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The Justification of Sinners (Blogging the Belgic: Article 23)

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We continue our 2017 series examining each of the articles of the Belgic Confession, one of Faith Church’s confessions of faith.

At times, Christians will talk about being made not guilty through faith in Jesus Christ; this is true, but only half of the story and only half of the meaning of justification (one of those fancy, theology words!). You see, justification is both the fact that we are not guilty but also the fact that we are declared righteous, perfect in God’s eyes, not because of our own works or efforts but because of those of Jesus Christ. While this idea of being made righteous by faith was discussed in Article 22 of the Belgic Confession (focusing on the meaning of faith), it is one that is so important that Article 23 also discusses elements of it.

This article highlights our belief “that our blessedness lies in the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus Christ, and that in it our righteousness before God is contained, as David and Paul teach us when they declare those people blessed to whom God grants righteousness apart from works.” The article shows that both the Old Testament (David in Psalm 32:1) and the New Testament (Paul in Romans 4:6) teach this truth that we are not just forgiven of our sins but blessed because God sees us as having lived a righteous life; we have this righteousness through faith and not our own works.  The importance of Christ’s obedience as our merit – not our own works – is highlighted as the confession continues: “And the same apostle [Paul] says that we are ‘justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus [Romans 3:24],’ not claiming a thing for ourselves or our merits and leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified, which is ours when we believe in him.”

Our need for this righteousness found in Christ is also highlighted in this article, as the concluding words of the article state: “In fact, if we had to appear before God relying—no matter how little—on ourselves or some other creature, then, alas, we would be swallowed up. Therefore everyone must say with David: ‘Lord, do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you [Psalm 143:2].’” If we don’t have faith and rely on our own merits to be able to stand before God, we are in great peril, but earlier the article notes that when we have Christ’s righteousness, we are able to come before God, as Christ’s righteousness “is enough to cover all our sins and to make us confident, freeing the conscience from the fear, dread, and terror of God’s approach, without doing what our first parents, Adam and Eve, did, who trembled as they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves.” Because of Christ, we are forgiven and also welcomed into the presence of God. We no longer need to flee his holiness or try to hide from his holiness because of our fallenness, as Adam and Eve did, but now we are able to go into the presence of God. While Christians have this ability, how many of us utilize it? Is our access to God, based on Christ’s righteousness and not our own, more like our gym membership that is never used (and you can’t seem to quit!), or is it the thing that drives us and guides us day in and day out? (That’s a challenge I needed to hear!). When we feel like we are not worthy or able to come to God because of our sin, we need to remember that this is the message of Satan rather than the message of the gospel, which tells us that we are welcomed into God’s presence because of Christ’s righteousness. We may still stumble and sin, but our identity is in Christ, not our struggle with sin, is what defines us!

People often say that theology is not practical, but this belief is immensely practical; in addition to that application above, there are two other applications of the truths are noted here in Article 23 found within this article: that we should give glory to God and be humble. “And therefore we cling to this foundation, which is firm forever, giving all glory to God, humbling ourselves, and recognizing ourselves as we are.” As some have said, theology (the study of God and things about God) should lead to doxology (giving praise and glory to God). May we not just know in our heads but also with our hearts and lips the wonder of this truth.

Questions about Bible or theology? E-mail them to Pastor Brian at Theology@wearefaith.orgYou can also subscribe to get weekly e-mails with our blog posts by filling out the info on the right side.

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