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What is your position on eternal justification?
Westminster XI
IV. God did, from all eternity, decree to justify the elect; and Christ did, in the fullness of time, die for their sins and rise again for their justification; nevertheless they are not justified until the Holy Spirit doth, in due time, actually apply Christ unto them.
LBCF 1689 XI
IV. From all eternity God decreed to justify all the elect, and Christ, in the fullness of time, died 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.
Galatians 3:8; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:6; Romans 4:25; Colossians 1:21,22; Titus 3:4-7
God also decreed the salvation of the elect, but that didn't mean they were saved from the foundation of the world.
A decree is accomplished through means. When the means are creational, the decree becomes a process; an account can be built whereby the decree is accomplished.
Therefore Paul could say:
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
and also
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith ...
The decree is from eternity. The decree is accomplished in time.
the elect of God are Justified before God by the blood of Christ [rom 5:9] or the obedience of Christ the one [ phil 2:8, rom 5:19] and this before they actually existed or had any being !
PS: I know Dean wasn't talking about me I almost never visit the soteriology forum.
While pardon is a part of justification, it is not the ground of our justification. God is said to be “justified” (Rom. 3:4) but it would be wrong to speak of Him as being “pardoned.” Jesus was said to be “justified in the spirit” (cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). A criminal may be pardoned, but only a righteous person can truly be justified. Pardon does not proceed on the ground of satisfaction. A prisoner delivered by a ransom is not pardoned. A debtor whose obligations have been canceled by a friend, becomes entitled to freedom from the claims of his creditor. Forgiveness only deals with a man’s acts, justification with the man himself. Forgiveness respects the claims of mercy, justification with those of justice. Pardon only remits the curse due to sin, in addition, justification confers a title to heaven. Justification applies to the believer with respect to the claims of the law, pardon with respect to the author of the law. The law does not pardon, for it knows no relaxation; but God pardons the transgressions of the law in His people by producing satisfaction to the law adequate to their transgressions. The Blood of Christ was sufficient to procure pardon (cf. Eph. 1:7), but His righteousness is needed for justification. (cf. Rom. 5:19) Pardon takes away the filthy garments, but justification provides a change of raiment (cf. Zech. 3:4).
John Gill puts it this way:
“It is called, the best robe, or, as in the Greek text, the first robe; (cf. Lk. 15:22)”[1]
Pardon frees from death (cf. 2 Sam. 12:13), but righteousness imputed is called “justification of life.” (cf. Rom. 5:18) Pardon is the remission of punishment, justification is the declaration that no ground for the infliction of punishment exists. Forgiveness may be repeated unto seventy times seven, justification is once for all.
Justification does include pardon, but pardon does not include justification as seen in the effects produced by justification. Paul tells us: “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God” (cf. Rom. 5:1). Pardon does not produce peace. A pardoned criminal is still just a criminal, but his sense of guilt and remorse are not lessened. Pardon may remove the outward and arbitrary penalty, but the sting of sin still remains. The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin (cf. 1 Jn. 1:7) by removing guilt and thus producing a peace which passes all understanding. (cf. Phil. 4:7)
We are also told by the apostle: “we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” (cf. Rom. 5:10) Pardon does not produce reconciliation. A pardoned criminal can have his civil rights restored as the penalty is remitted involved their forfeiture, but he is not reconciled to society. He is not restored to its favor. Justification, however, does secure a restoration to the favor and fellowship of God.
Here again, the law requires perfect obedience. (cf. Jas. 2:10) A pardoned criminal has no such obedience. Justification includes or conveys a title to eternal life. Eternal life, however, is contingent on the positive condition of perfect obedience. The pardoned criminal is destitute of what immutable principles of the divine government, is the indispensible condition of eternal life. He has no title to the inheritance promised to the righteous. This, however, is not the condition of the believer. The merit of Christ is entitled to the reward. And the believer, being a partaker of that merit, shares in that title. And the scriptures state it that way. By faith, we have become sons of God. And that sonship involves heirship, and heirship involves a title to an inheritance. (cf. Rom. 5:12-21)
Justification includes or conveys a title to eternal life. Eternal life, however, is contingent on the positive condition of perfect obedience. The pardoned criminal is destitute of what immutable principles of the divine government, is the indispensible condition of eternal life. He has no title to the inheritance promised to the righteous. This, however, is not the condition of the believer. The merit of Christ is entitled to the reward. And the believer, being a partaker of that merit, shares in that title. And the scriptures state it that way.
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