The Lie of final justification (Part 1)

That little break there about 13, 14 seconds in, it works out perfectly because it stops a little bit and then I can say, welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. Who knows? Maybe I'll start saying, welcome to Duplex Gratia Radio.

Is that a radio show? Maybe. Maybe in Alaska. Maybe in Wyoming. You can email me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com. In the old days, I think the number one email, the kind of email, content of the emails sent to me were, how can I find a good church in my area?

There doesn't seem to be any. Could you help me find a church? That was probably the number one email that I used to get. The positive ones, not the hate mail. I don't get much hate mail now. I think Spencer weeds all that out.

He takes the brunt of it. The emails that I get now, the most popular, most often sent to me are, I'm struggling with assurance. What about law preaching? What about scolding? I love my pastor. I love my church family.

There just happens to be a tincture of, how can you call yourself a Christian type of jackhammer preaching. I saw a tweet the other day. Preachers should be like jackhammers and not like down feather preachers or something like that.

That was actually the first person that said that. I think that was, and I'm not saying it's positive at all, but that was Doug Wilson who said, soft words don't help hard hearts or hard hearted people want soft words and soft hearted people want hard words.

I think that was in his Kirk book, if I'm not mistaken, Mother Kirk, something like that. Anyway, back to the jackhammer part, is that the kind of preaching you want? Jackhammer? I don't know. But all that to say, that's the kind of email that I tend to get now.

How can I not find it? How can I find a church that is cognizant of bruised reeds and weak people and did Jesus die for the sins of Christian too? Can I find that kind of church? Anyway, all that to say, Mike Capendroth, No Compromise Radio.

If you want a bunch of gospel assurance books, the 31 day guide, which is a couple hundred pages or the devotional one, which is a lot shorter, maybe a hundred pages. You can email me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

I'll give you a good discount if you want to order a bunch of them. I just sent out a copy of Discovering Colossians to the Patreon supporters. I think I have 10 or 11 Patreon supporters and if you're a supporter of the show, thank you.

The Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations

In the old days, I used to say, I don't want any support, but I want you to ask your millionaire friends if they would support me. I've used this before, but there's a lexicon of intentionally ambiguous recommendations, L-I-A-R, liar.

And Robert Thornton, I don't know if he's still a professor at Lehigh, but when he was, he put this together because he didn't want people to get sued in this litigious society. And so if somebody was an internet person, you could say, I enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever.

If the person's unproductive, I can assure you that no person would be better for the job. He's a difficult man to replace. Yeah, because he's going to sue you, right? He takes a lot of enjoyment out of work for ruining other people's enjoyment.

You'll never catch him asleep on the job. You're going to get caught. He's too smart. Here's maybe my favorite one. If I were you, I'd give him sweeping responsibilities, liar, L-I-A-R, the lexicon of an intentionally ambiguous recommendations.

The Lie of Future Justification

Today I'd like to talk about another lie, and I wish it was funny. I wish it was humorous. I wish it wasn't true, but it's the lie that there's an initial justification for the Christian and then there's a future justification for the Christian.

That's the lie that I want to talk about today, the lie of future justification. Now Steve and I did a show on this a couple of weeks ago where we kind of just kind of from the gut kind of talked about it a little bit, but I wanted to go back and make it a little more fine-tuned and expand it a little bit.

What people call final justification or future justification is a topic that's pretty popular these days. A lot of different strains of small C Christianity teach this, and it seems like in every generation sola fide, faith alone, is attacked in some way, shape, or form.

In this little mini-series, I want you to understand what future justification is. I then want you to reject it, and then I want you to embrace what justification really is and how it will drive you to praise the Lord, how it will help you with assurance, and how it will help you say, Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, and it will also help you to say with Paul in Galatians 2 that Jesus loved me and gave himself for me.

And my last desire is when you hear stuff about future justification, I want you to instinctively, knee-jerkly say, that doesn't sound like good news. That sounds like law. That sounds like Rome. That sounds like Roman Catholicism.

When I say Rome, that's what I mean. My daughter's in Rome. I don't mean the place, I mean Roman Catholicism, but I'm not going to just say Roman Catholicism every single time. I'm going to say that sounds like Rome.

So when someone says something to you, and you think to yourself, that's not good news, that sounds like law, that sounds like Rome, that's the goal that I have here for this discussion on future justification.

Super simple. I'm going to give you some questions designed to get you to think through these things properly. Questions are always a good way to teach. I try to teach my students that same thing. There'll be answers to the questions, and in a kind of a Jewish way, I'll circle back to some of these things and add and subtract and things like that.

I think you'll understand how I do this because you listen to No Compromise Radio. Thanks to Jonathan, we do have now on iTunes and Spotify, I believe you can get the last 100 shows. I think we only had 10 available on iTunes.

I'm not sure about Spotify. Remember, I'm old, so I don't really do Spotify that much. Anyway, I think you get the last 100 shows now, so that's good. If we put all 3 ,700 shows on, then Apple gives us a little email, and we can't do that.

So questions and answers about future justification, future judgment, designed for you to reject it, see it as a lie, and then ask yourself the question, what did Jesus really do? All right? So far, so good.

What Future Justification Teaches

Question one, what is future justification? That's an obvious place to start, right? We're talking about future justification. I want you to reject it. Let's have definitions. Future justification teaches there are two justifications.

The first one is what we would call justification by faith alone, that you're familiar with, sola fide. And after this initial justification, on judgment day, there's a final or future justification. The first one's by faith alone, and the second one is by works, keeping the law.

The first one rests on the finished work of Jesus. You get his righteousness credited to your account. He gets our sin credited to his account. And secondly, the final justification is based on works that you've done as a Christian, as the Spirit of God has transformed your life, and you are obeying the Lord Jesus.

The first one is forensic, judicial. The latter has to do with transformation. How much has your life been transformed? And they would say, certainly, that it's the Holy Spirit doing the transformation, but there's a future judgment that's not exactly equal to the...

There's a future justification that's not exactly equal to the initial justification. And therefore, having been initially justified, you're not guaranteed your final or future justification. One's according to faith, that's initial.

The final one's according to works. And you say, how could that be? And he write, quote, justification at the last, that's the final justification, will be on the basis of performance. It doesn't mean the Lord Jesus' performance.

What we're saying in the classical reform position is, there's an initial justification, if you want to call it that, that is the justification. And there's no justification at the end, oh, there's a vindication, that's certainly true.

But we're not trying to say there's two justifications. We teach justification by faith alone, and there are fruits and there are evidences, of course, but those good works aren't the basis of our final justification.

And he write, present justification declares on the basis of faith, what future justification will affirm publicly, on the basis of the entire life. And again, that's not Jesus' life, right? When by clear implication, I'm charged with encouraging believers to put their trust in someone or something other than the crucified and resurrected Savior, I, and he write says, want to plead guilty.

And so what happens is, justification isn't solely grounded on the imputation of Christ righteousness. Sadly, they deny a once and for all justification. Sadly, they redefine justification and try to make it a present and then future justification.

And what they're doing is what the Roman Catholic Church did. They simply blend justification and sanctification, conflating these things. You, according to their system, are going to need enough evidence of what the Spirit of God has done in your life.

You need enough of that to make sure you're finally justified. Your works are going to contribute in some way, shape or form. You're going to need sanctifying works on that last day in order to be delivered.

Now, does that sound like good news? I think that sounds like law. I think that sounds like Protestant purgatory. Question two, what is justification? I mean, we talked about their final justification.

Let's just talk about what justification is, biblically, properly, according to Romans chapter three, and let's maybe look at chapter five and chapter eight as well. So we're going to look at now the Bible.

Westminster Confession of Faith says of justification that he also freely justifieth, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone, not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness, but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith, which faith they have not of themselves.

It is the gift of God. And so Jesus, the confession of faith goes on to say, fully discharged the debt of those justified, full satisfaction of the father's justice. And it says in section five here of justification, God does continually forgive the sins of those that are justified.

And although they can never fall from the state of justification, they may by their sins fall under God's fatherly displeasure. That's just a little background of justification. Sometimes we think justification theologically speaking is just as if I've never sinned and it needs to be beyond that, expanded beyond that.

Just as if I've never sinned, just as if I never will sin, just as if I'm not sinning now and just as if I've perfectly, entirely, exactly, and perpetually obeyed the law with heart, soul, mind, and strength, right?

There's two aspects to law, positive precept that is keeping the law and the negative side is penalty if you break the law. And of course, Jesus positively keeps the law and also pays for the penalty of the law that we were responsible for, but he took as federal head.

Now we know what that, whatever the law says, Romans 3 19, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God for by works of the law.

No human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifest apart from the law that is our law keeping all though the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

The righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all who believe for there is no distinction for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

Verse 26 goes on to say so that he might be the just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Verse 28, for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Justification, this forensic declaration, judicial kind of language.

Since Jesus perfectly obeyed in your place and you're in Jesus, of course, we could talk about union another time, but you get credited. There's an imputation. There's a reckoning of all of Jesus. Perfect law keeping into your account.

You receive Christian by faith alone, Christ righteousness. Of course, he pays for your sins. That's true. I would never want to demean that, but we're talking about this sometimes neglected doctrine that Jesus is obeying the law, not for himself.

He's already righteous. He's already sanctified. He's already holy, but for others, because he's a representative. He's a federal head. He's a public man. I want you to know, we'll make this as practical as possible.

When God justifies you, I don't even like to say initial justification because then that I'm now talking their language, but when God justifies you, when he declares you righteous, when he imputes the righteousness of Christ to your account, and you receive that by faith, you're never going to be considered more righteous, not even in heaven, where do you get extra righteousness in heaven?

Certainly the presence of sin will be gone in heaven and you'll be glorified. That's true, but you won't be in God's eyes more righteous. So, why would we ever have to worry about a final justification when we're already deemed righteous, credited righteous, seen as righteous by what?

By the imputation of Christ's righteousness. You're accepted in God's sight. What can the law claim on you? Nothing. It's been fulfilled. And the penalty of the law has been paid for. We don't believe in a provisional justification.

We don't believe that you're able to be unjustified. Romans chapter five talks about the benefits of this justification. Therefore, since we've been justified by faith, Romans 5, 1, we hope we will have peace with God in the future through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we've also obtained temporary access by faith into this obedience in which we might falter.

And we are sad as a result. Oh, wait, wait, that's not quite right. Let's try that again. Therefore, since we've received only the initial stage of justification, oh, excuse me. Therefore, we shall have peace after we've been sufficiently sanctified.

Oh, rats, let's try that again. We have peace with God that has been inaugurated, but shall be consummated later. Of course, those are all wrong. I just made those up. Here's the real verse. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God once and for all. Not starting and stopping or undoing, not a process, not repeated, once and for all.

Do you know you're justified, dear Christian, as much as I'm justified? Do you know I'm justified as much as you're justified? Do you know we're both justified as much as Paul was justified? Because by faith, we receive all of the righteousness of Christ.

You're justified or you're not. It's binary. It's on or it's off. You're washed, sanctified, and justified, 1 Corinthians 6. When I work on the mower or snow blower or sometimes there's a generator, there's a generator that got me.

I'm trying to start the generator when the electricity went out and I could not get that thing started. I'm thinking I'll put a little ether in the carburetor and maybe that'll jump it a little bit. Do I have the right kind of spark plug?

Maybe I need to replace that or clean that off a little bit. Is the gas old? I could not get that thing to start and it was hand pull. I mean, the one I have now is you can just push a button because I'm old and I had to upgrade because when I was out of the hospital with the COVID stuff, then I need to make sure the oxygen machine worked and it had a little zero and a one, had a line and a circle on the generator and I'm trying to think which one means which.

The line means you're connected through all the way. The O means they're circular. You have the circuit is complete and I try to pull that hand cord with the line, with the zero. I mean, how do I remember?

If you think one is true and the voltage is on and zero is false, low voltage or off, you're going to be fine. Zero is not what you want. You need to push it to the one or the line and you're going to be then pulling that thing and if it doesn't start, then you got to go back to those other things I just talked about.

Spurgeon said this, the moment he believes in Christ, his pardon at once he receives and his sins are no longer his. They're cast into the depths of the sea. They were laid upon the shoulders of Christ and they are gone.

The man stands a guiltless man in the sight of God accepted in the beloved. What you say? Do you mean that literally? Yes, I do. That is the doctrine of justification by faith. The person ceases to be guilty in God's esteem, but what is more, he becomes righteous.

He becomes meritorious for in the moment when Christ takes his sins, he takes his Christ's righteousness so that when God looks upon the sinner who, but an hour ago, was dead in sins, he looks upon him with much love and affection as he would ever looked upon his son.

Now, that's good news. Unlike a final justification, we're going to have works. How many you need? I don't really know. Ask the celebrity teachers, but you are declared righteous, perfect pardon, perfect imputation.

So you really have two options, imputation of Christ's righteousness alone or imputation of Christ's righteousness and your own righteousness somehow added to that. The ground of salvation, the ground of your pardon, the condition of your pardon is based on Christ's work alone.

And maybe the most shocking verse in all the Bible is found in Romans chapter eight, verse one, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What's the opposite of justification?

Answer, condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation. I guess you could read it this way. If you were a final justification advocate, there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but there might be later condemnation.

I mean, Paul has just got done saying, I want to do the things that I'm supposed to do in chapter seven, but I don't do it and I'm wretched and who's going to deliver me from the body of death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And here we have the great security of the sheep. There's no condemnation, not any little bit. No, not at all. The Greek instruction is very forceful. No condemnation of any kind, past sins, no condemnation, present sins, no condemnation, future sins, no condemnation, no double payment, no double jeopardy, no condemnation.

You know what the end time verdict is going to be because it's given to you in the present, justified. You Christian cannot be unjustified. You cannot be unreconciled. You can't be unredeemed. You can't be unforgiven.

The price has been paid and the obedience has been earned by your federal head, Jesus, the last Adam. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.

And if you think of old haunting sins that you're ashamed of, Satan wants you to grab hold of those and just wallow in those things. I have shaming, haunting sins that I've committed even in this county, Douglas County in Omaha, Nebraska.

What kind of assurance could I have? Well, I have assurance because Jesus is the law keeper and he pays the penalty for my law breaking. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy.

To the only God, our savior through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. I was reading S. Lewis Johnson and he was talking about in the New Testament, justification and assurance.

It's a fact. It's not a duty. It's a fact. Remember the song? No condemnation. Now I dread Jesus and all in him is mine alive in him, my living head and clothed in righteousness. What divine bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own.

That doesn't sound like there's a final justification based on any works at all. Romans 8 .1, believe it or not, is one of the most blunt verses you can find. It's so bold and Horatius Bonar said, it almost seems unguarded.

It was not for nothing that this verse was so boldly spoken, timid words would not have served the purpose. The glorious gospel needs statements such as these to disentangle the great question of acceptance, to relieve troubled consciences and purge them from dead works.

Yet at the same time to give works their proper place. The good news is Jesus kept the law. The good news is Jesus died for the sins of lawbreakers and that when you're in heaven, you can't even be considered more righteous.

Who Teaches Final Justification

Question three, who teaches final justification or final judgment? And as I said earlier, the answer is the Roman Catholic church. Here's what they said in the council of Trent, Canon 24 under justification.

If anyone says that the justice received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works, but that those works are merely fruits and signs of justification obtained, at least they know the reformation stand, but not the cause of its increase, let him be anathema or accursed.

Canon 30, if anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification, the guilt is so remitted, we see that, and the debt of eternal punishment, so blotted out, we see that to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged.

That's what we say either in this world. That's what we say on purgatory. That's what we say before the gates of heaven can be open. Let him be anathema. They are the ones teaching the double justification and you blend sanctification into justification.

The Roman Catholic church's catechism, paragraph 2010, moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others, the graces needed for our sanctification. Rome says this, you're not really righteous until you're righteous on the inside.

And we're saying justification is a declaration of Christ's righteousness. It's not a legal fiction because Christ actually earned that righteousness. You can't cooperate with God's grace or cooperate with Jesus's righteousness and your own.

I had mentioned N .T. Wright earlier, but what I'm going to do in this little section under this question, who teaches final justification? I'm going to give you a quote. You tell me, is it good news or bad?

The exclusive ground of the justification of the believer in the state of justification is the righteousness of Jesus, but his obedience, which is simply the perseverance of the saints in the way of truth and righteousness is necessary to his continuing in a state of justification.

Does that sound like good news? That sounds like law. That sounds like Rome. And the man who wrote it was Norman Shepherd. And he was kicked out of Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia, took seven, eight years to do it.

But he was for things like that. What about this? Sincere obedience to God in Christ is a condition of our continuance in a state of justification or of our not losing it. That sound like good news to you?

No, that sounds like law. That sounds like Rome. And that's Richard Baxter, justification by Christian obedience. How can you know a person is right with God? One man writes, the stunning Christian answer is sola fide, faith alone.

But be sure you hear this correctly and precisely. He says right with God by faith alone, not attain heaven by faith alone. There are other conditions for attaining heaven, but no others for entering a right relationship to God.

In fact, one must be already in a right relationship with God by faith alone in order to meet the other conditions. Does that sound like good news? No, that sounds like law. That sounds like Rome. That's John Piper.

Piper writes, in justification, faith receives a finished work of Christ performed outside of us and counted as ours, imputed to us. Okay, so far, so good. But now he goes on. In final salvation, at the last judgment, faith is confirmed by the sanctifying fruit it has borne and we are saved through that fruit and that faith.

Does that sound like good news? That sounds like Rome. More later, my name is Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. Dear Christian, you're justified. What's judgment day going to be like for you? Welcome, son.

Welcome, daughter. My name is Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. Stay tuned for part two.