Faith Risks

Summation of Justification

As we come to the close of James 2 and the discussion of what saving faith looks like, we need to consider what it means to be righteous before God.

Christ is the basis of our justification. How can you and I as sinners be declared right before God? We can't get rid of our sin, and we can't stand righteous before God on our own; there is nothing we can do. We need someone else who is righteous to be righteousness for us. And this is what the gospel is all about. Jesus lived a righteous life in our place, and then He died the death that we deserve. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, "[God] made [Christ] who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in [Christ]." Christ's work is the basis of our justification. So if someone asks you, "How do you know that you are right before God?" and the first words out of your mouth are "Because I have done _______," then you are missing the point of the gospel. You can only be right before God because Christ lived the life you could not live and died the death you deserved to die. This is the starting point.

Now the question becomes, How is Christ's work applied to your life? 67Is it automatic, so that when He died, everyone was saved automatically? Is it something you are born into? Or is there something you have to do? This question leads us to the second reality concerning how we become righteous before God.

Faith is the means of our justification. Faith is the antiwork. It is trust. It is surrender. It is the realization that you can do nothing but trust in what has been done for you. And through faith you are united to Jesus, being clothed and credited with His righteousness. However, such faith is not mere intellectual assent. Faith is not merely, "Yes, Jesus died on a cross." Demons believe that, and they don't have faith. Faith, according to Scripture, means turning from yourself and trusting in Jesus as your Savior from sin and as the Lord of your life. It's the moment when God opens your eyes to see His glory, to see your need, and to see His provision, and in faith you confess your need for Christ and you submit your life to Him. This is faith, and in the words of Paul in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justification happens in an instant, but the faith by which we are justified changes everything about us, and this is the point of James's letter.

Works are the evidence of our justification because faith bears fruit. Does that mean our works are now the basis of our justification? Absolutely not. Our works (not works fueled by the flesh that don't honor God but works that are the fruit of faith and bring great glory to God) are the evidence that we have been justified. Abraham believed God, and consequently he was willing to sacrifice his son. Rahab believed God, and consequently she was willing to risk it all. In these two examples from James 2, Abraham and Rahab showed their faith by what they did.

These realities are only possible by the grace of God. God's grace not only draws us to faith while we are dead in our sins, but even after this our obedience is fueled by God's grace. Both our faith and our works are made possible by God. All is of grace. As an analogy, imagine giving money to one of your children for them to buy you a Christmas present. They give you the present, but did they really? Sure, in a sense it came from you, but it was also an expression of their love for you. The illustration is not perfect, but it does help us see that anything we bring to God as an offering that is pleasing to Him is an overflow of His grace. I think this is one of the reasons James chooses, of all people, Rahab as an example of faith. In this picture of a prostitute, he wants to make sure we're not 68talking about merit we bring to God—our own righteousness. No, we're talking about the grace of God alive in the risk-taking obedience of a woman. By grace we are saved through faith (Eph 2:8).

These realities are ultimately involved in the judgment before God. The judgment refers to the time when you stand before God in heaven. We're talking about final justification, the time when your eternal destiny will be declared openly and finally. What will be the basis by which you enter into heaven to dwell in the presence of God for all of eternity? Christ. The only way we can go to heaven is on the basis of Christ. And what is the means by which you will be declared right on that day for all of eternity? Faith. The faith that says, "Father, I have nothing in me to stand on. I trust wholly in the righteousness of Christ to stand for me. You opened my eyes to Your holiness and my sin, and You opened my eyes to Christ as my Savior and my Lord. By grace you did this, and faith is the means." In the background of your life on that final day, it will be evident whether such faith was indeed a reality in your life. What Paul said is true:

If there is no fruit of real faith on the last day, and the only thing you have to lean on is a card you signed or a prayer you prayed, or even religious rituals in which you participated, then it will be shown clearly that you never really had faith at all. And you will miss eternal life and be cast away to eternal death.

I do not desire to be a hellfire and damnation preacher, but even more so I do not want people to be deceived. It grieves my heart when people die in my own community, people with no fruit of faith in Christ, and yet our church-filled community concludes that surely they are with God in heaven. It's not true. Now, to be clear, none of us knows the inner secrets of a person's heart, nor are we the final judge. But God's Word is clear: any claim to faith with no resultant fruit is like a dead corpse. There's no life there. Instead, there's death in hell for all eternity.

Therefore, if you have not truly believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, I urge you to do so today. Look to Christ crucified as the only basis by which you can be declared righteous. By God's grace admit your need for Christ and trust in Him. Do not give mere intellectual assent or 69perform a religious exercise. Cast yourself in faith on Christ. For when you do that, the God of the universe will look down on your sinful heart and save you. He will clothe you in the righteousness of Christ and you will have peace with God. And through such faith, Christ will come into your life and change it from the inside out, for your good and for His glory. He will transform your life into one that demonstrates His grace and love and mercy to the world around you. This is the faith that saves, and this is a faith that works.

Reflect and Discuss