Justification: When does it happen?

Since sin entered into the human race, man has desired to contact and have a relationship with God. Unfortunately, seeing that man is unrighteous; “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” the holiness of God cannot have relationship with the sin of man; “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Rom 3:10, Rom 8:7, KJV) Therefore, if man wants to have relationship with his Creator there must be a change in his state. In other words, man must be justified or declared righteous.
While all agree that justification takes place in the life of a believer, there is great debate in Christendom over when this act takes place. To correctly deduce the moment when one is declared righteous there are four questions that must be answered. Firstly, what is justification? Secondly, how was justification made available? Thirdly, how does one receive justification? Fourthly, what is faith, specifically in its role in the process of justification? When these questions are answered we will be able to draw some reasonable conclusions as to when justification takes place.

I. What is Justification?
Justification can be defined as, “a divine act whereby an infinitely Holy God judicially declares a believing sinner to be righteous and acceptable before Him.” (from New Unger's Bible Dictionary) Justification is not a process, it is a statement or declaration that one is now righteous. To further define justification let us look at its Greek definitions:
In Romans, the words “justify,” “justification,” “righteous,” and “righteousness” all come from the same Greek root. Respectively, the Greek words are dikaioō, dikaiōsis, dikaios, and dikaiosunē. According to Bauer’s lexicon, to be “justified” (dikaiousthai) means to “be acquitted, be pronounced and treated as righteous and thereby become dikaios, receive the divine gift of dikaiosunē, as a theological t.t. [technical term] be justified.” (Bernard, The Role of the Holy Spirit in Justification)
Douglass Moo simplifies all this, he states that justification is the act where God restores a person to a right relationship with him. (Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans) To sum, justification is the act where God pardons one’s transgressions and remits their sin.

II. How was justification made available?
Justification was made available through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, that being his death, burial and resurrection. Paul states: 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. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice…(Rom 3:23-25,NIV)

Seeing that humanity could not save itself, Jesus Christ made justification available through his redemptive work. Redemptive work defined as the death, burial and resurrection. Many attest that justification was made available at the cross, this view is incorrect, because the total work of Christ had to be completed before righteousness could be attainable. Paul says, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Cor 15:17, KJV) Seeing that we could not justify ourselves, Christ paid the price for humanity and made justification attainable for all.

III. How does one receive justification?
Seeing that Christ made justification available through his redemptive work, we are declared righteous through faith:
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. (Rom 3:27-30, KJV)
The question Paul is addressing in his letter to the Romans is a complex one. The Christian Jews at this time were coercing newly converted Gentiles to be circumcised so that they might be saved; and Paul’s argument to them is that we are not made righteous through the acts of our own sinful flesh but through faith in Jesus Christ.

IV. What is Faith
If faith is how one receives justification what is faith? Is it mere mental assent or is there something else we must look at. Faith:
In the Greek text is pistis, which Bauer et al. have defined as “faith, trust. 1. that which causes trust and faith-a. faithfulness, reliability…. 2. trust, confidence, faith in the active sense=‘believing’, in relig. usage.” Dunn explained that faith “is clearly intended to denote the basis of a relationship which is not dependent on specific ritual acts, but is direct and immediate, a relying on the risen Christ rather than a resting on the law.” (Bernard, The Role of the Holy Spirit in Justification)
Douglas Moo simplifies this definition:
We understand the words “obedience” and “faith” to be mutually interpreting: obedience always involves faith, and faith always involves obedience…. Paul called men and women to a faith that was always inseparable from obedience-for the Savior in whom we believe is nothing less than our Lord-and to an obedience that could never be divorced from faith-for we can obey Jesus as Lord only when we have given ourselves to him in faith. (Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans)
Therefore we can conclude that real biblical faith is more than mental assent but is rather active obedience in response to the redemptive work of Christ.

V. When is one Justified
Let us recap, justification was made available through the redemptive work of Christ, one receives that justification through faith or obedience in Jesus Christ. Now, at what point is one justified? One is justified, or counted righteous when they have correctly responded to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. This response includes repentance, baptism in Jesus name and the sealing or infilling of the Holy Ghost. Just as Christ had to die, buried and be raised from the dead for our justification we must identify with the same before we can receive justification:
We are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 4; 8:2).

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11). [emphasis mine]
If Christ had to die, be buried and rise again from the dead for our justification what makes us think that we become justified without complete identification? The Bible continually states that our unrighteousness is what condemns us therefore, we can conclude that when one is declared righteous they are no longer condemned. Where in Pentecostal theology have we come up with the idea that the “Acts 2:38” experience is needed for salvation but only repentance for justification? There is no difference between justification and salvation. I Corinthians 6:11 says “But ye are washed (denotes baptism) but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” “In the Name of the Lord Jesus” denotes the act of repentance and baptism united together where we are united with the death and burial of Jesus Christ and our sins are forgiven and “by the Spirit of our God” denotes the infilling of the Holy Ghost where we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of our inheritance. We are justified through our identification with the redemptive work of Christ. In conclusion, let us remember that our justification is only found in Christ. In our flesh we are condemned to death but when we identify with the redemptive work of Christ we become just because He is just. We are declared righteous because he is righteous. And as long as we stay under blood we will have a home with him in eternity.

Mecca Cola and Jesus Pepsi: Religion as a Commodity

Mecca Cola and Jesus Pepsi
Religion as a Commodity

I was viewing a web clip of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” the other day when, to my surprise, the comedic newscaster who pokes fun at real world events, proclaimed to his viewers that a new cola company had arisen out of the Middle East. (PS: I DO NOT ENDORSE THIS SHOW - IT IS USUALLY PERVERTED) It’s called, catch this, “Mecca Cola.” Perhaps, in the words of Jon, the purpose of this new Islamic based company is to soon become the new competitor of the more popular American Jesus/Jewish Coke. This product is currently available in most Middle Eastern countries and will be arriving in Canada soon – no word on its entry to the United States.

As quirky a story this may be, it is a poignant picture of the commoditization of faith based culture. It seems as though the 21st century has made God a commodity, whose ever-so faithful servants stand in the market place hawking the latest bobble-head Jesus to keep on your dash or Muslim cola to quench the thirst of your fellow Arab brothers. It seems as though the shallow marketing, profit hungry concepts that rule most of our society have made its way to the last place we would expect, the doors of the church, or mosque for that matter.
If it seems like I’m a little passionate about this subject, I am. As a dedicated Christian, and youth pastor, I have grown tired of the “market place” faith that seems to dominate our western culture.

“What does this have to do with anything?” you may ask. Lots. Faith has been the bedrock of all societies in human history. It has been faith that has sustained us through our most difficult times. When the “Twin Towers” fell, for a brief moment, church attendance spiked and prayer vigils were held as people came together searching for answers to our deepest and darkest fears. It was the faith-based community that acted as a springboard for Martin Luther King’s message of equality and social justice for the Black community. Faith pervades all faucets of our society, influencing the core of our value and life convictions
What has alarmed me is that faith based communities and organizations, especially mainstream Christianity, have become so shallow. No longer is it clamoring against the throes of social injustice, inequality and outright sin, but rather faith is pimping itself in the market place. And in the process, is losing most of its core values that define it, that being a lifestyle of love, humility, godliness and self-control. Perhaps the starkest example of this would be the recent release of a new PC video game called “Left Behind.” “Left Behind” the game is loosely based on the hit novel series by Tim LaHaye and Larry Jenkins. The following list is a description of the game by its developers:

· Lead the Tribulation Force, including Rayford, Chloe, Buck and Bruce against Nicolae Carpathia – the AntiChrist
· This game does not include references to any religions
· There is NO killing in the name of God, and NO convert or die missions
· All content has been reviewed and approved by Tyndale House Publishers prior to publication
· Conduct warfare using PRAYER and WORSHIP – these are more powerful weapons than guns
· Recover ancient scriptures
· Witness spectacular Angelic and Demonic activity as a direct consequence of your choices
· Fight against negative spiritual influences against the Antichrist and his forces
· Command your forces through intense battles across a breathtaking, authentic depiction of New York City
· Control more than 30 unit types – from Prayer Warrior and Worship Leaders to Spies, Special Forces and Battle Tanks
· Enjoy a robust single player experience across dozens of New York City maps in Story Mode – fighting in China Town, SoHo , Uptown and more
· Play multiplayer games with the Tribulation Forces or the AntiChrist's Global Community Peacekeepers with up to eight players via LAN or Internet (http://www.lbgstore.com/left-behind-eternal-forces-the-pc-game-esrb-teen.html)

At first glance this game seems like the perfect solution to the wary parent. A game that features worship and prayer as weapon sounds great, right? I give this game a big, fat thumbs down. The rapture, next to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, will be the most significant event in human history. It must never be packaged into something as trivial as a video game. According the above description, gamers will take on the identity of either those left behind or the armies of the Antichrist. First of all, once the rapture has taken place there is no hope for those “left behind.” So why create a game that glorifies those who are acutally left behind? And secondly, who in their right mind wants to be the Antichrist?

The following example portrays a sad picture of our society. The bony, greedy claws of hegemony and its fixation on profits have finally pierced our spirituality. And with its lust for profit and power has degraded the purity of human spirituality

I think though, we should look beyond what the profit-faith industry means now and ask ourselves of the results and future implications the commodity god. The answer is both simple and bleak. We live in a world of trends, right now we live in a very pluralistic, irreligious society with convictions much like the Ancient Greeks (another subject for another day). However, as history would teach us, society changes much like I change my socks, almost everyday. And, in a few years or decades, society will once again reach for faith. But faith will have nothing of substance to offer it, nothing but a few cheap bracelets, apostle plush toys and yes, a carbonated beverage.

IMPORTANT DATES RAGE YOUTH - APRIL 30

IMPORTANT DATES FOR R.A.G.E. YOUTH - APRIL 30!

• MAY 15 GYM NITE
• JUNE 2 - ONTARIO PLACE TRIP. PLEASE HAVE YOUR MONEY READY BY MAY 22
• AUG 30 - SEPT 2 - YOUTH CAMP @ HYUCKS BAY - STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS

TRUTH - defense for absolutism

A MAJORITY OF THE INFORMATION COMES FROM JOSH MCDOWELL'S NEW EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT IF YOU NOTICE THAT I HAVE COPIED ANOTHER'S WORK AND PROPER CITATION WAS NOT GIVEN - IT WAS AN OVERSITE NOT INTENTIONAL. FORGIVE ME, I'M NEW AT THIS.

TRUTH – a defense for absolutism
INTRO:

1 Pet 3:15
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
(KJV)

Answer:
627 apologia (ap-ol-og-ee'-ah); from the same as 626; a plea ("apology"):
KJV-- answer (forself), clearing ofself, defence.

§ In this scripture we are commanded by Peter to defend what we believe.
o Above is the Strong’s definition for the word answer – which as you can see is not to merely reply but to vigorously contend for our faith.

Tonight I want to give you a few extra tools to defend what we believe. Tonight I want to defend the belief of absolute truth. Many do not understand why we would discuss this tonight – they would think that that this philosophical discussion/Bible study would have no spiritual benefit to Christian youth. However, let me show you with two reasons why this discussion is imperative to our faith.

1. Our entire faith is based on absolute facts.
1 Cor 15:12-18
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
(KJV)

Paul was writing in defense of a bodily resurrection – but in the process makes a very important point about the nature of our faith. We believe that Jesus died for our sins, and then rose again on the third day to conquer death and give those who follow him victory over sin and death. But let me ask you, what if Jesus didn’t die or even worse, died then did not rise again? I borrow the words of Paul, “you faith is also in vain.” The Christian belief is utterly different from other religions because it is based upon actual events that took place in time and space – not mystical experiences or philosophy. That is why we defend absolutism, if there is no absolute truth we have no faith.


2. The world denies absolutism
How many have ever heard the following statements?

“Well that may be true for you, but it’s not for me”

“Look don’t force your values on me. Just because they’re true for you doesn’t mean they’re true for me”

Jesus is the truth Reply: “That’s wonderful if that’s true for you, but it’s not true for me”

“There are so many religions how can you say yours is true”

With these statements in mind let’s begin to build our case.

Defending absolute truth:
There are two words we must define in our study.
§ Metaphysics: the philosophical study of being as being, that is, of reality as it is in itself
§ Epistemology: how we know
(The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, McDowell, 585)

What is truth? Truth is that which corresponds to its referent. Metaphysical truth is that which corresponds with reality – by correspond we mean in agreement with some thing. In other words, a belief is true when it corresponds to an objective fact. This objective fact stands alone, needs no defense it is true because it is true.

Example: What was the highest mountain in the world before Mt Everest was discovered?_______________________________________ *** See end of blog for answer***

A philosopher by the name of Peter Van Inwagen writes:
“Each of our beliefs and assertions represents the World as being a certain way, and the belief or assertion is true if the World is that way, and false if the World is not that way. It is, as one might put it, up to our beliefs and assertions to get the World right; if they don’t, they’re not doing their job, and that’s their fault and no fault of the world’s”
If the correspondence theory were not true all factual communication would break down.
It would be impossible to lie if our words didn’t need to correspond to a fact

ABSOLUTISM VS RELATIVISM
Now that we have built a case for absolutism – let’s contrast it with the more common worldview of relativism.

Relativism is the theory that there is no objective standard by which truth may be determined, so that truth varies with individuals and circumstances.

Adam’s views on relativism: it’s dumb – it’s dumb to think and live your life this way b/c if you think about relativism for more than 20 seconds you will realize that it is a self-destructive philosophy. Let me use Josh McDowell and other really smart people to explain my premise. You cannot believe in relativism unless you believe in absolute truth. If the theory of relativism is true it is either true absolutely (meaning relativism is false) or it would be relatively true. And if it is, then relatively true to whom – and is it absolutely true to that person or relatively true? In other words, relativism implodes b/c it is either self-defeating or unassertable.

Entertain for a moment if relativism was true – the world would be full of contradictions, opposite conditions would exist. Examine the following statements, “There is milk in the fridge” “There is no milk in the fridge” if both statements are true then there must be and not be milk in the fridge. That’s nuts!

IN CONCLUSION

I certainly hope I’ve given you something to both think about and use as God leads you to seeking hearts. After convincing a seeker that absolutism is true – it would be perfect timing to introduce them to the powerful, life-changing truth of the Word of God. Perhaps next time we will discuss the reliability of the Bible. Till then, God bless – Adam.

MT Everest!

Welcome!

Welcome to R.A.G.E. Youth Ministries! This is the online ministry site for Adam Shaw. Here you'll find my sermons, youth ideas, trips, photos, essays and important dates for East Hamilton youth. I hope you enjoy my page and are inspired, challenged and motivated!

God Bless,

Adam Shaw