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The Ungodly Justified

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The Ungodly Justified

7 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4&5).

Rev. H.D. den Hollander, Fort Macleod, AB

Paul wrote to the Romans about justification. “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4&5). The doctrine of justification Luther called “the article of a standing or a falling church.” It is indeed one of the most important doctrines of Scripture, upon which the whole Reformation, which we hope to commemorate on October 31st, was based.

We would do well to ask ourselves if the question of justification has ever become important to us personally. We may consider many aspects of the Reformation which are very interesting, but if we are never concerned with the matter of our own justification before God, we will perish with all our knowledge of the blessed history of God’s Church. If it will be well with us, what was bound upon the heart of Luther by the Spirit of the Lord must also be bound upon our hearts.

The word justification is a forensic term, meaning that it has to do with a court of law. What did the Lord bring into the foreground in the life of Luther when He worked within his heart? Luther, as with all the objects of the work of the Spirit, received for the first time saving impressions of God. Luther believed that he had to stand before God’s judgment seat, and that, he felt, he could not do. Rome indeed made every attempt to relieve the anxiety of their conscientious monk. Thus, to work he went. No, the newborn soul is not averse to working. The Lord has a willing people in the day of His power. No, nothing is too much for those people. Their determination is genuine, their zeal great. “Have patience with me and I will pay Thee all.” Their object? Holiness. Why? Because God is holy. They have sinned, but they are going to make it well again. No, then they “dare not step over a straw.” What a careful life. What a close life. What love to God is manifest in such a life.

However, what did Luther have to experience? It is a fruitless life. Ah, what discouragements those people meet along the way, what failures, what disappointments. They thought, they intended, yes, they expected to reform their whole life, and yes, many things indeed have changed. Outwardly they no longer walk as they formerly did with the world in its Vanity Fair. No longer do they sit upon its beaches, at its movies, or in its bars. No longer do they dress according to its fashions and abominable standards. Their inner chamber is now often occupied, their seat in God’s house never empty, and their Bible pages become worn. Yes, indeed, their life has become different. To their own surprise, it is not as difficult as they thought it would be. No, it really is a pleasure. And yet...yet...? Ah, no, they are not yet finished. They are not yet there. They have not yet attained unto that holiness they seek. It is true; there has been a great change. It is true; that change is spoken of far and wide, also by God’s people. Still there is no rest; still there is no peace in their soul. God is so holy; God is so perfect; and God looketh not merely on the outward appearance, as man does, but “on the heart.” Oh no, the struggle is far from finished. Ah, the first part is not so difficult. With a little perseverance, the practices of life are brought into an external conformity with God’s Word, but the heart sins. No, this is not so easy. To govern my sinful thoughts, to direct my corrupt motives, to influence my rebellious will, no, over this I seem to have so little power. So Luther continued to return to his monastic supervisor Von Staupitz, to whom he had to confess his sins in order to be forgiven. Today this, tomorrow that, the next day something else; no, it seems that he will never be finished. How disappointing. How discouraging for those people. What shall become of me after all? What a debt. Can it ever be paid? What a fountain of iniquity. Can it ever be made pure?

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” “Justifieth the ungodly?” Is that what the Lord says? “Justifieth the ungodly?” Is it not a mistake? Can He justify the ungodly? Must He not, as the righteous Judge, justify the godly, the pure, the innocent, the righteous?

Oh, afflicted, poor and distressed soul, it is no mistake. Truly, it is no error. Indeed, He “justifieth the ungodly” No, He does not first infuse the righteousness of Christ into His people, thus making them holy, and then proceed to justify them on the basis of their holiness. No, He “justifieth the ungodly” directly. What is that justification? It is a declaration, a declaration of a judge who pronounces a sentence. To be justified is to be “right with the law.” Thus, God the Father, as Judge, declares a sinful, guilty, polluted soul to be “just” before Him, in perfect conformity to His holy law. He does not say that he is right with the law in and of himself. Yet He nevertheless declares him to be so. He declares him to be free from the curse of the law and the punishment due to him for his sin. He justifies him. Whom? An ungodly man, woman, boy, or girl.

Upon what basis does he justify such an ungodly one? He does so upon the basis of the satisfaction wrought by His Son in His suffering and death. Oh, what holy longings, hungerings, and thirstings of the soul after the blessed Mediator are wrought by such a sight of His work. Oh, how “altogether lovely,” how “white and ruddy” He becomes in the eyes of such ones, yea, “the chiefest among ten thousand!” Outside of Him their eternal ruin is sealed. Ungodly, ungodly...and that forever. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Can the leopard change his spots?” Then I cannot do good, who am accustomed to doing evil. Ungodly, ungodly. So it is. So it remains, and therefore I am lost. Forever lost—but no, no. He “justifies the ungodly” Wonder of wonders! Oh, “bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name....Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies....”

So “the poor hath hope and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.” Rome, you are so poor. Luther, you are so rich, and the Triune God is glorified, forever and ever! “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a Rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.”

My dear reader, if what was bound on the heart of Luther may also be bound on your heart, then you shall also experience the great wonder that Luther experienced. Be sure you shall know with Luther a fruitless life, but the Lord will also reveal in His time that great wonder of the justification of the ungodly. Then “the meek shall eat and be satisfied,” and your soul shall bless the Lord, by a small beginning here below, but increasingly to all eternity. Oh, do seek that this may also become your experience and portion.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 oktober 2008

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's

The Ungodly Justified

Bekijk de hele uitgave van woensdag 1 oktober 2008

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's