August 10, 2025 - Romans 5:9 - "Only One Justification Before God"

Romans 5:9

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

This Scripture in God's inspired Word declares the glorious truth that God’s elect were fully and finally justified through the blood of Christ. It underscores that justification—the divine act of declaring sinners righteous before God—is not something we earn or add to by our works or faith, but was entirely accomplished once for all at the cross. Through Christ’s sacrificial death, the penalty for sin was fully paid, satisfying divine justice and establishing the believer’s right standing with the Father.

There is only one justification of sinners before God, and that was accomplished by Christ in His death on the cross. There is no other ground or means of justification; it is complete, perfect, and everlasting solely because of what the LORD Jesus accomplished on the cross for His chosen people.

There is but one justification, whether viewed from before the foundation of the world, by faith or through works. It was all accomplished at the cross. Consider the following summary:

Justification viewed from before the foundation of the world

It is not the Lamb slain before He was slain but the Lamb Whom God appointed to be slain and therefore Who did come as predetermined by God before the foundation of the world and sacrificed His life unto death in the Father's appointed time, "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me," (Psalm 40:7); (Hebrews 10:7).

Justification viewed by faith

Faith is not the instrument of justification; Christ’s death is! Faith is the God-given persuasion to believe God’s Word and see that righteousness is already accomplished and fulfilled in the death of the Savior and Substitute, "Therefore being justified, by faith we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ:" (Romans 5:1).

Justification viewed through works

Our works do not justify us before God. They are the fruit of God the Father having justified us exclusively upon completion of the death of His Son, as our Substitute. The subsequent works (regeneration, conversion, faith, and repentance) are the fruit of Christ’s righteousness imputed to His people already at the cross: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way" (James 2:21-25)?

Justification accomplished at the cross

What could be simpler? Justified by His blood, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). At the cross is where sin was put away. Because Christ put away the sin, there remained nothing but righteousness to impute, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

There is one place, at one time, and one Sacrifice that redemption and justification were accomplished, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10-14). For God the Father to be just and justify those He gave to His Son to redeem, there was a complete satisfaction of His law and justice in two ways:

First, there was the debt of obedience to the precepts of the law that the LORD Jesus Christ fulfilled, not just in the outward letter of the law, but the very spirit of it.

Second, was the satisfaction of the penalty of the law by His obedience unto death, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8).

To put the justification of sinners anywhere but at the cross is to deny the finished work of the LORD Jesus. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:9-11). This is the only justification of His people before the Father. Nothing else is required by God, and nothing more is desired by His people.