Covenant Membership: A Matter of Justification

Romans 3:28: "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

This verse comes as part of the primary argument of the book of Romans, the main point being that justification is not a matter of ethnic distinction or even religious rites.  On the contrary, justification is a matter of faith, more directly, faith in Christ Jesus.  And while justification is one of the major considerations of Paul, and through Paul the Holy Spirit, it can be easily misconceived as something other than to what Paul is referring.  Because of this, a brief note about justification is in order.

For starters, justification is a dense word dealing with the legal tenders of humans, but it can be reduced to a single phrase: covenant membership.  In this way, justification means covenant covenant membership.  So, the major argument of Romans is a matter of what makes someone a member of the covenant of Christ.  In this, then, 'works of the law' refers not to works-based-righteousness; it refers to what makes someone a member of the covenant.  In other words, 'works of the law' is synonymous with circumcision and other Israelite rites.  This alludes to the juxtaposition present in this verse, arming justification by faith with justification by works of the law.

This is still so relevant to Christians today.  We often consider our faithfulness to the covenants of God as a matter of things we do or have done, as in, if I go to church and know the right Scriptures then I will prove me as a member of the covenant of Christ.  But Paul, and the Holy Spirit that inspired this passage, is saying something different altogether.  No longer is covenant membership a matter of 'works of the law' a.k.a. circumcision.  Now justification is a matter of faith alone; faith in Christ Jesus.  In this way, the covenant and its promises have been opened and made available to all those who have faith.  And as a gentile Christian all I can say is: "Amen!"

The Holy Standard of God

In 1992, the Rapid City, South Dakota police department arrested Dennis Lee Curtis, a known armed robber.  Curtis had been on a years-long robbery spree and the police were relieved to finally arrest him with relative ease. When the police were filing him at the station, they had Curtis empty his pocket. They were full of the usual stuff: wallet, gum, lint, etc.  But as the officers looked through his wallet they came across a piece of paper with a peculiar list on it:

1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
2. I will take cash and food stamps--no checks.
3. I will rob only at night.
4. I will not wear a mask.
5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores.
6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away.  If I get chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
7. I will rob only 7 months out of the year.
8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

Although Curtis was an armed robber, his list revealed that had developed and held to an ethic, a sense of morality that he lived by.  At Curtis's trial, the defense presented this list to the court in an attempt to show that, though Curtis had broken the law, he was not as bad as some other seemingly moral-less criminals.  Needless to say, the judge was not swayed and Curtis was sentenced to prison for his crimes.

The point is that no matter the moral code that we may create to make ourselves out to be "good enough," we are held to the higher, perfect law of God.  In reality, no matter what standard we set for ourselves, it is nowhere near the holy standard of God.  Scripture could not be more unified in this regard.  God is a perfect judge, His law is perfect, and man is unable to meet its requirements (Psa. 7:11; Isa. 64:6; Rom 3:10-23; 2 Cor. 15:10).

This reality should prompt us to humility and to faith in Christ, for only through Him may propitiation for our sins be made.  Recognizing our counterfeit-law is a necessary step in destroying it so as to strive for the highest, holy law of God, which is Christ Jesus crucified.  Let us then empty the wallets of our criminal selves and light our false-laws on fire!

Jesus the Justifier

Justified by faith (Rom 5:1).  The sheer depth and density of such a statement is staggering.  Paul made no small declaration by saying that faith is the means to justification's end.  Because of the breadth of theology administered by the profundity of this simple phrase, their are libraries full of books about it; clearly, this is important.  A good place to begin is to address what Paul means by "justification" and what he means by "faith."

Justification, in its basest form, is a legal matter.  To be considered just necessitates legitimate reasoning and overcoming the burden of proof.  In the case of salvation, the burden of proof is sin.  Luckily, we have an advocate in Jesus, the Justifier before God, the Heavenly judge.  Therefore, declaring us to be justified is wholly dependent on the Lord justifying us before His own eyes.

Moreover, justification refers to justice being meted out.  In this case, justice is paid for by the blood of the spotless lamb, Jesus.  In order for the perfect justice of God to be met, a perfect justifier had to provide the cost justice required.  Jesus is that provider.  By His perfect, sinless life He met the necessary requirements of God's justice.  In His death, Jesus paid the price of justice, served sin's sentence so to speak.  And by His bodily resurrection, He has not only met justification's requirements but has covered the cost of justification for all mankind.

Enter faith.  In order for anyone to have Jesus' justification applied personally to their sin accounts and be found just before a holy God, faith is the necessary requirement.  The reason that it is by faith that justification is administered to humans is logical.  If justification were to be appropriated by works of merit, the amount of justification applied would need to be consistent with the value of the merit's acts.  Therefore, reason stands that because God's requirements of justice are perfect and man is incapable of meriting perfect righteousness, then there needs to be another manner of accruing perfect justification.

Christ acts as our perfecter justifier.  Through faith in Him we are deemed justified.  Justification then becomes our punched-ticket of entrance into the Kingdom of God.  By faith, the justification of Christ is appropriated and applied to our lives.  Faith is the conduit for justification's application to our lives.  The content and object of our faith is Jesus.  Only by faith in Him, His life, death, and resurrection, are we able to be justified before the Lord.  Let us then run to Christ in faith and thus take joy that He justifies us by the blood of Jesus!