The following comes from:
Kevin George, Atonement and Reconciliation: On what basis can a holy God forgive sin? A search for the original meaning, contrasted with Penal Substitutionary Atonement (2023)
1 Cor 6:10-11:
This passage is a
great example of How Paul uses “justified” to mean “set right.” Consider how the
term “Justified” in this passage actually indicates a new condition of the
individuals due to having left their sin behind, and not some imaginary legal
status. These individuals were set right from their former way of living by
embracing the name of, which is by being loyal to, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
by the Spirit of God. Notice that the context demands not a mere declaration of
being right, but a genuine personal change to living right. The word translated
justified is being used as a synonym for being sanctified and washed clean from
the sinful life of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. If justified
is being legally declared righteous with no relation to a corresponding ceasing
from sin, then the use of this word is out of place and irrelevant to its
immediate textual context. (p. 61)
Gal 2:17-18:
Here we read that “to
be justified in Christ” is an endeavor! The Greek word for “endeavor” is “zētountes,”
translated as “seek” in most Bibles, and indicates a desire that is acted upon—it
is not passive. The word “justified” in this verse is translated as “made right”
in several Bible versions. The full context of these verses indicates that the
word “justified” is being contrasted with being a transgressor, and cannot be a
legal status or position or a declaration. To be justified is the opposite of
being a transgressor, which has to mean that it is being used as a word that
means “set right,” or “made right,” and this comes through our endeavor as part
of being “in Christ.” Being a servant of sin is not compatible with
being in Christ and is not compatible with being justified—made right, or set
right. (p. 61)
Acts 13:38-39:
Notice how the Greek word
“dikaiōthēnai” is translated as “freed.” Various other versions translated “dikaiōthēnai”
as “justified,” “set free,” and “made right.” It would have been more accurate
to have used “set right” instead of “freed,” but this passage still illustrates
that “dikaiōthēnai”/”justified” is not a legal declaration of right, not a
positional claim, but a change of condition from not being right to becoming
right. These verses, read in their own context (instead of with a predetermined
theological PSA conclusion) are stating that the ability to release habitual
sinning is being proclaimed because even in those things where the Law of Moses
was unable to set them right, they are now, through following Jesus, able to be
set right. The focus of the Law of Moses was on external behavior, but belief
in Jesus is focused on the heart, the spirit of the person, and produces a
greater and better change that releases the believers from mere external legal obedience.
In contrast, merely declaring someone to be just or righteous without a corresponding
internal change of being set right would have been nothing better than what
Paul’s audience already had with the Law of Moses, as that law did not have a
mechanism for setting right/rectifying/justifying from the heart. Furthermore,
a simplistic declaration of an external legal or forensic righteousness that does
not affect the heart would demonstrate a continual need for a system of external
law, such as the Mosaic law, to remain in effect! (p. 62)
Rom 4:25-5:1:
Notice that verse 25
states that it was through our sin that Jesus died, and he was raised to
correct, to rectify (or justify, if you prefer) us. We are not set right,
justified, or corrected by some payment to get God to declare us to be in a
state of merely being declared righteousness, but rather we become righteous
because of his resurrection. The resurrection gave proof of a future life after
the grave, and believing this fact frees us from thinking that we only have
this one life after the grave, and believing this fact frees us from thinking
that we only have this one life now and must pursue the greatest pleasures of
it by living for sin and self. Verse 1 of Romans 5 is saying that due to this change,
because of having been set right through “our Lord Jesus Christ,” we are able
to obtain peace with God. This means that the life, ministry, death, and
resurrection of Jesus, God’s anointed, is why we heard and believed and were motivate
to live lives pleasing to God. It is our “our having been set right
[dikaiōthenets] therefore [oun] out of [ek] faith [pisteōs]”
that “we have peace with God.” It is not God declaring us right and then
we find peace, but rather us first setting something right that was previously wrong
which enables us to have peace with God as a byproduct, the result. Sadly, the
popular theology of today has conditioned people to think that the word “justified”
is a mere declaration, a position, or a status, with no corresponding
obligation of change to actually living right. This violates the order of this
verse and makes God a liar for declaring that a person is living right even if
he is not! (Technically, the Greek has “kai ēgerthē dia tēn dikaiōsin hēmōn,”
which probably would be translated as, “and through raising, our justification/correction.”)
(pp. 62-63)
Rom 5:18-19:
In this passage we
see that both trespasses and righteousness are actions that affect one’s life
to make it right of wrong (similar to, “the one practising righteousness is
righteous” 1 John 3:7). We also see that becoming sinners when following
Adam is contrasted as the exact opposite of becoming righteous when following Christ.
Paul is not claiming that sinners are being declared righteous while still
actively living in their sin, as this would be a false claim. The claim is that
due to the righteous life of one man, many have changed their lives to also
live right, with the result that they are made righteous and are granted life
instead of death.
Romans 5:19 is usually
translated with the phrase “made righteous.” By using the word “made,” the
passage can be read as if righteousness is infused from outside the person, who
is passive, which of course fits well within the claims of PSA and Reformed
theology. But in Greek, it is “katastathēsontai dikaioi,” which means “will be
ordered right” (ordered in the sense of sequence in a process, not “ordered” in
the sense of giving a command). (p. 63)
Rom 6:20:
The word translated as
“righteousness” here is “dikaiosynē,” based on the same roto word as “justified,”
To be free of “dikaiosynē” is to not be “dikaiosynē,” which is a
condition of actually being in sin, not merely a declaration of being in sin.
Obviously, a declaration can be made due to the condition, but the condition
comes first, a declaration is not the cause of the condition. A declaration of
guilt of innocence does not change the original condition. A declaration (assuming
it is true) is based on what is already a matter of fact. (p. 63)
Luke 18:13-14:
Some may think that
the word “justified” in verse 14 means “declared righteous” or “declared
innocent.” But there are problems with this idea. First of all, Jesus had not
yet died and paid for his sins, as PSA claims, so he could not be declared
righteous and not have had “the righteousness of Christ” imputed to his
account. Second, the contention and request of the tax collector indicates that
he dealt with his heart’s condition with true repentance and a dedication to
change and do right, thereby setting him right, or justifying him in the true
meaning of the word. Third, it is by humbly admitting his guilt and repentance
that he is then exalted in God’s thinking, not by an external third-party
payment or mechanism. This parable fits perfectly all the Old Testament
teachings that God will forgive and accept sinners who turn from sin and turn
to Him. There is no new forgiveness mechanism or doctrinal revelation of
forgiveness methods in this or any of the teachings of Jesus. (p. 64)
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