(with Galatians 2:20)
The Meaning of Justification by Faith
I. Looking steadily at the two passages of Scripture which I have chosen for my text, we shall gain the clue to the full scriptural truth about justification. First of all, St. Paul, speaking of himself many years after his conversion, declares that he lives by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him. It is manifest, then, that the principle of a Christian life, after the knowledge of Christ had been received, was still to be a faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. This faith entertained not once only, but always, ascribes clearly the whole merit of our justfication to Christ; that for His sake God looks upon us, not as enemies, but as children not as condemned, but as forgiven.
II. And further, the Scripture supposes that whenever and so far as we realize to our minds the fact that God has forgiven us, we are also drawn to love Him as His children; nay, that the two feelings are in fact inseparable; that faith in Christ's atonement places us necessarily in the state of loving children to God; that if we do not love Him, such want of love is clearly one way or another a want of faith in Christ either that we do not believe we needed the atonement, and therefore so far deny its reality, or do not believe that God has fully forgiven us, and so far deny its efficacy. But believing that we were without Christ dead, and that through Him we are alive and forgiven, that belief places us in the state of children towards God, with open and thankful hearts, loving Him because He first loved us.
III. St. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Romans, "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." Faith in Christ is not only faith in His having died for us; it is faith in Him as our Saviour now also by His life; it is that throwing ourselves upon Him in all things, as our Redeemer, as our Saviour, as our Head of whom we are members, deriving our life only from Him, which is expressed by our Lord in these remarkable words, where He says, "He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." And thus it is true that our faith in Christ alone justifies; our faith in His death once, in His life evermore our faith in Him as redemption and as sanctification our faith in Him leading to union with Him, that so being His members truly we shall be with Him and in Him evermore.
T. Arnold, Sermons,vol. v., p. 271.
References: John 6:57. Contemporary Pulpit,vol. ii., p. 345; Homilist,new series, vol. i., p. 357.