Justification by Faith: its Effects
Abp. Magee. Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 1. The effect of justification should be peace and holiness. (1) A plan of deliverance which did not include both these would be a mockery. If it did not secure peace it would not meet our wants; if it did not secure holiness it would not meet God's requirements. (2) Accordingly we find that God describes His plan of salvation as effecting both. Christ has "made peace through the blood of His Cross" that He may "present us holy and unblamable and unreproachable in His sight." It is "the very God of peace" who sanctifies us "wholly." 2. The doctrine, therefore, which does not produce these effects is not the true one, and there can be no surer test by which to try the truth of any particular doctrine than this. The religion which really produces both had no man for its teacher, for these are the last things which men would ever think of joining together. All human teachers and lawgivers appeal to fear. All laws are accompanied by penalties. It certainly would never occur to any man to attempt to produce obedience by remitting all penalties; and therefore it is that the natural man always seeks to obtain one of these by the sacrifice of the other. (1) Many try to forget God altogether, or they take refuge in some easy mode of appeasing Him — something said, done, or felt, which quiets conscience; and so they have peace — peace without holiness. (2) But others are not so easily satisfied; their disposition is naturally anxious, or their consciences are scrupulous, and they cannot feel quite comfortable in their sins. Such seek to obtain peace by refraining from sin; but as their only motive is fear, they know of no other way of increasing their obedience than by quickening and strengthening this fear. In such religion takes a gloomy and terrible form. Here is an attempt after holiness, but it is holiness without peace. 3. And thus the mind of the natural man is ever oscillating between these two extremes of sinful peace or painful obedience, but never attaining to the union of these two; never imagining it possible for man to be at once fearless and obedient; and, accordingly, it is a remarkable fact that all false religions have two different aspects, one offering easy terms of salvation to the common crowd, who only desire a religion which shall allow them to sin without fear; the other providing austerities and penances for the few whose intellect or conscience cannot be so easily contented. All these religions, then, are but half religions; they attempt to satisfy man's desire for peace or God's demand for holiness; they never even profess to satisfy both. There is but one religion which does this; it is that which is proclaimed in our text. I. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH GIVES PEACE. 1. He who believes that God, for Christ's sake, reckons him holy, "not imputing his trespasses unto him," has perfect peace, because he is trusting in a perfect work. The justice that demanded his condemnation now secures his forgiveness; the omnipotence once arrayed against him is now engaged in his defence. Here is the deep, abiding, perfect peace of him whose mind is stayed upon God. 2. On the other hand the doctrine of justification by inherent righteousness does not, and never can, give perfect peace; for it is a righteousness partly human and partly Divine, and therefore partakes of the uncertainty and imperfection of all things human. He who holds it believes, as Dr. Pusey says, that "he was once, in his baptism, placed in a state of justification; in which, having been placed, he has to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling through the indwelling Spirit of God working in him — a state which therefore admits of relapses and recoveries, but which is weakened by every relapse, injured by lesser, and destroyed for the time by grievous sin." Now, if this be the nature of his justification, how can he be sure, at any given moment, that he is justified? All that such a man can say is this, that once in his life he had a perfect righteousness to present to God, and that, if it had pleased God then to take him to Himself he had been blessed, but that whether he has this righteousness still is a very doubtful matter; and yet that night that man's soul may be required of him! What a miserable faith is this on which to bid a dying sinner rest his hopes for eternity! But this is not all the doubt and difficulty which this doctrine gives rise to, for the means by which justification is bestowed is said to be the sacrament of baptism. If so, perfect and complete justification can be had only once in each man's life; therefore, if he ever entirely lose it by deadly sin, how can it be regained? To meet this, Rome has devised another sacrament by which the sinner may be again made perfectly righteous. But for those who are not Romanists "the Church has no second baptism to give, and therefore cannot pronounce the person who has sinned after baptism altogether free from his past sins. There are but two periods of absolute cleansing — baptism and the day of judgment." Again, "if, after having been washed once for all in Christ's blood we again sin, there is no more such complete absolution in this life, no restoration to the same state of undisturbed security in which God had, by baptism, placed us!" Mark this confession! We will not pause to contrast it with the teaching of him who told baptized men that if they confessed their sins "God was faithful and just to forgive them their sins." We will not delay to inquire whether this way of salvation, which gives no "undisturbed security," can be the same with that which He revealed who said, "Come unto Me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;" or that which he taught, whose converts believing, "rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory." We only ask, how can they who preach such a gospel as this claim to be the messengers of peace? what peace have they to offer? Picture to yourselves a teacher of this "other gospel" proclaiming this way of salvation beside a death bed. 3. But it is said this uncertainty and anxiety is just what is needed to make men zealous and cautious, and the doctrine may make fewer happy death beds but it will produce holier lives. We deny this, and, on the contrary, maintain — II. That JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH DOES EFFECT not only peace, but HOLINESS; and that sacramental justification no more produces holiness than it does peace. 1. Holiness is conformity to God's image. The perfect likeness of God, to which we are to be assimilated, is seen in Christ, who "loved righteousness, and hated iniquity." A holy man, therefore, is not one who merely refrains from sin, nor yet one who strives to obey all God's commands; he may do all this, and yet be utterly without holiness. But he is one who has become partaker of that Divine nature which was in Christ, the instinct of which it is to hate what God hates, and to love what He loves. 2. Now what is that power which can produce such conformity to Christ? Love is the only passion which assimilates to its object. Fear obeys, envy rivals, but love imitates. That religion will therefore most tend to holiness which most tends to produce in us love to God. Now we know that the belief which most powerfully moves us to love God must be that which most fully manifests the love of God to us. Which, then, of these two doctrines of justification displays most of the love of God to sinners? This question has received its answer from our Lord Himself (Luke 7:41). The publican went down to his house with a more loving and grateful heart than the Pharisee. The prodigal had doubtless a deeper love for the father than had the elder brother who had never given him cause of offence. There is more of loving, fervent, grateful joy in the heart of one penitent sinner who believes that "being justified by faith he has peace with God," than there is in the heart of the ninety-and-nine just persons, who, believing that they have kept their baptismal righteousness, deem that they need no repentance. But if he who thus believes cannot but love, he who thus loves cannot but obey; the love of Christ constraineth him, the mercies of God persuade him, to present himself a living sacrifice unto God. 3. But this doctrine further tends to produce holiness because it tends to produce humility. No man is really holy until he is really humble. But who best learns humility — he who presents to God a righteousness in part his own, or he who confesseth that "in him dwelleth no good thing"? 4. This doctrine tends to produce holiness because it alone enables us to realise the promises of God. It is by these that we escape the "corruption that is in the world through lust." Now he who believes that God will assuredly save him for the sake of Jesus Christ claims all the promises at once as his forever, so that he can say, "I am confident; 'I know in whom I have believed, and that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him against that day.' 'Faithful is He that calleth me, who, also, will do it,'" and "everyone that hath this hope purifieth himself even as He is pure." For think what must be the feelings of that man who, truly loving God, and desiring His presence, really believes that he shall spend an eternity with Him. "Where the treasure is, there will the heart be also." On the other hand, we think it is equally clear that justification by inherent righteousness does not tend to holiness, because for love it substitutes fear; for humility, pride; for assurance, uncertainty. Such a doctrine may make ascetics, hermits, confessors, martyrs even — but never saints. (Abp. Magee.) Parallel Verses KJV: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: WEB: Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;