October 12, 2010 (justification)

justification

“Justification goes beyond forgiveness.
Not only are we forgiven because of Christ,
but God also declares us righteous because of Christ.
God requires two things of us:
punishment for our sins and perfection in our lives.
Our sins must be punished,
and our lives must be righteous.
But we cannot bear our own punishment (Ps. 49:7-8),
and we cannot provide our own righteousness.
“None is righteous; no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).
Therefore, God, out of His immeasurable love for us,
provided His own Son to do both.
Christ bears our punishment,
and Christ performs our righteousness.
And when we receive Christ (John 1:12),
all of His punishment and all of His righteousness
is counted as ours (Rom. 4:4-6; 5:1, 19; 8:1;
10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8-9).”
- John Piper

“This is the rock where we stand
when the dark clouds gather
and the floods lick at our feet:
justification is by grace alone
(not mixed with our merit),
through faith alone
(not mixed with our works)
on the basis of Christ alone
(not mingling his righteousness with ours),
to the glory of God alone (not ours).”
- John Piper