In today’s episode, the guys talk about Christian justification, the foundation upon which our faith is built. Justification by faith is one of the pillars of the reformation. Justification is defined as an act of God’s grace wherein he pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. To be justified means more than to be declared not guilty, but rather to be declared righteous before God. Today, the doctrine of justification is under attack, specifically by Christians in the deconstruction movement. However, confusing justification and sanctification will undermine the gospel and turn justification by face into justification by performance.
If we have been declared righteous, then sanctification will complete its work inside of us on that day when we see Him. The work of grace is absolute thoroughness because it comes from God, not from us. Oscar speaks to the significance of double-impunity and the selflessness of Christ becoming sin for us so that we may become the righteousness of God before Him. Often, we become so accustomed to the world of our faith that concepts like this don’t contain the weight they deserve. The more we see ourselves as sinners, however, the more graceful God seems in our eyes. We can’t begin to imagine God’s anger and wrath towards our sins. When we understand the righteousness of God and his wrath towards sin and sinners, then we are truly able to understand the love and grace shown to us on the cross. Diminishing His wrath also diminished His love and grace. Shifting gears, the guys discuss justification as a theology which should penetrate our daily lives, seep into the trenches of everything we do. Humans are programmed to be constantly justifying our own actions. When we truly understand what God has done for us and that he is ultimately pleased with us, all of those fears melt away. Justification fortifies our life of those things, and what a relief that is!