The doctrine of justification doesn’t rest simply on a verb here or there. It is the whole teaching of the Scriptures that God will provide the sacrificial skins to cover our nakedness (Gen. 3:21). The whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament pointed forward to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

In recent years, some evangelical scholars have been drawn to the traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox charge that the doctrine of justification taught by the Protestant Reformers is a novelty.

Not quite. First, the Greek verb for “to justify” means to declare righteous, not to make righteous. It is often contrasted in its immediate context with the verb “to condemn” rather than “to make sinful.” Second, the ones being declared righteous in the verses above are described as ungodly. But sin was not imputed to David (Rom. 4:8).

This gift of righteousness comes not by the law but by the gospel (vv. 13-15) Abraham’s faith clung to the promise of what God would do. That is why it was “counted to him as righteousness” (vv. 21-22). The one who trusts in Christ “instead of his own righteous deeds” goes home justified (Luke 18:10-14).

The doctrine of justification doesn’t rest simply on a verb here or there. It is the whole teaching of the Scriptures that God will provide the sacrificial skins to cover our nakedness (Gen. 3:21). The whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament pointed forward to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

A host of other passages elucidate this great exchange on the cross, our charges were nailed to Christ (Col. 3:13-14); we are counted as righteous in Christ so that no one can lay a charge against God’s elect (Rom. 8:33-34). The “Great Exchange” of Christ’s robe of righteousness for our filthy rags is the scarlet thread running from Genesis to Revelation. That’s justification in a nutshell.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]