In Eric Bechler's sermon on the doctrine of justification, he explains the concept as outlined in the Second London Baptist Confession, Chapter 11, Paragraph 1. The sermon delves into the distinction between justification by imputation and justification by infusion. Imputation involves God accounting Christ's righteousness to believers, while infusion, as understood in Roman Catholicism, requires an inherent righteousness through cooperation with grace. Bechler contrasts these views, referencing Dr. Sproul's commentary and Martin Luther's assertion that justification is by faith alone in Christ's righteousness, not by any merit in individuals. The sermon emphasizes that justification is a legal declaration by God, not a change in the person's nature, and it is achieved through faith, a gift from God. Bechler highlights the assurance and peace believers can have knowing their justification is secure in Christ's righteousness, encouraging humility and thanksgiving. The sermon also reassures believers that their justification is not affected by their sins, as it is based on Christ's perfect obedience and not on their own actions.

Reading today from the second London Baptist Confession comes from a new chapter, Chapter 11 of justification, paragraph one. Those whom God effectually calleth, He also freely justifyeth, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons 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 by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in His death for their whole and soul righteousness by faith. Which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.

We start a new chapter today on the doctrine of justification. This is a huge topic. It is, if not the most, it's one of the most controversial topics that Christians have dealt with. But why is it a big deal? It points us to the questions, how can I be saved?

How can I be right with God? How can I a sinner be reconciled to a holy and righteous God? Luther stated that the doctrine of justification by faith alone was the article by which the church stands or falls. There's just one, there's just no way to cover it thoroughly in the short amount of time we have here today. But it's an important topic, so I will try to highlight one of the main differences specifically regards with imputation and infusion.

I will be referring quite a bit today from Dr. Sproul's commentary, Truths We Confess, for our discussion today. For Rome, the meaning of justification was to be found first of all in the Latin root of that word. Although the English word justification is the translation of the Greek word diakeosunem, not good with Greek, It came into our language from the Latin verb, iustificare. The Latin word combines two root words to make one word.

Iustus means justice or righteousness. And Ficare means to make or to do. So Iusti Ficare justification means literally to make just or to make righteous. Roman Catholicism worked on the assumption that what happens in justification is that an unjust person is changed and made righteous. The fundamental thesis of Rome was that God will never declare a person to be righteous until that person actually is righteous.

They grant that we are fallen, that we are unjust, and that we do not have the power within ourselves to become good enough to pass the bar of God's final judgment. In order for that to happen, we must receive grace through their sacramental system, beginning with baptism. In baptism, the grace of justification, sometimes called the grace of the righteousness of Christ, is poured into the soul. This is called infusion. Without the assistance of the grace of justification, a person cannot be saved.

This grace is necessary, but its presence alone is not enough for salvation. We must cooperate with it, agree in it, and work with it to such a degree that righteousness is truly in us. When that happens, we are in a state of justification before God. If you commit, however, a mortal sin and you die, you are damned. A mortal sin is so serious that it kills the infused grace and leaves one unjustified.

Though through the sacrament of penance you can receive a renewed infusion of grace, and if you cooperate with it can be restored to a state of grace. If you die without mortal sin but have committed lesser sins, they call these venial sins, you will go to purgatory rather than to heaven or hell. Purgatory is a place of purging. And heaven is available only when you have enough inherent righteousness. Luther and the Reformers asserted that a person can be justified only if he possesses perfect righteousness in the sight of God.

Perfect righteousness was achieved only by Christ in His life of perfect obedience. Therefore, the only objective merit in God's sight is the merit that Christ earned in and through his own obedience. And here's the key, here's the key. It is not the righteousness of Christ working in us that justifies us. It is the righteousness of Christ that he worked in his own life, which God now transfers or imputes to us.

God transfers or imputed righteousness from the account of Christ to the account of everyone who believes. This counting goes both ways. Jesus was sinless and God was not punishing him for any sin in his life, but because our sins were imputed to him. Paul says plainly, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin. 2 Corinthians 5 21.

Our sins were legally transferred from our account to His account, just like His righteousness was transferred from His account to our account. To impute means to account, to reckon, to deem, or transfer legally. In Genesis 15, God promises to Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation. And we read in Romans 4.3, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham was reckoned or counted to be righteous the moment he believed.

Luther said that the righteousness by which we are justified is a foreign righteousness rather than an inherent righteousness. Again, it is not the righteousness of Christ in us. It is the righteousness of Christ for us. It is not our own. It is outside of us.

Does God look at some righteousness that we have cooperated with? Or does God look strictly at the righteousness of Christ that was produced in His own life for us? Rome talks about the increase of justification and we talk about the increase of sanctification. Our justification cannot be increased or decreased because the righteousness by which we are justified is Christ's and it is perfect. There's nothing we can do to add to the righteousness of Christ or to subtract from it.

We have to receive that righteousness by faith, not through sacraments. This can still be confusing. Robert Shaw suggests to apply the idea of infusion to opposite, to the opposite of justification in the legal sense and that is condemnation. Scripture treats justification and condemnation as opposites in Deuteronomy 25, Proverbs 17, Romans 5, and in Romans 8. That being the case, let's look at infusion with respect to condemnation to see if it helps us make more sense of this.

He states, condemnation lies not in infusing wickedness into a criminal or in making him guilty, but in judicially pronouncing sentence upon him according to his transgression of the law. So justification does not lie in infusing righteousness into a person but in declaring him to be righteous on legal grounds and like the sentence of a judge it is completed at once. Another picture that helps me is that when God imputes Christ's righteousness, to me it's like a covering. It's like a robe we put on. So when God looks at us, He sees Christ's righteousness on us and we are reckoned righteous.

I'm not sure if that's been helpful but I hope so. Our topic, the doctrine of justification, sounds very academic and heavy but it has real implications in the lives of all believers. Most of us have off days, down days, some days where nothing goes well, some days we even begin to doubt our own state as Christians. And yet God has declared us, us filthy and worthy sinners, He's declared us to be justified and righteous. He can do this because our sins have been imputed to Christ, and His righteousness has been imputed to us.

Paul declares, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And yes, we can have peace and we can have assurance because of what Christ has done. You don't have to be anxious. In understanding this doctrine, that it is all based on the works and merit of Christ, should cultivate in us a heart of humility. We have nothing to boast about and there is no room for pride.

It is all Christ. Furthermore, knowing that our sins have been placed on Christ and that He has endured the punishment, do our sins, and even died on the cross, this should help humble us and help us live a life of continual Thanksgiving. The doctrine of justification reminds us to look to Christ and to Christ alone. We must remember our justification never changes because it is based on Christ's righteousness, not our own. It cannot increase or decrease ever.

We never become less justified because of our sins. We are secure in Him and what He has done, what He has accomplished and I find this very comforting and encouraging and I hope you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you