I have a question about eternal justification. I have a friend that believes Justification is eternal and thinks that this is incompatible with the doctrine of sola fide. That we aren't justified by faith because God's disposition never changes upon us believing. Is there any transient aspects to justification? What about it is external to the mind of God? What is the real and inherent changes that justification causes?
There's a qualified sense in which eternal justification is true, but a bald statement of eternal justification is simplistic. It's true that God doesn't change his mind regarding the elect.
And if God is timeless, then it's true that from God's side of the transaction, justification is timeless.
However, God doesn't timelessly will to justify the elect in abstraction from other conditions. Rather, God wills to justify the elect in conjunction with other conditions.
To take a parallel, God timelessly wills election, but he doesn't will to save the elect apart from other graces.
God timelessly wills to justify elect *believers*. He timelessly wills justification in concert with other conditions, viz. faith, regeneration.
Salvation is a package. God doesn't will one element of salvation to obtain independent of the others. Rather, it's like a Swiss watch, where all the parts move in tandem.
Although God's will to justify the elect is outside of time, his will is effected in time. God timelessly willed the crucifixion, but his will is realized in time.
I have a question about eternal justification. I have a friend that believes Justification is eternal and thinks that this is incompatible with the doctrine of sola fide. That we aren't justified by faith because God's disposition never changes upon us believing.
ReplyDeleteIs there any transient aspects to justification? What about it is external to the mind of God? What is the real and inherent changes that justification causes?
This article might be helpful:
Deletehttps://rationalchristiandiscernment.blogspot.com/2017/02/justification-by-faith-alone-biblical.html
Jesse,
DeleteThanks you, but it's not that I can't demonstrate Sola Fide from scripture it's that he has a philosophical objection to it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThere's a qualified sense in which eternal justification is true, but a bald statement of eternal justification is simplistic. It's true that God doesn't change his mind regarding the elect.
DeleteAnd if God is timeless, then it's true that from God's side of the transaction, justification is timeless.
However, God doesn't timelessly will to justify the elect in abstraction from other conditions. Rather, God wills to justify the elect in conjunction with other conditions.
To take a parallel, God timelessly wills election, but he doesn't will to save the elect apart from other graces.
God timelessly wills to justify elect *believers*. He timelessly wills justification in concert with other conditions, viz. faith, regeneration.
Salvation is a package. God doesn't will one element of salvation to obtain independent of the others. Rather, it's like a Swiss watch, where all the parts move in tandem.
Although God's will to justify the elect is outside of time, his will is effected in time. God timelessly willed the crucifixion, but his will is realized in time.