Justification

Kevin DeYoung has an excellent article on Justification that I would urge y'all to check out. In it, he discusses the differences among Protestants, and the differences that still divide Protestants and Catholics on this issue. The cool thing is, this is in the Christian Science Monitor in their op-ed section! Christians writing about justification in secular op-eds? Hooray!

Here a quote:

The doctrine of justification is not an esoteric wrangling about words to the people in my congregation. Justification by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone means we can have confidence before God. There's no need to figure out venial versus mortal sins. There's no purgatory for remaining imperfections because God looks on his people and sees them clothed in the "Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6; Zech. 3:1-5).

Justification means I don't have to find the god within because I have already been declared innocent by the God without. It means an end to all my futile attempts at self-justification, whether by politics, parenting, or preaching. Justification means I can sleep soundly at night, whether I wake up in the morning or not, knowing that God is for me and not against me.

Read the rest here