# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S294 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 294 II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS © 2018 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod 1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122 888-THE LCMS • lcms.org/ctcr Subjective and Objective Justification Le a de r’s This work may be reproduced by churches and schools for their own use in the study of the Scriptures. Commercial reproduction, or reproduction for sale, of any portion of this work or of the work as a whole, without the written permission of the copyright holder, is prohibited. Gui de Session 1 Photo: Erik M. Lunsford Subjective justification means the justification of the individual. Subjective justification talks about the way in which Christ’s work comes to you through the Gospel and is received in faith. 2. The Factors in Subjective or Individual Justification • What Christ has done The foundation of justification is what God has done in Christ. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He bore the curse of the law in our stead, so that we would be free from it (Gal. 3:13). He has redeemed us with His blood (1 Peter 1:18–19), the blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7). Subjective and Objective Justification Leader’s Guide • The Gospel The Gospel is the Good News about what God has done in Jesus Christ. But it is not only good “news” in the sense that it is informational. The Bible also speaks of the Gospel as a promise. One knows and accepts information. One trusts — or does not trust — a promise. “But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Gal. 3:22). Our Lutheran Confessions put it this way: Session 1: Introduction of Terms Did Jesus die for the sins of the whole world, or did He die only for the sins of those who believe in Him? Has the entire world been justified, or only those who believe? In The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, we use terms like subjective (individual) justification and objective (general or universal) justification to answer the above questions. In this Bible study we examine these terms and what they mean. We also seek to discuss their scriptural foundation and why these terms are important. 1. Subjective or Individual Justification Most of the time, when we talk about justification, we talk about the justification of the individual person. Justification means that God forgives sin and declares an individual righteous. Read Romans 4:5–8: “To the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are Justification is thus by faith, not by works. God justifies a person when that individual hears the Gospel and the Holy Spirit creates faith in the Gospel in that person. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). • Faith Faith is trust in this promise. It is believing God’s promise and, as such, it is the instrument and means by which we cling to Christ. Christ is given to us through the Gospel and received only in faith. Faith is individual and personal. It is the person who believes; therefore, one person cannot believe for another person. Faith is a gift from God; it is not anything a person can produce in himself or herself (Col. 2:12; Phil. 1:29; John 6:28–29). We are justified by faith (Rom. 3:28). Faith receives what God promises in the Gospel: forgiveness of sins on account of Christ. The Gospel promises Christ’s righteousness to the individual: Christ’s righteousness as atonement and His fulfillment of the Law. This is what is called subjective or individual (personal) justification because it speaks about how God justifies and saves individuals when they believe His Gospel promise. Here, subjective does not mean “only according to one’s opinion” or “not really true.” It means that justification spoken of in this way concerns the subject, or the individual person. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom. 3:28). Leader’s Guide | 2019 Convention Workbook “But since justification takes place through a free promise, it follows that we cannot justify ourselves. Otherwise, why would a promise be needed? And since the promise cannot be grasped in any other way than by faith, the gospel (which is, strictly speaking, the promise of the forgiveness of sins and justification on account of Christ) proclaims the righteousness of faith in Christ, which the law does not teach.” (Ap IV, 43)1 covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin’” (Rom. 4:5–8). Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert, eds., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000), 127. 1 1 2 | Subjective and Objective Justification | Session 1 3. Things to Watch for When Talking about Subjective or Individual Justification • Christ has accomplished salvation. What Christ has done on the cross and through the empty tomb is sufficient for the salvation of all people. Our salvation does not need to be, in fact cannot be, supplemented by anything beyond what Christ has already accomplished in His life and death, nor by anything we may or must do. Thus, salvation is never something like this: Christ’s work + our works = salvation. God wants us to do good works. But Christians do good works because they are God’s children, not to become God’s children or to remain God’s children. Good works are a sign that we are children of God, or, in other words, a sign of faith. The absence of good works is a sign that someone is not a child of God and does not have faith. Another false view of salvation looks like this: Christ’s work + our faithfulness unto death = salvation. Of course, we are admonished to stay faithful to Christ as long as we live. But this faithfulness is not something we do by our own power. Rather, God works faithfulness in us. By means of His Gospel He preserves and strengthens our faith so that we do not fall away from Christ. So, this is the proper “salvation equation:” Christ’s work + Gospel (Means of Grace) + God’s gift of faith = salvation! • The Gospel is not an offer. We live in a consumer society. The customer is king, and a multitude of goods vie for our attention. Special offers flood our emails and social media. The Gospel, however, is not an offer from God that we are free to choose or not choose. It is the powerful Good News that creates faith when and where it pleases God. It is the powerful Word that makes alive those who are dead in their sins. Whatever your path to faith is — whether you are a lifelong believer or someone who came to faith in Christ as an adult — you became a Christian not because you chose to, but because God created faith in you. He made you a Christian. Maybe you think: “But I did choose to be a Christian, I did choose the Gospel.” But if you “chose” the Gospel, it is only because you could choose the Gospel.