One of the key themes that seems central to Paul’s argument in Galatians is that we are justified by faith.[1] In recent years, there’s been much discussion and dispute about what justification really means, especially since the emergence of the New Perspective. Whilst the reformed position since Luther and Calvin has been that justification is central to the Gospel and of first importance, those holding the New Perspective view have argued that whilst justification is important, it is not of first importance and that it is less to do with how we are saved and more to do with how we are identified as part of the church. I think that this aspect of the New Perspective is especially weak but in any case, it is unlikely to be of particular interest to your average church member so I’m not proposing to go into particular detail regarding the controversy here. Instead, it is perhaps more helpful to give an overview of what Scripture shows justification to be.
- Righteousness language
Scripture frequently talks about God as righteous and it is this word that provides the root both in Hebrew and Greek for our word justification. When we say that God is righteous, we are saying something about God’s character in terms of his holiness, his moral standing as the faithful arbiter of right and wrong. This is reflected in creation, which God creates and declares good. His righteousness is then seen relationally through his covenants[2]and even in God’s concern for his own glory.[3] This might sound ego-centric until we remember that if God alone is the most good thing, then he alone is worthy of highest praise and glory.
Now, in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s letters, we often read about “the righteousness of God.” Grammatically, “the righteousness of God” could indicate God’s righteousness (subjective), the quality that God possesses, or it could refer to “righteousness from God” that it is a moral quality that God gives to us. It could also indicate God’s actions, his faithfulness in saving us. It may well be best to presume that all of those meanings are wrapped up in the phrase. God is righteous and so acts rightly towards us in saving us so that he gives his righteousness to us.
Righteousness is also to do with our relationship with God. It’s about being right with him. That’s why justification language is also courtroom language. If you are justified in court, then you are declared to be innocent of crime, you are right in the eyes of the law. This means that a justification such as self-defence is far better than an excuse such as provocation. The justified person, therefore is considered innocent of sin and Paul in Romans 5:1-2 says that we have peace with God.
How do we receive this righteousness? How are we justified? Well, in 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul says about God and Jesus that:
“21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Justification can be seen then as a great and mysterious exchange. It is as though a prince marriers a debtor, he takes on all her debt and she receives all of his riches. In Romans 4:1-8, Paul talks about righteousness being credited to us through faith. The word “credited” is a business term and it has the idea of something being transferred into our account.
So, we sometimes talk about “imputed righteousness”, this is the idea that Jesus lived a completely obedient life and was obedient even to death. His obedience is seen in that he loved the father with his whole heart and loved his neighbours, even loving his enemies to the point of dying for them. Remember that those two commands, to love God and love neighbour sum up the law.
Romans 4 and 2 Corinthians 5 are saying that Christ’s righteousness is credited or applied to us. It’s like we get to share the same bank account or like him putting his clothes on to us. God looks at you and me and instead of seeing our sinful life, he sees Jesus and his righteousness. How is this possible? Well, it’s possible because as Paul says in Romans 6 and Galatians 2 that we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. Like a husband and wife, we become one with him.
There used to be a saying that “justified means ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’” The late Mike Ovey used to argue that it was better than that. “God treats me just as if I’d kept his law perfectly.”
[1] Galatians 2:16.
[2] so that NT Wright equates righteousness to covenant faithfulness. I think he is right to see the link but wrong to narrow it down to this alone.
[3] This is Piper’s take in John Piper, The Future of Justification: A response to NT Wright.
Faithroots 