The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-03-17
THE PULPIT.
Sermon Preached by Rev. DR.. j. w.
Pratt in the Music Hall, Cincinnati,
Sunday March 7th, 1880.


Being justified by faith we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.-Rom. V: l.
This text assumes that by nature men
are not at peace with God. / shall not
waste time in proving this. In your
that all is not right between you and
your. Maker 1.-THE soul that sinneth il
shall die and as all have sinned, all
must die, unless some way can be devised
to escape the penalty of sin.
God can not abolish his law to suit
your case. He has declared that He will
by no means clear the guilty" There is
no hope for the sinner in that direction.
Yet the gospel comes to you and says,
Here is plan devised by God and ex-
ecuted by His son, by which you may be
cleared, by which you, who are really a
guilty sinner, shall be treated as if you
had never sinned at all This plan is
called scheme of Justification. What
then is justification? l answer, Z" 1t is an
act of Gods free grace, wherein He par
dons all our sins and accepts us as right
eous in His sight only for the sake of the
righteousness Of Christ imputed to us and
received by faith alone
1t is very clear from the use of the
word justification, both in Scripture and
In our common talk, that it has respect to
the violation of law We never speak of
mans being justified in doing an limo
cent act. We always say it in reference
to something contrary to law. If man
kills another he is at once arrested
Why? Because he has done what the
law forbids. But suppose he has done it
In self-defence. He is at once released
on the ground that he was 5uStifd6le
But even though every body knew it be-
forehand, this does not release him from
the necessity of arrest and trial He is
liable to punishment until the law shall
pronounce him justified. Observe, the
court does not say the man did not kill
but it simply declares that although he
did kill, he can not legally be punished.
Now the Bible uses the word jatstity in
the very same sense. A justified man, in
Scripture, is not one who is not a sinner,
but one whom, for good reasons, God aOiU
treat Just as IF he aoere holy and had meuer
sin1aed.
Justification is an act of God as the
Apostle Paul says, 1t is God that justi-
fes. lis an act of God declaring sin
ner to be just; 4. e., declaring him to be
released from the penalty of law.
Now, [ invite your special attention to
a very important statement
God stands in two different relations to
all his creatures on this earth. First: He
is their King. Secondly: He is their
Judge AS King He makes law AS
Judge, He administers and executes law.
Now, although have been preaching
to you every Sunday about the pardon Of
sins, and this use of the word is right, as it
is the Scripture term; yet speaking accu-
rately, or scientifically, 1 would say that.
God never pardomS sin,
Pardon is the act of sovereign who
forcibly steps in between the criminal
and the executioner, and sets the law
aside. Justification is the act of lust
Judge who declares that the law has no
claim upon the accused. Pardon releases
the prisoner at the very moment that he
is acknowledged to be guilty. Justifca-
ton releases him on the ground that he
IS accounted just. Pardon supposes guilt
Justification is formal declaration of
freedom from guilt In pardon, the law
is set aside; in Justification, the law is
satisfied. Pardon RENTS penalty adj
mitted to be just. To Justify is to de
clare that the infection of the penalty
would be unjust. In no language spoken
by men do the words, to pardon and to
Justify, mean the same thing. If they
did mean the same thing then we must
suppose that the law of God may be dis
pensed with. For as pardon is the re
mission of sentence, the execution of
which justice demands, of course the law
would be set aside if justification were
equivalent to pardon. But the Bible is
uniform in its declaration that the law is
Interchangeable both as to its commands
and its penalty; that there can be no re-
mission Of the penalty without complete
satisfaction Of the demands of the law
AS therefore the law can not be set aside.
that act of God which iustifes the sinner
must be something different from pardon
Now the account which the Scriptures
give Of justification shows that this view
is correct. Justification is dispensation
from the penalty of the law and resto-
ration to the favor of God on the ground
OF the sinner presenting a righteousness,
that is, presenting before the law that
Very thing which the lar demands. Par
don is an act Of mere sovereignty, and
does not demand any satisfaction made to
the law Justification is founded upon a