One of the Great Things About Being Justified by God…

…is that it frees us from the need to justify ourselves by our theology. It permits us to call our theology into question without thereby undermining the foundation of our faith and confidence. When our justification is in God’s hands we are willing to entertain the possibility that we may be wrong in our theological formulations (of justification, for example) without feeling threatened by such an admission. It delivers us from the paranoia that makes it difficult for us to welcome the challenge that God often poses to our habitual ways of looking at things. The fact that God is the justifier calls all of our truth into question, thereby preventing theology from ever finally settling down. The fact that God is the justifier can enable theology to countenance moving beyond old settlements without fear. Where justification is obscured our theology will become stagnant. Fear and defensiveness will prevent us from opening our minds to what might prove to be the call of God’s truth.

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About Alastair Roberts

Alastair Roberts (PhD, Durham University) writes in the areas of biblical theology and ethics, but frequently trespasses beyond these bounds. He participates in the weekly Mere Fidelity podcast, blogs at Alastair’s Adversaria, and tweets at @zugzwanged.
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1 Response to One of the Great Things About Being Justified by God…

  1. Unknown's avatar Dick Myerscough says:

    Hi Alastair,

    I hope this doesn’t sound pedantic but surely to make the assertion that God is the justifier is, at the same time, to affirm that there is some of our truth (as you put it) that is not called into question. If that is so, it then begs the question as to how much is open to be called into question. Doesn’t it?

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