now also available in Logos Bible Format<\/a>!) In an abridged section from a whole chapter in my book which deals with this verse, here is what I said about this pivotal verse:<\/p>\nWHAT DOES \u201cRAISED FOR <\/em>OUR JUSTIFICATION\u201d MEAN?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn Romans 4:25 the Greek behind our English word \u201cfor\u201d could mean either \u201cbecause of\u201d or \u201cin order to produce.\u201d The ESV here, as it often does, deliberately maintains the ambiguity of the original. Some have argued that both \u201cfors\u201d must mean the same thing. However, Jesus\u2019 death did not produce sin in us, and surely Jesus\u2019 resurrection was not as a result of our justification<\/strong>. It is almost certainly the case that Paul intended to say that Jesus died to deal with our sin and was raised to produce our justification<\/strong>. There are several aspects of that link between Jesus\u2019 resurrection and our justification, which I explain further in the book:<\/p>\n1. Raised to Give Us a Future Resurrection\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nSome believe that \u201cjustification\u201d here includes the future result of our justification, our resurrection. Because of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, one day our physical bodies will also return to life. There are more straightforward ways of saying this, however, which means that it is unlikely that this first suggestion is what Paul intended here.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. Raised to Prompt Faith in Us\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt is the good news of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, following his sin-defeating death, that will inspire us to believe in, trust, obey, and worship him.\u00a0It seems impossible to imagine having faith in a dead Savior. How could we convince ourselves that Jesus\u2019 death achieved anything for us if he was not alive?<\/p>\n
The resurrection causes in us the faith that saves, and it is faith in the resurrection itself that saves.<\/strong> According to Romans, the substance of a saving response to God consists of a declaration of the lordship of Jesus, which presumably includes both his divinity and his right to rule over our lives, and faith in the fact of the resurrection. Thus Jesus\u2019 resurrection is in this sense the source of the faith that is the grounds of our justification: \u201cIf you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved\u201d (Romans 10:9).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
3. Raised for His Own Justification\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt may sound strange to talk about Jesus\u2019 need for justification. But justification is a declaration, a vindication. The resurrection of Jesus has evidencing power.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus\u2019 vindication convinces us that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Prince of Life, that he had fulfilled Scripture, that God was pleased with him, that the work of the cross was now complete, and that he had no need to remain dead.<\/p>\n
The resurrection proves Christ\u2019s divinity because not only is the event described as an act of God (see Acts 13:30) and of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:11), it was also an act of Jesus himself. The resurrection, as the beginning of the new creation, was an act of the whole Trinity. Jesus has the divine power to raise himself from the dead.<\/p>\n
The credit of Jesus\u2019 righteousness is much larger than the debt of our sin.<\/strong> His account had more positive approval than the negative disapproval that was due to all of us. The debt was paid, and as a result, as a righteous man and the beloved Son of God, the Father was entirely just to raise him. Jesus had turned away God\u2019s wrath, he had destroyed sin, our guilt could now be taken away, and we could be counted righteous. If the cross was Jesus\u2019 payment for our sins, then the resurrection marked God\u2019s acceptance of that payment.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
4. Justified So We Can Be Justified\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe resurrection of Jesus has justifying power. Despite our usual understanding that the cross alone is responsible for our forgiveness, Paul is elsewhere very clear. \u201cIf Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins\u201d (1 Corinthians 15:17). We share in the justification of Jesus. Because of his right standing with God, his people are made righteous too.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe resurrection shows the positive delight of God in his Son, which is now shared by us. Many people think of salvation as the removal of our sin and its punishment. If Jesus had only wiped the slate clean, forgiven our wrongdoing, and taken the wrath God had for us, we would be left in a neutral position. We would no longer be under God\u2019s displeasure, but he would not be pleased with us either. Many Christians, even if they do not articulate their theology like that, certainly live as though it was true. Many live as though they must still work to please God.<\/p>\n
Our justification consists not merely of a canceling of our debt, but also of an imputing to us of the righteousness of Christ. It is not only \u201cjust as if I\u2019d never sinned,\u201d but also \u201cjust as if I\u2019d already completed a perfect life.\u201d Jesus doesn\u2019t merely give us a clean slate and then sit back and watch whether we will mess it up again.<\/p>\n
If you think of sin as producing an overdraft, Jesus takes over our bank account and pays off our debt. He then gives us access to his own account which holds so much money that no matter how much sin we commit we could never exhaust the supply.<\/p>\n
The righteousness of Jesus was credited to us, not only our sin to him. God declares his positive favor toward us, and as a result we will ultimately never die. Life is the judicial reward for righteousness. Jesus was made to be sin, and so he died, but once sin was dealt with, he remained righteous.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
5. Raised So He Can Apply Justification to Us\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt is Jesus himself who saves the Christian.\u00a0The two phases of Jesus\u2019 saving work for us are described in complementary ways. It is the blood or death of Jesus that saves us, but we are \u201cmuch more\u201d saved by his life, since he himself continues to save us from the wrath of God. Would the teaching of the gospel in an average evangelical church today leave you with the idea that it is \u201cmuch more\u201d the resurrection that saves us than the cross?<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Abridged from Raised With Christ<\/a><\/em> published by Crossway)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was \u201craised for our justification.\u201d \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With Christ (which from this week is now also available in Logos Bible Format!) In an abridged section from a whole chapter in my book which deals with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[483,402],"class_list":["post-15819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resurrection","tag-raised-with-christ","tag-resurrection-2"],"yoast_head":"\n
Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was "raised for our justification." \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was "raised for our justification." \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-04T07:27:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-27T08:23:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adrianwarnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/\",\"name\":\"Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-04T07:27:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-27T08:23:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\"},\"description\":\"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was \\\"raised for our justification.\\\" \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Raised for our justification – 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"description\":\"Patheos Evangelical\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrian Warnock\"},\"description\":\"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 What does Jesus\u2019 resurrection mean for you? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything https:\/\/mybook.to\/raisedwithchrist \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts https:\/\/mybook.to\/traitorwithin \u2192 \\u2028Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart https:\/\/mybook.to\/amazinggrace \u2192 \\u2028\\u2028How do you become a Christian? How do you know if you really are one? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus https:\/\/mybook.to\/hope-reborn These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous","description":"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was \"raised for our justification.\" \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous","og_description":"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was \"raised for our justification.\" \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/","og_site_name":"Adrian Warnock","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","article_published_time":"2011-10-04T07:27:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-27T08:23:16+00:00","author":"Adrian Warnock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adrianwarnock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrian Warnock","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/","name":"Raised for our justification - 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-10-04T07:27:10+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-27T08:23:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa"},"description":"Romans 4:25 states Jesus was \"raised for our justification.\" \u00a0It was a verse that got under my skin when I was studying to write my book Raised With","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2011\/10\/raised-for-our-justification-6-ways-jesus-resurrection-is-involved-in-our-being-declared-righteous\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Raised for our justification – 6 ways Jesus' resurrection is involved in our being declared righteous"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/","name":"Adrian Warnock","description":"Patheos Evangelical","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa","name":"Adrian Warnock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrian Warnock"},"description":"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 What does Jesus\u2019 resurrection mean for you? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything https:\/\/mybook.to\/raisedwithchrist \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts https:\/\/mybook.to\/traitorwithin \u2192 \u2028Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart https:\/\/mybook.to\/amazinggrace \u2192 \u2028\u2028How do you become a Christian? How do you know if you really are one? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus https:\/\/mybook.to\/hope-reborn These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}