Blake Long

Justification is a theological buzzword that, to the untrained eye, might cause an immense amount of confusion. But justification is a masterpiece of a doctrine—it is the doctrine, so to speak. If the biblical doctrine of justification falls, everything collapses with it. Christians ride or die on this incredible, God-exalting doctrine.

What is justification anyway? In simple terms, justification refers to how we become righteous before God. In other words, to be justified means we have peace with God, and that nothing stands in account for before God (Rom. 5:1).

That’s glorious—but how do we become justified? Let me turn to the late, great theologian R.C. Sproul to answer:

The grounds of your justification are the perfect works of Jesus Christ. We’re saved by works, but they’re not our own.

Our justification—our right standing before God—hinges on the perfect work of Jesus Christ. His life was spotless, His atonement sacrificial, His resurrection vindicating, and His ascension triumphant. It is not our works, but the works of Christ, that make us right with God. More precisely, we are not made, or infused, with righteousness before God upon salvation (this is the erroneous Roman Catholic view). No, we are declared righteous in God’s eyes in Christ; we are the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)!

Friends, this is the deal of the Christian faith. If you get justification wrong, you get the gospel wrong. We are justified by grace alone through faith alone on the basis—or grounds—of Christ’s work alone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, the reality of our justification being grounded in the finished work of Jesus has myriad implications, with one of them being our assurance.

Perhaps you’ve watched this three-minute clip D.A. Carson. Great. If so, watch it again. If you haven’t seen it, you will be incredibly encouraged.

There are two grounds that must be dissected. First, the grounds that we’ve been talking about—our justification. The grounds, or basis, of our justification—like I’ve mentioned—is the perfect, finished, victorious work of Jesus Christ. Our right standing before God is based solely—fully!—on Jesus Christ. We don’t contribute any works, for they are tainted with sin. That is a doctrine to die for.

But then Carson brings in the other grounds, which connects with the first. He speaks of the grounds of assurance. Our grounds for assurance lies not in the intensity of our faith but the work of Christ. Carson noted,

Because death doesn’t pass over them on the ground of the intensity, or the clarity, of the faith exercised. But on the ground of the blood of the lamb … That’s what silences the accuser. It’s not the intensity of our faith but the object of our faith that saves. They overcome him on the ground of the blood of the lamb.

The grounds of our assurance are the grounds of our justification: the perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ. They are intertwined because they are found in the same source—Jesus.

What’s the lesson, here? It is, of course, that all of the credit and honor and glory goes to God. One, we need not look within ourselves for salvation, for God has done the work for us in Christ. This has been man’s unfruitful tool since the fall of man. We can’t save ourselves—only Christ can. Two, we need not look within ourselves for assurance of salvation, for the ultimate assurance is Jesus’s work. (Yes, it’s wise to see your progress as a means of assurance, but don’t allow that to be the ultimate source. Sometimes our progress is slow and provides little assurance compared to the objective work of Christ. John 6:39-40 is a wonderful passage that speaks to our assurance.

The connection between the grounds of our justification and our assurance frees us not to live for the approval of God—we already have that in Christ!—but from it. We wake up, we work, we eat, we fellowship, we sleep—all for the glory of God’s name in Christ Jesus. There is no burden hovering over us—we are free in Christ. We are, as a matter of fact, perfect in Christ. When God looks upon us, He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ.

So, Christian, direct your gaze unto Jesus. Pursue holiness from the approval of God with all your might, knowing that the perfect holiness you need has been secured in Christ. This reality sustains our assurance in Christ. It is not the intensity of our faith, the strength of our trust, or the level of belief that assures us, ultimately, of glory. It is our right standing in Christ because of His work and His work alone.