Justification By Faith Alone
Romans 5:1
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
The great 16th Century German Reformer, Martin Luther, called it “the article upon which the church stands or falls.” The
article in question is that of justification by faith alone. To Luther, whether this doctrine was believed and preached or not
was the basis by which we judge if it is a true church! A church ceases to be a church when it ceases to declare that sinners
are reconciled to God by no other way than by faith.
I’m happy to report to you that West Broadway Baptist Church is a true church. On Dec. 6, 1908 the first members of this
church adopted a statement of faith that states this concerning justification in article 5:
We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification; that Justification includes
the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works
of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemers blood; by virtue of which faith his perfect
righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that it brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures
every other blessing needful for time and eternity.
We live in a day of religious tolerance, when truth, it is said, should be sacrificed on the altar of relationships. May our
voice sound with the noble martyrs of generations of the true church who say with the apostle Paul, “If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.’
The doctrine of justification by faith alone is essential to the gospel. The gospel ceases to be ‘good news’ if it ceases to
declare that Christ alone has accomplished our salvation. Theologians have always understood that when we say we are
justified by faith alone, we are really saying we are justified by the work of Christ alone. That’s why this doctrine is so
important. If we contribute anything more to our salvation than simply believing what Christ has already done, we cheapen
His work of grace and declare it insufficient. Now let’s look at Romans 5:1 and may we stand in awe of what Christ has
done for us.
We will break down this verse into three parts.
1. The Means of Justification ‘. . . having been justified by faith . . .’
2. The Result of Justification ‘. . . peace with God . . .’
and, 3. The Person of Justification ‘. . . through our Lord Jesus Christ:’
But let’s begin by defining justification:
“Justification is God’s act of pardoning sinners and accepting them as righteous for Christ’s sake.”
It is a forensic, or legal, term meaning that sinners are declared righteous. It is a positional term meaning that we are declared righteous positionally
before God, even though we are still practically speaking sinners.
1. The Means of Justification “. . . justified by faith . . .’
What did we do to merit such a divine pardon? Nothing! What is the means by which this pardon is received? By Faith
and Faith Alone! Not by our good deeds. Titus 3:5 states,
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, . . .’
Nor is it as may false religions teach, that it is faith plus human effort or faith plus sacrifices or faith plus confession to an
earthly priest. No the reformers were right when they said in the face of Rome in the words of John Calvin,
“Let it therefore remain settled . . . that we are justified in no other way than by faith, or, which comes to the same thing, that we are justified by
faith alone!”
Is this what Scripture teaches? Let’s look at Romans 3:20-24, 28.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.21 But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Yet some of us still try to take credit for our own salvation. “Yes, we’re saved by faith,” we say, “but I supplied the faith.”
No! God, the Holy Spirit knew you would say that so He inspired Paul to write Eph. 2:8-9:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that (faith) not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.”
Rom. 4:16 tells us that salvation “. . . is of faith, that it might be by grace . . .”
2. The Result of Justification “. . . peace with God . . .”
This is the ‘good news’ of the gospel. This is the glad tidings of great joy of which the angels spake in Luke 2 as they
announced the Saviour’s birth. With the coming of Christ into the world, comes peace. This is the good news that we have
to proclaim to a lost and dying world. We are to go into the world and ask, “Sinners, why do you still war against the
Almighty, He has delivered us from the thing that caused us to be separated from Him.”
2 Cor. 5:18-21
[18] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] To wit,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. [20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled
to God. [21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We can rejoice with David who said in Ps. 32,
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose
spirit there is no guile.”
In Rom. 4:6, Paul said David was describing the blessedness (or happiness) of the man “. . . unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works,” which is the same as “justification by faith alone”
3. The Person of Justification “. . . through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Now we move to the primary cause for our justification that results in our peace. It is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross,
which is alone sufficient to satisfy God, thereby giving us peace with Him.
There are three words that are important when we speak of the atonement:
Substitution, Propitiation, and Reconciliation.
Christ is our substitute. If we do not believe this, then we have no reason for believing that God will not punish us for our
sins. Our great confidence lies in the fact that God has already punished our sins on His cross. That’s why God can be both
just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus (Rom. 3:26).
Christ is our propitiation. It is only because He is our substitute that He is able to be our propitiation. This word won’t
mean much to you if you think of God as only being loving with no wrath toward sin. But if you believe in the God of
Prov. 6:16, who hates sin and if you believe in the God of Ps. 7:11, who is angry with the wicked every day, this word will
be of great comfort to you.
The word means to satisfy wrath. Every religion in the world believes in propitiation. They believe that must attempt to
satisfy the wrath of their god(s) by their works or sacrifices. But Bible Christianity is the only religion(?) that says God has
satisfied His own wrath. We were helplessly deserving of God’s wrath toward us for our sin, but God set forth Jesus to be
our propitiation or satisfaction.
Rom. 3:25-26
[25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God; [26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
Christ satisfied the wrath of God for us on the cross of Calvary. He is our substitute that He might be our propitiation that
He might be our reconciliation.
Rom. 5:10 tells us that “. . . when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, . . .”
In Col. 1:20-22, Paul says Christ made peace by reconciling us to Himself. Christ alone is our reason for peace with God
and our state of declared righteousness before Him! Again, to be justified by faith alone is to be justified by Christ alone!
Let me close by allowing me to share with you how this truth changed one man’s life and through him the course of history.
And maybe along the way you’ll discover why I chose to speak on this topic tonight.
Martin Luther Story
In the sixteenth century a young man studied to become a lawyer. As a part of his studies, he studied the law of God. As he
studied the demands of this holy God, he was filled with dread for he knew he could never meet those righteous demands.
In his fear of God’s wrath, he sought to appease God by giving up his desired profession and becoming a monk. As a monk
he subjected himself to many discomforts, trying to punish himself for his sins against God. He deprived himself of food
and other comforts. He struggled daily with the question of how a holy God could not punish him for his sins and that God
to remain just.
One day, he discovered what Paul said in Rom. 1:17, “. . . the just shall live by faith.” As he saw we do not have to satisfy
God to be declared just, but only believe what Christ has already done, he said it was as if the doors of paradise swung
open.
On October 31, 1517, exactly 484 years ago today, this same young man marched up steps to the castle church door in
Wittenberg, Germany. There he nailed his “95 Theses” for discussion of disagreements he found in Scripture with the
Roman church. As the blows of his hammer echoed, they reverberated with the sound of chains falling from long burdened
hearts that had been bound by a system of works-righteousness for salvation.
Martin Luther’s discovery of the gospel began what we call the “Protestant Reformation” and we are still today reaping the
benefits of what was accomplished in that tremendous work of God that led to the recovery of the authority of the Scriptures
and we are the descendants of that great heritage.
