A Due Consideration

“There are two things that are suited to humble the soul of men, a due consideration of God, and then of ourselves. Of God, in his greatness, glory, holiness, power, majesty, and authority; of ourselves, in our mean, abject, and sinful condition.”

John Owen, Sin and Temptation, abridged and ed. By James M. Houston (Vancouver, B.C.: Regent, 1995), xvii. 

This due consideration of both God and ourselves is either terrifying or exhilarating. Apart from the gospel, this due consideration is terrifying. Terrifying that because of our sin and rebellion, we stand as objects of God's wrath. With the gospel, this due consideration is exhilarating. The all powerful, majestic, and holy God of the universe, with whom we were once enemies, has died on a cross to reconcile us. This due consideration is a marvelous reality to live in. 

Rescue From Danger

"Jesus sought me when a stranger

wandering from the fold of God,

He to rescue me from danger

interposed His precious blood"

These words are from the 2nd verse of the hymn, Come Thou Fount, and remind me of an illustration my professor used in class a few weeks back. We were talking about propitiation, in regards to Jesus being the propitiation for our sins. 

Imagine you are taking your 3 year old son for a walk. You take your eyes off of him for an instant, to find that he has left your side. You have no idea where he is. Frantically, you look in every direction. Then,  in the distance, you see him running further and further away. You begin pursuing after him, when you realize that he is headed straight for the expressway. No stoplights or crosswalks to the rescue, just the force of cars going 70 mph. As you sprint towards your son, he takes two steps onto the expressway. You can see a car that is about 50 yards away from your son and is on a direct collision course. Right before the car collides with your son, you jump in the street with just enough time to pick up your child and throw him off the road. But, the car was coming too fast. You weren't able to get out of the way. You absorb the full weight of the car coming at 70mph.

While this picture is far from perfect, I think it captures the idea that Jesus stepped in on our behalf in a propitiatory manner. When we wandered from God, Jesus sought us. When we stood under the weight of sin, Jesus willingly stepped in and took its full burden. At the cross, Jesus was crushed. It was gruesome; far worse than getting hit by a car at 70 mph. He absorbed the full force of God's wrath which we rightly deserved. He tasted the very worst sting of death, in order that we may live. 

From Son to Curse

Another excerpt from Donald MaCleod's, 'The Person of Christ'. 

"He felt forsaken and he was forsaken….In the moment of dereliction, there is no sense of his own sonship. Even in Gethsemane, Jesus had been able to say, ‘Abba!’ (meaning Father). But now the cry is, ‘Eloi, Eloi’ (God). He is aware only of the god-ness and power and holiness and otherness of God. In his self image, he is no longer Son, but Sin; no longer the beloved with whom God is well pleased, but the cursed one: vile, foul and repulsive….

…But now, in the hour of his greatest need, God is not there. When he most needs encouragement, there is no voice to cry, ‘This is my beloved Son.’ When he most needs reassurance, there is no-one to say, ‘I am well pleased.’ No grace was extended to him, no favor shown, no comfort administered, no concession made. God was present only as displeased, expressing that displeasure with overwhelming force in all the circumstances of Calvary. Every detail in a drama which walked a fine line between chaos and liturgy declared, ‘This is what God thinks of you and of the sin you bear!’ He was cursed, because he became the greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrateor, blasphemer, etc., there has ever been anywhere in the world."

A somber reminder of the reality of calvary. At the cross, Jesus Christ, the 2nd person of the trinity, very God of very God, became a curse, and experienced absolute abandonment, taking upon himself the shame and consequence of sin; the consequence that we deserved. This is love. The Son of God stood condemned in our place. The cross wasn't some abstract event were the Son merely suffered theoretically, or only appeared to take on our sins. It is a concrete reality. The Son was really forsaken. He actually became a curse. He actually suffered the physical, spiritual and emotional effects of being under God's wrath. This is amazing love!

Observation # 5: Justification is Based on the Substitutionary Work of Christ For Us

At the heart of justification is the substitutionary work of Christ. This involves Christ's exchanging places with us. Given that our sin demands God's just wrath, Christ substitutionary work on our behalf involves Christ standing in our place and bearing the wrath that we rightfully deserve. 

This is taught even in the Old Testament, as the prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming Messiah, 

"But he was wounded for our transgressions;

   he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his stripes we are healed.

 All we like sheep have gone astray;

   we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

   the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:5-6

This passage is clear that the Savior would take upon himself the iniquity of His people. This is exactly what Jesus did at the Cross. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Galatians, 

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." 

Galatians 3:13

Because we have failed to follow God's law, we deserve the curse of not following it. What makes the Gospel good news is that Christ has bore the weight of sin that we deserve. He suffered the debt we owed. The just for the unjust, once and for all. We are able to be justified because Jesus substituted himself in our place. 

We will see in the next observation that justification involves not only the substitutionary work of Christ in terms of him taking our sins, but it also involves the positive aspect of Christ imputing to His children His perfect righteousness. 

Observation # 2: Justification is a Declarative Act

Continuing the 10 observations on the doctrine of justification, we come to our second observation on this concept.

Observations #2: Justification is a declarative or judicial act of God.

It must be understood that justification is a declaration of ones right standing with God. Therefore, justification is not a process by which we become more or less justified. Rather, it occurs as an act. God declares us righteous. One moment we are under His wrath, the next moment, through faith in Jesus, we are forever seen as right. Throughout the entire Bible, the use of the word to justify (both in the hebrew OT and greek NT) has a legal tone to it. It is as we are before a judge, or were under condemnation for our acts. Justification is the announcement that a sinner who was under condemnation is now righteous. He is no longer under condemnation (Rom. 8:1). Justification is a one time, once for all. legal declaration that a guilty sinner is no longer under God's wrath, but is now declared as righteous.

Now, in the later observations we will discuss in more detail the grounds by which we are declared righteous, but for now, I will only say that we are declared as righteous before God not based on our own merit or goodness, but solely on the righteousness of Jesus. As we will see tomorrow, that is why justification must be by faith alone.

The Concept of Justification

Over the next 10 days, I will be posting 10 observations from the concept of justification. In large, each of these observations will be taken from Anthony Hoekema's chapter on justification from his book on soteriology, 'Saved By Grace'. While these concepts may be simple in nature, my hope is whether we are visiting these beautiful truths for the first time, or revisiting them, that God would give us a deeper understanding of Christ's justifying work on our behalf, and that as a result, we would love Jesus more, and see Him as exceedingly glorious. I pray God would renew a sense of awe, wonder and joy in us for the doctrine of justification.

In his book, Hoekema defines justification as "that gracious and judicial act of God whereby he declares believing sinners righteous on the basis of the righteousness of Christ which is credited to them, forgives all their sins, adopts them as his children, and gives them the right to eternal life".

Observation # 1:

The Doctrine of Justification presupposes a recognition of the reality of God's wrath. 


The need for justification stems from God's holiness. Inherently, the word holy means to be 'set apart' or 'separate from'. In the biblical sense, it means that God is perfect. He is sinless. He is 'other' from us. He stands alone in His holiness. The Bible is clear in its teaching that because is holy, he cannot tolerate sin. Darkness cannot stain the perfect light. The prophet Habakkuk puts it this way, "Your [God's] eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong" (Hab. 1:13).

In order for the gospel to be good news, we must understand what we are saved from. Our state of sin demands God's wrath. Because He is holy, because He is perfect in all His ways, God cannot simply overlook sin. Rather, Sin deserves God's wrath.

Some observations from verses describing God's wrath:

God's wrath abides on those who reject Jesus (John 3:36)
We are all by nature, objects of God's wrath (Ephesians 2:3)
God's wrath comes upon those who are disobedient (Ephesians 5:6)
Because God's wrath abides on us, we are alienated from God (Colossians 1:21)
Christ saves us from God's wrath (Romans 5:9)

So, the first observation of the doctrine of justification is that it presupposes the reality of God's wrath. Because God is holy, and we have sinned, we deserve His wrath. This fits in line with God's perfect justice. We would not say it is unjust for a judge to give a fair punishment to a criminal. How much more  perfect is God's justice than an earthly judge. Our rebellion against God, our turning away from him rightly and justly demands His wrath. Therefore, in order to have any understanding of justification, we must understand what we are justified from, and why we need to be justified.

Through the Abundance of God's Steadfast Love

"For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

   evil may not dwell with you.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

   you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies;

   the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

   will enter your house."

Psalm 5:4-7

Only through the steadfast love of God is man able to enter His house. Not by works or good conscious. If evil may not dwell with God, and He destroys those who lie, that leaves every man completely dependent upon an act of God's grace. Because we have all rebelled, we deserve to be outsiders. But this is where it gets interesting. Jesus Christ, the 2nd person of the trinity came to earth, became an outsider, took upon himself the just punishment for all of God's people, for their evil and rebellious hearts, and for every lie spoke. Now, those who trust in Christ may enter His house. Only through the abundance of God's steadfast love can we enter His house. The Apostle John captures how the Cross is the manifestation of this steadfast love. God has ultimately made a way for wrath deserving sinners to come to Him and dwell in His house. 

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

1 John 4:9-10

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted

A wonderful hymn named, "Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted" explaining what occurred at the Cross.

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, 'tis He, 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
By His Son, God now has spoken
Tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,
Was there ever grief like his?
Friends thro' fear his cause disowning,
Foes insulting his distress;
Many hands were raised to wound him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'tis the Word, the Lord's Anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on him their hope have built.

The Song of a Christian

"Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart, 

O daughter of Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away the judgements against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil"

Zephaniah 3:14-15

Is this your song? Is this your life? The question that the Bible beckons every man and woman, is, 'Have you experienced this forgiveness and restoration? Where your life was once ruled by sin, you were once separated from God and you rightly deserved His judgment, but now, through Christ you have been forgiven. Your life is now defined by knowing, worshipping and glorifying God. Your life is defined by God's presence. 

If your life isn't defined by the kind of praise Zephaniah describes in verse 14, (Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with ALL your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!) it is because you haven't experienced the truth of verse 15. We all deserve God's judgement. On an individual level we are guilty. On a corporate level we are guilty. In this passage, the prophet Zephaniah is  fortelling of a time when Israel will be restored. Though they deserve God's wrath, God has a plan to redeem sinners. 

The judgement we deserve is God's wrath. We deserve death. Here is the good news. Throughout the history of man, God had been pleading with man to turn back to him. Yet, in our stubbornness and wickedness, we always went our own way. Our efforts were never enough to make things right. And we continued in our way. But God wasn't done with us. He promised that He himself would make a way for us to know Him, and enjoy Him, and be redeemed from sin once and for all. The promise was fulfilled in His Son Jesus. The Father sent the Son to take upon himself the judgement we deserve. We all alike, are by nature sinful, judgement deserving creatures. Yet, God is so loving and gracious, He left His throne in heaven, and took the punishment upon himself that we rightly deserved. This was out of sheer grace. God can take away the judgement reserved for us, because Jesus, at the cross, absorbed the judgement. 

Now, to those who believe in Jesus, there is no more condemnation. This is reason to praise. This is reason to 'rejoice and exult with all your heart'. 

Privileges in Christ

From the Valley of Vision prayer book:

"How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus!

Without him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast;

in him I draw near and touch his kingly sceptre.

Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes;

in him I gaze upon my Father-God and friend.

Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame;

in him I open my mouth in petition and praise.

Without him all is wrath and consuming fire;

in him all is love, and the repose of my soul. 

Without him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish;

in him its gates are barred to me be his precious blood.

Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front;

in him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon.

Without him all within me is terror and dismay;

in him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace.

Without him all things external call for my condemnation;

in him they minister to my comfort

and are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.

Praise be to thee for grace,

and for the unspeakable gift of Jesus."

Continual Grace Upon Us

"However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction...You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into fire every moment."

- Edwards: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

....

Those are heavy words, but incredibly liberating. I often overlook sin in my life. Not just things I do or say, but my very diseased nature. I even go through lengths of thought to convince myself I'm doing pretty well based on my lifestyle. These words by Edwards put the deserved weight on my sin and the just consequences. God's wrath is real, and fair. His love is just as real, and gracious. They met at the cross. God gave us a means of salvation through his Son due to his grace. It is all of grace.