The Marks of Justification

The Marks of Justification

We are studying together the keywords of the Christian life, the “doctrinal words” in the Bible that spell out for us what Christ has done for us and what He wants to do for us today. We began with a study of justification. Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ. We have discussed the meaning of justification. It is an act, not a process; it is the act of God, not something that man does. And God’s act justifies a person once and for all.

We also studied the method of justification. Justification is by grace, not by human merit. It is by faith and not by works-even religious works. It is by the blood of Jesus Christ, for He had to die so that our sins might be forgiven. And justification is unto life. It is not separated from life, it changes our lives.

Now we want to look at the marks of justification, and our key passage is Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

The marks of justification in the believer’s life are revealed in relationships. If you are truly justified by faith, then you are going to have the right relationship with God, a right relationship with circumstances, and a right relationship with other people.

Relationship With God

Let’s begin with this right relationship with God described in Romans 5:1,2. You will recall that justification has to do with our standing before God. Justification does not make a person righteous; he is declared righteous. Now the consequence of this, of course, is a righteous life. The person who claims he is justified by faith but who lives a godless life is declaring that his lips are lying. Justification before God results in a changed life that is visible to other people.

Peace With God

Notice first of all that we have peace with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1). When we were unsaved, we were at war with God. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (v. 10). There was a time when you and I were at enmity with God. In fact, Romans 8:7 informs us that the carnal mind, the fleshly mind, is enmity with God. The person who has never been born again doesn’t think of God’s thoughts and doesn’t desire what God desires; therefore, he is at war with God.

We cannot have peace until we first have the right tenuousness. Justification has to do with righteousness. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, we can have His righteousness when we put our faith in Him. In Psalm 85:10 we have this statement: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Righteousness and peace “kiss each other” through Jesus Christ. As sinners, we have no righteousness of our own.

Our righteousness before God is as filthy rags (see Isa. 64:6). But when we receive His mercy when we believe His truth-then righteousness is placed on our account. We are justified; therefore, we have peace. There can be no peace without righteousness.

The Prophet Isaiah makes this very clear in Isaiah 32:17: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.” So the first mark of justification, as far as my relationship with God is concerned, is that I have peace with God. I am not afraid of Him, although I have a reverence for Him. I am not at war with Him. I have peace in my heart that comes from a clear conscience, a clean heart, and a righteous standing before God. 

Access to God

Second, not only is their peace with God but there is access to God. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, “by whom also we have access by faith” (Rom. 5:2). The unsaved person has no access to God because he has no standing before God. Those who have been justified by faith have access to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can come to the throne of grace, we can talk to our Heavenly Father, and we can fellowship with Him.

This access is into grace. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” Our standing before God is one of grace and not one of Law. Grace means that God provides for us; Law means I try to live to please God. Grace means God’s resources available to Christians everywhere. Or grace means God’s riches at Christ’s expense. When you come by faith in Christ, you have access to the grace of God.

It is a marvelous thing to know that you are living by grace and not by Law. You are not living by your own merit or by your own ability, you are living by the grace of God that is sufficient for everything.

Hope in the Glory of God

Something else is true. We not only have peace with God and access to God, but we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The unsaved person has no hope. He has no future about which he can rejoice. When you trust Christ as your Saviour, you are standing in grace and you are rejoicing in hope. You have a bright future ahead of you because you are justified by faith.

What is this hope? The glory of God! Romans 3:23 informs us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. None of us measures up to God’s glory. But when you become a Christian and you are justified by faith, then you can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. You may be in difficult circumstances and you may be hurt. Your body may be in pain. But you can still rejoice because, as a Christian, you have peace with God, you have access to God, you are standing in grace, and you have hope. You can rejoice in that hope because one day you are going to share in the glory of God!

Relationship to Circumstances

The second mark of justification is our relationship to circumstances (Rom. 5:3,4). The unsaved person is torn down by tribulations, but the believer is built up by tribulations. “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also” (v. 3). That doesn’t mean we go out and look for them, but when trials do come, we don’t give up because we know that “tribulation worketh patience.” The word “patience” doesn’t mean sitting there very stoically, just passively enduring it. It means brave endurance that keeps you going. It is not someone sitting in a rocking chair; it is the soldier out on the battlefield who keeps on going when the going gets tough. When you have been justified, when you are right with God, you are not bowled over by circumstances.

What life does to you depends upon what life finds in you. If you have peace with God within, if you have the grace of God, if you are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, then tribulation is going to work for you and not against you. Tribulation works “brave endurance,” and endurance works “experience.” The word “experience” means-tested character. Nothing builds character like tribulation when you know God.

Circumstances by themselves do not build character. I have seen circumstances tear people down. But when you know God, circumstances can build character. The word “tribulation” comes from a Latin word, tribulum. A tribulum was a huge piece of wood (like a railroad tie) that had nails driven into it, and the oxen used to draw this piece of wood over the grain to thresh the grain. This is what tribulation does for us. Tribulation is God’s way of separating the wheat from the chaff, the grain from the waste. And tribulation works for us because it develops brave endurance in us. When you have brave endurance, you start building character, and character produces hope. The most hopeful Chris tians I have met have been those who have gone through the threshing of tribulation.

When you have been justified by faith, you have a right relationship with God, and you have a right relationship with the circumstances around you. Circumstances are not tearing you down, they are building you up.

Relationship to Others

Third, you have a right relationship to others. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). This is a part of that “justification unto life” that is mentioned in verse 18. When you are justified by faith when you trust the Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes into your life and you know that you are one of God’s children. The Holy Spirit gives to you the fullness of God’s love. “And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God [literally] has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (NASB). This means you allow love to rule in your relationships.

When you have this kind of love in your heart, it isn’t hard to get along with other people, even difficult people. We have all experienced the change that took place because we trusted the Saviour. We replaced hatred, jealousy, envy, and selfishness with love. The Holy Spirit began to produce in our lives the fruit of the Spirit listed here: Love in verse 5, joy in verse 2, and peace in verse 1. The love of God, the peace of God and the joy that we have in God are all the result of justification by faith.

I would say it is a marvelous thing to be justified! There is no reason in all the world why we Chris tians should be walking around with long faces, with dismal expressions and always complaining. We have so much because we have trusted Christ as our Saviour! If you have been justified, you have a right relationship with God; you have peace with God, not war; you have access to God; you have grace from God, and you can get through life with all of His power; you can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

More than that, you have a right relationship to circumstances. The difficult circumstances of life will not tear you down; they will build you up. They will build character and brave endurance, and they will give you a blessed hope. You will have a right relationship to others. The love of God shed abroad in your heart will pour out through your life, and you will find yourself getting along with people and glori fying God. These are the marks of justification.

Have you received Christ as your Saviour? Can you say, “Being justified by faith, I have peace with God”?