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.