The great French reformer John Calvin, in accord with the other Reformers, emphasised the centrality of the doctrine of justifica­tion by faith. Calvin explained justification as,

the acceptance with which God receives us into his favour as righteous men. And we say that it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s right­eousness

It is clear that justification is at the heart of Christian faith for Calvin. For example, in his great work Institutes of the Christian Religion, in the introduction to the section on justification, Calvin writes that “this is the main hinge on which religion turns”. In his sermon on Luke 1:5-10 Calvin states that justification is “the principle of the whole doctrine of salvation and of the foundation of all religion”.

In the meticulously written Institutes, Calvin deliberately discussed the doctrine of regeneration before the doctrine of jus­tification. He did this to underscore the grace and mercy of God. He also did so to prevent any viewing of “faith” as a “work”. In his mercy, God works in a person’s heart (Ezekiel 11:19-20) to bring him or her to faith in Christ alone. Such a person is described by Calvin as those “regenerated by God’s Spirit, they make true holiness their concern”.

Calvin thus first discusses repentance and forgiveness of sins, and considers justi­fication in the context of a personal relationship with God.

His definition of justification (cited above) shows that Calvin sought to explain justification in terms of acceptance with God (Acts 10:34, 35). This acceptance with God entails both the remission or forgive­ness of our sins as well the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.

Here we see the gospel in a nutshell. On the one hand, Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross is the only basis by which our sins are forgiven. It is the only means by which sin and the consequences of sin are dealt with. On the other hand, Christ’s obedi­ence to the Father through his perfect sacrifice on the cross is the basis for the impu­tation of his righteousness to us. What is meant by the imputation of Christ’s right­eousness to us is that “Christ’s righteous­ness is credited to our account”. Because our sins are forgiven and Christ’s right­eousness is imputed to us we are accepted by God and received into his favour as righteous men and women.

Justification is not just the declaration that we are righteous. Justification means that we are accepted by God as righteous. Despite our total inability because of our slavery to sin, God has provided in Christ a means by which we can be accepted by him as righteous. This is nothing but the grace and mercy of God in action.

An understanding of the grace and mercy of God in justification should spur all disciples of Jesus to make the proper response. Thus Paul exhorts us to “be who you are in Christ”. Calvin writes that “God’s children are pleasing and lovable to him, since he sees in them the marks and features of his own countenance”.

It is in this connection also that Calvin speaks of “a double acceptance of man before God”. The first “acceptance” is jus­tification. The second “acceptance” is “that ‘acceptance’ which Peters mentions (Acts 10:34 cf 1 Peter 1:17) whereby believers are, after their call, approved by God in respect of their works (cf 1 Peter 2:5). For the Lord cannot fail to love and embrace the good things that he works in them through his Spirit. But we must remember that God ‘accepts’ believers by reason of their works only because he is their source and graciously, by way of adding to his literality, deigns also to show ‘acceptance’ toward the good works he has himself bestowed”. At every turn we see the grace of God.

John Powell rightly points out that we all relate to one another by putting on masks. On the one hand, the mask serves to cover up our real selves. On the other hand, we put on the mask that we want others to relate to. Our aim is that others will relate to a perception of us rather than to the real us. Why do we relate to one another with masks? It is because we are afraid that if others see us as we really are, then they will reject us. We are all afraid of having to handle rejection.

Justification means that God truly accepts us. He knows that we are disobedi­ent, rebellious sinners. But he accepts us on the basis of Christ’s perfect work on the cross. The result is that we have freedom to come directly into God’s presence unveiled (2 Corinthians 3:16, 17). That is, we can completely remove our masks in the presence of God. Moreover, we can approach God’s very throne with confidence (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-22). This is what it means to be accepted by God. Our response to this ought to be to strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to live lives characterised by righteousness.

Our denomination looks with pride at our direct connection with the great Reformers such as John Calvin and John Knox. We believe that they were faithful in seeking to expound Biblical faith as well as living it out. At the heart of Biblical faith is the doctrine of justification. This is the doctrine that our denomination must continue to faithfully expound and live out in this new millennium.

We must not only proclaim the Gospel which is the means by which we are accepted by God. We need to show to the world the Gospel in action in our churches by accepting one another.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7