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Justification: Being Made Right With God?

Guy Waters book, Justification, is a simple, down-to-earth, articulation of the gospel of justification as well as a clear explanation of the threats being made against the gospel.

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In view of this attack on the gospel in our evangelical churches at large, a book written specifically for members of the local church is a most welcome resource.

Guy Waters divided the book into three sections: 1) Justification Defined, 2) Justification Applied, and 3) Justification Undermined. Allow me to provide a small taste of Waters’ description of the good news of justification from his first section, Justification Defined.

He writes, “The Scripture tells us that justification is God’s ‘solution’ to our ‘problem’ of sin. We will first examine the problem that occasions justification. Then, we will be in a better position to understand justification itself.”

After underlining the nature of sin, Waters simply and clearly delineates the biblical data concerning justification. He begins by developing the courtroom context wherein a judge pronounces a verdict in relation to law.

He writes, “It is important to stress that by ‘justification’ the Scripture means a verdict that God declares concerning us. In fact, it is not even the combination of a verdict and an inward change. Justification is strictly a legal declaration.”

Waters continues by describing two parts of justification which correspond to a specific aspect of our problem as sinners. First, we have violated God’s Law and thus as transgressors are subject to the penalty of the law.

Second, we have failed to obey the whole law (Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5). “To receive pardon is an unspeakable mercy. Pardon, however is insufficient to bring a person into divine favor. Pardon renders an objectionable person non-objectionable, but it does nothing to commend this person to God.”

Pulling these two aspects of justification together Waters writes, “How is it that the sinner can be accepted and accounted righteous before a holy God? … the sins of the sinner are imputed to Christ, who answered all the demands of divine justice, fully satisfying divine justice on behalf of His people. That satisfaction is transferred or imputed to the believer. This satisfaction is part of the believer’s righteousness in justification. The Scripture also teaches that the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ is transferred or imputed to the sinner for his justification. Paul writes ‘by the one man’s obedience the many will be appointed righteous’ (5:19). Justification is not pardon only, as precious as the pardon of sins is to the believer. Justification is more. It is the declaration that a sinner is ‘righteous’ because the obedience as well as the satisfaction of Christ has become his.”

Guy Waters concludes his first section by explaining the context in which the sinner receives Christ’s righteousness, namely, in union with Christ the sinner receives Christ’s righteousness through faith.

It is my hope that this basic introduction to Water’s book Justification will give readers a little taste of the wealth of the gospel basically and simply unfolded in this book.

As is often the case in the face of false teaching, we are motivated to run to Scripture to ascertain the doctrine of God’s Word. Is this not the way in which the church has received many of the epistles of Scripture?

Colossians and Galatians were both written to expose false teaching and in effect to ground the church in an accurate understanding of the gospel.