- God Justifies the Ungodly By Free Grace Alone

God Justifies the Ungodly 

(not the believing ones, as so many imagined)

By His Free Grace Alone (not by man's faith)

Based Solely on the Righteousness and blood of Christ Alone

RBF: 2. God has in His eternal council elected those whom He might save. How are they saved? They are saved in the sense that they are justified or the right to life is imputed to them. They are not justified by their faith in Christ (because they have no faith yet and faith will be given only at regeneration), but by the faithfulness of Christ to die on the cross for the elect.

SL: They are saved, as eternally saved as can be by the sovereign work of effectual calling to eternal life, i.e., executing justification, regeneration and adoption. In the effectual call, the Father justifies an elect who is in the state of sin, in the state of condemnation, by imputing to him the righteousness secured by the faithfulness of Christ in accomplishing the redemption for His people. Justification is solely by the finished work of Christ, i.e., the faithfulness of Christ in discharging all the just demands of God’s law for the redemption of those whom God has given to Him. Justification is by the faith of Christ. Justification applied by free grace is evidenced by the elect’s faith in Christ.

Too many people are too obsessed with their own faith. Oh yes, they will admit that faith is a gift of God. They speak of their faith as the determining factor in their salvation, i.e. when they believe, they are declared righteous and not guilty; when they believe, they are given life; when they believe, they are adopted as sons, etc. These are ignorant of the faith of Jesus Christ. They consistently read the passages of Scriptures which say ‘the faith of Christ’ as their ‘faith in Christ,’ see Romans 3:22, Gal 2:16; 3:22, and Phil 3:9. They want to make the faith of Christ as their faith in Christ. How deceitful is the heart!

God justifies the UNGODLY, i.e., He declares the guilty condemned sinner not guilty but righteous by forgiving him of all his sins, and imputing to him all the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God justifies the ungodly, not the believing! Faith justifies the believing. It is faith that justifies the believing, i.e., the faith of a believer in Christ declares, vindicates, justifies him to be one of the elect, Christ’s redeemed, God’s justified and the Spirit’s regenerated. The faith of a believer does not secure his right standing with God. The faith of a believer evidences his right standing with God graciously and freely bestowed upon Him based on the faithfulness of Christ.

Those whom God has predestinated unto eternal life are under the just condemnation of death. Christ came to fulfill all the demands of God’s justice and secured the justification of life for all those whom God the Father had given to Him, Romans 5:17-19. Christ secured the justification of life for all His elect through His perfect and complete work of redemption. The double imputation took place at the cross. God the Father imputed the justification of life to all the elect who are under the just condemnation of death when Christ died at the cross. He also imputed to Christ the just condemnation of all His elect because of their sins. At God’s appointed and approved time He effectually calls and justifies His individual elect. He applies the justification of life to individual elect at their effectual calling. Those to whom God the Father applies the justification of life, the Spirit imparts the eternal life itself. Those whom the Father justifies, the Spirit regenerates to become partakers of the grace of adoption. Romans 8:15

Only an elect who has been justified and regenerated and adopted and given the gift of faith shall respond to the gospel call. “Man is dead in sin and trespasses until quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this (effectual call) he is enable to answer the call (i.e. the gospel call) to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it,” 1689.10.2. Only an elect who has been effectually called to life has life to answer the gospel call or to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by the gospel call. An elect who is still dead in sin has no life to answer the gospel call, or to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. Spiritual activities derive from spiritual life, hence such activity can never be the cause of spiritual life, 1Cor 1:18, 2:14. The effectual call to eternal life precedes the gospel call unto conversion, i.e. faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore faith in Christ is the evidence of God’s gracious work of effectual calling that has brought about justification, regeneration and adoption. The faith OF Christ is the cause, faith IN Christ is the effect of those gracious and sovereign acts of God. Response to the gospel call unto faith in Jesus Christ is the evidence of the prior effectual call unto eternal life. God justifies the ungodly, the elect who are still dead in their sins. Faith justifies the believing one… faith justifies, declares, demonstrates that they are indeed the effectually called, justified, regenerated and adopted of God.