Week 7: The Gift of Salvation--Part I

Justification: What Must I do to be Saved?

Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have asked the question, "what must I do to be saved?" And over the centuries, thousands of religions, philosophies, and belief systems have attempted to answer the question. This week, we begin a three-part look at what the Bible has to say about salvation. Though we will only be able to explore the surface of this complicated and at times controversial subject, our study will set a framework for those who wish to delve deeper.

Were someone to ask you the question, "What must I do to be saved?" perhaps the best reply would be to say "it depends," and then ask, "What do you want to be saved from?" When reading the Bible, it's important to remember that we are not reading the original text but rather a translation, or for some, a paraphrase. So when we see verses in the Bible that refer to "salvation" or being "saved," it's essential that we ask this same question: What are we to be saved from? It may surprise you to learn that roughly half of the references to salvation in the New Testament have nothing to do with heaven or hell. Instead they refer to being "saved" from physical death, disease, and other kinds of suffering caused by sin on this earth. Hence, one must be extremely careful when drawing conclusions from individual verses in the Bible apart from clearly understanding their context and meaning.

For the purposes of our study, we will examine salvation in its spiritual context. Our focus will be on how we can, are, and will be saved from sin and its consequences. To do this, we need to clearly define in each case what we mean by being "saved." We will talk about three aspects of salvation--justification, sanctification and glorification. These are theological terms that will help us better understand and appreciate God's work of salvation as a whole. This week, we focus on justification.

In the Bible, the word translated "justify" (Hebrew "tsadaq," Greek "dikaioo," Latin "iustitia") means to "pronounce, accept, and treat as just." It is often used in a legal sense, as in a courtroom setting where a defendant seeks to justify his or her actions before a judge. Though the individual may well have committed the crime they were accused of, at the moment they are declared "not guilty," they are justified. In this case, the person is freed from the punishment they deserve, and further entitled to the benefits and rights reserved for law-abiding citizens. (cf. Deuteronomy 25:1, Job 40:8, Proverbs 17:15, Isaiah 5:23, 43:9, 43:26, Romans 8:33-34.)

When we talk about justification in the context of salvation, what we are referring to is God's act of declaring sinners "not guilty." When God acquits an individual, He frees that person from the eternal penalty of sin and grants them the benefits and rights of having lived a righteous life. We are "put right" with God through justification. The apostle Paul writes about justification early on in his letter to the church at Rome:

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, 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. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Through justification, God lovingly offers us a way to be "saved" from the eternal consequences of sin. Jesus made it clear:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:16-18)

By choosing to believe in Jesus Christ, God saves us from the condemnation we rightfully deserve. Through faith, we receive the right to become a child of God (John 1:12).

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, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 )

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. (Romans 3:28)

Here Paul tells us that we are saved through faith and not works. So what is faith? If it is something we do, how is it any different from the "works" that Paul so emphatically states cannot save us? Some hold that Paul is saying here that our faith is a gift from God; in a sense then it is not our faith but God's that saves us. Whether this is true or not, the key here is that we are justified through faith, not because of it. Faith may naturally precede justification but it is not the cause of it--God alone is the cause. Suppose a rich man offered you a gift of one million dollars--no strings attached--all you had to do was go to his home and collect the handsome sum. To receive this gift would require faith on your part--faith that the man was both capable and willing to provide you this gift. You might well ignore the offer and do nothing, thinking the rich man was a crank, or a fool, or wasn't really rich as he claimed. Or you could take him at his word, go to his house and receive from him the gift he offered. In either case, your faith (or lack of it) would not change the nature of the gift, the validity of the offer, nor would it make you any more or less deserving of receiving it. Likewise, when God offers to freely save us from the eternal consequences of sin, either we believe His offer is legitimate and choose to receive it, or we don't. Our faith does not make us any more deserving of God's justification because there is nothing we could have done to deserve it in the first place (v.1). That is the point of Paul's words in Ephesians 2:8-9.

Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, he who believes in Me has [present tense] everlasting life" (John 6:47). When the Philippian jailer cried out to Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" they replied plainly, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31, NKJV). So we see that God justifies freely those who believe. If you "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (i.e., are trusting in Him alone for your justification), you have everlasting life. It is that simple.

Is believing in Jesus Christ all we need in order to be saved? No. Is it all we need to be justified? Yes! Therein lies a subtle but critical point. A failure to distinguish between the different aspects of salvation can be theologically disastrous, especially when one equates every biblical reference of "salvation" or being "saved" as referring to the same thing. When we talk about salvation, it is essential that we make clear whether we are referring to justification, as in the case of the Philippian jailer, or whether we are referring to something else. Next week, we will discuss sanctification, which refers to how God "saves" us from earthly consequences of sin.

For now, we rejoice in the amazing gift of eternal life that is ours in Christ Jesus. If you have yet to receive this gift, you can do so right now, knowing that Jesus will "by no means cast out" those who come to Him.

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:35-40, NKJV)

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