Jesus Christ our Saviour came to this earth to reveal the character of His heavenly Father. After three and half years of sacrifice and untiring ministry for our salvation, He left us the greatest illustration of the forgiving love of God. To His disciples who were selfish, proud, rude, unkind, impolite and disgraceful, He showed most of all His forgiving love. When He was hung upon the cross for our sins, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). “All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father’s mercy and pardoning love.” 2 The greatest love ever expressed for the repenting sinner is the forgiving love of God. For this very reason, if, by the grace of God, we realize our sin and acknowledge that we are sinners, then we can truly say with David, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

“How infinitely greater is the love of God than is our love. It is not the greatness of our sin but the depth of our repentance that brings the pardoning love of God to our hearts. When there is much forgiven, the heart loves much.” 3 “In His tender love a forgiving Father brings forth His best robe in which to array His returning child.” 4

There are different expressions in the Scriptures which refer to justification, including “pardon,” “forgiveness,” “covering,” and “imputed righteousness.”

“Justice demands that sin be not merely pardoned, but the death penalty must be executed. God, in the gift of His only-begotten Son, met both these requirements. By dying in man’s stead, Christ exhausted the penalty and provided a pardon.” 5 “Justification means pardon. It means that the heart, purged from dead works, is prepared to receive the blessing of sanctification.” 6 “What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.” 7

It is because justification is a work of God for the repenting sinner, Satan, the archdeceiver, works hard among professed Christians today to prevent them from understanding justification. And with some who think that they know all about God’s plan of salvation without having experienced the power of this truth, the enemy of souls deceives them so that they become his agents to confuse others who are seeking to find the way of life. “Some who will gossip over the Bible subject of justification by faith, and cavil and question and throw out their objections, do not know what they are talking about. They do not know that they are placing themselves as bodies of darkness to intercept the bright rays of light which God has determined shall come to His people.” 8

“The danger has been presented to me again and again of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith. I have been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to confuse the mind on this point. . . . The point that has been urged upon my mind for years is the imputed righteousness of Christ.” 9 Therefore, we must be very careful not to have a wrong attitude or false ideas regarding this subject.

1. Gossiping, cavilling, questioning, or throwing out objections to justification by faith.

2. Wrong manner of reaching the heart (presenting doctrine without the merits of Christ).

3. Emphasizing the needed growth experience without the beginning experience (justification).

4. Emphasizing only the new birth without the growth to follow (sanctification).

1. Mixed and confused ideas of salvation.

2. The idea that all are saved.

3. Thinking that the death of Christ is only for a selected part of mankind.

4. Justification by faith carried to its extreme, as described below by an early pioneer writer:

“Different ages develop different forms of error, and reforms take their character from the work they have to perform. Thus the reform in the early age of Christianity was a reform from idolatry among the heathen, and from legality among the Jews; and the reform of the 16th century had for its password, ‘Justification by faith,’ against the papal errors of penance and works, and image and saint worship; it was of God, but men rested content with this stride, and justification by faith is now carried to its extreme, and sincerity and faith are made a hobby by which to overleap the law of God.” 10

Jesus explained the heavenly principle of pardon or forgiveness. Please read Matthew 18:23–35. We understand that although God’s forgiving love or pardon is for all, the impenitent will nonetheless be punished with everlasting death. The death of Christ does not of itself justify anyone, but rather makes justification available to everyone.

The position of an individual who is justified by faith may be illustrated thus: S (sinner) owes L (law) a sum which he is not able to pay, and J (Jesus) engages to take the responsibility of the debt on certain conditions; and in order to make it sure, J deposits with L an amount sufficient to cover the debt. Now it is stipulated that if S fulfills the conditions, L shall cancel the debt from the deposit made by J. And as long as S is faithfully fulfilling the conditions, and L is satisfied in regard to the debt, of course he will not trouble S for it, knowing it is secure. Thus S is accounted just in the sight of L, though not really just in himself, because he fails to pay a just debt. He is considered as just, or justified through obedience to the conditions of J, who is his surety. But if S refuses or neglects to fulfill the conditions, the deposit of J no longer avails for him; he falls from the favor of L, which he had enjoyed through this arrangement, and the debt stands against him as fully as though J had never engaged to pay it on any condition.

“The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized. . . .

“But Christ has made a way of escape for us. . . . If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.” 11

Through this, we may understand that justification by faith, or the pardon we receive while on probation, is a conditional pardon. He that is justified by faith may, by disobedience, lose that justification, and his righteousness will not be remembered. The blood of Jesus is the bountiful supply, or the rich deposit where all may find a covering for their sins; but whether their sins are actually atoned for and removed by that blood depends upon their acceptance of it and their faithfulness to the conditions of acceptance. Without faith and obedience this deposit will never avail for anyone. Yet we hear many say, with the utmost assurance: “My debt is all paid; I cannot be lost, because Christ has died for me.” But this is not the language of trust; it is rather that of presumption. Faith claims the promise of God on the fulfillment of its condition. The great question to be decided is this: In what respect is the gospel plan unconditional, and in what respect is it conditional? Through the word of God, we find that,

1. The invitation of the gospel is unconditional. But,

2. The application of the gospel justification is conditional.

“Calling and justification are not one and the same thing. Calling is the drawing of the sinner to Christ, and it is a work wrought by the Holy Spirit upon the heart, convicting of sin, and inviting to repentance.” 12

“From the simple Bible account of how Jesus healed the sick, we may learn something about how to believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins. . . . Jesus bade [the paralytic at Bethesda], ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ The sick man might have said, ‘Lord, if Thou wilt make me whole, I will obey Thy word.’ But, no, he believed Christ’s word, believed that he was made whole, and he made the effort at once; he willed to walk, and he did walk. He acted on the word of Christ, and God gave the power. He was made whole.” 13 “When you take the righteousness of Christ as a free gift you are justified freely through the redemption of Christ.” 14

“But while God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties. God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.” 15 “Christ’s white robe of righteousness will never cover any soul that is found in sin unrepented of and unforsaken. ‘Sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4). Therefore those who are trampling upon the law of God, and teaching others to disregard its precepts, will not be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Jesus came not to save people in their sins, but from their sins.” 16 “The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin.” 17

“In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory” (Isaiah 45:25). “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Romans 8:33). “It is God that circumcises the heart. The whole work is the Lord’s from the beginning to the end.” 18 “When men and women receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they will confess their sins, and, pardon, which means justification, will be given them.” 19

“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). “Without the grace of Christ, the sinner is in a hopeless condition; nothing can be done for him; but through divine grace, supernatural power is imparted to the man and works in mind and heart and character. It is through the impartation of the grace of Christ that sin is discerned in its hateful nature and finally driven from the soul temple.” 20

After Adam and Eve were cast out from the Garden of Eden because of their transgression, God in His great love provided the coats of skin for both of them (see Genesis 3:21). Although they had transgressed His command, He wanted them to be covered, so that they might be protected from cold, heat and all the other elements that might hurt or injure them. Here we see a symbol of the first justification of man.

Ever since God clothed the first repentant sinners with coats of skins, He has been gracious to all who realize their sinful condition and desire to be reconciled with Him, and He is willing to pardon and justify them. As we understand that God is so willing to justify us, therefore, the most urgent need for us all is to recognize and confess our sin, without any excuse or cover-up because of our name or pride.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, we are now at the end of this year,1999. Let us be honest with ourselves before God, and answer individually the following questions: Where am I? (or are we now as a people) in the journey to the heavenly Caanan? Is my account with God clear? Am I not responsible for souls next to me who can’t see the way to heaven clearly because of my failures and inconsistency? How many more weeks of prayer could I have on this earth? What must I do during this week of prayer? Is my life hid with Christ in God? When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, will I then also appear with Him in glory?

Satan continually insinuates that God is always ready to look for our faults, mistakes and sins. But the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us in a different way. In other words, God is waiting and ready for something else. “Arise and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off. If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten to enfold you in His arms of infinite love. His ear is open to the cry of the contrite soul. The very first step in reaching out after God is known to Him. Never a prayer is offered, however faltering, never a tear is shed, however secret, never a sincere desire after God is cherished, however feeble, but the Spirit of God goes forth to meet it. Even before the prayer is uttered or the yearning of the heart made known, grace from Christ goes forth to meet the grace that is working upon the human soul.” 21

Are you grasping the meaning of justification? Let us remember and thank our heavenly Father, for justification is not a result of man’s effort, but the fruit and expression of God’s mercy and compassion. It is not a work of men but the work of God for us. In the beautiful hymn “Rock of Ages,” Augustus M. Toplady said:

Not the labors of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

May the Lord grant us understanding that we may realize our unworthiness, and have a clear view of what God does for all who desire to be reconciled with Him.