OF JUSTIFICATION

1.  Those whom God effectually calls He also freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting them as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but they are justified wholly and solely because God imputes to them Christ’s righteousness, imputing to them Christ’s active obedience unto the whole law, and His passive obedience in death; they receive Christ’s righteousness by faith and rest on Him; which faith they do not possess or produce of themselves; it is the gift of God.[1]

2.  Faith that receives and depends on Christ and His righteousness, is the sole instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is always accompanied by all other saving graces, and is not a dead faith, but works by love.[2] 

3.  Christ, by His obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and by the sacrifice of Himself in the blood of His cross, underwent instead  of them, the penalty due to them, so making a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice in their behalf; yet, because He was given by the Father for them, and because His obedience and satisfaction was accepted instead of theirs, and both freely, not because of anything in them, their justification is only entirely free grace, so that both the exact justice and the rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners.[3]

4.  God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rose again for their justification; nevertheless, they are not personally justified until the Holy Spirit, in due time, actually applies Christ to them.[4]

5.  God continues to forgive the sins of those that are justified, and although they can never fall from the state of justification, yet they may because of their sins, fall under God’s fatherly displeasure; and in that condition they will not usually have the light of His countenance restored to them until they humble themselves, confess their sins, beg for pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.[5]

6.  The justification of believers during the Old Testament period was, in all these respects, exactly the same as the justification of believers under the New Testament.[6]