Notice, most particularly, dear reader, the conditions here stated under which the believer is counted righteous. He is to “believe on him that justifieth the ungodly.” Now that is a bold statement, but it is written by the Spirit of God, and is therefore perfectly correct. Yes, God justifies the ungodly! He does not, nor can He justify ungodliness, ―that is clear. But yet He justifies the ungodly; and why? Because there are none else for Him to justify. There is not a soul out of Christ but is ungodly. As the previous chapter has carefully explained, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” How comprehensive! Hence, did God not justify the ungodly, He could justify none; and if you refuse to own yourself as ungodly, you place yourself outside the possibility of blessing.
Well then, He justifies the ungodly, ―any such, and only such, but not all such. All are ungodly, some are very ungodly; but, blessed be His name, none are too ungodly to be justified; and why? Because it is a question of grace on His part, ―sheer unbounded grace, and not of merit on ours. That makes all the difference. Grace on His part can meet infinite demerit on ours, and the demerit and guilt of any sin is infinite. So God in grace can justify the most ungodly; but on this condition alone, that he should “believe on him.” That is the one simple condition. It is not that he should believe that God justifies the ungodly, ―a fact which is very generally admitted; and faith must do more than attach itself to a fact, however blessed. No, he must believe on Him, ―on God Himself, ―that justifieth the ungodly.
That is the condition; and though it be so simple and so reasonable, yet it is where many go wrong.
Faith in God for justification implies the abandonment of “good works” for the same end, and that is just the difficulty!
“What I am I to give up the whole principle, of good works, my life-long good deeds, and efforts, and character, and so on; to fling them all aside, and place myself on the dead level of fallen nature, in order to be blessed on the principle of faith in God?”
Yes, that is your only hope!
Ah I stay, dear reader, do not throw down this paper in disgust; remember that your soul is at stake, and be patient; listen not to the words of man, but to those of God. What is the first statement of the passage quoted, ― “To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”
Now that is a plain, well-known matter of business. If I work to you for a week at four shillings a-day, I claim the sum of twenty-four shillings on the Saturday night. That is the amount of your indebtedness to me for work done. No thanks to you for your payment; it is not grace on your part to give me what is due, it is debt.
But, on the other hand, supposing you found me a stranger, destitute and friendless, and out of benevolence you gave me a charity, that would be grace, ―not debt. Further, had I been your enemy, your kindness would but shine the brighter, and your grace would be all the fuller. It is thus God acts.
The question of working for wages, so that God is our debtor, is settled in the earlier chapter thus, ― “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” How sweeping! The reward, then, cannot come on the principle of debt.
“But to him that worketh not,”―here is the negative side of another principle, ― “but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,”―that is the positive side, ― “his faith is counted for righteousness.”
The negative side makes you repudiate your works; the positive side connects your faith with God, who, in grace, takes up the ungodly, the stranger, the destitute, the enemy, and, justifies them. Was there ever such benevolence! He is “the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus;” for in the blood of Jesus He has the ground on which He can righteously do so; and hence He “is just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.”
God justifies the ungodly, ―any of them. But why are not all justified? Because they will not believe on Him! They will work, but they will not believe, ―they will do anything but simply trust their guilty souls to Him. They will go about to establish their own righteousness, and “go about” it always; whilst they decline to submit themselves to the righteousness of God. They won’t submit, won’t go down, won’t repent. That is the trouble. Well, they must be finally condemned.
But, thank God, the most ungodly who believes in Him is counted righteous; and from that moment onwards he becomes a righteous man, both before God and before his fellows. J. W. S.