How Justification Trounces our Fear
Reflecting on the implications of God declaring us righteous in Christ
Have you ever been so concerned about checking off your spiritual to-do list that you despair and become frustrated when you don’t mark items off? I think it’s good to keep track of your spiritual disciplines; it’s smart to to be organized and know what you are reading, when to pray, and more. But we fall into a legalistic trap when our Christian life—our walk with Jesus—centers around the mere checking off of a list.
This attitude, which we may or may not bring upon ourselves—paralyzes us with fear. But, my friend, the gospel speaks to our fears.
The doctrine of justification by faith alone trounces our fears of not doing things right all the time. Justification smashes our insecurities and failures and performance-driven mindset. When we gaze upon our justification in Christ Jesus, our worries, fears, and concerns melt away. How is that?
Justification teaches us that God does not make us righteous, but declares us righteous in Christ by faith and faith alone.1 The Bible is clear in teaching that all who believe “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:24-25). Justification is not our doing, but God’s. We didn’t conjure up our justification by our good works; we didn’t have the ability—not one bit—of producing our own justification.
Practically speaking (which is the point here), justification does many things, but none much greater than abolishing all our fears and anxieties regarding our walks with Jesus. “. . . we should know the wonderful comfort of this doctrine,” wrote William C. Godrey. “Justification reminds us that Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation.”
Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our salvation (Heb. 12:2). Our fears can be removed when we meditate on justification because it reveals our salvation hinges on Christ’s works, not our own. Perhaps you wake up each morning dreading another day because you know you won’t walk with Jesus to your own satisfaction; you know that you simply won’t measure up. But justification by faith alone explains that we don’t have to measure up. Christ did on our behalf! Is it wise to examine your walk with the Lord? Absolutely; Paul exhorts us to do so. But it’s not wise to place your salvation on the shoulders of your daily performance.
Even the faith we exercise to believe in the gospel is not our own, but given to us as a gift (Eph. 2:8-9). We know that our justification has nothing to do with our performance and everything to do with Christ’s. Therefore, we don’t have to fall into despair; we don’t have to give into frustration; we don’t have to get upset if we forget to read our Bibles or pray. Our right standing before the Lord of glory doesn’t depend on if we shared the gospel a certain amount of times in a year or fasted enough times.
Should we do those things? Should we read our Bibles, pray, fast, and do other spiritual disciplines? Of course! But the moment we look to them as the basis of our justification before God is the moment we sink into fear and legalism. The doctrine of justification by faith alone eradicates any hint of legalistic fear or despair. And that is beautiful news. We can walk with Jesus in true freedom—not freedom to sin, not freedom to do what we want, but freedom to pursue Him with intensity and be okay if we stumble because we know our righteousness rests not on how well we do, but how well Christ did. And, well, He is perfect.
It’s vitally important to understand the distinction between the words ‘make’ and ‘declare’. To use ‘make,’ we imply that God somehow infuses righteousness in us to where we are inherently righteous, per the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. That’s not biblical. We are declared righteous in Christ, having no righteousness of our own.