Justification Uncensored

Thanks to blogging, views unwelcome on one or more blogs, forums, and websites can be published on numerous other blogs, forums, and websites. The Internet is the Wittenberg Door of our generation. The views of Daniel Gregg deserve a hearing, for they are solidly based on Scripture, not the traditions and doctrines of men. Discussion welcome at Dan’s blog/forum.   -- Tandi

Re: John Piper, The Future of Justification.......

The whole Christian concept of "justification" must be torn down because both Catholics and Protestants are in gross error on this concept. This is because in both camps one gets to be righteous without actually obeying the Torah. That's what Luther taught justification meant -- legally declared righteous.

If one needs to be legally declared righteous, then the Gospel is meaningless. For the Gospel is not about acquittal. It is a pardon of those who have legal guilt. God does not care about "legally imputed righteousness" where there is no righteousness. He only cares about actual righteousness that comes from proving that His Torah is in the heart by actually living by the Torah.

The concept of "justified by faith" is a total and utter corruption of the original Greek. The original revealed word is "justice is done by faithfulness" and here it means the faithfulness of Yeshua has satisfied the Father's justice against our sin. Our faithfulness is required to appropriate the satisfaction of the Father's justice. But it is Yeshua's faithfulness that actually pays the penalty, or in classical Greek, "does justice to us" by vicarious sacrifice. That's what it means to be "justified" -- not "declared righteous.” For the ungodly cannot be declared righteous by fiat (Exodus 23:7; Deut. 25:1).

... A few comments... N.T. Wright is a lot closer to the truth than Luther or Calvin, and John Piper is just trying to defend Calvin. The Reformation was not due to Luther or Calvin, but because they let people read their Bibles. The next reformation will be because Christians come to understand what the original language means after they are unchained from all the false translations.

Let me prove this briefly. KJV: "faith of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 3:22): NIV: "faith in Jesus Christ": Now which is it that justifies us? The faith OF Jesus or faith IN Jesus? It is the faith OF Yeshua by which justice is done. The NET bible (www.bible.org) has "faithfulness of Jesus Christ." This is a rare correct translation.

If such disagreement is evident in the translations on the MOST basic doctrine, then it is high time that the sheep need to dump theology, read their Bible, and learn a little basic Greek to read their Bible the right way. Then we will have a new reformation.

Dan Gregg