Justification Before Belief?

Someone sent this out as a myspace bulletin and I thought I would share. What do you make of this argument and how would you address it?

JUSTIFICATION - Before Belief?



Men object to the gospel doctrine of justification by faith that declares all of God's elect eternally justified at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their objection is to the notion that men are justified before they believe the gospel. In their version of the gospel a man cannot be justified until he believes. They then cite Rom 5:1 as a proof text.

But what do the Scriptures teach about the timing of justification? God declared it a finished thing at the cross of Christ and prior to His resurrection (Rom 4:25). Paul could not possibly have used more plain terms. And He puts an exclamation point on it in the next verse, "Therefore having been declared righteous", referring back to the previous verse. But he does not stop there. In Rom 5:12ff he uses the comparison of the first Adam and the Last Adam. As sin was sovereignly imputed to all the first Adam's seed at the point of his disobedience, so was righteousness imputed to the Last Adam's seed at the point of His finished obedience. How one views the timing of the imputation of the earned righteousness of Christ to all the elect is how one views salvation -- whether settled and established at the cross or not. This vital truth is the very glory of the Lord Jesus Christ -- how He successfully rendered all His elect perfect before holy God. If one would worship Christ as He is, this truth must be received in the heart. If it is rejected, there can be no true worship and no true evangelism of the elect no matter how close to the sovereign grace gospel a man may approach.

Does God justify men before belief? Scripture asserts that God justifies the ungodly (Rom 4:5). And if ungodly, then it is certain that God justified the elect while they were in their natural state of rebellion, enmity, and unbelief. Indeed the elect are termed as dead before they were raised in Christ (Eph 2;1,5). And justification preceded Christ's resurrection in God's order of things. Not only did justification occur prior to belief, it occurred completely outside the sinner and at the cross. The imputation of sin and righteousness were sovereign, free acts by God, without our consent or consultation.

A man preaches what he truly believes. What is preeminent in a man's heart and mind is what he will preach to men. If a man is silent on this most vital of gospel doctrine -- what Christ actually accomplished on the cross, his silence speaks just as much as his words. A preacher of righteousness like Noah delights in this gospel truth so much that he joyfully and boldly declares it. It is in the fabric of all his preaching. And all the elect WILL believe it, cherish it, and worship their Lord who justified them. Because faith is one of the fruits of Christ's justifying righteousness (Phil 1:11).

Steve Baloga

Member of Providence Church, Powell, Tennessee

In the scheme of God's eternal purpose, men where chosen and saved before the foundation of the world. However, men are still under a state of judgment until that act of eternity is applied by repentance and faith. Men are not justified because they are elect, they are justified by faith. This is a misconception of the eternal acts of our God. Scripture never places the priority of being Justified by faith with the doctrine of election. While, election provides the assurance for justified believers (Rm 8:29). You never find anything in the NT that states the basis of our justification is election. Romans 8:29, is a beautiful pictures of our assurance in spite of the corrupted hearts of men. Notice, Paul has already stated that creation, ourselves, and even the spirit groans for the glorification of our bodies. Paul, assuring believers, that nothing can separate them from the love of God; emphasizes, that those whom were foreknown were predestined, justified, and will one day be glorified.


However, election saves no one. Why? elect sinners will be demolished without right standing. The doctrine of election does not provide, a perfect judicial righteousness. Only the the gospel provides man's greatest need (i.e My sin for Christs Righteousness). Election is the past act of God whereby before the foundation of the world he choose men of all tongues, tribes, and nations whom he would save.

Those he choose are justified, sanctified, and finally glorified. However, election does not make any believer justified, sanctified, or even glorified.



The answer to this question is an emphatic NO! Believers are not justified before belief . Men are justified when they repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ, as their perfect substitute and perfect righteousness. In fact, elect believers, prior to conversion are still under the condemnation of God (Jn 3, Eph2). These two passages place men, prior to conversion, in a state of damnation. John, places men, as those who hate the light and love the darkness; while, Paul says, believers were once children of wrath (note, before conversion).



Men are changed positionally because of they have placed their faith in Christ. While, they have assurance of their Justification because of the electing love of God.

Justification before belief is not what the Scriptures expressingly teach. In fact we are not saved before belief either.

Paul spends considerable time throughout the book of Galatians (especially chapter 3) teaching that justification is by faith alone. More over he stands on the foundational shoulders of Genesis 15:6 which reveals that Abraham believed God and salvation was imputed to him. [Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6]

Salvation is a completed plan before the foundation of the earth and the elect are marked out UNTO salvation before the foundation of the earth...not saved [Ephesian 1].

Christ's voluntary substitutionary penal sacrifice completed & satisfied the work of redemption [Romans 4:25] so that the elect received a completed [nothing needs to be added] eschatalogical salvation [places the believer in the age to come], yet it [the gracious salvific gift] must be appropriated by faith.

Thanks, Marco and Redeemed.

The guy who sent this out is a Hyper-Calvinist fromo what I've seen. All of his bulletins seem to deal with the TULIP. Not that that's necessarily a terrible thing, but he seems to remove all human responsibility from salvation, which is unbiblical. The Scriptures teach both God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, often side by side in Scripture.