Chapter 11 - OF JUSTIFICATION

1 When God effectively calls people to himself, he also freely declares them righteous. He doesn't do this by making them inherently righteous, but by pardoning their sins and accepting them as if they were righteous. This isn't because of anything they've done or anything good in them; it's solely for the sake of Christ. God doesn't count their faith or their obedience as the basis for their righteousness. Instead, he credits them with Christ's perfect obedience to God's law and his suffering and death on the cross. This is the sole basis for their righteousness, which they receive through faith—a faith that isn't their own doing but is a gift from God.

2 Faith, which is the sole means by which we receive and rest in Christ and his righteousness, is the only instrument of justification. However, this faith is never alone in the person who is justified. It is always accompanied by all the other graces of salvation and is not a dead faith, but one that actively works through love.

3 Christ's obedience and death completely paid the debt for all those who are justified. By sacrificing himself on the cross and shedding his blood, he took their place and underwent the penalty they deserved. In doing so, he made a genuine, complete payment to satisfy God’s justice on their behalf. However, since Christ was a gift from the Father, and his obedience and payment were accepted in the place of sinners—all as a free gift, not based on anything they did—their justification comes only from God’s free grace. This ensures that in the justification of sinners, both God’s perfect justice and his abundant grace are fully glorified.

4 From all eternity, God planned to declare His chosen people righteous. Christ, in the right moment in history, died for their sins and was raised to life to secure their justification. However, they are not personally declared righteous until the Holy Spirit, in a specific moment in time, unites them to Christ.

5 Justified believers are continually forgiven of their sins. Although they can never lose their justified status, their sins may cause them to fall under God's fatherly disapproval. In that state, they typically don't have the assurance of His favor restored to them until they humble themselves, confess their sins, ask for forgiveness, and renew their faith and repentance.

6 Believers were justified in the Old Testament in the very same way as believers are justified in the New Testament.