Justification by Grace through Faith
As taught in the Baptist tradition
Affirming that sinners are declared righteous by God through faith in Christ alone, apart from works.
The central question that defines the Baptist tradition—and indeed the entire trajectory of the Protestant Reformation—is one of cosmic and legal proportions: "How can a guilty, rebellious human being stand before a perfectly holy and righteous God without being consumed by His justice?" Within the Baptist perspective, the answer is not found in a process of moral improvement, a checklist of religious duties, or the accumulation of sacramental merit. Instead, the answer lies in the doctrine of Justification by Grace through Faith. This subtopic is the "hinge upon which religion turns," as John Calvin famously remarked, but for Baptists, it carries a distinct emphasis on the individual’s direct accountability to God and the sufficiency of Christ’s work as declared in the Holy Scriptures.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the forensic nature of justification and distinguish it from the process of sanctification.
- **Distinguish** between "infused righteousness" (the traditional Roman Catholic view) and "imputed righteousness" (the Baptist and Protestant view).
- **Explain** the role of the Law in justification as a mechanism that exposes sin rather than a means to achieve righteousness.
- **Articulate** how grace serves as the source, and faith serves as the instrument, of a believer’s right standing with God.
- **Trace** the historical development of Baptist confessional statements regarding justification from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
- **Defend** the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone against the "faith plus works" paradigms using the provided Scripture anchors.
- **Apply** the doctrine of justification to the believer’s personal assurance and the practice of daily repentance.
- **Compare** the Particular Baptist and New Hampshire views on how the righteousness of Christ is credited to the believer.
Scripture
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