Justification by Faith Alone¶
We've crafted an unofficial, source-cited, non-commercial index of Dr. R.C. Sproul's publicly available teachings, weighted by how many independent sources corroborate each point. The content is authored by Dr. R.C. Sproul and published by Ligonier Ministries (a few items are third-party YouTube re-uploads); see the Methodology & Rights page for more info. Quotations are brief, linked to their source, and reproduced for study under Ligonier's Copyright Policy (ligonier.org/copyright-policy). This site is humbly offered for personal use only, out of love and respect, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ligonier Ministries or St. Andrew's Chapel.
257 positions — 45 corroborated across multiple sources.
Well-attested positions¶
Independently stated in two or more of his messages.
Justification is achieved not merely by the death of Christ, but by the life of Christ, and this is summarized by saying justification by faith alone means being justified by Christ alone.
It is not a question of whether we are going to be saved through works. The question is, By whose works will we be saved? It is through the works of the One who alone fulfilled the terms of the covenant of works. That is why I regularly labor the point that it is not just the death of Christ that redeems us, but it is the life of Christ that redeems us.
Corroborated across 17 sources: The Instrumental Cause of Justification (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article) · What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 12:04 · R.C. Sproul @ 19:45 · R.C. Sproul @ 2:17 · R.C. Sproul @ 18:23 · The Angel & Zacharias (Part 3) (Ligonier) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier) · Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier) · Introduction (Ligonier) · The Parable of the Barren Fig (Ligonier) · The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Ligonier) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that faith is a necessary condition for justification, described as the initiation, foundation, and root of that process.
Context: Describing the Roman Catholic position, not his own.; Describing the Roman Catholic view, not his own.
With respect to faith, Rome teaches that faith is a necessary condition for justification. You cannot be justified without it. In the sixth session of Trent, Rome says three things about faith. It describes faith in terms of three words, saying that faith is the initium , the fundamentum , and the radix of justification.
Corroborated across 10 sources: The Instrumental Cause of Justification (Ligonier article) · Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article) · Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article) · What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 3:53 · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier) · Christ and David (Ligonier) · Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier) · The Unforgivable Sin (Ligonier)
The biblical and Protestant view holds that justification is based solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ, received through authentic faith.
In bold contrast to that, the biblical and Protestant view of justification is that the sole grounds of our justification is the righteousness of Christ, which righteousness is imputed to the believer, so that the moment a person has authentic faith in Christ, all that is necessary for salvation becomes theirs by virtue of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.
Corroborated across 10 sources: The Instrumental Cause of Justification (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article) · The Meaning of God’s Will (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 30:07 · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier) · Message from John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
Denying the doctrine of justification by faith alone is equivalent to rejecting the gospel and substituting something else for it.
However, though we cannot be saved by believing in the doctrine of justification, the denial of that same doctrine can indeed be fatal because to deny the doctrine of justification by faith alone as the apostle Paul indicated in Galatians is to reject the gospel and substitute something else for it, which would result in what Paul declares to be anathema.
Corroborated across 8 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Justification by Death? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier) · Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 3) (Ligonier) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier) · Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me (Ligonier)
The Roman Catholic Church affirms that the basis for declaring a person just or unjust is found in one's inherent righteousness.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
In the final analysis, the Roman Catholic Church affirmed at Trent and continues to affirm now that the basis by which God will declare a person just or unjust is found in one’s “inherent righteousness.”
Corroborated across 6 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 23:04 · R.C. Sproul @ 22:28 · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is based on the person's inherent righteousness, which can lead to purgatory if impurities remain.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
In the final analysis, the Roman Catholic Church affirmed at Trent and continues to affirm now that the basis by which God will declare a person just or unjust is found in one’s “inherent righteousness.” If righteousness does not inhere in the person, that person at worst goes to hell and at best (if any impurities remain in his life) goes to purgatory for a time that may extend to millions of years.
Corroborated across 5 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Resurrection and Justification (Ligonier article) · What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article) · Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
A mere profession of faith is insufficient for justification; authentic faith must be present.
But again, as I have labored tirelessly through these many months in Romans, no one has ever been justified by a profession of faith. We are to profess the faith. But the profession alone without the presence of authentic faith will justify no one.
Corroborated across 5 sources: TULIP and Reformed Theology: Perseverance of the Saints (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 6:34 · Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier) · The Parable of the Sower (Ligonier) · Is there hope for a child who turns away from Christ as a college student? (Ligonier Q&A)
Simply knowing the correct doctrine of justification is not a guarantee of salvation, because one can still be deluded about the state of their faith.
Just having the doctrine of justification correct in one’s mind is not a guarantee of salvation. One can have an incorrect understanding of the doctrine of justification and still be justified. It is possible to have the wrong doctrine, but the right content in the mind and heart, and not be able to articulate it.
Corroborated across 4 sources: A False Sense of Assurance (Ligonier article) · God's Everlasting Love (Ligonier) · Good & Bad Fruit (Ligonier) · Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The doctrine of justification means that a person in Christ is simultaneously a sinner and declared righteous.
So Luther's phrase, Simul Justus et pecator , means "At the same time just and sinner." This is the glory of the Protestant doctrine of justification. The person who is in Christ is at the very same instant a sinner and just.
Corroborated across 4 sources: Jesus Not Only Died for Us, He Lived for Us (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 5:07 · Freed from the Law (Ligonier) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
A person can only be justified by their own faith, as judgment at the final judgment will be based on what is in their heart alone.
It is true that the only faith by which a person can be justified is his own faith. No one can be justified by his spouse’s faith, his parents’ faith, his children’s faith, or anyone else’s faith. At the final judgment, everyone will stand before God alone, and judgment will be rendered based on what is in his heart alone.
Corroborated across 3 sources: What “Ekklesia” Means in the Bible (Ligonier article) · The Angel & Zacharias (Part 3) (Ligonier) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Reformed theology affirms the doctrines of justification by faith alone and stands with Martin Luther and the magisterial Reformers on this point.
In this regard, Reformed theology stands strongly and firmly with Martin Luther and the magisterial Reformers in their articulation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It affirms the solas of the Reformation, which are the formal and material causes of the sixteenth-century Reformation.
Corroborated across 3 sources: The Fine Points of Calvinism (Ligonier article) · Fueling Reformation (Ligonier article) · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
The doctrine of justification is a profoundly important theological issue that has historically caused major divisions in Christianity.
The doctrine of justification is the most controversial issue in the history of Christendom. It was the material cause of the Protestant Reformation, the issue that led to the most serious fragmentation of the Christian church in its history.
Corroborated across 3 sources: The Greatest Issue We Face (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
The Catholic Church is disqualified as a valid church because it has categorically denied the gospel.
No matter all the other good things Rome does, such as opposing abortion and affirming the Trinity, the anathematizing of the gospel at the Council of Trent has never been rescinded and was reaffirmed as recently as the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In my opinion, that disqualifies Rome as a valid church.
Corroborated across 3 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Can praying to Mary or the saints keep a professing Christian out of heaven? (Ligonier Q&A)
The Reformation was fundamentally about the gospel, specifically the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
It was about the gospel, and at that point it was touching what Luther called the article upon which the church stands or falls, what Calvin called the hinge upon which everything turns: the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which answers the question, “What must we do to be saved?”
Corroborated across 3 sources: Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article) · Conclusion (Ligonier) · The Rich Young Ruler (Ligonier)
A person is justified by God because they are clothed in Christ's righteousness and merit.
We are justified by His merit, by His righteousness. In Jesus Christ, God has not pardoned us, nor has He exonerated us, but having clothed us with the righteousness of Christ, the judge of all the earth has pronounced His verdict of righteous to everyone who is in Jesus Christ.
Corroborated across 3 sources: The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article) · Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier) · God's Everlasting Love (Ligonier)
The Roman view, as expressed at Trent, held that justification is accomplished through the sacraments, requiring cooperation and the accumulation of grace.
In reality, the Roman view of the gospel, as expressed at Trent, was that justification is accomplished through the sacraments. Initially, the recipient must accept and cooperate in baptism, by which he receives justifying grace. He retains that grace until he commits a mortal sin.
Corroborated across 3 sources: What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification? (Ligonier article) · What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 6:26
The Christian faith must rely on the righteousness of someone else, as the law cannot justify.
Context: Describing the Roman Catholic position, not his own.
My only hope is in the righteousness of someone else. I cleave to that, because this is the heart and soul of the Christian faith, and because the Bible says, “By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Gal. 2:16).
Corroborated across 3 sources: What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification? (Ligonier article) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier) · Christ and David (Ligonier)
The benefits derived from justification include peace with God and access to His presence.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith unto this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Corroborated across 3 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 30:01 · Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 1) (Ligonier) · Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 3) (Ligonier)
While works do not contribute to justification, they are necessary manifestations of genuine, saving faith.
If you have faith, even though the works you produce out of that faith don’t count toward your justification, nevertheless they are necessary manifestations of that true faith, or you don’t have saving faith.
Corroborated across 3 sources: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier) · Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier) · Good & Bad Fruit (Ligonier)
While justification is instantaneous, it immediately initiates the process of sanctification, which continues throughout life.
Justification does not produce the fullness of sanctification, but it initiates it immediately. If you have made a profession of faith and there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of change in your heart or in your life, then you need to ask yourself whether that profession of faith was genuine, because true faith always immediately produces change.
Corroborated across 3 sources: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier) · Do Not Cause Another To Stumble (Ligonier) · From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
The debate over justification is not merely a technical theological point or a trivial matter.
The dispute over justification was not over a technical point of theology that could be consigned to the fringes of the depository of biblical truth. Nor could it be seen simply as a tempest in a teapot.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
Justification by faith alone is a doctrine so vital that it determines whether a church remains orthodox.
When it came to justification, however, Luther sang a different tune. He called justification the article upon which the church stands or falls, a doctrine so vital that it touches the very heart of the gospel. A church that rejects justification by faith alone (and anathematizes it as a deadly heresy) is nolonger an orthodox church.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · None Dare Call It Heresy (Ligonier article)
The fundamental difference between the two positions is whether the basis for justification is the person's own righteousness or the alien righteousness of Christ.
The fundamental issue is this: is the basis by which I am justified a righteousness that is my own? Or is it a righteousness that is, as Luther said, "an alien righteousness," a righteousness that is extra nos , apart from us—the righteousness of another, namely, the righteousness of Christ?
Corroborated across 2 sources: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article) · Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
Protestant justification is synthetic because God judges a person based on the righteousness of Christ, which is added by faith, not on their own righteousness.
In the Protestant view, our justification is synthetic because God judges us not on the basis of our own righteousness, but on the basis of a righteousness that has been added to us by faith, namely, the righteousness of Christ.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article) · The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article)
After being justified, a believer's life must demonstrate the personal righteousness that results from that justification.
However, as soon as we are justified, our lives must give evidence of the personal righteousness that flows out of our justification.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Meaning of God’s Will (Ligonier article) · The Parable of the Sower (Ligonier)
True righteousness and justification come solely through God's grace, not through human effort or contribution.
He brought absolutely nothing to the table except his sin. He had nothing to offer to God except his guilt. The tax collector did not come before God and say: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner. After all, I was born and raised in a rough neighborhood, I was abused as a child, and I didn’t get the self-esteem I should have had as a human being. Lord, I know I’m a sinner, but You know it’s not my fault.” No, none of that. His face was looking down. He beat his chest not in pride, but like one tearing his clothes in sackcloth and ashes: “Be merciful. Have mercy. It is only Your grace. Your grace alone, not Your grace and my contribution.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: No Shortcuts to Growth (Ligonier article) · The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Ligonier)
The gospel requires the concept of imputation, otherwise it becomes a false teaching.
Subtract this element of alien righteousness that God “counts” or “imputes” for us, and we have no biblical gospel at all. Without imputation, the gospel becomes “another gospel,” and such a “gospel” brings nothing but the anathema of God.
Corroborated across 2 sources: None Righteous (Ligonier article) · Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
James uses the term 'justify' to mean demonstrating or manifesting a claim to faith through works.
He is using the term “justify” in the sense of manifesting or demonstrating something, and this is exactly the way Jesus used it in this text when He said, “Wisdom is justified by her children.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: Resurrection and Justification (Ligonier article) · Message from John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The doctrine of imputation is clearly and centrally set forth in Romans 5, where Paul uses it to explain both Adam's sin and Christ's righteousness.
There is no place in the Bible where the doctrine of imputation is set forth more clearly and centrally then it is here in Romans 5. I also labored the point of how we all sinned in Adam because I can find no other way to make sense out of the way Paul says in Romans 5 that we sinned in Adam than to understand this assertion putatively, meaning the way in which we sinned in Adam was by imputation.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The principle of imputation is a doctrine that is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, even if they do not explicitly name it.
It is strange to me that Rome reacted so negatively to the idea of imputation, because in its own doctrine of the atonement, it holds that our sins are imputed to Jesus on the cross, which is why His atoning death has value for us.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that grace is necessary for justification and that without it, people would have no hope.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
Further, the Roman Catholic Church has always taught that grace is necessary as a prerequisite for justification and that without the grace of God infused into the soul through the sacraments, we’d be without hope, having to try to earn our way into heaven on the ground and basis of our own righteousness and our own merit.
Corroborated across 2 sources: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
The doctrine of justification by faith alone was taught throughout the Abrahamic covenant.
because the doctrine of justification by faith alone was taught throughout the Abrahamic covenant as Paul labors in Romans 3 and chapter 4 of the New Testament.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 12:45 · Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
Historic evangelicalism shared a central core conviction that justification is by faith alone, and also maintained a common commitment to the authority of Scripture.
all of whom shared the central core conviction that justification is by faith alone and that that's at the very heart of the Gospel itself, but they went in other directions where they differed over questions of the sacrament, over church government, and over other doctrines, for example, but they kept this common commitment to that. The other doctrine that was common to historic evangelicalism was the doctrine of the authority of Scripture, or what is called Sola Scriptura
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 17:30 · Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
A sufficient condition is one that guarantees a desired result if it is met.
A sufficient condition is a condition that, if it is met, will make it certain that the desired result takes place.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 7:15 · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Disobedience to civil magistrates is not justified merely because they are inconvenient, impose heavy taxes, or whose wisdom is disagreed with.
We cannot disobey the civil magistrate because they inconvenience us, because they burden us with heavy taxation, or because we disagree with their wisdom. Those are not just excuses for civil disobedience.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 20:38 · Submit to Government (Part 2) (Ligonier)
When a person trusts in God, God imputes His righteousness to them, declaring them just based on that imputed righteousness.
When I put my trust in Him, He imputes or counts to me His righteousness, and on the basis of that imputed righteousness, God declares me just right now.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 1:33 · The Angel & Zacharias (Part 3) (Ligonier)
The righteousness required for salvation is not the individual's own, but rather a righteousness provided by God's grace through faith.
And so, the lights came on for Luther. And he began to understand that what Paul was speaking of here was a righteousness that God in His grace was making available to those who would receive it passively, not those who would achieve it actively, but those that would receive it by faith and by which a person could be reconciled to a holy and righteous God.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 1:10 · Present Condition of Israel (Ligonier)
Abraham was justified by God's counting him righteous through faith, not by the physical sign of circumcision or by works.
The sacrament of circumcision, the sign of the covenant, was not the ground of Abraham’s justification. The ground was the imputed righteousness of Christ, so that when Abraham believed the promise of God, God counted him righteous.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier) · Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
The sole instrument by which a person is justified is faith.
The sacrament does not justify anybody. Circumcision did not justify anybody. Baptism does not justify anybody. The sole instrument of justification is faith.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier) · The Angel & Zacharias (Part 3) (Ligonier)
Justification is achieved by faith alone, not by human works or merit.
Since our justification is by faith and by faith alone, by no merit in us nor endeavors of our works by which we earn our favor with God, there is no room whatsoever for boasting save in Christ.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier) · The Unforgivable Sin (Ligonier)
True justification comes solely through trusting in Christ's promise, not through one's own efforts or righteousness.
No reason inherently, Lord, except that You promised that if I put my trust in Your Son and in Him alone that You would bring Me into Your family. That is my only hope in life and death, not my own righteousness, but His.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier) · Present Condition of Israel (Ligonier)
While justification by faith alone is taught, the speaker asserts that ultimately, salvation is achieved through works.
Context: Quoting James 2:24
I say to people—and this sometimes confuses them, so you have to be alert now—that the Bible teaches us that justification is by faith alone. Yet, on the other hand, keep in mind that, ultimately, there is only one way anyone will ever be saved in the presence of God, and that is through works.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
A primary consequence of being justified by faith is having peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, having been justified by faith . . . Again, our justification is a fait accompli . It is something that has already taken place the moment that we believe, not something that we must wait for purgatory to accomplish. “Therefore, having been justified by faith,” the first consequence of that is, Paul declares, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 2) (Ligonier) · Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me (Ligonier)
Jesus used the example of David taking showbread to nourish his men to justify the disciples' actions.
Did you forget what it says in Scripture? Have you never read what David did when he and those with him were in need and hungry: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and he ate the showbread? Do you remember that?
Corroborated across 2 sources: Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath (Ligonier) · Lord of the Sabbath (Ligonier)
The doctrine of justification by faith was not new in the New Testament, but rather mirrored how Abraham was saved in the Old Testament.
Paul labors this point in his letter to the Romans. Many Jews believed that they were automatically saved just because they were circumcised—with or without faith. However, Paul tells us that the doctrine of justification by faith was not an innovation in the New Testament, because it was the same way Abraham was saved in the Old Testament—by faith.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier) · Song of Simeon (Ligonier)
Further positions¶
Drawn from a single high-trust (official transcript) source.
If justification by faith alone is true, then the atonement must be limited or restricted to believers, otherwise God would be unjust in punishing the unrepentant.
If that is so, then the atonement, in some sense, must be limited, or restricted, to a definite group, namely believers. If Christ died for all of the sins of all people, that must include the sin of unbelief. If God’s justice is totally satisfied by Christ’s work on the cross, then it would follow that God would be unjust in punishing the unrepentant sinner for his unbelief and impenitence because those sins were already paid for by Christ.
Source: Biblical Scholasticism (Ligonier article)
Charles Finney denied original sin, the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
Finney has emerged as an icon of modern evangelism despite the fact that he too denied original sin and its ramifications, as well as the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
Source: Book Review: Christless Christianity (Ligonier article)
It is impossible for humans to definitively determine if a person who has repudiated their faith is a true believer who has fallen or a false believer who was never genuinely converted.
I don’t know whether he is a truly regenerate person who’s in the midst of a serious, radical fall but who will at some point in the future certainly be restored; or whether he is a person who was never really converted, whose profession of faith was false from the start.
Source: What Is an Apostate? (Ligonier article)
There is no biblical evidence to support the idea that abortion is the unforgivable sin.
Without delving into the theological technicalities, let me say categorically that there is no biblical evidence to support the idea and considerable evidence to deny that abortion is the unforgivable sin.
Source: Can I Be Forgiven If I’ve Had an Abortion? (Ligonier article)
The doctrine that the merits of the saints are added to Christ's merit is rejected because it diminishes the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.
It was not by accident that the Roman Catholic Church appealed to Paul's words in Colossians 1:24 to support its concept of the treasury of merits, by which the merits of the saints are supposedly added to the merit of Christ to cover the deficiencies of sinners.
Source: In Christ Our Suffering Is Not in Vain (Ligonier article)
Humanism is fundamentally contradictory because it assigns value to creatures without a divine foundation, while simultaneously rejecting the faith that provides that foundation.
For the humanist is caught in the vicious contradiction of ascribing dignity to creatures who live their lives between the poles of meaninglessness. He lives on borrowed capital, deriving his values from the Judeo-Christian faith, while at the same time repudiating the very foundation upon which these values rest.
Source: Dignity, Faith, & Work (Ligonier article)
True faith must necessarily produce observable works of righteousness, which validate one's claim to faith before others.
True faith will absolutely and necessarily yield the fruits of obedience and the works of righteousness.
Source: Does James 2:24 Deny Justification by Faith Alone? (Ligonier article)
James teaches that while works do not justify a person before God, they are necessary evidence that a person's claim to faith is genuine.
James is saying, not that a man is justified before God by his works, but that his claim to faith is shown to be genuine as he demonstrates the evidence of that claim of faith through his works.
Source: Does James 2:24 Deny Justification by Faith Alone? (Ligonier article)
Compromising truth or principle for popularity or convenience is a fundamental lack of integrity.
Such lack of virtue is found not only in politicians, but it is found in the churches everyday, which appears at times to be filled with ministers who are quite prepared to compromise the truth of the gospel for the sake of their current popularity.
Source: Duty and Honor (Ligonier article)
The conscience is not the ultimate authority for ethical conduct and is prone to distortion and misguidance.
For the Christian, the conscience is not the highest court of appeals for right conduct. The conscience is important, but not normative. It is capable of distortion and misguidance.
Source: Ethics and the Conscience (Ligonier article)
Reformed theology affirms the historical evangelical understanding of justification by faith alone, upholding the two foundational principles of sola Scriptura and sola fide.
Reformed theology is not Roman Catholic in its understanding of justification. This is simply to say that Reformed theology is evangelical in the historical sense of the word. In this regard, Reformed theology stands strongly and firmly with Martin Luther and the magisterial Reformers in their articulation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It affirms the solas of the Reformation, which are the formal and material causes of the sixteenth-century Reformation. Those two principles are the doctrines of sola Scriptura and sola fide .
Source: The Fine Points of Calvinism (Ligonier article)
The lack of reason in a person for salvation does not imply that God's actions are without reason.
We say clearly that His grace is given not for any reason in us. But the fact that there is no reason in me for my salvation does not mean there is no reason behind God’s action.
Source: God’s Good Pleasure in Election (Ligonier article)
The central theological issue is understanding how an unjust person can be reconciled to a holy and righteous God.
How can we, as unjust people, possibly be reconciled to a holy and righteous God? This is the greatest issue we face in our entire lives—the question of our personal redemption.
Source: The Greatest Issue We Face (Ligonier article)
The fundamental theological question is whether the basis for justification is one's own righteousness or the righteousness of another.
The fundamental issue is this: is the basis by which I am justified a righteousness that is my own? Or is it a righteousness that is, as Luther said, “an alien righteousness,” a righteousness that is extra nos, apart from us—the righteousness of another, namely, the righteousness of Christ?
Source: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
The difference between the two positions is that the Roman Catholic Church denies that justification is based on Christ alone, received by faith alone, and given by grace alone.
The difference, however, is that Rome continues to deny that justification is based on Christ alone, received by faith alone, and given by grace alone.
Source: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
When believers disagree, they are called to assume that the motives of the person they disagree with are pure.
When we disagree with one another, I believe that we are called as Christians to assume the motives of the person with whom we disagree are pure motives.
Source: What Is the Judgment of Charity? (Ligonier article)
The judgment of charity requires assuming that a disagreeing Christian is acting honestly and with personal integrity.
Now, the judgment of charity assumes in a Christian dispute that the brother or sister with whom we are disagreeing is disagreeing honestly and with personal integrity.
Source: What Is the Judgment of Charity? (Ligonier article)
A pervasive and insidious doctrine is the assumption that everyone goes to heaven when they die, which is called justification by death.
That doctrine is the doctrine of justification by death. It is an implicit universalism that assumes everyone goes to heaven when he or she dies.
Source: Justification by Death? (Ligonier article)
Heresy is fundamentally linked to false doctrine, and the desire of heretics is always to minimize the importance of doctrine.
In every age, the church is threatened by heresy, and heresy is bound up in false doctrine. It is the desire of all heretics to minimize the importance of doctrine.
Source: The Liberal Agenda (Ligonier article)
Sanctification is the process that follows justification, where those declared just are conformed to the image of Christ.
Sanctification is the process that follows justification by which those who have been declared just by God are actually conformed to the image of Christ.
Source: Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article)
The basis of justification is our connection to an 'alien righteousness,' which is not our own but belongs to someone else.
Luther rightly argued that the basis of our justification is our connection to “an alien righteousness”—a righteousness that, properly speaking, is not our own but belongs to someone else.
Source: Making Molehills Out of Mountains (Ligonier article)
The doctrine of justification by faith alone must serve as a motivation for Christians to pursue righteousness and obedience to God's preceptive will.
We seek refuge in our precious doctrine of justification by faith alone, forgetting that the very doctrine is to be a catalyst for the pursuit of righteousness and obedience to the preceptive will of God.
Source: The Meaning of God’s Will (Ligonier article)
The teachings of the Council of Trent, particularly regarding justification, must be considered when evaluating the relationship between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.
We cannot ignore what Trent said in evaluating where we stand in relation to the Roman Catholic Church and the ongoing relevance of the Reformation.
Source: Misunderstanding Vatican II (Ligonier article)
Regeneration and justification are entirely accomplished by God's work alone.
We manifestly don’t work for our regeneration or our justification. Both acts are monergistic, accomplished by God alone.
Source: No Shortcuts to Growth (Ligonier article)
Justification by faith alone is a doctrine so critical that a church rejecting it is no longer orthodox.
When it came to justification, however, Luther sang a different tune. He called justification the article upon which the church stands or falls, a doctrine so vital that it touches the very heart of the gospel. A church that rejects justification by faith alone (and anathematizes it as a deadly heresy) is nolonger an orthodox church.
Source: None Dare Call It Heresy (Ligonier article)
Humans are fundamentally flawed and cannot achieve righteousness through their own efforts or good deeds.
The human dilemma is this: God is holy, and we are not. God is righteous, and we are not.
Source: None Righteous (Ligonier article)
Relying on self-generated righteousness is a dangerous illusion because such righteousness does not actually exist.
We may be “marred” by sin but in no wise devastated by it. We still have the ability to balance our sins with our own righteousness. This is the most monstrous lie of all.
Source: None Righteous (Ligonier article)
Christian orthodoxy has consistently condemned Pelagianism, which teaches that men can be righteous without divine grace.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
Throughout church history, again and again, unvarnished Pelagianism has been repudiated by Christian orthodoxy. Even the Council of Trent, which teaches a form of semi-Pelagianism, in its first three canons — especially in the sixth chapter on justification — repeats the church’s ancient condemnation of the teaching of Pelagius that men can be righteous apart from grace.
Source: The Pelagian Controversy (Ligonier article)
While external religious activities can be done from false motives, it is highly unlikely that anyone would commune with God out of an improper motive.
Many of the externals of religion might be done from false motives, but it is highly unlikely that anyone would commune with God out of some improper motive.
Source: The Place of Prayer (Ligonier article)
Ethical decisions require absolute and normative principles, otherwise, the decisions made will be arbitrary and lack a basis for distinguishing right from wrong.
We need principles that are absolute and normative; otherwise, the decisions we make will be arbitrary, and we’ll have no basis for distinguishing right decisions from wrong decisions.
Source: Principles and Situations (Ligonier article)
Many people identified as Protestants have forgotten the core principles they are protesting, and the debate over justification remains highly relevant.
We are faced with a host of people who are defined as Protestants but who have evidently forgotten altogether what it is they are protesting. Contrary to some of these contemporary assessments of the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, we recall a different perspective by the sixteenth-century magisterial Reformers.
Source: Is the Reformation Over? (Ligonier article)
The Greek word for justification, dikaiosune, means 'to count, reckon, or declare righteous.'
By contrast, the Greek word for justification, dikaiosune , carries the meaning of “to count, reckon, or declare righteous.”
Source: Resurrection and Justification (Ligonier article)
Paul understood that Abraham was justified in the theological sense before he performed any works.
Paul has Abraham justified in the theological sense in Genesis 15 before he does any works.
Source: Resurrection and Justification (Ligonier article)
The theological concept of justification refers not to human vindication, but to the evidence that Christ's atonement was accepted by the Father.
Here justification does not refer to our vindication, but to the evidence that the atonement He made was accepted by the Father.
Source: Resurrection and Justification (Ligonier article)
While God has not provided specific instructions for every ethical issue, believers are not left to make decisions based merely on personal opinion.
God has not given us specific instructions for each and every possible ethical issue we face, but neither are we left to grope in the dark and to make our decisions on the basis of mere opinion.
Source: Revelation and Christian Ethics (Ligonier article)
The Reformation's challenge extended beyond justification by faith alone, questioning many doctrines established in Rome, particularly during the Middle Ages.
The “protest” of Protestantism went far beyond the issue of justification by faith alone, challenging many dogmas that emerged in Rome, especially during the Middle Ages.
Source: The History of the Reformation (Ligonier article)
Sproul states that a clear understanding of sola fide and the doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is necessary for true gospel unity.
Without a clear understanding of sola fide and the doctrine of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, you do not have the gospel or gospel unity (1 Cor. 1:17; 2 Cor. 5:21).
Source: The Manhattan Declaration: Why didn’t you sign it, R.C.? (Ligonier article)
Viewing choice as purely spontaneous, without any prior disposition, is illogical and lacks moral significance.
To understand freedom as purely spontaneous choice with no prior disposition controlling it is to rob freedom of any moral significance.
Source: The Meaning of Man’s Will (Ligonier article)
Since God judges Adam and Eve, they must have been inexcusable, because a just God does not punish excusable transgressions.
The biblical record gainsays this option, for God pronounces judgment upon Adam and Eve; and unless that judgment were arbitrary or immoral on the part of God himself, we can only conclude that Adam and Eve were inexcusable. A just God does not punish excusable transgressions. Indeed, excusable transgressions are not transgressions.
Source: The Meaning of Man’s Will (Ligonier article)
The rejection of substantial dichotomy is based on a fundamental misunderstanding and a fatal false assumption.
In my judgment, the rejection of substantial dichotomy rests upon a fundamental error of understanding, a fatal false assumption.
Source: The Origin of the Soul (Ligonier article)
N.T. Wright uses a straw man fallacy by claiming that Protestant orthodoxy believes justification is achieved by believing in the doctrine of justification by faith.
One of the statements that N.T. Wright employs, using this same stratagem, is the statement that “we are not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith.”
Source: Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article)
No theologian in the history of the Reformed tradition believes or argues that a person can be justified by believing in the doctrine of justification by faith.
I am aware of no theologian in the history of the Reformed tradition who believes or argues that a person can be justified by believing in the doctrine of justification by faith.
Source: Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article)
The biblical explanation for the ground of our redemption is imputation, which is the basis for our justification.
Yet at the same time, it is the biblical explanation for the ground of our redemption. No biblical text more clearly teaches this concept of transfer or imputation than that of Isaiah 53, which the New Testament church singled out as a crucial prophetic explanation of the drama of redemption.
Source: Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article)
The focus of justification by faith is our confidence in the righteousness of Christ, not merely believing the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
The New Testament declares Christ to be our righteousness, and it is precisely our confidence in the righteousness of Christ as the grounds for our justification that is the focus of the doctrine of justification by faith.
Source: Tilting at Scarecrows (Ligonier article)
Some modern views propose that divine inspiration is limited only to matters of faith and doctrine, excluding science, history, and ethics.
We have seen views of so-called “limited inspiration” or “limited inerrancy.” That is to say, the Spirit’s inspiration of the Bible is not holistic, but rather is limited to matters of faith and doctrine.
Source: Tota Scriptura (Ligonier article)
The problem of selecting which parts of the Bible are normative for faith arises when one abandons the view of total Scripture.
Once we remove ourselves from a view of tota Scriptura , we are free then to pick and choose what portions of Scripture are normative for Christian faith and life, just like picking cherries from a tree.
Source: Tota Scriptura (Ligonier article)
God legally counted Abraham as righteous because of his faith, even though he was not inherently righteous.
Nevertheless, God counted him righteous because he believed in the promise God had made to him. This is an example of imputation, which involves transferring something legally to someone’s account, to reckon something to be there.
Source: The Very Heart of the Reformation (Ligonier article)
When the state fails to protect life, it is the sacred duty of the church and every Christian to voice opposition.
When the state fails to do that, it has become demonized. And it is the sacred duty of the church and of every Christian to voice opposition to it.
Source: The Voice of the Church (Ligonier article)
True, lasting peace is found only in the cessation of the war with God through justification by faith.
When our holy war with God ceases; when we, like Luther, walk through the doors of paradise, when we are justified by faith, the war ends forever. With the cleansing from sin and the declaration of divine forgiveness we enter into an eternal peace treaty with God.
Source: War and Peace with a Holy God (Ligonier article)
The fundamental difference was that the Catholic view required internal righteousness (sanctification) for justification, while the Reformers believed it was based on the imputation of Christ's righteousness.
Trent said that God does not justify anyone until real righteousness inheres within the person. In other words, God does not declare a person righteous unless he or she is righteous. So, according to Roman Catholic doctrine, justification depends on a person’s sanctification. By contrast, the Reformers said justification is based on the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus.
Source: What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification? (Ligonier article)
Paul connects the objective account of Jesus's person and work with the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which is essential to the gospel.
That is why Paul conjoins the objective account of the person and work of Jesus (particularly to the Galatians) with the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which is essential to the gospel.
Source: What Does “Gospel” Mean? (Ligonier article)
Human beings do not merit God's favor or justification; it is solely based on Christ's merit and is considered pure grace.
He alone has the merit to satisfy the demands of God’s justice, and He gives it freely to us. We haven’t merited it. There’s nothing in us that elicits the Lord’s favor that leads to our justification. It’s pure grace.
Source: What Is Grace? (Ligonier article)
The material cause of the Protestant Reformation was the doctrine of justification.
The material cause , however, the substantive issue that was the core point of dispute, was the doctrine of justification.
Source: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article)
The core tenets of Protestant thought include justification by faith alone, by grace alone, and through Christ alone.
Three of the issues that are captured in the essence of Protestant thinking are sola fide , by faith alone; sola gratia , by grace alone; and solus Christus , through Christ alone.
Source: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article)
A justified person will lose the state of justification through a mortal sin, which requires restoration through the sacrament of penance.
A baptized and justified person will remain in the state of justification until or unless he commits a mortal sin. A mortal sin is so called because it kills the grace that is poured into the soul at baptism. The person who commits a mortal sin must then be justified again—but not through baptism. Justification is restored through the sacrament of penance.
Source: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article)
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification begins with baptism, which is considered the instrumental cause.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
According to the Roman Catholic Church, justification begins with baptism. Baptism is called the instrumental cause of justification.
Source: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article)
The Reformers assert that the tool or instrument for justification is faith in Christ, not baptism or penance.
The Reformers responded that the instrumental cause of our justification is not baptism or penance; it is faith in Christ. Faith and faith alone is the tool or instrument that links us to Christ and all that He has done for us and by which we are made just in the sight of God.
Source: What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation? (Ligonier article)
In Hebrew literature, being foolish does not mean lacking intelligence, but rather being irreligious and godless.
However, in the Hebrew literature, the term fool does not describe a person who lacks intelligence. To be foolish to the Jew is to be irreligious and godless.
Source: Wisdom and Knowledge (Ligonier article)
The wisdom of responding to a fool depends entirely on the specific situation.
There are certain circumstances when it is not wise to answer a fool according to his folly, but there are other circumstances when it is wise to answer a fool according to his folly.
Source: Wisely Handling the Bible’s Wise Sayings (Ligonier article)
Society and the church often mistakenly believe that talent or knowledge can excuse poor personal morality or behavior.
If a person is educated and is knowledgeable, and is sophisticated as a professor or as a theologian, he’s above criticism in many ways.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 9:57
The passage in Genesis 15 provides a concise summary of justification by faith alone, where God counts a person as righteous based solely on their faith.
Here in the 15th chapter of Genesis, is the most succinct capsule summation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Abraham believed God, and there is no merit in that. Abraham should believe God because God is eminently believable. Abraham should trust God because God is altogether trustworthy, but Abraham believed God and God counted him, He reckoned him, as righteous, not on the basis of any works that Abraham had performed, but on the basis of his faith, and of his faith alone in the promise of God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 21:19
Luther refused to recant his teachings unless he was convinced by sacred Scripture or evident reason.
Brother Martin, will you now recant of these teachings?" And again Luther hesitated for a moment, and he said, "Unless I'm convinced by sacred Scripture, or by evident reason, don't you see I can't recant. My conscience is held captive by the Word of God, and to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can't do anything else. God, help me."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:44
Protestant theology holds that God justifies believers by imputing the righteousness of Jesus Christ to their account.
But with respect to justification, the Protestant view is that God justifies those who have faith by imputation. Now imputation means this: It involves a transfer from one person's account to another, so that the righteousness of Jesus is transferred in God's sight to the believer's account.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 13:23
True faith will necessarily produce the fruit of sanctification, and the absence of such fruit proves that there was no true justification.
Now the Reformers said that justification is by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone that true faith, if you're really resting in Christ, and you're really counted righteous by God, if you have true faith that faith will immediately, necessarily, and inevitably produce the fruit of sanctification. And if no fruit follows from your justification it is perfect proof that there was no justification, because the idea of faith without the fruit of obedience is what James called a dead faith and that can't justify anyone.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:07
If religious belief is founded on a false premise or lacks corresponding reality, then preaching and expressed faith are futile.
If religion is based upon a false premise, if there’s no corresponding reality to the hope that lies within us, then let’s face it, our preaching’s an exercise in futility, and the faith that we express is useless.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:36
When judging others who have publicly repudiated their faith, one must exercise charity because humans cannot know the true state of another person's soul.
Well, the first thing you do is you make a judgment of charity, because you don't know the real state of their souls.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 14:41
Moral responsibility is a topic where neutrality is impossible.
But the point is: nobody is neutral about this question. I've never met somebody that was neutral, because there is no neutrality when it comes to moral responsibility ultimately.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:49
Fallen or unbelieving people cannot perform genuine goodness because their actions are motivated by self-interest rather than a desire to please God.
And so the lack of the internal motivation, the lack of the disposition of the heart is what vitiates the final verdict of goodness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:21
Sola Fide means faith alone, and it was the central assertion of Martin Luther that provoked the serious controversy of the 16th Century.
Sola Fide means faith alone, and this was the central assertion of Martin Luther that provoked the serious controversy of the 16th Century.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:12
The magisterial reformers were convinced that justification by faith alone was of critical importance.
They did not think that the debate over justification was an argument over some fine point of theology whereby theologians get together and nitpick over secondary issues and so on, but they were convinced of not only the truth of justification by faith alone but also believed that it was of critical importance.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:47
Luther's conviction was that the doctrine of justification was extremely important because it relates to the core of the Gospel.
it was clearly Luther's conviction that this doctrine was so important because it touched the very heart and soul of the Gospel itself.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:37
Luther asserted that the article of justification is the master and prince, governing all church doctrine and raising up our conscience before God.
Context: Quoting Martin Luther's expanded comment.
The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines. It preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:12
Justification by faith alone is relatively easy to grasp intellectually, but applying it to one's life is a deeper spiritual matter.
I think that the doctrine of justification by faith alone of all of the doctrines of systematic theology is relatively easy to grasp with the mind. It's not that complicated or so arcane or obtuse that only specialized experts in the field of theology can grasp.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:57
The fundamental question that justification addresses is how an unjust person can stand before a just and holy God at the final judgment.
The fundamental question that the doctrine of justification is trying to answer and succeeds in that attempt is the question, "How can an unjust person ever survive the final judgment of a just and holy God?"
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 8:23
The process of justification is worked out by God from eternity such that God remains just.
His way of justifying guilty people is worked out from all eternity in such a manner that God Himself remains just.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 14:19
Forensic justification means that God declares a person just in His sight, which is a legal declaration.
So when we talk about justification being forensic we mean by that that in the final analysis God justifies us when He declares, pronounces, that in His sight we are considered, deemed, or regarded as just.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 16:59
The Biblical concept of justification rests upon God's reckoning or counting people as just in a way they are not in themselves.
But the Biblical concept of justification rests upon God's reckoning or counting people to be something that in and of themselves they are not.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 20:32
God's election and justification are absolute, meaning no one can bring a charge against His chosen people.
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:02
The central controversy regarding justification concerns whether righteousness comes from within the person or is imputed from Christ.
The basic issue was what was the grounds of our justification? Is our justification grounded in a righteousness that inheres within us? Or is it grounded in a righteousness that is achieved apart from us, outside of us, extra nos.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 16:13
The reformers taught that the only way a person can be justified is by having the righteousness of Jesus Christ transferred to their account.
Where the reformers were saying the only way any person can be justified is to have the righteousness of Jesus Christ transferred to their account.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 16:50
Stating any position or expressing a conviction is inherently stating an opinion or interpretation.
Anytime you utter words, or anytime you state a position, or make an assertion, or express a conviction, you’re obviously stating your opinion. You’re obviously stating your interpretation.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
Assurance of salvation is only found by trusting in Christ and Christ alone for justification.
Our assurance of salvation can only come when we trust in Christ and in Christ alone for our justification.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
The philosophical implication of denying God's existence is that all actions are permissible.
Context: Quoting Dostoyevsky
If there is no God, then all things are permissible.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:06
When interpreting Scripture, the burden of proof rests on those who argue that a biblical mandate is merely a custom, requiring good and sound reason to treat it as such.
if it's still in question whether it's principle or custom, the burden of proof must always be on those who argue that it's a mere custom, and unless there is good and sound reason for treating a biblical mandate as a custom, then we ought always to treat it and apply it as principle.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 27:08
God is perfectly justified in exercising justice against an unjust creation.
I mean God would be perfectly justified to exercise justice against an unjust creation.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 13:17
A spontaneous choice, lacking a cause or reason, is a rational impossibility.
A spontaneous choice, in other words, is a rational impossibility. It would have to be an effect without a cause.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 8:06
Every choice made, even seemingly random ones, has a reason, even if that reason is simple or deep.
What I'm saying to you is that there is a reason why you are sitting where you are sitting, and it may have been a very quick decision.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 13:31
The speaker argues that the church has failed to adequately communicate justification by faith.
The greatest tragedy, in my opinion, of the twentieth-century church is that it has failed to communicate justification by faith to its people.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:23
Justification depends on faith, meaning the reality of justification relies on the prior presence of faith.
We mean that justification, the reality of justification depends upon a prior condition, that is the presence of something else for it to be real. And in this case justification depends upon faith, not faith depending on justification.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:50
The doctrine of election is distinct from the doctrine of justification, although they are related, and election does not mean God saves people regardless of their faith.
It doesn't mean that God will save people no matter whether they come to faith or not come to faith. There are conditions that God decrees for salvation not the least of which is putting one's personal trust in Christ. But that is a condition for justification and the doctrine of election is something else.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:32
Deciding whether to terminate a potential human life requires strong justification, not merely personal preference or convenience.
Before you hire a surgeon to take a knife in his hand and to destroy an unborn human embryo, I hope you are absolutely sure that this is not a living human being, because life is too sacred to decide it with a roll of a dice. We need better grounds than my preference, my convenience, or my economic condition before we decide on a matter this serious.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 31:08
Justification is achieved by receiving the imputation of Christ's righteousness through faith.
the only way you get into heaven is by perfect righteousness, and thanks be to God, that’s what we have by faith in Christ where we receive through God’s decree the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:16
The primary flaw of the Pharisees' religion was that it was strictly external, lacking genuine internal righteousness.
But the one problem that comes out over and over and over again as we look at the New Testament model of the Pharisee is that the Pharisee’s religion was strictly external.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 24:35
Human attempts to justify themselves before God are inadequate and are compared to filthy rags.
The Scriptures say that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). In other words, when we attempt to justify ourselves to make ourselves comfortable in the presence of God, to provide for ourselves our own handmade coverings, they are as filth, rags.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:42
Pure reason or sense perception alone are insufficient to grasp the truths of the Christian faith.
No, so that pure reason isn’t going to get you the Christian faith. How about sense perception alone?
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 15:48
A person who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, but does not work, will have their faith counted as righteousness.
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness
Source: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier)
The imputation of Christ's righteousness is a real legal declaration, not a fictional concept.
There is absolutely nothing fictional about God’s act of imputation. The righteousness of Jesus is real righteousness. The imputation of that righteousness to our account in Christ is a real imputation.
Source: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier)
Jesus warns that those who claim to know Him or practice ministry without genuine faith will be rejected because they are characterized by lawlessness.
Jesus warns us in that sermon that He will turn to these people who call Him “Lord, Lord,” and say to them: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matt. 7:23).
Source: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier)
The circumcised Jew and the uncircumcised are both justified by faith alone, through the imputation of Christ's righteousness.
The circumcised Jew is justified by faith and faith alone. Those who are uncircumcised are justified the same way: through faith alone, through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.
Source: Abraham Justified Before Circumcision (Ligonier)
Abraham's justification, like ours, was based on faith and the work of Christ, not on physical actions.
Paul looks to Abraham as the supreme example of how a person is justified by faith and not by works.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
The principle of justification by faith was consistent throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
The only difference between our justification and Abraham’s justification was that Abraham looked forward to the Promised One who would be his Redeemer.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
Paul clarifies that Abraham was not justified by works, and neither are modern believers.
Paul is saying clearly that Abraham is also excluded from boasting, because Abraham was not justified by works, nor are we.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
Paul cites Scripture to show that righteousness is accounted to a person based on belief, not on works.
For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
James asserts that the only way to prove that one's faith is legitimate is through one's obedience and behavior.
James is saying: “You say you have faith, but how can I know that profession of faith is genuine and legitimate unless you show me that faith by your works?”
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
James' argument is that a person is vindicated by their works, not by faith alone.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. (James 2:21–24) Let me restate that: a man is vindicated by his works and not by faith alone.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
If justification were based on a person's own works, it would be considered a debt, not a gift of grace.
If Abraham’s works were good enough to make him just in the sight of God, if Abraham brought merit to the table, whether meritum de congruo or de condigno , then his justification would not have been reckoned as grace but as debt .
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
Faith itself is merely an instrument that connects a person to Christ, and only Christ's righteousness is the true basis for justification.
No, faith only lays hold of Christ. It is the instrument by which you are linked to Jesus. Only Christ’s righteousness is the grounds of your justification.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
True unity of faith in the gospel requires agreement on the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
I know I don’t have a unity of faith with people who deny justification by faith alone and preach a different gospel from the biblical gospel. I can be friends with them. I can have a unity in concerns about abortion and a host of other things, but not in the gospel, because we don’t believe the same gospel.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
If justification is not by faith alone, the group does not possess the true gospel.
If you don’t have justification by faith alone, you don’t have the gospel.
Source: Abraham Justified by Faith (Ligonier)
Doubt leads to condemnation, whereas actions performed from faith are acceptable.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
Source: Bearing Others' Burdens (Ligonier)
The Apostle Paul used the account of Abraham to illustrate the doctrine that righteousness is imputed by God through faith alone.
In verse 6, we read these pregnant words: “Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” This is the sentence that the Apostle Paul uses to illustrate the faith of Abraham, the doctrine of justification by faith alone, by the imputation of a righteousness that God gives those who have no righteousness.
Source: The Benedictus (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The core of justification is the remission of sins, which is achieved through God's mercy, not human effort.
The heart and soul of our justification includes, at its very core, the remission of our sins. But how does it happen? Listen to what the song says: “Through”—that is, the means, the how of forgiveness of sins—“the tender mercy of our God.”
Source: The Benedictus (Part 3) (Ligonier)
Boasting is excluded from justification, specifically any human boasting regarding one's own merit or achievement.
The boasting that is excluded is any boasting that any human beings might have in the presence of men or God whereby they brag or bring to consideration their own merit, their own significance, or their own achievement as contributing in any way to the ground of their justification.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Justification is by faith alone, meaning it is apart from the deeds of the law and any personal merit.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
While works are important for sanctification and the Christian life, they play no part in the grounds of justification.
But as contributing to the grounds of our justification, they have no part, and that is what the whole dispute is about: Are we justified by faith and works, or are we justified by faith apart from the works of the law?
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
The New Perspective on Paul is a serious distortion of the gospel because it misinterprets Paul's text to mean justification relates only to the ceremonial law or status in the church.
I cannot think of many more serious distortions of the gospel than that, and I am not going to get into that all tonight as an excursion. But I simply say to you that if someone comes to you proclaiming the so-called New Perspective on Paul, run for your life because it is a really serious diabolical distortion of the gospel.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
The central issue of the Reformation was determining whether the ground of justification is human works or Christ's righteousness.
That is why the real issue in the Reformation was this: What is the ground of your justification? Is it your goodness, your righteousness, your works, and your merit, or Christ’s?
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Any system or person who suggests that human righteousness contributes to justification must be reformed because it distorts the gospel.
When anyone—whether an institution, a whole church, or the whole world—begins to think that your righteousness adds anything to the ground of your justification, then that person, church, or world needs to be reformed because that is a distortion of the gospel.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
The only source of salvation and justification is Christ, not human contribution or performance.
If there is anything cluttering up your faith that removes your view from focusing on Christ and His righteousness alone, it must be excluded. It has to be removed, because when you try to add anything of your own, you are subtracting from Christ, and you put your confidence and your faith in your performance rather than His.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Justification by faith is a doctrine taught since the beginning of Israel, tracing back to Abraham.
Rather, it is something that has been taught from age immemorial, back through the very foundation of the people of Israel, going back to father Abraham, the father of the faithful, who was justified by faith alone.
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
Human effort or works are insufficient for justification, which must come through Christ's righteousness.
That is why I say that at the end of the day, all you have is Christ and His righteousness. That is all you have. But that is all you need because “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified,” but through the works of Christ all shall be justified who put their trust in Him (Gal. 2:16).
Source: Boasting Excluded (Ligonier)
A person's true faith and justification are tested by their actions and obedience, not merely by verbal professions.
We are known, however, by our fruits, not verbal professions. What we do will not get us into the kingdom of God. Only trust in Christ can get you there. The true test of whether your trust is real, your faith sincere, and your justification authentic is in your fruit—your obedience or lack of it.
Source: Build on the Rock (Ligonier)
Atheists of the nineteenth century struggled to explain the universal presence of religion if they believed God did not exist.
Since we now know that there is no God, why is it that in our anthropological investigations, no matter how far we go, we find religion? No matter how many foreign elements we explore, be it the aborigines, the Eskimos, or the animistic natives in the jungles of Africa or South America, we still find religion?
Source: The Calming of the Storm (Ligonier)
Believers are justified from all things by Christ, which is preached through the gospel.
Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Source: Christ and David (Ligonier)
Believers must avoid those who teach false doctrine, which is defined as any teaching that deviates from the authority of the Apostles.
Avoid those who come into the church teaching false doctrine, doctrine other than that which has been delivered by Apostolic authority.
Source: Conclusion (Ligonier)
The question of who can stand before God's wrath is rhetorical, implying that no one can stand.
The question is clearly rhetorical. Who can stand? The answer is manifestly obvious: no one can stand.
Source: The Crucifixion (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The text makes a theological distinction between justification and sanctification, showing the transition in the text.
Here we make a theological distinction between justification and sanctification, and we see this transition in the text.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Justification by faith alone was never intended by God to be a license for sin.
But justification by faith alone was never intended by God in His grace as a license for sin.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Antinomianism is the belief that justification by faith is a license to sin.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
But justification by faith alone was never intended by God in His grace as a license for sin.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The biblical understanding of justification is that faith is the basis, and works are the resulting consequence.
The Reformation view, the biblical view, is faith equals justification plus works. The works are there, but they are on the other side of the equation from justification.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The theological question of how God can hold people responsible for sinning in Adam, when they were not physically present, is a common struggle for students.
The student might say: “Sinned in Adam? I wasn’t there. How can God hold people responsible for what Adam did when they weren’t even there in the garden?” That is the problem, is it not?
Source: Death in Adam, Life in Christ (Ligonier)
The doctrine of realism argues that for God to justly condemn people for Adam's sin, they must have been preexistent and participating in the act.
Realism operates on the premise that the only way God could justly and morally condemn us for what Adam did is if we were really there participating in the act, so we were really there in terms of our preexistent souls before we were actually born with bodies.
Source: Death in Adam, Life in Christ (Ligonier)
The principle of representation is fundamental to salvation, and rejecting it means rejecting the only hope of salvation.
The principle of representation is at the very heart and soul of our salvation. So be careful if you reject that principle or that idea in principle, because if you do, you have rejected your only hope of salvation.
Source: Death in Adam, Life in Christ (Ligonier)
The speaker rejected the doctrine of realism regarding the fall, preferring the doctrine of federalism.
I talked about various nuances of realism, then rejected realism in favor of the doctrine of federalism.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The entire book of Romans is Paul's explanation of the full significance of justification by faith alone.
In a real sense, the entire epistle of Romans is Paul’s explanation of the full-orbed significance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The contrast in Romans 5 is between Adam and Christ, and this relates to the doctrine of justification.
The contrast here is between Adam and Christ, and it all has to do with justification.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
If one does not hold to justification by faith alone, one does not possess the gospel, and imputation is essential to that doctrine.
Since the sixteenth century—and since Paul wrote Romans and Galatians—if you don’t have sola fide , you don’t have the gospel, and absolutely essential to justification by faith alone is the doctrine of imputation.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The speaker is unwilling to compromise the deity of Christ, sola fide, or the doctrine of imputation.
As long as I have lived so far, I am not ready to give up on the deity of Christ or negotiate that, and God forbid that I would ever negotiate sola fide , justification by faith alone. And if I am not going to negotiate that, then I am not going to negotiate imputation.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The gospel fundamentally relies on the imputation of someone else's righteousness, as standing before God with one's own righteousness is insufficient.
It is the very essence of the gospel that someone else’s righteousness counts for you. If you get rid of imputation, then you have no basis for any hope when standing before the judgment seat of God.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, which is the only possible ground for salvation and justification.
Without the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, there is no justification. Without justification, there is no gospel. Paul labors in this section how central Christ’s life of perfect obedience is, the only possible ground for our salvation, which comes by imputation.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
Active obedience of Christ is the sole ground for justification.
Machen was dying, and he wrote to his friend by telegram: “I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.” On his deathbed, Machen was thinking of the perfect active obedience of Jesus, which active obedience was the sole ground for the justification of J. Gresham Machen, and the sole ground for your justification and for mine.
Source: Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Paul teaches that the three fruits of justification are peace with God, access to His presence, and the hope of His glory.
Paul tells us that these three things are the fruit of our justification: peace with God, access to His presence, and the hope of His glory that is shed abroad in our hearts.
Source: Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The primary result of justification is the presence of joy in the Christian life, which outweighs any suffering.
Above all, the fruit of justification is the presence of joy in the Christian life. We have found the pearl of great price, and no matter how much pain we have to go through, no matter how much tribulation we have to endure, as bad as things may be, these things are not worthy to be compared with the joy that God has set before us in Christ.
Source: Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 3) (Ligonier)
All the benefits derived from justification, including the love of God, are considered part of the gift of justification.
Finally, there is another package under the tree, and we open it up, and it is the love of God poured profusely into our hearts by the grace of God. All these things are part of the gift of our justification.
Source: Faith Triumphs in Trouble (Part 3) (Ligonier)
An unfaithful steward is considered an unbeliever, meaning that professing faith without living faithfully is actually unconverted.
When the master comes back, he not only cuts him in two, but he sends him out to be numbered with the unbelievers, because, beloved, an unfaithful steward is an unbeliever.
Source: The Faithful Steward (Ligonier)
A problematic theology suggests that people can be in Christ and justified while still remaining carnal, which is a dangerous misunderstanding.
Context: Describing a problematic theology, not his own.
He has been received as Savior, and all one has to do to be saved is accept Jesus as Savior, according to this view. In this understanding, there is hope that those who embrace Christ as Savior will at some point later on embrace him as Lord.
Source: Free from Indwelling Sin (Ligonier)
Paul began discussing the consequences of justification, such as having peace with God and access to His presence, in chapter 5.
After defining the doctrine of justification by faith alone in chapter 5, Paul began to set forth for us the consequences of our having been justified, having peace with God, having access to His presence, and so on.
Source: Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
The dimension of sanctification must necessarily flow out of our justification.
At that point, Paul began to introduce us to the dimension in which our sanctification must of necessity flow out of our justification.
Source: Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
True justification is achieved through real obedience to the law of God, which is only accomplished by Christ.
The only way anyone can be justified in the sight of God is through real righteousness, and real righteousness is only achieved through real obedience to the law of God.
Source: Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
All individuals who are called effectually are justified, while those merely called outwardly may not be.
But all who are called inwardly, all who are called effectually, come to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit and are justified.
Source: The Golden Chain (Ligonier)
In the Roman Catholic system, justification is viewed as an infused grace received at baptism and maintained through cooperation and works.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
In the Roman Catholic system, justification was thought to begin at baptism as a sacerdotal act administered by the priest, whereby the grace of justification was infused into the soul.
Source: Good & Bad Fruit (Ligonier)
The individual is responsible for knowing if they are neglecting their salvation, and the speaker cannot answer that question for them.
You know if you are neglecting your salvation. I do not have to tell it to you.
Source: A Great Salvation (Ligonier)
Herod was ethically and theologically wrong because he made an unlawful vow and felt obligated to fulfill it.
Herod, who had made an unlawful vow, was incorrect in his ethics and theology. He thought he was duty-bound to fulfill this vow.
Source: Haunted By Guilt (Ligonier)
Believing one can see when one cannot see is not genuine faith, but rather a destructive act of credulity.
To believe that you can see when you can’t see is not faith, it’s credulity, and it’s destructive to the soul.
Source: Healing of the Leper (Ligonier)
Believers must not claim that doctrine is unimportant, because doing so implies that truth, Christ, and God are unimportant.
Do not ever say that doctrine does not matter. If you do, you are saying truth does not matter, Christ does not matter, and God does not matter.
Source: If It Is of God (Ligonier)
Agnostics are worse than militant atheists because they not only refuse to affirm God's existence but also blame God for their own disobedience.
Not only do they refuse to affirm the existence of God, but they blame God for their disobedience.
Source: Introduction (Ligonier)
Justification is achieved by faith alone, a doctrine that is not new but was established early in the Old Testament, particularly in the life of Abraham.
Particularly in the life of the patriarch Abraham, we see that justification before a holy God is by faith and by faith alone.
Source: Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier)
True conviction of truth is not an emotional or sensual matter, but must involve the assent of the mind.
Conviction of truth is not a sensual matter. It first has to do with the assent of the mind.
Source: Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier)
Only a living faith, one that manifests itself in obedience, can justify a person.
So, Luther would say the only kind of faith that justifies is a fides viva —a living faith, a vital faith, a faith that manifests itself in a life of obedience to God.
Source: Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier)
A faith that is merely intellectual or superficial is insufficient for justification, as it is not a living faith.
So, Luther would say the only kind of faith that justifies is a fides viva —a living faith, a vital faith, a faith that manifests itself in a life of obedience to God.
Source: Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier)
Gentiles attained righteousness through faith, while Israel failed because they sought righteousness by works of the law.
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.
Source: Israel's Rejection & God's Justice (Part 3) (Ligonier)
The belief in God's promise is the first clear teaching of justification by faith alone.
We read in Genesis 15—and we will see this later when Paul recalls it for the Romans— “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3; see also Gen. 15:6). This was the first clear teaching of justification by faith alone.
Source: The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
The judgment of charity is defined as giving one's neighbor the benefit of the doubt, or 'the best-case analysis.'
The judgment of charity is what we call “the best-case analysis.” It is giving our neighbor the benefit of the doubt.
Source: Judge Not… (Ligonier)
The doctrine of imputation—that sins are transferred to Christ and Christ's righteousness is transferred to us by faith—is essential to the gospel.
Paul conjoins with the objective account of the person and work of Jesus, particularly in Galatians, that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is essential to the gospel.
Source: The Just Shall Live by Faith (Ligonier)
The word 'therefore' refers to the entire doctrine of justification by grace in Christ, not just the immediately preceding verses.
I think that when Paul says “therefore,” he is referring to everything he has laid out in terms of the doctrine of the grace of justification that preceded his charge to sanctification and the struggle he recounts in chapter 7.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 3) (Ligonier)
Individuals should not judge others regarding their practices, especially concerning matters of personal scruples.
Your brother ought not to judge you, and you ought not to judge your brother. This is one area where we can all get along.
Source: The Law of Liberty (Ligonier)
Human righteousness is inherently flawed and compared to filthy rags.
All our own righteousness, the Scriptures tell us, is as filthy rags.
Source: The Lost Son (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The simplest explanation of justice is the principle of giving to people what is their due.
He said that the principle of justice, in its simplest explanation, is this: It is giving to people what is their due.
Source: Love Your Neighbor (Ligonier)
The principle of telling the truth is not absolute, as there are cases, such as warfare, where righteousness and justice do not require it.
But righteousness and justice do not always require it, as in the cases of warfare that I have just mentioned.
Source: Love Your Neighbor (Ligonier)
While justification is by faith alone, rewards in heaven will be distributed according to one's works.
Let me put it this way: our justification is by faith alone, but our rewards in heaven will be distributed according to our works.
Source: Man Is without Excuse (Ligonier)
Human righteousness is insufficient for covering sin, and only Christ's righteousness provides the necessary covering when sin is revealed.
When every secret is made manifest in that judgment, we will be covered by the perfection of Christ’s righteousness. Mine will not do it.
Source: Man Is without Excuse (Ligonier)
Before God, individuals must either stand on their own merit (which is demerit) or stand covered by the righteousness of Christ.
You either stand in front of Him on your own merit—and the only thing you are able to bring is demerit —or you stand covered in the righteousness of Christ.
Source: The Atonement (Ligonier)
While individual faith is necessary for justification, Christ always places the saved individual within a group, emphasizing a corporate dimension to the church.
However, every single time that Christ saves an individual in the Bible, He places that person in a group. There is a corporate dimension to the church, a corporate dimension to the kingdom of God that we dare not lose sight of.
Source: The Calling of the Disciples (Ligonier)
The basis for condemnation is the lack of faith, not the lack of baptism.
Notice the absence there of the term “baptism.” Jesus does not say in a parallel fashion that he who is not baptized will be condemned. But faith is necessary for salvation, and the lack of it will result in condemnation.
Source: The Great Commission (Ligonier)
Lack of belief is necessary for condemnation, and this condemnation applies universally because all people have rejected God's general revelation.
On the contrary, they are already in a state of condemnation because they have universally rejected the general revelation of God the Father, who has made Himself known and clear to every creature.
Source: The Great Commission (Ligonier)
Sanctification, the process of being made holy, is dependent upon and follows justification.
I talk a lot about justification, and we cannot be sanctified unless we are first justified. We are justified unto sanctification. God saves us that we might be changed and brought into conformity with Him.
Source: Martha & Mary (Ligonier)
Wisdom is justified by all her children.
But wisdom is justified by all her children.
Source: Message from John the Baptist (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The only way to be justified before God is by placing trust and faith in Christ and His righteousness.
We must be justified by faith and by faith alone, which means the only way we can be justified before God is by putting our trust and faith in Christ and His works, His righteousness.
Source: Message from John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier)
In the context of Jesus's statement, 'justified' means being shown or proven by one's results or fruits, not being brought into a reconciled relationship with God.
He is using the term “justify” in the sense of manifesting or demonstrating something, and this is exactly the way Jesus used it in this text when He said, “Wisdom is justified by her children.” Jesus did not say that wisdom is brought into a reconciled relationship with a just and holy God by having children.
Source: Message from John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The doctrine of the 'carnal' Christian is a distortion of biblical truth because it allows people to believe they are saved without any evidence of it.
The idea of the carnal Christian is a ghastly distortion of biblical truth. It is not simply ghastly because it is bad theology, but the consequences are severe because it encourages people who have made a profession of faith but do not possess the faith into believing that they are saved, even when there is no evidence of it.
Source: The Parable of the Barren Fig (Ligonier)
Many people mistakenly believe they can justify themselves on judgment day by claiming they lived a good life.
I would be willing to say that at least ninety percent—and I think that is a weak estimate—of people in America today believe that on the day of judgment, they can justify themselves by saying, “I led a good life.”
Source: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Ligonier)
The excuses given by the guests in the parable were weak and lacked genuine necessity.
The accent in this story is on how feeble and flimsy the excuses given were. The first one said, “I bought a piece of real estate, and I have to go look at it, so I cannot come.” Would you like to have him as a client for some land for sale in the Everglades? He bought a piece of property without even looking at it.
Source: The Parable of the Great Supper (Ligonier)
Ignorance is not a valid excuse for sin on the Day of Judgment because the claimed ignorance is not true.
Paul warns that ignorance is not going to be an excuse on the day of Judgment because that claimed ignorance is not true.
Source: Peter's Second Speech (Ligonier)
Semi-Pelagianism incorrectly taught that justification is a joint project requiring human cooperation with grace.
Context: Describing the semi-Pelagian position, not his own.
It taught that grace is necessary for anybody to become righteous. It is a necessary condition, but it is not a sufficient condition. You cannot be righteous without grace, but grace does not work by itself. You must cooperate with it and assent to it so that you become just. Justification is a joint project.
Source: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Ligonier)
The only way to stand before a just God is to be justified by acknowledging one's sin and clinging to Christ's mercy and grace.
If you throw yourself and your soul on Him and His mercy, clinging to Christ, you will go home justified.
Source: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Ligonier)
The righteousness that people attain is the righteousness of faith, which is not earned through human effort or adherence to the law.
They attained the justification, which is by faith. Paul continues, “But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.”
Source: Present Condition of Israel (Ligonier)
The judgment God announces is not because humanity is given to atheism, but rather because of false religion.
The judgment Paul announces on the human race is not because the human race is given to atheism. What provokes the judgment of God is religion— false religion, the religion whose object of zeal and devotion is an idol where the truth of God is traded in, swapped for the creature, traded from the God who alone is worthy of our adoration, devotion, and service.
Source: Present Condition of Israel (Ligonier)
Relying on grace alone is necessary because it eliminates boasting and personal claims to merit.
It is hard to rely on grace and grace alone, because it is the end of boasting. We have no more bragging rights.
Source: Present Condition of Israel (Ligonier)
Relying on good works or self-justification is a foolish endeavor and an insufficient way to enter the kingdom of God.
How many people do you know who rely on living a good life to get themselves into heaven, who are practicing self-justification, who are resting on their good deeds and performance to pass the bar of God’s justice? There is no more foolish endeavor, no greater fool’s errand than to seek to enter the kingdom of God by your own good works.
Source: Pressing into the Kingdom (Ligonier)
The doctrine of justification by faith alone is a central and powerful truth that Paul emphasizes in Romans 3 and 4.
I think of that when I follow the progress of Paul’s argument in Romans 3 and 4, where he sets forth so clearly the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
Source: The Promise Granted Through Faith (Ligonier)
Paul uses Abraham's life to prove that the only way to salvation is through justification by faith.
Paul appealed to Abraham as his exhibit A to prove the point that in every economy of divine redemption, there is only one way of salvation, which is through justification that is by faith.
Source: The Promise Granted Through Faith (Ligonier)
Humans should abandon the hope of entering God's kingdom through their own obedience or good deeds, recognizing that justification is by grace through faith.
I plead with you to banish from your mind forever any thought of justifying yourself before a holy God by your behavior, good deeds, merits, or work. Just as Dante had posted above the entrance to hell “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” in his Inferno , we should abandon all hope of entering the kingdom of God by virtue of our obedience to the law.
Source: The Promise Granted Through Faith (Ligonier)
The core issue in the debate over justification is that salvation is by grace alone, not by faith alone.
he argued against the great humanist scholar Erasmus that the real issue lying underneath the surface of the debate over justification was not sola fide but sola gratia , that our salvation is by grace alone.
Source: The Promise Granted Through Faith (Ligonier)
If justification depended on obedience to the law, one would have no certainty of salvation.
Suppose your justification, your salvation, depended on your obedience to the law of God. How sure would you be of your salvation? Even more importantly, how sure could you be of your salvation?
Source: The Promise Granted Through Faith (Ligonier)
The Pharisees' perceived righteousness was merely an external pretense, hiding internal impurity.
You’re like dead men’s tombs, whited sepulchers painted without blemish on the surface, but inside filled with dead men’s bones. You clean the outside of the platter, but the inner side is filthy.
Source: Render Unto Caesar (Ligonier)
The only righteousness sufficient for a person to stand before God's judgment is the righteousness of Christ.
In simple terms, the only righteousness sufficient for you or me to stand before the judgment of God is the righteousness of Christ.
Source: Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
A major consequence of being justified is that the individual is immediately adopted into God's family and gains the privilege of addressing God as Father.
But one of the great consequences of justification is that all who are justified are immediately adopted into the family of God and, with Jesus, have the unspeakable privilege of addressing God as Father.
Source: Sanctification (Ligonier)
People can genuinely believe that doing something wrong is right, even if they don't do it themselves.
There are people who genuinely believe that women ought to have the right to kill their own babies, and they say: “I wouldn’t do that myself, but that’s not my business or anybody else’s. Every woman should have that right.” Nobody was given the right to do what is wrong, but there are people who believe it is right to do wrong .
Source: Saul of Tarsus (Ligonier)
The speaker emphasizes that justification must be continually sought through faith in Christ's righteousness, which is entirely a gift of grace.
I have nothing to bring for You in my hands except Christ and His righteousness. The only way I can have any assurance of my salvation is not by looking at my performance or my achievement but by looking again at grace.
Source: From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
If one acts out of ignorance for which ample knowledge was available, they cannot claim ignorance as an excuse.
On the other hand, if I do something out of ignorance for which there was plenty of knowledge available, plenty of opportunity for me to learn it, but I was not diligent in my study—if I was slothful, negligent, and ignored that knowledge—at the end of the day, I cannot say: “I am sorry, I didn’t know. I had no way of knowing.”
Source: Sons of Covenant (Ligonier)
The ignorance of those who fail to study or know about God's truth is not an excuse before God's judgment.
I am laboring this point for a reason. There are countless millions of people in the world and in the United States who are counting on their ignorance to get them past the judgment seat of God: “I never went to church. I never read the Bible. I never studied the things of God. How could God possibly hold me accountable for not being a disciple of Christ when I didn’t know anything about Him?” Do you think that will work at the judgment seat of God? No. That is vincible ignorance that does not excuse.
Source: Sons of Covenant (Ligonier)
Ignorance that is vincible does not excuse sin, even if the sin was committed by people who were ignorant.
No. That is vincible ignorance that does not excuse. The ignorance of those who stood at the bottom of the cross and cried for the blood of Christ was not invincible; it was vincible.
Source: Sons of Covenant (Ligonier)
The core principle behind just war theory is the sanctity of life, which mandates that the civil magistrate must use force to protect the innocent.
Notice that phrase, “to protect the lives.” Again, the sanctity of life is what lies behind the just war theory. Life is so sacred that the civil magistrate has been given the sword to protect the innocent from the evildoer, just as the policeman has been given arms and the right to use arms to stop your wife from being raped, your house from being invaded, or your body from being harmed or killed.
Source: Submit to Government (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The current legal standard requires an individual to be opposed to all wars to qualify for conscientious objector status.
The present rule of the land is that you cannot be a conscientious objector to a war unless you can demonstrate that you are conscientiously opposed to all wars.
Source: Submit to Government (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Disobeying civil authorities is only justified if the command violates divine law, not merely because of inconvenience or disagreement.
We cannot disobey the civil magistrate because they inconvenience us, because they burden us with heavy taxation, or because we disagree with their wisdom. Those are not just excuses for civil disobedience.
Source: Submit to Government (Part 2) (Ligonier)
While individuals are not required to believe everything the speaker says without question, they are responsible to give serious consideration to what their pastors teach.
They know that they are not responsible before God to believe everything that I say, preach, or teach without question. You are not supposed to have a slavish dependence upon my authority. On the other hand, you are held responsible by God to give serious consideration and weight to what your pastors teach and preach to you, knowing of course they are not infallible, but they have been trained, tested, and are responsible to accurately teach you the Word of God.
Source: Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me (Ligonier)
When asked about the right to preach or bear witness, the appropriate answer is that one is merely one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread.
The greatest answer to that question I have ever heard is the old answer, “I’m just one beggar telling other beggars where they can find bread,” because that really is all I am, and that is all any of us are.
Source: The Woman at the Well (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The Roman Catholic Church has consistently condemned the doctrine of justification by faith alone, a condemnation that occurred at the Council of Trent and was repeated in later catechisms.
▷ A view Sproul explains or critiques — not his own position.
Rome has never changed her view of the condemnation of the gospel of justification by faith alone that occurred at the sixth session of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. That condemnation was repeated as recently as the Catholic Catechism in the 1990s.
Source: Did anyone believe in justification by faith alone before the Reformation? (Ligonier Q&A)
The Roman understanding of justification and the Reformation understanding of justification are mutually exclusive, meaning only one can be the true gospel.
If you compare Trent’s understanding of the gospel with the Reformation understanding of the gospel, you have to see that they cannot both be right. One of them has to be a false gospel, and only one of them can be the true gospel.
Source: Did anyone believe in justification by faith alone before the Reformation? (Ligonier Q&A)
A false teacher is characterized by teaching falsehood, while merely teaching something false is not necessarily the same thing.
And the chief characteristic of his teaching is falsehood.
Source: How do you define a false teacher? (Ligonier Q&A)
Relativism is unsustainable because reality requires consistent, non-contradictory principles, as demonstrated by simple physical observations.
You can’t survive as a relativist for twenty-four hours unless you’re in a padded cell somewhere and under twenty-four-hour watch. This is because every time I walk to the street, and a bus is coming down the street, I know there can’t be a bus and not be a bus at the same time in the same relationship.
Source: Is evangelism more difficult in a society where truth is considered relative? (Ligonier Q&A)
The gospel and the faith proposed are reasonable and rational, not something that requires submitting to the absurd.
The faith that we propose and the gospel that we preach are not learned by the actions of reason alone or rationalism, but the content of the gospel is reasonable. It is rational. A person can’t submit by faith to something with their heart that their mind tells them is absurd.