My justification must be in the merit of my Surety.

[Southern Presbyterian]

And I never was so certain, although I have been for so many years separated by Providence and God's grace from the grosser sins of youth, that I cannot receive this justification on my own merits. 'For in me—that is, in my flesh—there dwelleth no good thing.' Having not a single act, nor a single virtue of my own, that is complete and pure enough in motive to pass muster for itself, I know I have nothing to offset a multitude of sins, for which I know I am responsible. My justification must be in the merit of my Surety. And so my religion is not, do right in order to be reconciled to God; but, be reconciled in free grace, in order to do right.

~R. L. Dabney, The Life and Letters of Robert Lewis Dabney, pp. 620-1.

*Emphasis mine.

 

[dudley]

Thank you for sharing the above quote

Thank you for sharing the above quote. It so eloquently describes the meaning of the wonderful and magnificent Protestant doctrine of Justification. Salvation is through Gods grace alone and our faith alone in Christ alone.

When we stand before God, as we all will some day, we need to recognize that in us, there is nothing which makes us worthy of God’s grace; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God treats us as righteous because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

Heb. 9: 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

The beauty and awesomeness of the Protestant doctrine of Justification is that we are eternally secure in Christ because we have contributed nothing towards our redemption.

God counts the people He has called as righteous by means of their faith and not their works. This does not mean the elect are counted righteous on the basis of their faith. Since faith is itself a gift from God, no one can boast of this as if he has done anything to merit it.

Eph. 2: 8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.