JUSTIFICATION by works, grace, or faith?

[tonychanyt]

Yes, all of the above are necessary. None can be missing.

By works, it means faithful works, Rom 2:

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Jame 2:

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

G1344-justify appears 39 times. It means to be rendered righteous by God or somebody else.

By grace, Rom 3:

24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

By faith

29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Now, on the other hand, Isa 64:

5b Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

No, external righteousness won't save anyone.

6a We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Paul explained in Rom 3:

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

External works alone are insufficient because no one is sinless in all his works. Internally, we need faith in our hearts to make our works meaningful. We also need grace to forgive us when we fail in our works.

Paul insisted in Galatians 2:

16 Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

I.e., No one is justified by the external works of the law without internal support of faith.

21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Ezekiel 18:

9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 14:

14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.

Noah, Daniel, and Job were righteous because they acted in faith by the grace of God.

Grace in Christ is necessary, Galatians 2:

21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Rom 3:

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Don't boast about your human works. Without faith in God, no one is justified.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Since we don't need the works of the law, we may as well throw them away. No, not at all. Do not overgeneralize and misunderstand Paul's point. Faithful works are necessary; don't boast about them. Without grace, your works are useless in justifying you for eternal life.

Eph 2:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Good works are defined by God, not by humans.

Rom 4:

2 If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Even Abraham was not justified without faith. The word "justified" has different nuances. We need all three—works (i.e., faithful works), grace, and faith—to be justified (in all the different nuances).

Men's doctrines complicated things. Jesus told a nice, simple parable in Luke 18:

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

Depending on yourselves instead of on God would not save you.

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

These external works would not save you.

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

The tax collector depends on God's mercy.

14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Don't boast. Humble yourself before God. His mercy and grace will justify you.

Does righteousness come from the law or not?

No, the law condemns. However, by grace, righteousness does come from the faithful works of the law.

Are we saved by faith alone?

Right, and that would include faithful works by grace. Legalistic works do not save us.

See also

• Logical analysis of John 3:36
• faith and faithful works are logically equivalent.

 

[Danthemailman]

Romans 3:24 - being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 4:2 - For if Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous) by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it (faith, not works) was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.

Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

When Paul uses the term "justified" he is describing the legal (judicial) act of God by which he accounts the believer as righteous.

James, however, is using the term "justified" to describe those who would show the genuineness of their faith by the works they do.

In James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is shown to be righteous. James is discussing the evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

 

[TahitiRun]

G1344-justify appears 39 times. It means to be rendered righteous by God or somebody else.

Justification is perhaps best expressed as the act of being "declared righteous" by God. It's a judicial pronouncement/declaration by God (the Judge) upon sinners, by Him who calls the things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17). It's a verdict pronounced upon the sinner by grace.

The verdict that God proclaims in the declaration is a forensic finding that acquits the sinner of any guilt, and does so on account of Christ's death, burial and resurrection, often stated as "the gospel", on our behalf.

A good example of this declaration is the glorious passage Paul gives, here:

Rom 4:5 τῷ δὲ μὴ ἐργαζομένῳ, πιστεύοντι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἀσεβῆ λογίζεται ἡ πίστις αὐτοῦ εἰς δικαιοσύνην,

Translated, here:

Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.

The wonderful thing about our justification is that it's pronouncement by God was objective. It requires nothing of us. The verdict is objective. And this objective declaration is made to us the sinner, herein called "ungodly", while being the enemies of God and Christ (Rom 5:10). Think that through for a moment. While being in a state of enmity, He justifies us.

Of special interest is the word "ungodly" in the text. This term Paul uses is from the Greek word "ἀσεβῆ". These are not "garden variety" sinners that we often think of. These are the "impious" ones. Some might think that the death of Christ does not reach them, or perhaps the arm of the Lord is too short, or perhaps being beyond redemption. If so, think again. This term was written specifically for you and I.

Here, the term "ἀσεβῆ" is about those who sin knowingly, who sin without restraint and without repentance. It's about those who sin egregiously and in full defiance against Christ and God, and take pleasure doing so. These are those who sin "full throated", if you will, denying Christ and do so with open hostility and animosity towards the Gospel. It's a term that expresses those who work their malice with hatred. Examples of this term are found in 1Ti 1:9, 2Pe 3:7, and Jud 1:4 and 15. These are the sinners "we love to hate".

These are the "workers of iniquity" that David spoke of in Psa 5:5 and that Jesus spoke of in Mat 7:23. These are the workers of the flesh.

However, these are also those that are/were crucified with Christ according to the flesh (Rom 6:6) and stand objectively justified with Christ, before God, according to the spirit (1Ti 3:16).

These are those justified by Him who justifies the ungodly. And for those who believe this proclamation: Their faith is subjectively imputed for righeousness.

 

[TahitiRun]

When Paul uses the term "justified" he is describing the legal (judicial) act of God by which he accounts the believer as righteous.

I would agree that Paul is using the term judicially, however, I would disagree with how it's often explained within some (not all) reformed branches of theology.

My own conceptual understanding of the term "justification" or to "justify" has two components at play that are often not properly divided but are rather conflated.

The first component is the act of God declaring, that is: the declaration itself. That component is objective. We do not participate except to be the party upon which the declaration is made. In other words, we behave passively therein.

For example: It's kind of like being dragged into court, if you will, and standing before the judge and having the judge pronounce his verdict upon you.

It doesn't really matter if you believe what the judge tells you or not. You might even be in a coma when the verdict is given. In this regard, your faith, your works, your presence of mind, or anything else you do is not a stipulation or requirement of the declaration.

You might even decide to insult and argue with the judge while the verdict is being read. Many do, particularly when being summoned to court or being awoke in the morning, handcuffed in chains and brought before the judge to hear the verdict "guilty".

In our case, however, the verdict according to the spirit is "innocent", however the mode of the declaration is the same, whether for spirit "innocent" or flesh "guilty".

The second component is subjective, wherein we do participate by believing the objective declaration made upon us. When believed, this component imputes righteousness to our account. However, the imputation of righteousness is not the declaration. And this is where conflating the two often makes it difficult to grasp what Paul is saying.

Perhaps another way to view justification is that the verdict, the objective act of the judge's declaration, takes place in the courtroom. In our case: Christ's courthouse, if you will. After the judgment's verdict is declared, you walk out of the courtroom, across the hallway to the Bailiff's accounting office and have the verdict recorded to your account.

The courthouse declaration is objective.
The recording of the declaration to your account is subjective.

Anyway, just my thoughts here.

 

[TahitiRun]

Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

This particular text can, and perhaps should, be understood using a less dogmatic position taken by most translations. Here is the Greek text of Rom 5:1:

Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν διὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

If you'll notice, the translation of Rom 5:1 divides the phrases/clauses through the use of commas (although none actually exist in the Greek text) and then through the arrangement of the Greek word order to assert the doctrinal position of "justification by faith" that most have come to accept.

Here is a more literal rendering, of Rom 5:1:

Having been declared righteous then, by faith we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Or perhaps better, leave out the comma between "then and by" completely and let the reader decide where it makes sense or if it's even needed. I say leave it out.

If you'll notice, the first word of the Greek text "Δικαιωθέντες" immediately points/links back to the preceding verse (Rom 4:25) wherein the declaration is demonstrated through the resurrection of Christ. This is, in my view, the correct understanding. Here is the literal rendering of Rom 4:25:

who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.

That is where our justification takes place, in the resurrection of Christ. The declaration is not grounded in our faith but rather in the resurrection of Jesus.

Next, the following clause of Rom 5:1 begins with "by faith we have peace.....". When we believe the declaration, by faith we have peace toward God. And when taken together, the two passages compliment each other, shown here:

who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous. Having been declared righteous then, by faith we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

This is probably the more correct rendering and understanding of the text and what Paul tells us.

 

[Grip Docility]

Romans 3:24 - being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 4:2 - For if Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous) by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it (faith, not works) was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.

Romans 5:1 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

When Paul uses the term "justified" he is describing the legal (judicial) act of God by which he accounts the believer as righteous.

James, however, is using the term "justified" to describe those who would show the genuineness of their faith by the works they do.

In James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is shown to be righteous. James is discussing the evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:

1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2. to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

James gets used to throw works into the discussion... however... the works that James discusses are very simple... I.e. looking out for the less fortunate is what James considers "Undefiled Religion".

I've been in the thick of discussion with people that side with Luther on the matter of James... I.e. (James is an epistle of Straw).... and others that bring works of the flesh back into the matter of Salvation... (I like to call those folks fruit inspectors)... unfortunately.... if James is read in context... it's far more Salvation by Faith, than Paul.

James rapidly establishes a rhythm of Pure Religion... which is a further expansion of "Love your neighbor as yourself, The Good Samaritan... etc. etc...)... but in heated debates, with all sides stacked like I was discussing... James is relentless! As the Pure Religion momentum is defined, James roles into a parable of "Wealth"... Which Jesus perpetually uses as an example of Spiritual Pride. James, most likely the very brother of Jesus, knew exactly what he was doing as he wrote what we now call "James chapter 2".... which establishes that to show favor to people based on Status, Sin, etc... etc... in congregation and beyond is a Super Dee Duper bad Idea. He goes on further and feeds that momentum into the very concept that if a person fails at one point of the 613 Mitzvah aka Book of the Law, represented by the Tablets, they become guilty of it all, then goes one more step and ensures that the old (Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission) discussion is skabalon, by echoing the very heart of the matter, versus the idea of "Physical Conformity". He then accentuates his point of "Works of Faith" by highlighting a very Woman that is in the Bloodline of Jesus Christ. Rahab! James started talking about "Favoritism", then caps off the discussion with a Sex Worker who harbored spies of Israel as her saving work of faith.

Once that information is verified by folks... they tend to back off of James, press it harder in light of Salvation by Faith, or go back to Luther's initial take on the book.

That's my 2 cents

 

[Grip Docility]

Yes, all of the above are necessary. None can be missing.

By works, it means faithful works, Rom 2:


Jame 2:



G1344-justify appears 39 times. It means to be rendered righteous by God or somebody else.

By grace, Rom 3:


By faith


Now, on the other hand, Isa 64:


No, external righteousness won't save anyone.


Paul explained in Rom 3:


External works alone are insufficient because no one is sinless in all his works. Internally, we need faith in our hearts to make our works meaningful. We also need grace to forgive us when we fail in our works.

Paul insisted in Galatians 2:


I.e., No one is justified by the external works of the law without internal support of faith.


Ezekiel 18:


Ezekiel 14:


Noah, Daniel, and Job were righteous because they acted in faith by the grace of God.

Grace in Christ is necessary, Galatians 2:


Rom 3:


Don't boast about your human works. Without faith in God, no one is justified.


Since we don't need the works of the law, we may as well throw them away. No, not at all. Do not overgeneralize and misunderstand Paul's point. Faithful works are necessary; don't boast about them. Without grace, your works are useless in justifying you for eternal life.

Eph 2:


Good works are defined by God, not by humans.

Rom 4:


Even Abraham was not justified without faith. The word "justified" has different nuances. We need all three—works (i.e., faithful works), grace, and faith—to be justified (in all the different nuances).

Men's doctrines complicated things. Jesus told a nice, simple parable in Luke 18:


Depending on yourselves instead of on God would not save you.


These external works would not save you.


The tax collector depends on God's mercy.


Don't boast. Humble yourself before God. His mercy and grace will justify you.

Does righteousness come from the law or not?

No, the law condemns. However, by grace, righteousness does come from the faithful works of the law.

Are we saved by faith alone?

Right, and that would include faithful works by grace. Legalistic works do not save us.

See also

• Logical analysis of John 3:36
• faith and faithful works are logically equivalent.

Indeed. I had already hit heart on this one.

I will say this much, initial faith requires Repentance of our own Libertarian Volition. I used to run with a pretty rabid OSAS pack... and initially... OSAS seemed to be comforting,, but as my relationship with God grew, I realized that God is relational.

Now, would I leave my "Sugar Daddy"? NOPE! "Marriage Pun"

God is without a doubt, relational above all things. A relationship that a person doesn't have the option of leaving isn't really a relationship. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ most definitely imbues us with the Fruits and God indeed provides all of our Salvational needs. I don't really have any lack of freedom in Jesus. Ironically, I'm more free in my very being every year that passes, with Jesus. I'm not bound by any laws. However, I rejoice in the Faith, Hope and Love that grows as my relationship with Jesus grows, each day. I reckon, that I'm... constrained by Love!

All this to say, I wouldn't take my heart on your OP back. It is scripturally honest.