Lesson #33—Justification, Act of God’s Grace

Shorter Catechism Q & A #33

Q. What is justification?

A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

Memorize Q & A—Exposition

Christ, in standing before the judgment throne of God on our behalf, whereby the Divine Judge declares us as righteous in the righteousness of Christ alone; grace alone being the divine motive in pardoning our sins and accepting us into his household; and receive by faith alone.

What does it mean?

To be ‘justified’ means to be shown innocent, i.e., righteous. Read Rom. 3:24–26, 28: How do these verses characterize the method of being justified? In other words, what is the cause of justification?

What does it mean that God has imputed to us the righteousness of Christ?

[Rom. 4:6–7, 2 Cor. 5:19–21, Rom. 5:17–19, Gal. 2:16, Phil. 3:9]

What is our practice?

1. Praise God for his goodness; proclaiming his grace.
2. Pray: Come to God for the promise of the Comforter.
3. Enjoy his peace. Know the comfort and protection of our Savior.
4. Repent. Know the faithfulness of the Father to forgive our sins and to build us up in the righteousness of Christ.
5. Be Thankful. The Christian is “not to be justified by their duties or graces, but by the righteousness of Christ. Their duties are mixed with sin, but that righteousness which justifies them is a perfect righteousness” (Thomas Watson)

Quotes for thought and discussion:

“Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life. To have the poison of corrupt doctrine cast into this spring is damnable. It was a saying of Luther, ‘that after his death the doctrine of justification would be corrupted.’ In these latter times, the Arminians and Socinians have cast a dead fly into this box of precious ointment. … What is meant by justification? It is verbum forense, a word borrowed from law-courts, wherein a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is openly absolved. God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be righteous, and looks upon him as if he had not sinned.” (Thomas Watson)

“When seen in the light of the doctrines of substitution, satisfaction, sacrifice, the death of Christ appears as a great divine achievement, a glorious and unapproachable priestly action through which the suffering Messiah offered Himself in order that divine justice might be safeguarded and that sinful man might be reconciled to God. Logic drives us to the conclusion that the death of Christ on the cross was no ordinary death, but a mighty transaction through which God provided redemption for His people.” (Loraine Boettner)

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