Justification by Faith by I. H. Evans

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 3, 1914

Justification by Faith

By I. H. Evans

I. H. EVANS

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8: 1-4.

This scripture is an assurance to the people of God that it is possible for them to live without condemnation before God while upon earth among men. As we have observed the signs pointing to the soon coming of Christ, as we have had our hearts thrilled by the strong evidences that the coming of the Lord is very near, I suppose the great question with each of us has been, Am I prepared for that event? The most serious question confronting any of us today is, Am I in a state of readiness for the coming of my blessed Saviour?

I wish to speak to you, as Christians and brethren, on the thought that it is the Christian’s privilege and duty to live without condemnation, in a continual state of justification with the Lord. This privilege is not confined to us who are here, nor does it alone belong to the remnant people. It has been the privilege of every Christian since our Saviour was crucified, to have his life in harmony with God; to have confidence and assurance that he is accepted of the Lord and is doing his will from the heart, and to accept by faith the justification promised to the people of God.

The text sets this forth quite clearly: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” That is a wonderful statement. It doesn’t say that there is going to be a time when there will be no condemnation; that we may reach a state by and by when there will be no condemnation; but it says, “There is now no condemnation.” Now!—that means the present, under existing conditions. That takes in you and me; it includes our lives. It shows that the Christian does not need to lead a life of condemnation; but that he may have assurance that he is accepted in the courts of heaven, and that, as far as God and the heavenly beings are concerned, there is no condemnation in his case.

I shall read another text which gives the same thought (Gal. 5: 16): “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Verse 18 says: “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” In verse 25 we have these words: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Let us turn to John 5: 24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Notice the reading: “Shall not come into condemnation,” “is passed from death unto life.” It is not necessary for a child of God to live in the fear that he is to be lost ultimately. God has made no provision for such an experience. He has given the assurance that every man, woman, and child who believes in Jesus Christ, and has accepted Christ as his portion, has passed from death unto life, and shall not come into condemnation.

“Go, and Sin No More”

Now if the Lord is going to see that we do not come into condemnation, why be all the time thinking or fearing that we are in a state of condemnation? In the eleventh verse of the eighth chapter of John, I read a statement that Christ made to the woman who had sinned. A great wrong had been committed, not a small one; a capital offense, not a minor one; the woman had been caught in the sin, so the proof was positive. And certain men, who pretended to be God’s men, felt very indignant, and were themselves prepared to put her to death. Yet as Christ looked upon the poor sinner, who could not but be ashamed of her life, horrified at being dragged into the presence of the holy Christ, humiliated beyond all utterance at having been caught in sin and exposed in this public way, and undoubtedly with such shame and sorrow in her heart that she could not lift up her eyes to look into that sinless face, he said, “Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

It must have been possible for that woman to accept pardon and to live without further sinning. Christ said, “Go, and sin no more;” I do not condemn thee. God never intended that his children should live with minds continually depressed by the consciousness of condemnation. God’s Word declares that every person who believes on him may have the consciousness of guilt removed, and be made a free man in Jesus Christ.

I wish to emphasize once more, by reading Rom. 8: 33, 34, that we need not live in a state of condemnation: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” That word elect means God’s chosen ones. It means you. You are as truly God’s elect as any people of whom the Bible speaks. You are entitled to call yourselves God’s chosen people. You are entreated to do it. You cannot be true to the Lord if you do not reckon yourselves among God’s chosen people.

“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” The reply is, “It is God that justifieth.” That is to say, he will not lay anything to the charge of his people. He will not charge them if they trust in him, because it is God who takes a poor soul and justifies it. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” The Father does not condemn a sinner; he justifies him. And Christ says that he cannot condemn the man, because he died for him, and stands at the right hand of God making intercession for him.

With such promises as these, and surely they are not wrested from their true setting, why should a Christian live in a state of condemnation, not having the joy and fruit of faith? Isn’t it a pity? God does not look down from heaven upon us as poor lost souls who must work out our own salvation, and by some superhuman effort demonstrate that we are Christians. He looks upon you and me in our fallen condition, and, through our faith in Jesus Christ his Son, accepts of us, and removes the condemnation of sin.

Freedom From Condemnation

How do we obtain the condition of mind wherein condemnation does not

exist? By works?—No. It seems sometimes as if the human race wanted to work out salvation, and reckon themselves good or bad according to each day’s happenings. If they have done well, they flatter themselves of progress and growth; but if they have been overtaken by temptation and have fallen into the snare of the enemy, they say there is nothing good in them, and God doesn’t love them nor care for them. Again and again we drift back, in spite of our knowledge and the teaching of the Word of God, into the idea that a man must work out salvation or he doesn’t get it. We must fight that battle over and over, again and again. The heathen are in the same condition. They believe that they are good according to the good deeds they do, and bad according to the bad deeds they do. Of course, in one sense, this is true; but when we come to reckon with salvation in Jesus Christ, works do not merit eternal life.

The heathen, especially the Brahmins, say that the gods keep books, and put a price on good deeds; that they are set down on one side of the ledger to a man’s credit, while the bad deeds are entered on the other side. And a man can keep an account of his own life, and tell whether he is good or bad, and whether he deserves promotion or disgrace. Really, we Christians aren’t very far from that experience, although we should not dare to make such a statement.

The Christian ought to come to the place in his experience where he does not believe in salvation by works, but where he receives the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, and justification by the imputation of righteousness through faith. It is a wonderful experience never to be driven back of the line where we recognize that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

“Ye Must Be Born Again”

The Lord performs a work of grace in the heart of every man whom he receives. When we reach the state where we are without condemnation, there must be an experience of faith in the life, for God cannot do very much for a person beyond his faith. He answers to what a man believes, and does for him according to his faith.

I wish to read to you about the work of grace the Lord performs in the heart of a sinner whom he receives, and how he takes him out of the state of condemnation and places him in a state of justification before God. In John 3, I read: “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

There is the beginning of the Christian’s experience in the life without condemnation. I do not think that a profession of faith makes the change in a man’s heart. The expression, “Ye must be born again,” is a wonderful statement involving a wonderful experience. Nicodemus took Christ’s words to mean that he must be born again literally. “How can a man be born when he is old?” he asked. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

In these words, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” is the secret of passing from a condition of condemnation and a life of sin, into a condition where the heart is in harmony with God, and all condemnation is removed. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In other words, there is actually a work performed in the heart of man, so that the Saviour himself says he has undergone a new birth.

Ezekiel 36 gives us this thought: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” Notice, “from all your filthiness . . . will I cleanse you.” When a man comes to God, he doesn’t get part of his sins washed away, and part of them kept in store to the day of judgment. God either makes a man wholly clean and frees him from sin, or the work of grace is not performed in the heart through the Spirit of God. God does not allow a man to be half a Christian, and the other half remain in the service of sin. The Lord must have the whole heart or he cannot occupy any of it.

He says further: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

A New Creature in Christ Jesus

There is a wonderful work wrought in the life when a poor sinner, full of selfishness and transgression, comes to the Lord, gives his heart of sin to God, and receives from the Lord this new heart. You say, How? I cannot tell you how. There is no language to explain how. It is a work that is wrought by the Lord, and is not definable in any language. It must be experienced, and only experience can make it true in your life, although it might be true in fifty men about you. It must be tested and tried, it must be lived; but when the great change takes place, the man who experiences it will be conscious of it. To him it is a new life, the beginning of days, the assurance that God has forgiven his sins. He is changed, cleansed, washed, and has a new heart. Paul puts it strongly and beautifully in 2 Cor. 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Isn’t that a wonderful experience? “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”

He has not now the same tendencies, desires, or habits; he is a new creature. I am not saying that that man can never depart from that experience nor miss his way. But I do say that at the very beginning of every true Christian’s life, there must be a new birth, a change. There must be a work wrought in the life by the Spirit of God, and this works that great change, and makes a man a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Assurance of Acceptance

Let us read the text once more (Rom. 8: 1-4): “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Now, surely, when a man has been converted, he can walk before the Lord as an accepted child of God. That must be so. If a man is an accepted child of God, having been made a new creature, having received a new heart, and having the Spirit of God within, I want to know why he should continue living in an atmosphere of condemnation and melancholy, with a sort of sourness in his experience, so that he does not really know whether he is a child of God or not. Paul had all the assurance that it seems possible for a man to have, that he was accepted of God and was living a life of obedience to the Lord. And if he had that experience, you and I may have it. It is for every Christian that has received the new heart.

Justified by Faith

When the Lord changes a man’s heart, he brings him into a state of justification, where all condemnation is removed, and where he approves him and looks upon him as an accepted child. This state of justification is obtained by faith. Many a man has tried for a long time to serve God without the consciousness of justification; and I believe there are few things the devil is better pleased with than for a Christian to go on year after year conscious of condemnation in his life, all the time dwelling outside of the realms of justification. How can Satan triumph over anybody’s life more victoriously than to get him to join the church and profess to be Christ’s, and yet all the time be saying, from the heart, I have neither peace nor satisfaction. O, how many times I have heard people say, with tears, their lips quivering, that they were continually in a state of condemnation, and did not have so much peace, joy, or satisfaction as they had before they accepted Christ! What a pitiable thing for a man to come into the family of God, and all the time be mourning,

weeping, complaining, and feeling that something is out of harmony in his life, and that there is no joy, satisfaction, or pleasure in the service of Christ. Such a person is in a pitiable state. For when the Lord takes a man and makes him a new creature, he has justified him and declared him to be righteous. Again and again, we are assured of this, and it seems almost unnecessary for me to prove it by Scripture.

But I will read one more text (Rom. 3:22): “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” Then why go on trying to make ourselves acceptable to God by works? Why not abandon that idea as heathenish and destructive of Christian growth, and once for all seize upon the glorious idea that justification comes by faith. Never let the devil cheat you out of that.

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace.” How justified? By works?—No. “Freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” You are justified how? By your works?—No; by faith in Jesus Christ. By your good deeds?—No; by faith in Jesus Christ. By the life you live?—No; by faith in Jesus Christ. So one man cannot say he is better than another, or more holy, or more righteous. We must all come to the same state, receiving the gift of righteousness from Jesus Christ. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” How?—By faith. Every poor soul may receive, through faith, from the Lord, all that he has to give,—the righteousness of his own beloved Son.

Living Under Justification

“But,” you say, “after a man is taken into this state of justification, has been cleansed, and condemnation is removed, is it possible [and here is the crux of the whole matter] for him to remain in that state of justification? Why, I can go back in my experience to the very time when I entered into this state of justification, but I have lost it. Amid perplexities, I have drifted from it, and now it does not appeal to me as it used to.” Away down here in the very time when Christ is about to come, in these last days when on every hand we see signs and wonders all declaring that the end is near, for a man to lose his way and say, I am outside of the realm of justification; once I rejoiced in it, but now there is sorrow, agony, pain, and unutterable disappointment in my life,—it is an awful pity.

Is it possible for a man to enter into justification and remain there day after day and year after year? Let me read you two or three texts. I like the second verse of my text, in Romans 8: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Brethren, there is just as truly a “law of the Spirit of life” as there was once a law written on tables of stone; and this “law of the Spirit of life” can take a man out of condemnation, and keep him out, giving him victory over the deeds of the flesh while he lives in the flesh; and that is Christianity. To live in the flesh, but not to do the works of the flesh, is to live the life of Christ on earth. It is the Christian’s privilege, while living in the flesh, to live a holy life before the Lord. Then, when the Lord comes in glory, he will not have to change our characters. They were changed at conversion, and we have grown into the image of Christ, by faith in him who made the change.

“The Letter Killeth, but the Spirit Giveth Life”

I wish to read in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians how Paul sets this forth. I like to look at it in this connection: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” Therefore the Christian will never once think that he is righteous and without sin of himself. He will look upon himself as nothing, and his hope, his righteousness, and all that he desires is in Jesus Christ; Christ becomes everything to him, and his supreme desire is to be like Jesus.

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.”

The Lord is that spirit that is glorious, even more glorious, he says, than the glory that shone in the face of Moses when he was with the Lord in the mount. The gospel says that the glory Moses had in the mount is not to be compared with this great transformation,—being made a new creature. When Moses came down from the mount, his face glistened and shone, and he could not be looked upon by the people. He had to veil his face. And Paul says that we who accept Jesus Christ have this glory even far more than Moses had it when he was with Christ in the mount. How? “The Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

I might go on and, in the next chapter, show you how Paul triumphed in this wonderful glory, how it rested upon him, and how the assurance came to him positively that he was accepted and beloved of the Lord. Let me read: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Then I read the fourteenth verse: “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” Any doubt there?—No, indeed! Paul says the Lord has driven away all that was sin, made us new creatures, and now will raise us up by Jesus Christ. And, in the next chapter, that wonderful thought is still carried on: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Any doubt about that? Any wondering whether we shall get to heaven or not? Paul says that if we die, we know that we shall have a resurrection. We know. Could there be a more solid foundation than that? “We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Not of men, but of God! And, brethren, the whole gospel is to make a man sure he is going through to the kingdom. God never wanted men to doubt and hesitate, not knowing half the time whether they were going through or not. He wants men to be sure, whatever may come, to know that they are going to have eternal life through Jesus Christ. I tell you, brethren, if our religion cannot give us victory over sin, to the saving of our souls, it is good for nothing.

Victory Here and Now

There isn’t a sin or a habit in your life that you cannot get the victory over if you will take it by faith. And you don’t need ten years to get rid of a sin, or to get ready for the coming of the Lord. I have heard persons say, “O, if the Lord’s coming is so near at hand, I shall not be ready!” How much time is needed for a man to get ready for the kingdom of God? If we had to work it out, our lives could hardly be long enough; but if a man takes eternal life as the free gift of God, through Jesus Christ, it doesn’t take forever. When the thief hung on the cross, and Christ, in his dying agony, turned toward him, what did he say? You could have had a chance two or three years ago, if you had believed on me?—No! Though he was a thief, had done great wrong, had broken God’s law, and now was near death’s door, Christ said, “Verily, I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” How long did it take?—Just as long as it took the poor thief to believe that word. Was he ready for paradise?—Yes. By works?—No; by faith. How could he get to heaven?—By the imputation of righteousness through faith. And how can you get there?—By believing in Jesus Christ, who died for you. If the Lord can get a poor man ready for heaven while hanging on a cross in agony, don’t you think he can get you and me ready?

How will this be accomplished? By our trying to do good and get sin out of our hearts? That is essential, but it doesn’t get a man ready for heaven. He must be got ready by believing in Jesus Christ, who died for sinners. All these works, all this activity that comes in the Christian life, is not to get ready for heaven, but is simply living the life of Christ on earth, that we may help to get others ready for heaven. What a pity that the devil should keep so many of us over on the other side of this great faith in a state of condemnation, so that we never have the joy and peace of a trustful and believing heart. How sad that men are willing to live in condemnation when they might come to Jesus Christ and have their sins forgiven, be justified, and freed from condemnation. “But,” you say, “shall we ever sin?” I am talking about salvation by faith. A man doesn’t need to say, Shall I ever sin? He simply takes the grace of God by faith, and lives moment by moment, exercising this faith in Jesus Christ, all the time claiming victory and justification. And if, by temptation or in a moment of forgetfulness, he falls into the snare of the devil, he comes again to him who first cleansed his heart and made it right, and again is cleansed and justified by the blood of Christ.

What a wonderful privilege! It is ours to have this experience today. It is ours by every promise in the Word of God, and all we need to do is to take it by faith. May the Lord help us to lay hold of it, to seize upon it, to make it ours to our own salvation and to the glory of God.