The Righteousness of God: The Results

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Rom. 8:28-30).

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

In the last post, (“The Righteousness of God: God’s Provision—Jesus”), we saw that God has made a way to justify sinful man apart from the law. That way is through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we said, one is justified by faith in Jesus, and only those who place their faith in Him are so justified.

In our final post in the series, we will look at the question, “Can one know for certain that he is saved?” This is a common question that many ask, usually at a time when they have been confronted with the fact that they still sin as a believer.

We Can Know

The first thing we want to say is that God intended us to know that we are saved. The apostle John wrote a letter for that specific purpose. He told his readers, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (emphasis added). The entire letter of 1 John was written so that we could know for certain. The phrase “we know” appears more than 25 times in the letter.

How can we know? John and the other writers of the New Testament give us evidence tests. There are several in 1 John alone, including love of the brethren, walking in the light, and walking in the truth. All of them boil down to one fact—when God saves a person, that person is changed. They become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and that change continues throughout their lifetime, being completed only when they are taken Home to be with the Lord. (For an in-depth look at 1 John, take a look at my free commentary That You May Know, or the blog posts based on that.)

When talking about assurance of salvation and works, there are two important things to remember. Firstly, assurance is based on God’s promises, not on our works. Our works (that is, the change in us) give evidence of the fact that we are saved, but without His grace and power, they would simply be dead works. Secondly, and just as important, one who has been saved will change, will grow in love and holiness, and will understand God’s Word more and more. If one claims to be saved but has no desire to grow, change, fellowship or know God and His Word, then such a claim should be questioned.

Salvation and Sin

But what about our sin? As we mentioned, the question of assurance usually comes up when someone is confronted with the fact that they claim Christ yet still sin. However, the fact that believers can and do still sin is recorded in Scripture—a fact that surprises some. 1 John tells us,

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:8-10).

Let’s take a brief look at this passage. The first thing we need to remember is that 1 John was written to believers. It was not written to people in general. With that in mind, what does he say here? Firstly, believers do sin, and to deny that is to live in self-deception. Some think that verse 9 is referring to one who is outside of Christ, but John uses “we” (as he does throughout his letter). He is therefore not referring to those outside of Christ (unless he sees himself that way).

Secondly, if we deny we have sinned then we have called the Lord a liar. Why is this? Because He has said all sin, no one is righteous in themselves. To say, then, that we don’t sin even as believers is to say, “Lord, You were wrong about what You said.” Any time we believe something contrary to what the Lord has said in His Word, we call Him at best misinformed and at worst a liar.

Thirdly, when we do confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. To confess means “to say the same thing; to agree with.” We agree that the attitude, word, or deed was sin. We repent (change our thinking) and turn from it, turning to the Lord in faith. Confession without repentance is little more than saying, “I’m sorry.”

Does That Mean I’m Not Saved?

Many people seem to struggle with the idea that a believer sins. Does that mean that they are not saved, no longer a believer? Those who advocate for this position do so on various grounds, but it generally boils down to a view of salvation as merely a choice of the will. Thus, I can choose to be saved (accepting Christ’s sacrifice as payment for my sins), and then I can choose to walk away from Him.

As we said above, however, salvation is more than that. Salvation changes a person. Under the New Covenant, the believer is given a new heart that wants to follow God. The very core of his being is changed. To “no longer be saved,” then, would require that God 1) either undo what He has done, or 2) that a believer with a new heart be again subject to His wrath. From a plain reading of Scripture, it seems that neither of those are viable options.

Not only that, but it also seems that such a position would make God a liar, for He has promised (unconditionally) certain things to the believer. Let’s take a look at the Romans 8 passage quoted at the top of the page. What do we see there? First, we see that Paul is referring to those actions in past tense. They already happened. That is to say,

He foreknew you. He knew beforehand who you would be, and more specifically, He created you that way. It’s not just that God knew what you would do, but He knew you (the same thought is expressed to Jeremiah in Jer. 1:5). Eph. 1:4 tells us that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” You were chosen, not because anything you would do, but because of His good pleasure.
He predestined you. Not only did God foreknow and choose you, but He predestined you. The Greek word for this means “to predetermine, decide beforehand.” Those He knew, He also determined to conform to the image of His Son.
He called you. When He determined that you’d be conformed to the image of His Son, He called you to Himself. When you placed your faith in Christ, you answered that call.
He justified you. When He called you, He drew you to Himself and justified you (declared you righteous) because of the work of Christ, which He applied to you.
He glorified you. This may seem strange to say in the past tense, because it seems we are not yet glorified. God, however, can speak in the past tense. The idea here is that He decreed it in the past even before you were born, and thus it shall be. Another way of saying this (and the other concepts above) is, “It’s already happened, you are simply living it out.”

Think about that last statement: It’s already happened, you are just living it out. That’s what the whole purpose of Rom. 8:28-35 is about—giving hope to the believer in the midst of struggles. And for the believer, sin is the biggest struggle, and the one that will last the longest. But Paul goes on to tell us that nothing in all creation will ever separate us from His love.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:37-39).

[Note: Some of the material in this series has been adapted from my commentary The Righteousness of God: A Commentary on Romans.]