Justified by faith?

We maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Romans 3:28

If somebody were to ask you “Are you justified by faith?” how would you reply? I hope – with a resounding Yes!

Justification by faith is a great phrase. Indeed, it is right at the heart of Paul’s understanding of the gospel of Christ (Jesus himself rarely spoke in those terms). It means, in essence, being declared “in the right” by God himself, in spite of being, like every other human being, a sinner.

But how can anyone be both “in the right” and at the same time a sinner? Isn’t that a contradiction? The answer Paul gives is: because Jesus has taken our sins upon himself, and in doing so has paid the price which was rightly ours to pay. Even though we still sin we can anticipate that verdict “justified” (that is, “declared righteous”) on the final day of judgment when we stand before God.

The doctrine of justification by faith is particularly associated with the name of Martin Luther, the monk who kick-started the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. He felt that the church of his time laid too much emphasis on “works” that we human beings must do in order to be right with God. And, putting it simply, he found that however hard he tried to measure up, he just couldn’t do it (and, make no mistake, he tried hard!). His discovery (or perhaps I should say, his re-discovery) of Paul’s understanding changed both his own life and the history of the world.

The result is that the church today consists, broadly speaking, of three basic streams: Roman Catholic, Protestant (I imagine most people reading this blog fall within this block), and what is usually called Eastern Orthodox. As Christians we endlessly debate differences of understanding and emphasis – sometimes, throughout history, to the extent of killing one another, imagining that in so doing we are fighting the battles of God himself. The more you think about that, the more shockingly sad it seems.

Christian history makes plain the tendency of God’s people to form themselves into what we might call “tribes”, even within that threefold division. These might be according to denominations – Baptist, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Salvation Army, you name it, plus the multitude of newer groupings that have emerged in more recent years.

Many of us try to play down such tribal loyalties, because we recognise that there is no such grouping which has it all right, no group which is doctrinally perfect. But it isn’t easy! In my own case, coming as I did from a non-church family, it “just so happened” (not really, of course) that God met with me as a teenager in the context of a Baptist church, and that’s where I’ve been ever since, aware of the imperfections of that tradition but grateful too for the many blessings received and therefore unashamed to have an affectionate and respectful sense of loyalty.

Within the grouping which is sometimes referred to as “evangelical”, various catch-phrases – one might even call them slogans (possibly even battle-cries!) – have emerged as a form of self-identity. In America, for example, there are those who routinely refer to themselves as “born again” Christians (but can there be any other sort!). Other buzz-words attached to “Christian” might be “practicing” or “church-going” or “sincere” or “Bible-believing” or “Spirit-filled” (but, again, shouldn’t such motto-words apply to any and every Christian!).

What has all this to do with justification by faith, where we started? I think it demonstrates how a concern for doctrinal correctness, certainly important in itself, can slowly harden into a means of tribal self-identification and even, putting it bluntly, into downright arrogance (as in, “We, of course, are the only true Christians in this neighbourhood, because we resolutely refuse to see works as being of any deep significance”).

But one moment… When Paul sat down to write to the Church in Rome, and especially Romans 3, he didn’t think of himself as writing what we now call “doctrine”: he just wanted to explain to the Roman Christians how he understood the good news of the gospel, and “justified by faith”, and all it implied, seemed an appropriate and accurate summary.

Dare I put it like this: correct doctrine is vital – yet it can also be a curse when in effect it becomes a new form of law. We need to use our imaginations to grasp what it must have been like for the first pagan unbelievers to hear the good news of Jesus. Trusting in him won’t have been presented as a condition to be met, almost a box to be ticked, even a threat to be warned about: “If you want to be put right with God, you’d better start believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the sooner the better!”

No. It will have been presented as exactly what the word “gospel” means – “good news”: “You want to know how to be put right with God? That’s wonderful! Just trust in what Jesus did on the cross!” And that isn’t a condition to be dutifully met but an invitation to be joyfully accepted.

Let’s always remember: we are justified by faith; we are not justified by believing in justification by faith. Can you spot the difference?

Father, thank you that you sent Jesus not in order to put another layer of law upon us, but to stretch out your hands of love to all sinful men and women with the good news of Jesus crucified for our sins and raised for out salvation. Save me, Lord, from ever misrepresenting such joyful, liberating  good news. Amen.