Oct 20
11
Baptist Catechism 39
Question: 39. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1–5
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1–5, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
Justification, adoption, and sanctification are the primary benefits that come to those who have faith in Jesus.
All who are effectually called of God have faith in Jesus. And all who have faith in Jesus are justified — they are pardoned of all their sins and clothed with the righteousness of Christ. No longer do they stand before God guilty and condemned. Instead, they stand before him as innocent and pure because of Christ.
All who have faith in Jesus are also adopted. They were once “children of wrath”, but through faith, they are adopted as beloved children of God, are received into the family of God, and they receive a rich inheritance.
And all who have faith in Jesus are also sanctified or made holy. They are sanctified personally, being renewed in the inner man after the image of God in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. They are sanctified positionally, being set apart from the world as God’s chosen and holy people. And they are also sanctified progressively, being over time made more and more holy in their way of life. Those with true faith in Christ will mature. They will grow in wisdom and in obedience. They will learn to walk in a manner that is worthy. This is progressive sanctification.
And from these three fountainhead blessings, other blessings naturally flow. Or I might put it this way: from these three foundational blessings, other blessings naturally grow.
To help us understand the relationship between the foundational or fountainhead blessings, as I have called them, and the blessings that grow from them or flow from them, let us think about justification as it occurs in this world. Can you imagine an accused criminal standing before a judge? And can you imagine the judge slamming his gavel down while saying the words, “not guilty”? That legal declaration would be the greatest blessing — it would be the foundational or fountainhead blessing — but think of all the others blessings that would accompany or flow from that original blessing. Because of the legal declaration, the accused would walk out of the courtroom a free man. A great weight would be lifted from his shoulders. He would be free to return home to his family and friends. He would be free to work. He would be free from the fear of the threat of the law. So you see, the primary blessing of justification would naturally produce many other blessings.
Or think of adoption. The one who is adopted (which is a legal arrangement at its core) enjoys many blessings as a result. The one who is adopted enjoys the love of mother and father, the blessing of family life, the provision of food, shelter, clothing, protection, and discipline. From the act of adoption flows many, many blessings.
And so it is in Christ. Those who are brought to faith are justified, adopted, and sanctified, and many, many blessings naturally flow from these fountainhead benefits.
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Romans 5:1-5
Paul speaks to this in that Romans 5 passage that we read at the beginning of this sermon. There in that passage, his focus is on the benefits of justification.
There he says, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is not difficult to see that Paul treats justification as the primary, foundational, fountainhead blessing, and “peace with God” as one of the blessings that flow from it. And truly, that is a great blessing. Apart from Christ we are not at peace with God but are under his wrath. That is what John 3:36 says. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36, ESV)
Paul goes on in this passage to mention other blessings that flow from our justification through faith in Christ. He says, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand…” So here is another benefit that flows from our justification. We have access to the Father. We are able to stand before him blameless through the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What a tremendous blessing this is! And it belongs to those who have been justified by faith in Christ.
I pray that those of you who have been in Christ for a long time, maybe even from childhood, would not forget what a blessing it is to stand before God guiltless and pure. Those not in Christ stand before God guilty. The “the wrath of God remains on” them, and they know it. They may suppress that truth. They may deny that they know it. But they do know it. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18–19, ESV). Men and women who are not in Christ know that there is a God and that they have sinned against him. They may have learned to suppress that truth very effectively and thoroughly, but deep down they know that they have sinned against God and will one day be judged by him. What a terrible way to live, having a conscience so burdened. As I have said, most find some way to suppress this knowledge. They distract themselves with the things of this world. They pursue pleasure. They medicate. They labor diligently to form philosophies which deny the existence of God, or the sinfulness of man, so as to escape the knowledge that God exists and that he will one day judge all evil. And as I have said, most are very good at this. They have to be if they are to cope. But those in Christ are free from this burden. They are justified. They stand before God righteous. They are at peace with God. The terrible burden of guilt has been lifted through faith in the savior that God has provided, Christ Jesus our Lord.
Having been justified, we are at peace with God. We have access to the Father and stand before him by God’s grace. And Paul goes on to say that “ we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” So, through faith we are justified. And because we are justified, we are at peace with God. And because we are at peace with God, we may stand before him. And all of this produces hope and joy. “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God”, the apostle says.
And then he continues, saying, “Not only that…” There is more! “But we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1–5, ESV).
Wow. The one who has faith in Christ — the one who is justified and at peace with God — is even able to rejoice (take joy) in suffering. How? Because we know that “endurance produces character… [and] hope.” More than this, we are able to rejoice in suffering knowing that the God who has pardoned all of our sins in Christ Jesus so that we might be reconciled to him, loves us.
So you see that Paul himself identified justification as a fountainhead blessing from which many other blessings flow. Of course, our catechism does not just have Romans 5 in view, but the whole of scripture. And it is right to identify justification, adoption as three fountainhead blessings, and to say that “assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end” do accompany or flow from these.
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Catechism Explained
Let us now briefly consider the answer that our catechism gives, piece by piece.
What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
The first that is mentioned is “assurance of God’s love”. Brothers and sisters, if you have faith in Christ you have been justified, adopted, and sanctified. And you can rest assured that God loves you. He loves you, not because you were lovely, but because he determined to set his love upon you. 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1, ESV). And Paul in Romans 8:31ff asks, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” And then he answers, “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” (Romans 8:31–39, ESV). God loves you because he chose to set his love on you. He has justified you. No one can condemn you. Indeed, no one and no thing can separate you “from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you are justified, adopted and sanctified you have “assurance of God’s love”.
The second benefit mentioned is “peace of conscience”. If you are in Christ then you are at peace with God, for your sins have been atoned for and your guilt is removed. You are right with God because you have been clothed in Christ’s righteousness. And this objective peace with God is the ground of the subjective peace that resides within your soul. You are at peace with God, really. And therefore you have peace within your soul, experientially. No longer is your conscience burdened by the reality of your sin and guilt and the sure expectation of judgment, for all of that has been removed by Christ. You really are at peace with God, and therefore, you really do experience peace of conscience. Or at least you should.
The third benefit mentioned is “joy in the Holy Spirit”. We are said to have joy in the Holy Spirit, for it is the Holy Spirit that helps us. He ministers to our souls and reminds us of the benefits that are ours in Christ Jesus. And if all that we have been saying regarding justification, adoption, and sanctification is true — which it certainly is — then how could you not have joy? Indeed, as has already been said, the Christian is able to rejoice even in tribulation. We are able to “count it all joy… when [we] meet trials of various kinds, for [we] know that the testing of [our] faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3, ESV). We know that the God who loves us, and the God we love, works all things for our good.
The fourth benefit mentioned is “increase of grace”. The Christian is saved by the grace of God at the beginning, and the Christian does grow in grace until the end. To increase in grace is to grow in Christ. And this is certainly one of the benefits that flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification. Our catechism lists Proverbs 4:18 as a proof text. It is beautiful: “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. [Verse 19] The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (Proverbs 4:18–19, ESV). Those justified and adopted will grow in Christ. They will be progressively sanctified by God’s grace. They will be “like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Or at least they should be.
And the fifth benefit mentioned is “perseverance therein to the end.” Those who are justified, adopted, and sanctified through faith in Christ will persevere in grace until the end. None will be lost, for God preserves those who belong to him. This is what Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 1:3-5, saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3–5, ESV).
To say that salvation can be lost reveals that you have not understood the gospel. You did not earn your salvation at the start, and you do not earn it now through perseverance. Salvation is of the Lord. He gave it to you in the beginning, and he preserves you in it. We must persevere, but we are preserved by God’s grace. Christ will keep all who are his. Yes, there are false professors. Yes, some make false professions of faith. And how do we know who they are? We know them by their fruits. As John says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19, ESV). Those who walk away from their professed faith in Christ do not lose their salvation. They do not go from being justified to unjustified, adopted to unadopted, or sanctified to unsanctified. No, they never had any of these benefits, for their faith was false from the beginning. Though they may have fooled men for a time, God was never fooled, for he knows who are his. He chose them in eternity past, Christ atoned for their sins, and he will bring them safely home. They have, to quote Peter again, “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [them], who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
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Conclusion
Friends, these doctrines are practical. How important it is for you to know what is yours in Christ Jesus. If you have faith in Christ you are justified, adopted, and sanctified. And how important it is for you to also know what blessings flow from these. Being justified, adopted, and sanctified ought to produce “assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.” But perhaps you have noticed that these blessings are not automatic.
If you are in Christ God surely loves you. His love for you is sure for it is rooted, not in you, but in his decree and in the work that Christ has finished on your behalf. But we do not always feel assured of it. And there are many reasons for this. Our confession speaks of some of the reasons in 18.4, saying, “True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light, yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which, in the meantime, they are preserved from utter despair.” Again, we do not always feel assured of God’s love — and there are many reasons for this — but we should. For God love for us in Christ is sure.
I could say the same thing about the other benefits which flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification. They are not automatic. They are unshakably ours, but we must pursue them: “assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.”
Question: 39. What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
