Consider This...
Theological Thoughts to Encourage the Heart & Stir the Mind ___________________________________________________
Volume I January 2011 Issue 2
The four theological terms we will consider in this issue will be familiar to most people. They are commonly referred to in the preaching and teaching ministry of the church. Just because a word is familiar or commonly used, however, does not mean that we have a clear understanding of its meaning. Thus, we will define in detail four such words.
The first is Justification, defined as the judicial act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous and therefore free from condemnation. Justification, therefore, is not just a pardon but an acquittal. This declaration is because of the fact that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to (charged to the account of) those who, by faith, trust Christ for salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Therefore, when God looks at us He sees Christ’s own righteousness and we are declared just. Romans 5:18-19 says, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”
The result of this justification is stated in Romans 5:1, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The second word is Sanctification, defined as set apart. There are three aspects of sanctification. There is positional sanctification which takes place at the moment of salvation when every believer is set apart into the family of God. (1 Corinthians 6:11) Next is progressive sanctification where the believer grows progressively more like Christ as he increasingly lives a life set apart from the practices and values of the world. (2 Peter 3:18) Lastly is prospective sanctification which will take place in heaven when the believer receives his glorified body and is once and for all set apart from sin. (Ephesians 5:27)
The third word to be considered is Holiness. There are two aspects involved in defining this term—the holiness of God and the holiness of man. Let us look first at the holiness of God.
God’s holiness speaks to the fact that He is absolutely separate from all moral evil and sin. All that He does is morally right. This absolute perfection makes God unlike any other. (Exodus 15:11) God’s holiness, while not greater than His other attributes, permeates his entire being. He loves with a holy love, He rules with holy justice, and His anger is a holy anger. Thiessen writes that “holiness is the attribute by which God wants to be especially known in Old Testament times.”1
The second aspect of this term, the command for man to be holy, is found in the words of 1 Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” This is a call for believers to be distinct from the world. We are to be set apart unto God. Therefore, our hearts desire is not conformity to the world but obedience to the Word (of God). Thus, this pursuit of holiness should be evident in our daily life.
Our last word is righteousness. In relation to God’s attributes, righteousness and justice go hand in hand. God is always right and fair in all His dealings with His personal creatures. While God is perfect in righteousness, the Scripture is clear concerning man’s inability to obtain any true righteousness of his own. Romans 3:10 says, “as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one.” However, because of the atoning work of the Cross, righteousness is available to man through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” On the cross, our sin was imputed to Christ and His righteousness was imputed to us. In his book, Got Questions, Michael Houdmann states it like this, “On account of what the Lord Jesus has endured on our behalf, we are treated as if we had entirely fulfilled the Law of God, and had never become exposed to its penalty. We have received this precious gift of righteousness from the God of all mercy and grace.”2 I whole heartily agree with his conclusion, to God be the glory!
—Pastor Andrew Frey
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1Thiessen, Henry C. Lectures in Systematic Theology, 84 2Houdmann, S. Michael. Got Questions, 103
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