A. JUSTIFICATION - A QUICK SYNOPSIS
Justification is Elohim's (God's) declaration, from His position as Judge of the world, that someone is in the right (i.e. forensically 'righteous'), despite universal sin. This declaration:
- 1. Will be made on the last day on the basis of an entire life lived (Rom.2:1-16); but
- 2. Is brought forward into the present on the basis of Yah'shua's (Jesus') achievement, because sin has been dealt with through His atonement on the cross (Rom.3:21-4:25) - the means of this present justification is simply emunah (faith, trusting).
The full scope and circle of the doctrine of Justification (being declared by Yahweh as righteous, faithful, and in right-standing before Him) may be fully comprehended by juxtaposing these two segments of Paul's teaching, in much the same way that to do proper hermeneutics (interpretation of Scripture) we have to constantly move back and forth on the 'hermeneutical spiral' between:
- 1. Thematic analysis (by working through all the relevant passages and drawing conclusions); and
- 2. Historical exegesis (by setting out a working model and then showing how key passages reflect it) or vice versa.
For an in-depth study of this vitally important theological theme upon which the whole Protestant Reformation adheres or falls, please see:
The consequence of Justification for the apostle Paul particularly means that Yehudim (Judahites, 'Jews') and Goyim (Gentiles) alike are full members of the family promised by Elohim (God) to Abraham (Gal.4; Rom.4). It was never intended by him to become part of a formula of salvation.
B. CUTTING-EDGE MESSIANIC EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY:
AN EXPOSITION Of THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION
'Justification' denotes, primarily, that action in the lawcourt whereby a judge upholds the case of one party in dispute before him (in the Hebrew lawcourt, where the image originates, all cases consist of an accuser and a defendant, there being no public prosecutor). Having heard the case, the judge finds in favour of one party, and thereby 'justifies' him: if he finds for the defendant, this action has the force of 'acquittal'. The person justified is described as 'just', 'righteous' (see Righteousness), not as a description of moral character but as a statement of his status before the court (which will, ideally, be matched by character, but that is not the point).
Since this lawcourt imagery is used in Scripture to elucidate Elohim's (God's) dealings with Israel, His covenant people, 'justification' comes to denote Elohim's (God's) action in restoring the fortunes of Israel after she has been oppressed: it is as though Israel, or a faithful individual within Israel, is the innocent defendant in a trial (see Ps.43:1; 135:14; Is.50:8; Lk.18:7), whose cause will be upheld by the righteous covenant Elohim (God). As Israel’s troubles increase in the period after the exile, it becomes increasingly clear that what is needed is a final day of judgement, when Yahweh will right all wrongs, and vindicate His people, once and for all. This notion, which is closely correlated with the hope of resurrection (Yahweh's vindication of Israel after her suffering) is staunchly upheld in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament).
At the same time, in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament), Israel’s expectation is radically redefined. In his welcome for outcasts and sinners, Yah'shua (Jesus) enacts Yahweh's vindication of (apparently) the 'wrong' group in Israel — the poor, the humble. This man (the tax-collector), rather than the other (the Pharisee), went home justified (in a state of righteousness) before Elohim (God) (Lk.18:14). In continuity with His paradoxical ministry, Yah'shua (Jesus) goes to the cross apparently condemned by Elohim (God). The resurrection, however, is quickly seen by the talmidim (disciples) as Yahweh's 'vindication' or 'justification' of Yah'shua (Jesus) (e.g. Ac.3:14-15,26; 1 Tim.3:16). Elohim (God) has finally acted, within history, to identify His covenant people, and it turns out that Yah'shua (Jesus), 'the king of the Yehudim (Judahites, 'Jews')', has alone represented that people collectively.
Justification in Paul and James
Although, therefore, the doctrine of justification is discussed quite rarely in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament), the fact of it is everywhere apparent. Elohim (God) has redefined His covenant people around Yah'shua (Jesus). The entire Christian/Messianic mission is built on this foundation. It is left to Paul, however, to articulate this conviction fully and draw out its implications: and he does so at the appropriate point, i.e. when the question of the identity of the covenant people is raised (Rom.3:21–4:25; 9:30–10:13; Gal. passim; Phil.3:2-11). Five points need to be observed here.
- 1. The question of justification is a matter of covenant membership. The underlying question in (for instance) Galatians 3 and 4 is: Who are the true children of Abraham? Paul's answer is that membership belongs to all who believe in the gospel of Yah'shua (Jesus), whatever their racial or moral background;
- 2. The basis of this verdict is the representative death and resurrection of Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself. In view of universal sin, Elohim (God) can only be in covenant with human beings if that sin is dealt with, and this has been achieved by Elohim (God) himself in the death of His Son (Rom.3:24-26; 5:8-9). Yah'shua (Jesus) takes on himself the curse which would have prevented Yahweh's promised blessing finding fulfilment (Gal.3:10-14). The resurrection is Elohim's (God's) declaration that Yah'shua (Jesus), and hence His people, are jurisdictionally or forensically in the right before Elohim (God) (Rom.4:24-25);
- 3. The verdict issued in the present on the basis of emunah (faith) (Rom.3:21-26) correctly anticipates the verdict to be issued in the Final judgement on the basis of the total life (Rom.2:1-16; see Cranfield, Romans, vol. 1, pp. 151-153, at the end of this section). This future 'verdict' is in fact, seen from another angle, simply resurrection itself (Phil.3:9-11). The logic of this 'eschatological' perspective is explained as follows: emunah (faith) is itself the sign of Yahweh's life-giving work, by His Ruach (Spirit) (1 Cor.12:3), and what Elohim (God) has begun He will complete (Phil. 1:6);
- 4. Justification thus establishes the Messianic Community (Church) as a new entity, the renewed Israel (as distinct from the previous entity created under the Mosaic Covenant enacted at Sinai), now qualitatively distinct from Jew and Greek alike, transcending racial and social barriers (Gal.3:28). The sharp edge of this point, for Paul, was the conviction not only that pagan converts to Christianity/Messianism did not need to become Yehudim (Judahites, 'Jews') in the complex manner required by Talmudic Judaism in order fully to belong to Elohim's (God's) people, but also that the attempt to do so was in itself a renunciation of the Besorah (Gospel), implying that Messiah’s achievement was insufficient or even unnecessary (Gal.2:21; 5:4—6). At the same time, Paul warns pagan converts against the opposite mistake, that of imagining unsaved Yehudim (Judahites, 'Jews') to be now cut off without hope — the mirror image of the characteristic Jewish mistake, and one which some post-Reformation theology has not always avoided (Rom.11:13-24);
- 5. 'Justification by faith' is thus a shorthand for 'justification by grace (undeserved loving kindness, unmerited favour) through faith', and in Paul's thought at least has nothing to do with a suspicious or negative attitude towards good behaviour or that 'moral righteousness' which is a fruit of good works (i.e. Torah obedience). On the contrary: Paul expects his converts to live in the manner appropriate for members of the covenant, i.e. the Torah lifestyle (Rom.6, etc.), and this is in fact necessary if emunah (faith) is not to appear a sham (2 Cor.13:5). His polemic against 'works of the law' is not directed against those who attempted to earn covenant membership through keeping the Torah (such people do not seem to have actually existed in the 1st century) but against those who sought to demonstrate their membership in the covenant through obeying the Torah. Against these people Paul argues:
- a. that the Torah cannot in fact be kept perfectly outside of Messiah — lived in an Old Covenant fashion, it merely shows up sin; and
- b. that this attempt would reduce the covenant to a single race, those who possess the Israelite Torah, whereas Yahweh desires a world-wide family (Rom.3:27-31; Gal.3:15-22). This means that James 2:14-26 is not in conflict with Paul, but expresses the same emet (truth) from a different perspective. The 'emunah (faith)' which is insufficient is bare Israelite monotheism (Jas.2:19); and Abraham's emunah (faith), through which Yahweh declared him within the covenant in Genesis 15 (Jas.2:23), was simply 'fulfilled' in the later incident of Genesis 22 (Jas.2:21).
Post-New Testament Theological Development
With the disappearance of Paul’s particular polemical situation (in the mid-1st century AD), it was perhaps to be expected that the doctrine of justification would be reapplied in new ways in future generations, and this happened with its development as the over-all view of how one becomes a Christian — a much wider notion than the very precise New Testament usage. Allied to the mediæval Catholic view of Elohim's (God's) righteousness as iustitia distributiva ('distributed righteousness'), this encouraged a belief in good works as the means by which one earns merit or favour with Elohim (God). In reacting against this, Luther never totally avoided the risk of making emunah (faith) a substitute for works, and hence itself a meritorious performance on man's part. His failure to note the Israelite, covenantal and eschatological content of Paul's doctrine led to exegetical difficulties (e.g. the meaning of Rom.2 and Rom.9-11) and theological problems (the danger of a dualistic rejection of the Torah, and the difficulty of providing a thorough foundation for morality, ethics and lifestyle of the saved) which have troubled subsequent Protestantism.
In particular, popular Protestantism has often more or less crushed out the distinction between justification and regeneration, using 'justification by faith' as a slogan for a romantic or existentialist view of Christianity, rightly criticised by Roman Catholics. Roman Catholic views of justification have continued to be influenced by Augustine, who saw it as Elohim's (God's) action in making people righteous, through pouring into their hearts love towards Himself. This stress on the actual change which Elohim (God) effects in the sinner has continued into modern Roman Catholic theology. The result of this is significantly to broaden the reference of the word, to include far more than Paul (or the Reformers) intended.
Current Debates in Protestantism
Current debates about 'justification' have tended to raise much wider issues than the specific concerns of Paul, and modern ecumenical agreement on the subject (cf. Küng), while welcome in its own right, does not always do justice to the nuances of biblical teaching. Thus, for instance, for Paul it is not the doctrine of justification that is "the power of Elohim (God) for salvation" (Rom.1:16), but the Besorah (Gospel, Good News) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) recorded in the four Gospels. As Hooker noted, it is perfectly possible to be saved by believing in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) without ever having heard of 'justification by faith'. What that doctrine provides is the assurance that, though Christian/Messianic obedience is still imperfect, the believer is already a full member of Elohim's (God's) people. It establishes, in consequence, the basis and motive for ahavah (love) (and true obedience) towards Yahweh. The teaching of present justification is thus a central means whereby the fruits of the Ruach (Spirit) — ahavah (love), chesed (mercy), simcha (joy), shalom (peace) etc. — may be produced.
Bibliography to Section B
[1] Buchanan, The Doctrine of Justification (repr. London, 1961)
[2] C.E.B.Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1975, 1979)
[3] Richard Hooker, Sermon on Justification (1612), in Works, ed. I. Walton (London, 1822, etc.)
[4] H.Küng, Justification: The Doctrine of Karl Barth and a Catholic Reflection (London, 1964)
[5] A.E.McGrath, Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1986)
[6] G.Reid (ed.). The Great Acquittal (London, 1980)
[7] J.Reumann, ‘Righteousness’ in the New Testament: ‘Justification’ in the United States Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue, with responses by J.A.Fitzmyer and J.D.Quinn (Philadelphia, 1982)
[8] H.N.Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (ET, Grand Rapids, MI, 1975)
Acknowledgements
This section is an adaptation of an entry by N.T.Wright in a New Dictionary of Theology (David F.Wright, Sinclair B.Ferguson, J.I.Packer (eds), IVP, pp.359-361), and reproduced by permission of the author.
CBS026 (Sections A & B)
C. THE WORK OF ACCURATE EXEGESIS
The late New Testament scholar, John A.T.Robinson, and one time Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, wrote that much of the scholarship of his day (the 1970's) was based on a "tyranny of unexamined assumptions" and an "almost wilful blindness" [1]. This is certainly our view, even half a century later in the early 21st century, as it is of leading New Testament Scholar, N.T.Wright, former Anglican Bishop of Durham, whose pioneering work on Paul [2] has been strongly influential in the development of Messianic Evangelical thinking in recent years and on Protestant theology generally.
To arrive at an as near perfect understanding of the doctrine of Justification as possible (as with all other biblical doctrines, but especially those which, like Justification, are complex and dense), the Bible cannot be casually treated as a compendium of 'proof-texts'. All too often ministers pick out proof-texts at will to support almost anything they wish to say. Messianic Evangelicals insist that preachers and teachers, in particular, be fully committed to a totally contextual reading of Scripture. This means that:
- 1. Each
- a. Word must be understood within its own verse,
- b. Verse must be understood within its own chapter,
- c. Chapter must be understood within its own book; and
- 2. Each Book must be understood within its own historical, cultural and canonical setting.
It must constantly be born in mind that chapter and verse numbers were neither inspired nor intended by either the original authors or by Elohim (God) and have done immense damage to the comprehension of Scripture. Each book (especially a Gospel or an apocalyptic text like the Book of Revelation) must first be read and understood as a whole (its overall theme or message) before being subjected to dissection, because the whole - which is the message - is always greater than the sum of its parts. Epistles, however, tend to be a little more complex with Romans [3], for example, which is key to an understanding of the doctrine of Justification, being more akin to a symphony in four movements:
- #1: Chapters 1-4;
- #2. Chapters 5-8;
- #3. Chapters 9-11; and
-
#4. Chapters 12-16
with multiple themes following some common, intertwined base lines.
Cultural Conditioning
Like it or not (and most believers seem blissfully unaware of the fact that has in turn led to various denominational misperceptions and misunderstandings), all scripture is 'culturally conditioned'. Accordingly, it is theologically naïve and spiritually dangerous to pretend, as the authors and expositors of many traditional systems of theology do, that some parts are not culturally conditioned and can therefore be treated as in some sense 'primary' or 'universal', while other parts are, and can therefore be safely set aside (e.g. headcoverings, gender rôles, etc.). All Scripture is culturally conditioned.
For example, the doctrine of Yah'shua's (Jesus') divinity is culturally conditioned: as Paul says, the incarnation happened "when the fullness of time had come" (Gal.4:4, NRSV). Likewise, the doctrine of Justification by Faith is culturally conditioned: only within a world already accustomed to notions of Elohim's (God's) justice, of Divine Law (Torah), and of the promises to Abraham, could such a thing have been conceived. Just as in the case of Justification, as with all New Testament doctrine, we must read the Bible with as full and clear an understanding of these contexts as possible. Each generation builds upon the historical knowledge base of the one that preceded it.
Luther's and Protestantism's View of Justification
The differences of belief about the way by which sinners are justified or 'made right' before Yahweh formed the main subject of contention between Catholics and Protestants at the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, with Martin Luther formulating the doctrine, adopted as the most importartant article of faith of all Protestants, that mankind's final justification before Elohim (God) is on the basis solely of the imputed (attributed, ascribed) righteousness of Christ. Messianic Evangelicals and leading Pauline scholars like N.T.Wright insist that such language is not found in the writings of Paul. Protestantism presupposes (assumes beforehand) a theological axiom (establised principle) whereas we insist that all such axioms be established both from Scripture and the context in which the New Testament was produced, namely the Second Temple Judaism of the 1st century AD in which words had particular meanings not always like those assumed to be true today.
In consequence much is at stake in terms of denominational legitimacy in the often passionate (and occasionally bitter tooth-and-nail) sectarian defences made by the different traditions (e.g. Lutheranism, and Calvinism). Speaking of the doctrine of 'Justification by Faith Alone', Martin Luther was not exaggerating when in his Table Talk he said: "If this doctrine (justification by faith alone) falls, it is all over with us [Protestants]." We believe it has failed and that the latest, best and most thorough scholarship now available (such as the exhaustive and comprehensive historical and theological work done by N.T.Wright et al) demonstrably shows it to be over even if it will take the denominations that adhere to it at least a generation to catch up with the reality. The old axiomatic assumptions have been proven wrong and that is why this material is both so controversial and so necessary for the end-time "restoration of all things" (Ac.3:23) in which we are earnestly engaged.
Martin Luther invented the doctrine of justification by faith alone
What we have to say, far from challenging scripture, actually brings it altogether into a harmonious synthesis or whole. This synthesis is outlined in the very briefest form in the Synopsis (Section A) above. Therefore we are not so much interested in defending or dismantling particular traditional 'either/or' interpretations (e.g. Catholic vs. Protestant) but in allowing Scripture to interpret itself within its own first century, Second Temple, Hebrew cultural setting. But that will inevitably, and distressingly for those heavily invested in one tradition or another, require us to think beyond the Western Greco-Roman mindset - see, in this connection, the leading article on the Faith website).
The biblical language of 'justification' must be accurately expressed in order for the Besorah (Gospel) to be properly lived in the Torah way so that the saved may be fully justified in the present as well as at the Last Day. Doing so eliminates in one fell swoop the raison d'être of most of the 30,000+ denominations currently in existence and promotes Christian/Messianic Unity to the true scriptural basis and not the various counterfeit ecumenical forms.
The Difference Between Justification and Salvation
In spite of the fact that in popular Christianity the two are easily confused, justification and salvation are emphatically not the same, and to confuse them is to make careful biblical exegesis, not to mention theology, ultimately impossible.
Salvation and Justification, Present and Future
The final historical event, when the one Elohim (God), Yahweh our Heavenly Father, creates a new world and raises the dead will constitute both the ultimate 'rescue' of His people from death (i.e. 'salvation') and the ultimate verdict in their favour ('justification' - Rom.2:13; Gal.5:5). Thus Paul can also speak of present 'salvation' just as he can of present 'justification' (e.g. Rom.8:24). Both terms can denote (serve as a mark, sign, or indication of) the same event or fact but they connote (convey in addition to exact explicit meaning) quite different things: the one, rescue from a danger or plight; the other, vindication, as in a law court. Both 'justification' and 'salvation' are major themes of Paul's letter to the Romans, but carefully note that 'salvation' is absent from his letter to the Galatians and that is because of different, if related, subject material. It is in major part the failure to make this distinction that has resulted in a number of false, twisted Protestant theologies.
Endnotes
[1] J.A.T.Robinson, Redating the New Testament, SCM Press, London: 1977)
[2] See especially N.T.Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, 2 vols. (SPCK, London: 2013) & Paul and His Recent Interpreters (SPCK, London: 2015)
[3] For a Barthian approach to Romans, see Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans (OUP, 1933); for a Calvinistic approach, see William R.Newell, Romans Verse-by-Verse (1938), open source
CBS027 (Section C)
D. UNDERSTANDING PAUL THE REVELATOR AND HIS MASTERWORK
The Great Epistle to the Romans
Paul's epistle to the Romans is, nearly all Bible teachers agree, his greatest piece of work but has, in equal measure, not only powerfully influenced or effected the greatest minds in Christendom that has led to important spiritual movements but has also mystified and confounded the most gifted learned men of the Messianic Community (Church) too. Until now. Augustine of Hippo, the Roman Catholic mentor of both Luther and Calvin, whose epic work, City of God (413-426), has had an inestimable influence - for good and evil - on Western Christianity and Western European civilisation, had problems with it.
Luther, Augustine and Calvin all struggled to make Paul's Letter to
the Romans fit into their Protestant or Catholic theological systems
The Nature of Pauline Epistles
Even so, ever since the Reformation in the 16th century, many churches have taken Paul as their main guide, and have seen in Romans the book above all others that sets out, like a complete 'Manual of the Faith', all the basic doctrines that they hold to be true, something it never sets out or pretends to do. To begin with, Paul's letters are not treatises. He did not sit down at a desk in undisturbed study and contemplation. They are all writtren in the dust and heat of the day to meet some situation which was theatening the assemblies (churches) he loved so well. They are not timeless theological essays but are written to meet some particular occasion which is what can sometimes make them very difficult to follow because reading them can be like listening to just one side of a telephone conversation. We have to deduce what the situation was from the letters themselves, which is not at all easy. Paul wrote for the day-to-day needs of the Messianic Community (Church). True, he brought the eternal truths to these situations, but he would have been astonished, if he had known that his letters would still be being read and studied into the 21st century. They were never planned as 'Scripture' in the same way the Gospels, Acts, Hebrews or the Book of Revelation were.
Not a Theological Treatise
Still further, Paul did not hand-write his letters, apart sometimes from some very few sentences and the authenticating signature at the end. We even know who one of his secretaries or scribes was since Tertius slips in his own name in Romans 16:22. It would be a mistake, then, to imagine Paul sitting at his desk carefully polishing each sentence, until the style was perfect and the grammar faultless. It was not planned out in the same way this essay was. We must instead think of him striding up and down his room, seeing in his mind's eye the people to whom he was writing, and pouring out a flood of impassioned and excited words to the secretary who strove to take it all down. The letters of Paul are not literary products but come from the arena of life. They do not have the cool detatchment of the theologian in his study; they throb with the passionate concern of the pastor for his people.
How Romans May Have Been Put Together
Though it is, of course, possible, it is unlikely Paul dictated all 16 chapters of Romans in a single sitting to Tertius. Given the clear fourfold division of the letter it is possible that up to four different sessions were used. Paul could well have asked Tertius to read back to him the previous session(s) in order to maintain continuity. There are well developped themes to be found in Galatians 2-4 and Philippians, for example, which he would have had occasion to develop and polish in his preaching that found their way into multiple letters though stitched together differently.
The Process of Refining and Polishing
If you have listened to hundreds of hours of the preaching and teaching of a single person as I have done, for example, with Tom Wright or Ben Witherington, you quickly begin to notice highly polished summaries of their main findings appearing again and again but getting more and more refined with time. Paul is no different. And Romans is undoubtedly the pièce de résistance of his writings, the summum bonum of all he had written before, so many complex themes would have flowed off his tongue with the greatest of ease from constant usage, arranged apparently effortlessly into an harmonious whole, weaving in and out of one another, like Justification, Being in Messiah, Baptism, Sonship and the Family of Abraham, for instance.
How a Personal Theology is Formed
That the letter integrates so well is therefore quite understandable given the oft repeated and constantly reshaped material birthed and perfected in the mission field, his genius, and the overall direction of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) giving it the appearance of a theological treatise at times. Yet that is not its design. It is an impassioned letter even though the apostle quite likely gave careful and prayer consideration to what he wanted to write beforehand, before instructing Tertius to get out ink pot, paper and quill...unless you believe, as I think most fundamentalist Evangelicals do, that the letter was conceived on the spur of the moment and was dictated letter-by-letter, word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, and paragraph-by-paragraph in the way claimed by Mohammed of the Quran or Joseph Smith of the Book of Mormon. Personally, I do not, because the evidence does not at all suggest this to me. How the Ruach (Spirit) orders these things in the minds of Elohim's (God's) instruments is in any case a great mystery and I doubt we will ever fathom it in this life! Yahweh uses raw humanity to create Scripture and simply ensures, using a fallible instrument, that the Story is related rightly. We simply have to enter into the narrative and behold what we are hearing because, as I have said so many times, it was written to be heard.
What the Gospel is For
In any case, for Paul, the Besorah (Gospel, Good News) isn't first and foremost about what can happen to us - our personal salvation through trusting in Christ - but what has already happened to make the entire world a different place. It is primarily about what Yahweh has already done in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), the true King of Israel and the world's true Sovereign. We, in the egocentric culture of the 21st century, may primarily seek for personal material in the Scriptures but for Paul, and those from the 1st century, the primary interest was always the bigger, the gild-framed cosmic picture, because the work of Christ was a cosmic event. We're important, but it isn't just about you and me as individuals in our particular day and age.
Understanding Paul's Place
In so many ways, Romans is the majesterial work of this apostle, summing up all that he ever wrote in his other letters. That he never wrote a Gospel like Mark ought to register with us because that wasn't his calling. Paul was not a first-order witness - He was called to build on top of what the Gospel writers had been called to produce. And though the one treatise-like work that might have been written by Him - Hebrews - departs from what Paul was otherwise doing, it is equally possible that he did not write this epistle as the style is very different. It's a mystery in itself that we don't know who the author was though I personally believe it was Paul; its authorship was probably left anonymous so as to prevent Paul from being ever more idolatrously elevated above his designated station than he already is by Protestants. He's part of a witnessing team, and not the primary witness leading all the others. We would do well to regard Paul's own testimony that he was the least of the apostles, however brilliant (1 Cor.15:9), one of the greatest minds of his day on par with a Socrates. He was not called to walk with the mortal Messiah and become a primary witness like the original Twelve but to show us how to walk in their footsteps and to give us the benefit of his post-resurrection insights.
CBS028 (Section D)
E. THE TWO KEY TEXTUAL SEGMENTS OF ROMANS 1-8
THAT RELATE TO THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION
The Central 'Justification by Faith' Text
The central biblical text of the doctrine of Justification by faith is Romans, chapters 1-4, the interpretation of which Messianic Evangelicals and Protestants pretty much agree on. However, where we part company is over our understanding of chapters 5-8 which (in the case of chapters 6-8) are about an entirely different subject, being a miniature, highly compact Exodus Narrative, but which the whole Western Church (Catholic and Protestant) nevertheless (and with dire spiritual consequences) includes within the purview or scope of the doctrine of individual Justification by Faith. This, then, is the first key distinction that must be made:
- Section #1. The Doctrine of Individual Justification by Faith (Rom.1-4)
- Section #2. The Corporate Exodus Narrative (Rom.6-8).
For an overview of the entire Book of Romans, see the 5-part series, The Kingdom Road cited earlier.
Justification for the Whole Life Lived
Like a binary star revolving around a common point, Justification has two simultaneously operating loci:
- 1. Justification according to the whole life lived at the judgement, including works done in the past (Rom.2:1-16); and
- 2. Justification by emunah (faith) in Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus) in the present æon (age) that is not works-based (Rom.3:21-4:25).
These are not mutually exclusive, as the presiding apostle James testifies in order to clarify some of the confusion caused by the wide scope and depth of Paul's teachings which, as the apostle Peter pointed out, are sometimes hard to understand (2 Pet.3:15-16), though many believe that it is specifically Chapter 8 Peter is alluding to, the all too easily misinterpreted (and misnamed) 'Calvinist Chapter' (because it isn't 'Calvinistic' at all):
"Was not Abraham our father justified (declared righteous) by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed Elohim (God), and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of Elohim (God). You see then that a man is justified (declared righteous) by works, and not by faith only (alone). Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified (declared righteous) by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:21-26, NKJV).
In other words, our works bring our faith in Messiah (which is the prime mover) to perfection. It is never a 'faith vs. works' issue because they are not in competition with each other as many Christians erroneously teach, thereby excusing themselves from Torah-obedience and accountability. Martin Luther hated this passage and wanted the Letter of James removed from the New Testament because it contradicted his teaching of 'justification by faith alone'. Paul, as we shall now see in this first passage from Romans, does not agree with Luther:
#1. Justification according to the whole life lived, including works done, at the judgement: "So you have no excuse - anyone, whoever you are, who sit in judgement (see chapter 1)! When you judge someone else, you condemn yourself, because you, who are behaving as a judge, are doing the same things. Elohim's (God's) judgement falls, we know, in accordance with the emet (truth), on those who do such things. But if you judge those who do them and yet do them yourself, do you really suppose that you will escape Elohim's (God's) judgement?
"Or do you despise the riches of Elohim's (God's) kindness, forbearance and patience? Do you know that Elohim's (God's) kindness is meant to bring you to repentance? But by your hard, unrepentant heart you are building up a store of anger for yourself on the day of anger, the day when Elohim's (God's) just judgement will be unveiled - the Elohim (God) who will 'repay everyone according to their works' (Ps.62:13; Prov.24:12).
"When people patiently do what is good, and so pursue the quest for glory and honour and immortality, Elohim (God) will give them the life of the age (æon) to come. But when people act out of selfish desire, and do not obey the emet (truth), but instead obey injustice, there will be anger and fury. There will be trouble and distress for every single person who does what is wicked, the Yehudi (Judahite, 'Jew') first, equally, the Greek (Gentile) - and there will be glory, honour, and shalom (peace) for everyone who does what is good, the Yehudi (Judahite, 'Jew') first and also, equally, the Greek (Gentile). Elohim (God), you see, shows no partiality.
"Everyone who sinned outside the Torah (Law), you see, will be judged outside the Torah (Law) - and those who sinned from within the Torah (Law) will be judged by means of the Torah (Law). After all, it isn't those who hear the Torah (Law) who are in the right (justified, righteous) before Elohim (God). It's those who DO the Torah (Law) who will be declared to be in the right (justified, righteous)!
"This is how it works out. Goyim (Gentiles) don't possess the Torah (Law) as their birthright; but whenever they do what the Torah (Law) says, they are a torah (law) for themselves, despite not possessing the Torah (Law). They show that the work of the Torah is 'written on their hearts' (Jer.31:32). Their conscience bears witness as well as well, and their thoughts will run this way and that, sometimes accusing them and sometimes excusing, on the day when (according to the Besorah/Gospel I proclaim) Elohim (God) judges all human secrets through King Yah'shua (Jesus)" (Rom.2:1-16, Kingdom New Testament (KNT) by N.T.Wright - messianised).
From this key passage we learn that essential elements in Elohim's (God's) own dikaiosyné or righteousness include His impartiality and just judgement. This is the concept of judiciary responsibility that is carefully laid out in the Tanakh (Old Testament) [1] and is exercised by both human elohim (judges) and the Divine Elohim (God), Yahweh. For example:
- 1. Human: "Suppose two persons have a dispute and enter into litigation, and the judges decide between them, declaring one to be in the right ('justified', 'righteous') and the other to be in the wrong ('unjustified', 'unrighteous')" (Dt.25:1, NRSV).
- 2. Divine: "If someone sins against a neighbour and is given an oath to swear, and comes and swears before Your altar in this House, then hear in Heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing their conduct on their own head, and vindicating the righteous (declaring them justified) by rewarding them according to their righteousness (state of being justified, 'justifiedness')" (1 Ki.8:31-32, NRSV).
Terrifying Scriptures for Denominationally 'Tribal' Thinkers
Because they have been trained to think tribally in the Lutheran way ('we are justfied by faith alone') the following words have struck terror into the hearts of unsuspecting Protestants:
"For it is not the hearers of the Torah (Law) who are [declared] righteous (justified) in Elohim's (God's) sight, but the doers of the Torah (Law) who will be justified (declared righteous, declared to be in the right)" (Rom.2:13, NRSV).
These are Paul's own words: 'Hoi poiétai noumou dikaióthésetai' - "those who do the Torah (Law) will be justified (declared righteous)". Indeed, as theologian P.Eisenbaum remarked of one of his pupils, "the student reader thought she had a typo in her Bible because she did not believe that Paul could say that the doers of the law would be justified". And neither could Luther and generations of Protestants since who have gone to great efforts to do theological acrobatics around this passage and others like it in order to muzzle or neutralise them. Nevertheless, there are plenty of signs elsewhere in his letters that Paul means exactly what he says. We are justified (declared righteous) by works, in the way James clearly explained, at a future judgement. In that there is no ambiguity in Scripture.
There are those, then, who never knew Elohim (God) and who never trusted in Messiah (Christ) who will be justified (made right, declared righteous) before Elohim (God) who nevertheless did the required works of the Torah (God) by responding to their conscience leading them to do what was right. Such are treated kindly by Yahweh at the Last judgement, their works being regarded by Him as the same in kind as the works of those who knew Elohim (God) and trusted Yah'shua (Jesus) by emunah (faith). Works count in Final Justification.
Evangelicals commonly speak of good works as evidence of true emunah (faith), the emunah (faith) that justifies (makes a person righteous before Yahweh), and this is not untrue in a limited sense. But for whom is this 'evidence' and why is that important? not forgetting that people can do 'good works' with false motives. Certainly 'good works' are more desirable than 'bad works' for the good of the community. Nevertheless there is a biblical sense that good works, for the authentically saved living out of a pure and regenerated heart, are more than just symbolic. They are, as the apostle James testified, a part of genuine, proactive faith which is biblical emunah, perfecting an individual's trusting in Christ. They are integral to the 'faith equation' even if they are not the most important or primary part. According to Paul, trusting emunah (faith) saves (from hell and to heaven) but the works bring the actual rewards of "glory, honour and peace". It is therefore never sufficient to passively 'believe' and do nothing about it, in a failure to respond to Yahweh-directed conscience and revelation. That is why biblical emunah (faith) is never passive but always (wherever physically possible) proactive - it leads to action! You cannot separate the two components but you can, and must, ensure that it is trusting that leads.
Justification in the Present Continuous
We shall now examine the second, and more familiar, aspect of justification taught by Paul in Romans:
#2. Justification by emunah (faith) in Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus) in the present ćon (age): "But now, quite apart from the Torah (Law) (though the Torah/Law and Nevi'im/Prophets bore witness to it), Elohim's (God's) covenant justice (righteousness) has been displayed. Elohim's (God's) covenant justice (righteousness) comes into operation through the faithfulness of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), for the benefit of all who have emunah (faith). For there is no distinction: all sinned and all fell short of Elohim's (God') glory - and by Elohim's (God's) grace (undeserved loving-kindness, unmerited favour) they are freely declared to be in the right (justified), to be members of the covenant, through the redemption which is found in the Messiah Yah'shua (Jesus).
"Elohim (God) put Yah'shua (Jesus) forth as the place of mercy through faithfulness, by means of His blood ('through faith in His blood' - NIV). He did this to demonstrate His covenant justice (righteousness), because of the passing over (in divine forebearance) of sins committed beforehand. This was to demonstrate His covenant justice (righteousness) in the present time: that is, that He Himself is in the right (justified), and that He declares to be in the right (justifies) anyone who trusts in the faithfulness of Yah'shua (Jesus).
"So what happens to boasting? It is ruled out! Through what sort of torah (law)? The torah (law) of works (deeds)? No: through the torah (law) of emunah (faith)! We calculate, you see, that a person is declared to be in the right (justified) on the basis of his emunah (faith), apart from works (deeds) of the Torah (Law). Or does Elohim (God) only belong to Yehudim (Judahites, 'Jews')? Doesn't He belong to the nations as well? Yes, of course, to the nations as well, since Elohim (God) is echad (one). He will make the declaration 'in the right' (justified) over the circumcised on the basis of emunah (faith), and over the uncircumcised through emunah (faith).
"Do we then abolish the Torah (Law) through emunah (faith)? Certainly not! Rather, we establish the Torah (Law).
"§What shall we say, then? have we found Abraham be our ancestor in a human, fleshy sense? After all, if Abraham was reckoned 'in the right' (justified) on the basis of works, he has grounds to boast - but not in Elohim's (God's) presence!
"So what does the Bible (Scripture) say? 'Abraham believed Elohim (God), and it was calculated in his favour, putting him in the right 'making him justified' (Gen.15:6). Now when someone 'works', the 'reward' they get is not calculated on the basis of generosity, but on the basis of what they are owed. But if someone doesn't 'work', but simply believes in the One who declares the ungodly to be in the right (justified), that person's emunah (faith) is calculated in their favour, putting them in the right (making them justified).
"We see the same thing when David speaks of the blessing that comes to someone when Elohim (God) calculates to be in the right (justifies) apart from works:
'Blessed are those whose Torah (Law)-breaking is forgiven
And whose sins have been covered over;
Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh will not calculate (impute) sin' (Ps.32:1-2).
"So, then, does this blessing come on circumcised people or on uncircumcised? This is the passage we quoted: 'His emunah (faith) was calculated (imputed) to Abraham as indicating that he was in the right (justified)'. How was it calculated? When he was circumcised or when he was uncircumcised? It wasn't when he was circumcised; it was when he was uncircumcised! He received circumcision as a sign and seal of the status of covenant membership (righteousness), on the basis of emunah (faith) which he had when he was still uncircumcised. This was so he could be the father or all who believe even when uncircumcised, so that the status of covenant membership (righteousness) can be calculated to their account as well. He is also, of course, the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who follow the steps of the emunah (faith) which Abraham possessed while still uncircumcised.
"The promise, you see, didn't come to Abraham or to his family through the Torah (Law) - the promise, that is, that he would inherit the world. It came through the covenant justice of emunah (faith). For if those who belong to the Torah (Law) are going to inherit, then emunah (faith) is empty, and the promise has been abolished. For the Torah (Law) stirs up Elohim's (God's) anger; but where there is no Torah (Law), there is no Torah (Law)-breaking.
"That is why it's 'by emunah (faith)': so that it can be in accordance with grace (undeserved loving kindness, unmerited favour), and so that the promise can thereby be validated for the entire family - not simply those who are from the Torah (Law), but those who share the emunah (faith) of Abraham. He is the father of us all, just as the Bible (Scripture) says, 'I have made you the father of many nations' (Gen.17:5). This happened in the presence of Elohim (God) in whom he believed, the Elohim (God) who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist.
"Against all hope, but still in hope, Abraham believed that he would become the father of many nations, in line with what had been said to him: 'That's what your family will be like' (Gen.15:5). He didn't become weak in emunah (faith) as he considered his own body (which was already as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah's womb. He didn't waiver in unbelief when faced with Elohim's (God's) promise. Instead, he grew strong in emunah (faith) and gave glory to Elohim (God), being fully convinced that Elohim (God) had the power to accomplish what He had promised. That it why 'it was calculated to him in terms of covenant justice (righteousness)' (Gen.15:6).
But it wasn't written for him alone that 'it was calculated (credited, imputed) to him'. It was written for us as well! It will be calculated (credited) to us, too, since we believe in the One who raised from the dead Yah'shua (Jesus) our Master (Lord), who was handed over because of our trespasses and raised because of (for) our justification" (Rom.3:21-4:25, KNT - messianised).
What is this long argument leading to? Salvation! For the first time since the introduction of Romans 1:16-17, Paul is taking his reader to the theme of salvation or deliverance. The theme appears at last, like the royal standard being run up the flagpole in the city formerly under hostile occupation. Within the whole of Romans there are only three passages which which join 'justification' and 'salvation' together which are later used as near-synonyms in later Christian apologetic writings and discourses but almost never by Paul:
- 1. Romans 1:17-17 - The Besorah (Gospel, Good News) is Elohim's (God's) saving power because in it Elohim's (God's) righteousness is revealed from faith to faith;
- 2. Romans 5:9-10 - Here Paul builds on the 'revelation of Elohim's (God's) righteousness' in the death of Yah'shua (Jesus) in 3:21-26: we are justified by His blood and will therefore be saved from the coming wrath; and
- 3. Romans 10:9-11 - This is every bit as important thematically and structurally as the first two: "If you profess with your mouth that Yah'shua (Jesus) is Master (Lord), and believe in your heart that Elohim (God) raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Why? Because the way to covenant membership (dikaiosyné, 'justification' - NRSV) is by believing with the heart, and the way to salvation is by professing with the mouth. The scripture says, you see, 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame'" (Rom.10:9-11, NTE/KNT).
In other words, Paul teaches that:
- a. A man is JUSTIFIED by believing/trusting the Besorah (Gospel, Good News) in his heart = his passive emunah (faith); and
- b. A man is SAVED by professing the Besorah (Gospel, Good News) with his mouth = his active emunah (faith).
We are now at one of the spiritual mountain-tops of Paul's grand revelation in Romans. Note, moreover, another close link between the three passages: 'I am not ashamed of the Besorah (Gospel, Good News)' in Romans 1:16, 'hope does not make us ashamed' in Romans 5:5, and 'everyone who believes will not be put to shame' in Romans 10:11. From this mountain-top we can view his other mountain-tops as well as the pathways which lead between them. And, though the word 'salvation' and its cognates (linguistic ancestors) do not occur in Romans 8:31-39, that paragraph is yet another place where these themes meet and merge.
The whole point of Romans 5 is that salvation stresses, as it were, the 'negative pole' (salvation from) of the future hope - in this case, 'from Elohim's (God's) coming anger/wrath'. In Romans 5:30, we find the contrast of the 'positive pole' (saved for or to), in this case, 'for the glory of Elohim (God)'. (With the exception of 1 Corinthians 7:11 and the highly significant exception of Romans 11:5, this is the only other passage where this root occurs in the whole New Testament). In Romans 5:2, Paul balances this (as in 8:18) which, according to 3:23 had been lost through sin. And having spoken so far of the Messiah's 'death' on our behalf, he changes at the end of verse 10: 'we are saved 'in/by His life' (en té zóé autou).
Protestants need to understand that the language of 'imputed righteousness' is not in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament). The concept is a theological construct based on inferences made from Paul's writings. And whilst this fact neither proves nor disproves the legitimacy of the doctrine of imputation, it does not lie, as Calvinists and others teach, at the heart or centre of the Besorah (Gospel). It was never taught explicitly by Yah'shua (Jesus) at all. Now the resurrection, caring for "the least of these My brethren" (Mt.25:40,45, NKJV), obeying "the least of these mitzvot (commandments)" (Matt 5:19, NKJV) of the Torah, Messiah's death for our sins, and the sovereignty of Elohim (God) are all explicity and plainly taught by Christ and in the Bible generally. The concept of 'imputation' is not explicitly there. Something that is not expicitly taught in Scripture cannot therefore lie at its centre or reside in its very heart as many Protestants insist.
The apostle Paul was first and foremost a theologian (Christianity's first, in fact) and an expository preacher in the Pharisaic tradition - he was not a 'prophet, seer and revelator' in the conventional Tanakh (Old Testament) sense as was the apostle John (see Book of Revelation). Accordingly, all Christians and Messianics from all traditions, privately infer and interpret Paul's writings to some degree. Inference cannot lead to the same kind of certainty, so essential to the spiritual life, as explicit teaching does. You are entitled to speculate but not make a dogma out of it that then becomes a test of faith. That is another reason why Calvinism in particular may be said to exhibit strong cultic tendencies.
The doctrine of imputation contradicts the very plain and irrefutable emet (truth) that Yah'shua (Jesus) and Paul both taught a final judgement according to works. Paul constantly referred to a day when everyone, Christians/Messianics included, would stand before Yahweh and be judged according to what they had done. Romans 2:1-16, which we have cited, is the obvious passage:
"For He will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the emet (truth) but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury...For it is not the hearers of the Torah (Law) who are [declared] righteous (justified) in Elohim's (God's) sight, but the doers of the Torah (Law) who will be justified ('declared Righteous')" (Rom.2:6-8,13)
There are others, like 2 Corinthians 5:10, where Paul frequently taught that your works will have a direct impact on the judgement you receive from Yahweh (e.g. Rom.8:13; Gal.5:19-21). And this is just Paul. Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) emphasises and depicts a Final Judgement according to works in great detail, not least of which are found in Matthew 25:31-46 and John 5:25-29:
"Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and will come out - those who have done good, to the resurrection of chayim (life), and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (Jn.5:28-29).
John Piper, a leading popular Calvinist, claimed in his book, The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright, through a quote of Solomon Stoddard, that Christians would finally be judged, not based on what they had done, but on the basis of the perfect life of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ):
"...our claim to the pardon of sin and acceptance with God is not founded on anything wrought in us, or acted by us, but only on the righteousness of Christ" (The Future of Justification - Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois: pp.33-36)
This is plainly false doctrine. If Paul (or Yah'shua/Jesus) taught imputation as articulated by Piper, then it would be reasonable to expect depictions of final judgement in Scripture to reflect this reality. We would then expect to see the Final Judgement in Scripture illustrated as Christians/Messianics being judged based on the life Yah'shua (Jesus) lived. We do not. Conversely, we find explicity that final judgement is always according to what we have done (or failed to do) - it is on the basis of our whole life lived. That is the biblical doctrine of Justification. This is the basis on which we are declared 'Rigteous' by Yahweh, our Heavenly Father, on the final day.
This does not mean that our salvation is works-based. The righteousness which is having the record of sin, and its associated guilt, wiped clean from our souls by trusting in and adhering to Messiah, is, we can certainly deduce from Paul, by faith (trusting) in Messiah and received by imputation. We don't 'work' to 'get' that. It is a silent, invisible, works-free imputation. But that is not the full picture of what 'justification' consists because there is a dynamic here. There is also a justification by works for Christ - a righteousness that is declared over, and of, us that is based on the deeds we do and whether these align with Torah or not (our faithfulness).
And whilst these works do not deliver us from hell per se, they do decide what kind of heaven, resurrection and rewards we shall receive hereafter, and in part, now. They thus determine the quality of the "glory" we shall receive. Thus justification may be described as a two-sided coin consisting of justification by faith and justification for faithfulness (works):
There is always this duality or bipolarity which we see reflected in the very fabric of creation.
In the present, at least, we see this at work in the very simple action of walking in which we walk out with our first step in faith in the long-term goal (which is Christ) and follow that up with the short-term objective (which remains in Christ because it was initially propelled by faith in Christ). That is the difference between passive (without works) and active faith (with Torah-based works):
This why we live in time so that we can participate in the work of the Kingdom. It is why there are two Comings, not one, and two major æons (ages) - pre-messianic and messianic - and not one. It is also why life is so complex at times, yet when you distil down the two main operating principles, it becomes much simpler to understand. All is, indeed, by faith, but not any old faith, but by emunah - pro-active faith/trusting. The Lutheran doctrine of justification and salvation by passive faith alone is therefore seen to be only half the story, and therefore false.
In any case, for Paul in particular, it is not the doctrine of justification that is "the power of Elohim (God) for salvation" (Rom.1:16, NRSV) but the Besorah (Gospel, Good News) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and it is perfectly possible to be saved by believing in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) without ever having heard of 'justification by faith'. What that doctrine provides is the assurance that, though Christian/Messianic obedience is still imperfect, the believer is already a full member of Yahweh's Covenant People - New Covenant Messianic Israel. It establishes, in consequence, the basis and motive for ahavah (love) and true Torah-obedience towards Elohim (God). The teaching of present justification is thus a central means whereby the fruits of the Ruach (Spirit) - ahavah (love), simcha (joy), shalom (peace), etc. - may be produced.
Endnotes
[1] See Exodus 23:2ff.,6-9; Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:18-20; 24:17; 27:19; Psalm 82:2; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Isaiah 10:2; Amos 5:12
Acknowledgements
[1] William Barclay, The New Testament - a New Translation (Fontana/Collins, London: 1969)
[2] Shane Himes, N.T. Wright, John Piper & Justification: A Calvinist Pastor Recants
(1e 30 December 2019 | 2e 20 April 2020 | 3e 1 February 2023 )
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