(13) Justification by Faith Alone

(13) Justification by Faith Alone Preacher: Rev. Angus Stewart Series: Belgic Confession 23 Scripture: Romans 4

Article 23: Justification.

We believe that our salvation consists in the remission of our sins for Jesus Christ’s sake, and that therein our righteousness before God is implied; as David and Paul teach us, declaring this to be the happiness of man, that God imputes righteousness to him without works. And the same apostle saith that we are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ.

And therefore we always hold fast this foundation, ascribing all the glory to God, humbling ourselves before Him, and acknowledging ourselves to be such as we really are, without presuming to trust in any thing in ourselves, or in any merit of ours, relying and resting upon the obedience of Christ crucified alone, which becomes ours when we believe in Him. This is sufficient to cover all our iniquities, and to give us confidence in approaching to God; freeing the conscience of fear, terror, and dread, without following the example of our first father, Adam, who, trembling, attempted to cover himself with fig leaves. And, verily, if we should appear before God, relying on ourselves or on any other creature, though ever so little, we should, alas! be consumed. And therefore every one must pray with David: O Lord, enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified.

William Tyndale (c.1494-1536): “When the pope makes great difficulty about the hardness of Paul’s epistles, I say, ‘It is impossible to understand either Peter or Paul, or anything at all in Scripture for him that denieth justifying faith of Christ’s blood.”

John Gill (1697-1771): “… faith looks only to Christ, and nothing else; it looks only to his person for acceptance with God, and not either to its duties or its graces; it looks only to Christ’s righteousness for justification, and not to its own works, whether they be moral or evangelical, works done before or after conversion; it looks only to his blood for pardon and cleansing, and not to its tears of humiliation and repentance; it looks not to its frames, nor grace received, for its supply and support, but to an all-sufficient and inexhaustible fullness of grace in Christ” (An Exposition of the Song of Solomon [Marshallton, DE: The National Foundation for Christian Education, n.d.], p. 58).