I’m not trying to condemn her. I’m just pointing out that there’s a difference between loving Jesus in ignorance and assenting to a system that denies the sufficiency of Christ.

We’ll talk about this more as we go along.

Justification Is Definitive

I want to now focus on the idea that justification is definitive.

And I’d like to look at two things.

First, just a comment about the forensic nature of justification.

Forensic Justification and Legal Finality

In our legal system (and again, not making political comments here—just talking about the court system, and I’m not a lawyer, so this is just my non-expert view), you can go before a lower court and be found “not guilty.” Then it gets appealed to a higher court, and they say “guilty.” Then you appeal again, and a higher court says “not guilty” again.

But did your actual guilt change based on those rulings? No. You either did something or you didn’t.

In other words, it’s possible in our system for a judge in a higher court to reverse a verdict—nothing about you changed; what changed was the judgment.

And I think that’s what the idea of final justification does, in some theological circles. If we say that our works play into it, then we’re saying that God gave an early, preliminary ruling. And if you’re good—if you keep your parole and do what you’re supposed to do—then you won’t go to prison. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to go to hell.

But that kind of system leads to a view of God as arbitrary.

If every sin deserves death, then why would He let anyone in?

Sure, we can say that Hitler is worse than Mother Teresa—in some ways, absolutely. In other ways, perhaps not. But ultimately, both deserve death.

Now, I’d much rather spend time with Mother Teresa. I think she did a lot more good and was a better citizen than Adolf ever was. But if we take the view that we can do something to persuade the Judge (God) to give us a favorable ruling—or that we can do something to persuade Him not to—then that makes God dependent on us, and that’s a problem.

That becomes an arbitrary justice system.

Justification Based on Christ Alone

Instead, we’re saying: when God declares someone righteous, it’s not arbitrary. It’s because He has actually made them righteous in Christ. He has imputed Christ’s righteousness to them.

That means we’re as righteous as we’ll ever be on the very day that we are justified.

If one day we sin three times, and the next day we sin five, we are still just as righteous before God. Now yes, we still need to deal with sin—and we’ll talk more about that. That’s what Paul is talking about in Galatians 2 when he says, “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.”

But the judgment we’re looking at is definitive. It is grounded in the person and work of Christ.

When God says someone is righteous, there’s no appeal. There’s no working it off in purgatory. There’s no “Grandma so-and-so” praying enough rosaries to let me in. There’s no special pilgrimage to Rome that earns me credit.

There’s nothing we can do to gain that standing.

It is only and entirely based on what Christ has done.

Why We Need a Definitive Justification

That’s why we need to see justification as definitive—because we’re going to move forward in our study into the Christian life. And if we want to have any hope of doing that rightly, we need a firm foundation.

Herman Bavinck once said—paraphrasing—that until someone has certainty of faith, they’re of no use to others. Because ultimately, you’re just going to be worried about yourself—Am I at peace with God?

He said you should settle that—because until then, how can you really love your neighbor, if all you’re thinking about is hellfire?

So, if we want to live the Christian life—love God, love our neighbor—we have to know: Is my name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

And is that based on what I did? Or what God did?

The answer must be: what God did.

Romans 5: Justification as a Present Reality

That brings us to Romans chapter 5. I’d like us to look at that now, and then I’ll read from the Catholic Catechism afterwards.

Romans 5: Justification as an Already-Accomplished Status

Let’s look at Romans 5, verses 1–9.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith…”

Pausing there.

Notice: “have been justified.” Past tense. It’s already happened. It’s a state, like being pregnant. You either are, or you aren’t. You’re either righteous or you’re not. You’re either justified or you’re not. There’s no in-between like, “I’m hoping to become justified.” No—you either are or you aren’t.

“…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

That peace comes through Christ—not through works, not through effort, not through sacraments or rituals. Through Christ.

“Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand…”

Again: access by faith, into grace—not by merit. We are standing in that grace, right now, because of Christ.

“…and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…”

Here we see the fruit of justification—what flows out of it. We rejoice even in our suffering because it has purpose.

“…and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Even that—the love of God in our hearts—is a gift of the Spirit. Given.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Not for the strong, not for the righteous, but for the ungodly.

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

There it is again: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Not after we cleaned ourselves up. Not after we earned enough points.

“Since therefore we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.”

Justification by His blood—and because of that, we are saved from God’s wrath.

Why?

Because we have been justified—definitively, already.

Why This Matters for the End of Life

That’s the whole thing: we have this definitive statement of what Christ has done and the hope we have in Him.

So when our lives come to an end—when we approach the casket, so to speak—we can have assurance. And it’s not because of our record. We don’t need to sit around the family dinner after a funeral and ask, “Did Michael do enough good?” Because the answer would be no. And that would be true for all of us.

Instead, we say, Christ is a great Savior, and He claims this person. So on the last day, we’ll see them as one of the sheep at His right hand, because of what Christ has done.

The Life of Christ, Not Ours, Saves

The very next verse says:

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”

We were enemies. And while we were, Christ died for us and reconciled us to God.

Now that we are reconciled, we are saved by His life.

Not my life.

Not your life.

Not Grandma-so-and-so’s life.

Christ’s life.

And that is our great hope. That is the definitive thing that has occurred.

Why We Obey: Love and Gratitude, Not Fear

That’s going to give us all sorts of motivation as we begin to think about the Christian life. Why should I do what God tells me to do?

Because He’s done so much for me.

Because I’m now a slave of Christ—He owns me, body and soul—and so I do what is pleasing to Him.

He’s given me far more than I could ever give back.

So, I live unto Christ.

Introducing the Catholic Catechism on Justification

We’re almost at the end of our time again, but I want to conclude by considering the Roman Catholic view. If you’re interested in this, let me know later, and I can email you more resources.

This is from the Catholic Catechism, taken directly from the official Vatican website. So, this is the real deal, current and official.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Q&A 1987:

“The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us—that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

So far, so good.

But now, pay attention:

“…through baptism.”

So how does someone become justified? Through baptism.

That’s why, if you go to a well-conducted Roman Catholic funeral (and we’ve probably all been to one), you’ll hear something like, “They were baptized, so we know they’re with Jesus.” Or, “They’ll be with Him eventually—they’re being perfected.”

Baptism is viewed as the mechanism of justification.

Catechism Q&A 1992: Baptism Conforms Us to Righteousness

“Justification is conferred in baptism, the sacrament of faith. It [justification] conforms us to the righteousness of God and makes us inwardly just by the power of His mercy…”

So again, justification is sacramentalized. It’s not a declaration—it’s viewed as a transformative or rehabilitative process. Over time, you become just.

Catechism Q&A 1993: Cooperation Between Grace and Works

“Justification establishes cooperation between God’s grace and man’s freedom.”

In other words, God gets the process rolling—but you have to cooperate. If you don’t cooperate, you don’t get the final result. And it’s not God’s fault—it’s yours.

Now, let me be clear: these are my words, not theirs. But the logical outcome of that system is this:

If anyone makes it to heaven, they can say, “I got here because I cooperated with God’s grace.”
And if someone ends up in hell, “They didn’t cooperate. They failed.”

That’s very different from justification being a gift, received by faith alone.

And this system—again, my opinion—destroys any possibility of certainty in this life.

More Protestant traditions than we’d like to admit have adopted similar patterns—looking to works, even if subtly. But the outcome is always the same: God becomes the parent who pushes you downhill and says, “Good luck.”

That’s not hope. That’s a recipe for despair.

True Christian Hope: Christ’s Righteousness, Not Ours

So instead, what we’re saying is this:
The Christian life is firmly fixed on what Christ has done—on His righteousness—because it is by His life that we are saved.

We are looking to Him.

Machen’s Last Words: “No Hope Without It”

I’ll conclude with this.

If you know who J. Gresham Machen is—he’s kind of like the godfather of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church—when he was dying in North Dakota, he sent a telegram to one of his friends. These were his final words.

He said:

“I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”

That’s what we’re talking about here.

That’s the definitive statement. Because we’re looking to Christ—not to ourselves.

Encouragement for the Christian Life

So in the days ahead, when we look at sanctification, or when we’re reminded of our sin—whether that’s daily struggles, or sudden moments of guilt—we don’t say:

“I need to get rid of that or I’m going to go to hell.”

Instead, we say:

“By God’s grace, I want to put this off. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I want to be done with this. Not because I’m afraid of damnation—but because I’m so thankful for what Christ has done for me.”

Because it’s by His life that I’m saved.

And so we look to Him.

And that’s how we can rest—even while struggling with sin, even while facing death, even when confronted with spiritual darkness.

Why We Spent Three Weeks on Justification

That’s what we’re going to look at in the days ahead.

And yes, we took three weeks to focus on justification. But that’s because if we start off wrong here—if we’re off even just a few degrees—the whole rest of our Christian walk will be increasingly off track.

That’s why it’s worth laying this foundation carefully and clearly.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your kindness toward us in Your Son—and that You’ve told us so clearly in Your Word that it is by His life that we are saved.

We ask, Lord, that You would cause us increasingly to regard the things we consider good works as nothing but filthy rags in themselves.

But we are thankful that You have told us—for the sake of Your Son—you are pleased to accept these good works done in faith as pleasing in Your sight, and that You use them for the good of Your people and the glory of Your name.

We marvel that You allow people like us to do things that bring You glory.

And so we ask that You would help us to do so—that we might glorify You, and that others might glorify You on the day of visitation.

In Christ’s name we pray,
Amen.