In this study, we will seek
to understand how justification happens. The
Latin phrase (simul
justus et peccator) will be the
springboard to help us understand the doctrine
of justification. As in previous studies, we
will look at definitions, scriptures,
commentary evidence and confessional support
for the glorifying of God in how we live.
“Shew me thy ways, O LORD;
teach me thy paths.” (Psalm 25:4)
Definitions from two sources:
simul justus et peccator:
“Latin for “at the same time
just and sinner,” a formula Martin Luther used
to communicate “the objective reality of
justification by faith alongside the
Christian’s continual struggle against sin.” *
simul justus et peccator:
“‘Simil’
is the word from which we get the English
‘simultaneous;’ it means ‘at the same time.’‘Justus’
is the Latin word for ‘just’ or ‘righteous.’‘Et’
simply means ‘and.’ ‘Peccator’
means ‘sinner.’So, with this formula, – ‘at the same
time just and sinner’ – Luther was saying that
in our justification, we are at the same time
righteous and sinful.…He
was saying that, in one sense, we are just.In
another sense, we are sinners.In
and of ourselves, under God’s scrutiny, we
still have sin.But by God’s imputation of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ to our accounts,
we are considered just.” See endnote 5
“Simul justus et
peccator”—“Simultaneously righteous and
sinner”
Scripture teaching
“But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)
Barnes' Notes
on the Bible on Romans 4:5
get this exactly right:
But to him that worketh not -
Who does not rely on his conformity to the Law
for his justification; who does not depend on
his works; who seeks to be justified in some
other way. The reference here is to the
Christian plan of justification.
But believeth - Note, Romans
3:26.
On him - On God. Thus, the
connection requires; for the discussion has
immediate reference to Abraham, whose faith
was in the promise of God.
That justifieth the ungodly -
This is a very important expression. It
implies,
(1) That people are sinners,
or are ungodly.
(2) that God regards them as
such when they are justified. He does not
justify them because he sees them to be, or
regards them to be righteous; but knowing that
they are in fact polluted. He does not first
esteem them, contrary to fact, to be pure; but
knowing that they are polluted, and that they
deserve no favor, he resolves to forgive them,
and to treat them as his friends.
(3) in themselves they are
equally undeserving, whether they are
justified or not. Their souls have been
defiled by sin; and that is known when they
are pardoned. God judges things as they are;
and sinners who are justified, he judges not
as if they were pure, or as if they had a
claim; but he regards them as united by faith
to the Lord Jesus; and in this relation he
judges that they should be treated as his
friends, though they have been, are, and
always will be, personally undeserving. It is
not meant that the righteousness of Christ is
transferred to them, so as to become
personally theirs - for moral character cannot
be transferred; nor that it is infused into
them, making them personally meritorious - for
then they could not be spoken of as ungodly;
but that Christ died in their stead, to atone
for their sins, and is regarded and esteemed
by God to have died; and that the results or
benefits of his death are so reckoned or
imputed to believers as to make it proper for
God to regard and treat them as if they had
themselves obeyed the Law; that is, as
righteous in his sight; see the note at Romans
4:3.(1)
“Even as David also
describeth the blessedness of the man, unto
whom God imputeth righteousness without
works.” (Romans 4:6)
Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible on Romans 4:6
is superb:
Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man,.... the apostle
having instanced in Abraham, the father of the
Jewish nation, cites some passages from David,
king of Israel, a person of great note and
esteem among the Jews, in favour of the
doctrine he is establishing; who in a very
proper and lively manner describes the
happiness of such persons:
unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works. This
righteousness cannot be the righteousness of
the law, or man's obedience to it; for that is
a righteousness with works, is a man's own,
and not imputed; and indeed is not a
righteousness in the sight of God: nor does
man's blessedness lie in, or come by it; no
man is, or can be instilled by it, nor saved
by it, or attain to heaven and eternal
happiness by the means of it; but the
righteousness here spoken of is the
righteousness of Christ, called the
righteousness of God; and is better than that
of angels or men; is complete and perfect; by
which the law is honoured, and justice is
satisfied. This is freely bestowed, and
graciously “imputed” by God. Just in the same
way his righteousness becomes ours, as Adam's
sin did, which is by imputation; or in the
same way that our sins became Christ's, his
righteousness becomes ours; and as we have no
righteousness of our own when God justifies
us, this must be done by the righteousness of
another; and that can be done no other way by
the righteousness of another, than by imputing
it to us: and which is done “without works”;
not without the works of Christ, of which this
righteousness consists; but without the works
of the creature, or any consideration of them,
which are utterly excluded from justification;
for if these came into account, it would not
be of grace, and boasting would not be
removed. Now such who have this righteousness
thus imputed to them, are happy persons; they
are justified from all sin, and freed from all
condemnation; their persons and services are
acceptable to God; it will be always well with
them; they are heirs of glory, and shall enjoy
it. (2)
Simul Iustus et Peccator from the Monergism web
site:
To one who does not work but
trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is reckoned as righteousness.
How is the Christian to see
himself in this world? “Simul
iustus et peccator” – “At the same time
righteous and a sinner.” Justification is
forensic. In Christ, we are declared, counted
or reckoned to be righteous when God imputes
the righteousness of Christ (an “alien
righteousness”) to our account. Christ's
righteousness ascribed to the redeemed
individual without their personal merit. We
are declared righteous in Christ, it is
imputed to us -- it is counted as ours ... not
infused in us. We are counted righteous in
God's eyes because of Christ. But this does
not make us righteous in ourselves. That will
only happen at our glorification when Christ
transforms these bodies to be sealed in
righteousness. Justifying righteousness is
something, which always resides in the Person
of Christ alone. The imputation of this
“alien” righteousness is the only means by
which man can be acceptable to God. As long as
the Christian lives, he is guilty in himself,
but “in Christ” he is righteous and accounted
precious.
Righteousness through Christ
is called an “alien” righteousness because it
did not generate from us. It is not our
righteousness; it is his. It is an alien
righteousness because it came from without,
and now it is in a foreign land. It does not
belong here; it is an alien righteousness. In
Latin, we call it simul
iustus et peccator: simul,
simultaneously; iustus,
just; et,
and; peccator,
sinful. That is me – simultaneously righteous
and sinful. That is my contribution to
salvation -- my sin! At the same time that I
am a sinner, God sees me as righteous because
of the blood of Jesus Christ. That is the
message of outreach -- it is the message of
salvation.
Righteousness comes in two
ways: coram
deo (righteousness before God) and coram
hominibus (before man). Instead of a
development in righteousness based in the
person, or an infusion of merit from the
saints, a person is judged righteous before
God because of the works of Christ. But,
absent the perspective of God and the
righteousness of Christ, based on one’s own
merit—a Christian still looks like a sinner.
The declaration involves God imputing to the
believer's “balance sheet” or account the
alien righteousness of Christ. The believer is
not declared righteous by virtue of his own
merit, but on the basis of the merit of
Christ. When united to Him, it is
justification, which becomes the foundation
upon which the believer can stand with
confidence coram dei. The believer has no
cause to fear in the presence of God because
of His acquittal. The believer has only and
always to look to the finished work of Christ
on the Cross and hear God's declaration, “You
are accepted.” Because of justification, the
believer does not fear God's rejection because
of the sin still present in his/her life. God
does not look at the sin in our life except
through the work of Christ. This tension is
resolved in the Incarnate Christ, crucified
and now risen for the life of the world.
Eternal life is Christ
dwelling in His righteousness in the soul of
the justified person. So eternal life is union
with Jesus Christ. And the word for that union
with him is faith. The sinners comes to him,
rests in him, trusts in him, is one with him,
abides with him; and this is life because it
never ends. The united soul abides in the Vine
eternally. Weakness, sin, proneness to sin
never brings separation, but only the Father's
pruning, which cements the union even and ever
tighter.
The Judge of all the earth
declares us “not guilty” when we believe
because Christ was pronounced "guilty" for us
on the cross. We are not first made righteous,
then declared righteous; we are declared
righteous by grace through faith in Christ,
and then made righteous! When we believe, God
imputes Christ's righteousness to us 'as if'
it were our own. However, it is HIS
righteousness, that is why Paul says in Romans
1:17 that there is a righteousness that has
been revealed from God, a righteousness not of
our own, but a righteousness revealed from God
and freely given to those who do not work, but
to those who believe. In light of the goodness
and graciousness of God who was in Christ
reconciling the world to himself, we should
daily repent of our own self-righteousness
(our works), the words imply a declaration and
pronouncement from the divine court of the
believer’s right standing with God.
“Justification” in itself does not mean a
change in the man, but a declaration of how he
appears in God’s sight.
Through faith we run to
Christ and hold fast to Him, who satisfied the
law on our behalf (Romans 10:4; Galatians
3:10-13). In this way, we are accounted
righteous in the sight of God through faith
alone, without doing the works of the law. We
are simul
iustus et peccator.
Luther recognized that even
in a state of regeneration the believer still
lives in the world and still in fact does
commit acts of sin. There is no attempt to
redefine sin to make it anything less than
what it is. Rather there is a stark
recognition of the dialectic of the
Christian's acceptance before God and the fact
that he still sins. Luther's phrase to
describe this condition was that the state of
the Christian between regeneration and
ultimate glorification is simul
iustus et peccator, at once just (or
justified) and sinner. This is not a condition
that will ever be transcended in this life.
Rather, the believer must always rely on the
finished work of Christ for his/her acceptance
before God. (3)
Definition of Justification
The establishment of a sinner
in a righteous standing before God. The verb dikaioo
means “to declare or demonstrate to be
righteous” (Matt. 11:19; 12:37; Luke 7:29;
10:29). The cognate nouns are dikaiosune
(Rom. 1:17), dikaiosis
(Rom. 4:25), and dikaioma
(Rom. 1:32; 5:16, 18). Dikaiosune
is always translated “righteousness” and
denotes a perfect rectitude according to the
standard of God’s character revealed in His
law. The phrase “the righteousness of God” may
denote the divine attribute of righteousness,
or in the great soteriological teaching of
Romans, the righteousness God has provided to
give His people a title to eternal life (Rom.
3:22; 5:17, “the gift of righteousness”).
Dikaiosis is the action of declaring
righteous, and dikaioma
signifies the verdict, the judgment handed
down by God. Lenski states the relationship
between these two terms: dikaiosis
is “a declaring righteous (action)”; dikaioma
is “a declaring righteous and thereby placing
in a permanent relationship or state even as
the declaration stands permanently (result).”
The language of Scripture, therefore, points
to justification as God’s action in declaring
His people righteous and placing them in a
state of legal perfection before His law on
the basis of the righteousness He provided
freely for them in Christ.
There is no more scriptural
or succinct theological definition of
justification than that given by the Shorter
Catechism: “Justification is an act of God’s
free grace, wherein He pardoneth all our sins,
and accepteth us as righteous in His sight,
only for the righteousness of Christ imputed
to us, and received by faith alone” (Q. 33;
see Westminster Confession of Faith, chap.
11).
The Two Elements in Justification
The two elements in
justification are pardon and imputed
righteousness. That is, the total obedience of
Christ, both passive and active, avails for
the believer. The vicarious atonement of
Christ pays the debt of the believer’s sin,
satisfies divine justice on his behalf, and
renders it possible for God to be just and yet
to justify him (Rom. 3:26). The imputed
righteousness of Christ gives the believer
“the adoption of children” (Gal. 4:5) and the
title to eternal life.
Characteristics of Justification
1. Justification is an act,
not a process (Rom. 5:1). It is something that
has taken place in the justified, not
something that is constantly taking place.
2. It is an act of the free
grace of God toward sinners who are personally
guilty and deserving of His wrath (Rom. 3:25).
3. It is a forensic act. It
describes a change in the legal standing of
the justified person. It does not describe the
inner moral change God effects in all those
whom He saves (2 Cor. 5:21). This is a vital
truth. “God made him [Christ] to be sin for
us” does not mean that Christ became morally
corrupted. It solely describes a forensic
transaction. Similarly, when as a result of
that transaction we are “made the
righteousness of God in him,” there is no
reference to an inner moral change. It does
not mean we are made morally sinless or pure.
It means that God has radically changed our
legal standing before His law. Thus justify
means “to declare righteous,” not “to make
righteous” (see Psa. 51:4). The statement in
Rom. 5:19 that through Christ’s obedience
“shall many be made righteous” uses the verb kathistemi,
which means, “appoint, constitute.” It
describes the place we occupy, not a
purification of our nature.
4. It is a just act, for it
proceeds on the ground of the imputed
righteousness of Christ (Rom. 5:19). This text
makes it clear that the righteousness of
Christ’s obedience in life and death is
imputed as the ground of justification. Christ
is the righteousness of the justified (1 Cor.
1:30; Jer. 23:6). This answers the objection
that unless justification is an actual
infusion of grace and moral purity, God would
be lying to declare any man righteous. Paul
states bluntly that God “justifieth the
ungodly” (Rom. 5:5), not the godly, the
sanctified. How can the God of truth declare
the ungodly righteous? By crediting all the
perfect righteousness of Christ to their
account (see Imputation).
5. It is a once-and-for-all
act. It can neither be reversed nor repeated
(Heb. 10:2; Rom. 8:30).
6. It is equally complete in
all the justified. It cannot be increased or
decreased (Rom. 5:19; 1 Cor. 1:30). All
Christians are not equally mature, or holy.
But all believers are equally “justified from
all things” (Acts 13:39). They all have the
same basis for their acceptance by God, the
righteousness of Christ.
7. It invariably leads to
glorification. No justified person can perish:
“whom he justified, them he also glorified”
(Rom. 8:30).
8. It is received by faith
without works (Rom. 3:20–22; 4:1–8, 24; 5:1;
Gal. 3:5–12; see Sola Fide). Some imagine that
James contradicts this in James 2:18–26,
notably in verse 24, “Ye see then how that by
works a man is justified, and not by faith
only.”
There is no discrepancy
between Paul and James. There is a difference
of emphasis in response to the particular form
of opposition each apostle was combatting.
Paul was opposing the legalist who taught
justification by works. James was opposing the
antinomian (see Antinomianism) whose
profession of justifying faith was united to a
life of blatant ungodliness. Paul teaches that
we are justified by faith as the sole
instrument of reception, excluding works or
any mixture of faith and works. James teaches
that the faith that justifies is never alone.
It is a living faith and therefore will
express itself in good works. Good works are
the evidence of the reality of justifying
faith, not a substitute for it, a preparation
for it, or an addition to it. Buchanan in his
Justification, terms justification according
to Paul actual justification, and
justification according to James declarative
justification.
Confusion about Justification
The doctrine of justification
lies at the very heart of all biblical
soteriology. Yet prior to the Reformation,
confusion reigned on the meaning of the term.
Even in very early times, the legal aspect of
justification so clearly set forth in the NT
was overlooked with the result that it was
common for justification to be confused with
regeneration or sanctification.
Justification Confused with
Regeneration. Thomas Aquinas set the standard
for medieval views on the subject. He taught
that the first element in justification was
the infusion of grace, on the ground of which
the second element, pardon for sins, was
given. Thus, the Roman Catholic doctrine of
justification in baptism was laid down. As
Aquinas’ doctrine was developed, Rome came to
assert more and more blatantly that the
justification received in baptism could be
increased or lost by human activity. This laid
the ground for the Tridentine decree that
justification depends at least in part upon
personal merit.
Justification Confused with
Sanctification. Confounding justification and
sanctification led to the error of viewing
justification as a process (e.g. , Canons and
Decrees of the Council of Trent, chap. 16,
canon 24). This characteristic error of
Romanism has found acceptance in many other
quarters. Many early Anabaptists espoused it.
To this day, it is the mark of all false
gospels to equate justification with
sanctification as the basis of a doctrine of
salvation by works.
Distinctions Between
Justification and Sanctification
Scripture carefully marks the
difference between justification and
sanctification. Berkhof notes:
“1. Justification removes the
guilt of sin and restores the sinner to all
the filial rights involved in his state as a
child of God, including eternal inheritance.
Sanctification removes the pollution of sin
and renews the sinner ever increasingly in
conformity with the image of God.
“2. Justification takes place
outside of the sinner in the tribunal of God,
and does not change his inner life, though the
sentence is brought home to him subjectively.
Sanctification on the other hand, takes place
in the inner life of man and gradually affects
his whole being.
“3. Justification takes place
once for all. It is not repeated, neither is
it a process; it is complete at once and for
all time. There is no more or less in
justification, man is either fully justified,
or he is not justified at all. In distinction
from it, sanctification is a continuous
process, which is never completed in this
life.
“4. While the meritorious
cause of both lies in the merits of Christ,
there is a difference in the efficient cause.
Speaking economically, God the Father declares
the sinner righteous, and God the Holy Spirit
sanctifies him” (Systematic Theology, pp. 513,
514).
Justification the Same for OT
and NT Believers
This justification is in all
respects the same for believers under both the
Old and New Testaments (Gal. 3:9, 13, 14; Rom.
4:1–6, 16). Abraham was justified on the very
same ground and in the very same way as
believers in the NT . We are “blessed with
faithful Abraham.” He is the “father of all
them that believe” (Rom. 4:11). David rejoiced
in the very same justification we enjoy (Ps.
32:1, 2; Rom. 4:6). The only righteousness
that ever gave any man a title to heaven is
the righteousness of Christ freely imputed to
him and received by faith alone.
Conclusion
Luther’s insight was accurate
when he declared the biblical doctrine of
justification to be articulus
ecclesiae stantis aut cadentis, the
article of faith that marks whether a church
is standing or falling. Paul realized its
immense importance to the entire gospel scheme
and pronounced God’s curse on anyone, even an
angel from heaven, who preached any other
gospel (Gal. 1:8, 9). This is the gospel of
which the apostle was “not ashamed … for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). (4)
Double Imputation by R. C.
Sproul
“If any word was at the
center of the firestorm of the Reformation
controversy and remains central to the debate
even in our day, it is imputation.…We
cannot really understand what the Reformation
was about without understanding the central
importance of this concept.”
“…If any statement summarizes
and capture the essence of the Reformation
view, it is Luther’s famous Latin formula ‘simul
justus et peccator.’‘Simil’
is the word from which we get the English
‘simultaneous;’ it means ‘at the same time.’‘Justus’
is the Latin word for ‘just’ or ‘righteous.’‘Et’
simply means ‘and.’‘Peccator’
means ‘sinner.’So, with this formula, – ‘at the same
time just and sinner’ – Luther was saying that
in our justification, we are at the same time
righteous and sinful.…He
was saying that, in one sense, we are just.In
another sense, we are sinners.In
and of ourselves, under God’s scrutiny, we
still have sin.But by God’s imputation of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ to our accounts,
we are considered just.”
“This is the very heart of
the gospel.In order to get into heaven, will I be
judged by my righteousness or by the
righteousness of Christ?If I
have to trust in my righteousness to get into
heaven, I must completely and utterly despair
of any possibility of ever being redeemed.But
when we see that the righteousness that is
ours by faith is the perfect righteousness of
Christ, we see how glorious is the good news
of the gospel.The good news is simply this: I can be
reconciled to God.I
can be justified, not on the basis of what I
do, but on the basis of what has been
accomplished for me by Christ.”
“Of course, Protestantism
really teaches a double imputation.Our
sin is imputed to Jesus and his righteousness
is imputed to us.In
this twofold transaction, we see that God does
not compromise his integrity in providing
salvation for his people.Rather,
he punishes sin fully after it has been
imputed to Jesus.This
is why he is able to be both ‘just and the
justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus’
as Paul writes in Romans 3:26. So my sin goes
to Jesus and his righteousness comes to me.”
“This is a truth worth
dividing the church.”
“This is the article on which
the church stands or falls, because it is the
article on which we all stand or fall.” (5)
From the Westminster
Confession of Faith, Chapter 11, Of
Justification:
I. Those whom God effectually
calls, He also freely justifies; not by
infusing righteousness into them, but by
pardoning their sins, and by accounting and
accepting their persons as righteous; not for
any thing wrought in them, or done by them,
but for Christ’s sake alone; nor by imputing
faith itself, the act of believing, or any
other evangelical obedience to them, as their
righteousness; but by imputing the obedience
and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they
receiving and resting on Him and His
righteousness by faith; which faith they have
not of themselves, it is the gift of God.
In conclusion:
In further reflection upon
biblical justification, it involves
understanding the Hebrew verb tsayke,which
both the Greek word dikaioun
and the Latin justificare
refer, and is used in Scripture when
dealing with passages on forensic or declared
judicial righteousness. The Hebrew verb is
forensic and means to absolve someone in a
trial, or to hold or to declare just, as
opposed to the verb to condemn and to
incriminate. See Exodus 23:7; Deuteronomy
25:1; Job 9:3; Psalms 143:2; Proverbs 17:15;
Luke 18:14, Romans 4:3-5; and Acts 13:39. The
Scriptures are unmistakable in establishing
our justification because of how Christ bore
the wrath of God for us (see Romans 4:1-7).
Justification does not happen repeatedly.
Christ has died once for all of our sins (not
just some), and the Father on our behalf
accepted His death as our substitute. It is a
finished fact!
“Blessed art thou, O LORD:
teach me thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:12)
“Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Notes:
1.Albert Barnes, THE AGES
DIGITAL LIBRARYCOMMENTARY, Barnes’
Notes on the Bible, Romans, p.2094.
2.John Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New Testaments, Romans, 9
Volumes, Romans, (Grace Works, Multi-Media
Labs), 2011, p. 84.
4.Alan Cairns, Dictionary
of Theological Terms, (Belfast;
Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald
International), pp. 201-204.
5.R. C. Sproul, Excerpt
from Are
We Together? A Protestant Analyzes Roman
Catholicism (Sanford: Reformation Trust,
2012), 43-4.
“To God, only wise, be glory
through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (Romans
16:27) and “heirs according to the promise.”
(Galatians 3:28, 29)
Mr. Kettler has previously
published articles in the Chalcedon Report
and Contra Mundum. He and his wife
Marea attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA
Church. Mr. Kettler is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com
For more study:
*
For a great source of theological definitions
go to Rebecca writes at Rebecca writes
http://www.rebecca-writes.com/theological-terms-in-ao/