The God Who Justifies

Martin Luther described the doctrine of justification - the topic of this book - as the article of faith that determines whether the church is standing or falling. Speaking of Luther, James Buchanan writes, "By this he meant that when this doctrine is understood, believed, and preached, as it was in New Testament times, the church stands in the grace of God and is alive; but where it is neglected, overlaid, or denied, as it was in medieval Catholicism, the church falls from grace and its life drains away, leaving it in a state of darkness and death" (14). Justification, properly (and here briefly) defined teaches that God, solely out of sovereign mercy and grace, declares repentant sinners righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness and subtitutionary death of Jesus Christ alone. This gift of justifcation is accessed by the believer through faith alone and is wholly apart from any works. Faith itself is not a work, nor does it contain any merit - rather, faith is merely the empty hands of the sinner laying hold of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ - a righteousness that matches God's perfect standard of righteousness because it is, in reality, God's righteousness. White, in his weighty, passionate, thorough, and nourishing treatment of justification, examines the historical and contemporary significance of a proper and highly nuanced understanding of the doctrine, and provides the exegetical basis for it from key texts like Romans 1-3:18, 3:19-31; 4:1-5:1 and 8:28-34. In the latter portion of the book, White also deals with problems raised in the book of James where some contend that Paul is contradicted by James' statement that Abraham was justified by works (James 2:14-26). White further bolsters the truth of justification by tapping into other texts like Galatians 1-3, II Corinthians 5:17-21, Titus 3:4-7 and Ephesians 2:1-10, demonstrating the unity of the New Testament regarding this particular doctrine. Every New Testament text quarried is examined in the original language. For each key text studied, White provides the Greek reading of the text with an English translation following. White often references and discusses Greek words, phrases, and grammer throughout the book as well, so some knowledge of the original language is helpful, though probably not essential. A lay-person who does not have any working knowledge of Biblical Greek will, I believe, also greatly benefit from this book. 'The God who Justifies' a solid and heart-felt treatment of the glorious - and often neglected - doctrine of justification. It is not a quick read, and it is not an easy read. But the riches mined by a careful, prayerful and thoughtful reading of this book are more than worth it. I highly recommend it.

Dr. James White in "The God who Justifies" expounds on the doctrine of Justification like a true theologian can, but preaches like a preacher should. This book is not for the theologically shallow and uses alot of Greek. For the well informed lay Christian, even with out the knowledge of Greek can still benifit greatly. Great job.

For those who want to understand the historic Protestant (and Biblical) understanding of justification this book should be the first place to start. White does an excellent job presenting the Gospel in its purity and wholeness without compromise. The structure of the book is well organized and easy to follow through. The first half of the book (pp. 17-123) deals with important themes related to the concept of justification. This includes topics like man's total depravity, sin, transgression, the meaning of justification, the reason for justification by faith alone, the grounds for our justification, and imputation of righteousness. The second half (pp. 125-374) is an exegetical defense of the historic Protestant understanding of justification. White goes over passages in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, James, 2 Corinthians, and Titus. He makes a convincing and exegetically sound argument for the historic Protestant view of justification by faith alone. Though White gets very technical and detailed in his exegesis of these passages, even a layperson will have no trouble understanding what White is saying. Particularly valuable is his exegesis of James 2:14-26. Roman Catholics and pseudo-Protestants have often used this passage to attack the traditional Protestant understanding of justification by faith alone. However, White does an excellent job explaining what James REALLY meant to say in this passage (e.g., true faith is demonstrated before men by actions). This book is refreshing considering that in recent years the doctrine of justification by faith alone has not only been attacked by Roman Catholics, but also by those who claim to be evangelical Protestants! Yes, pseudo-Protestants are everywhere these days. This book, however, should set the record straight on what the Bible really teaches regarding justification. In fact, after reading this book one will realize that many groups who claim to be evangelical Protestants are actually NOT at all (e.g., Wesleyans, Holiness people, neo-Reformed groups, etc.). White has done the Body of Christ a great service by writing this book. This is an invaluable work that needs to be in every Christian bookshelf.

Like Jay Adams, who reviewed this book, stated, "In lost sleep over this book."Once again, James R White delivers us an incredible examination of theology, this time with treatment towards the doctrine of justification. From almost the start I found myself exploring and ruminating on what Dr. White was saying. The exploration into the depravity of man ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God") and why justification ~must~ be forensic broke me a thousand times over, and preached the Gospel to my heart anew. From beginning to end, we see sound Biblical exegesis, and a heart and passion for the truth from this great man of God.I have been recommending this book to just about everyone who would listen, and do so here. If you buy no other book this year, get The God Who Justifies.

James White's work is definitely the best treatment on this subject I've read in a long time. It is indeed two books in one. The first part is an explanation of the evangelical doctrine and its importance. The second part is thorough exegesis of relevant passages.James White, in the first part, has hit the nail on the head with this issue. Error on this doctrine is an extension of another doctrine. When we misunderstand the holiness of God (please, please read the Sproul book of the same name), we misunderstand how to get right with God. That's what justification is about. How we get right with God. When we understand God is holy, we understand that He must judge sin. We understand that God He can't overlook our bad deeds. Then we should realize that good deeds won't overcome our past bad deeds, since we already owe God good deeds. I won't keep going on this tangent. Suffice it to say, that this is the key issue to understand which undergirds the rest of the issue.The second part of the book capitalizes on James White's strength, very complete exegesis. He does not have the space to do this for every passage that pertains to the topic, Acts of the Apostles and the four Gospels have been left out for instance. However, a lot of Romans and James 2 are in there. They are the main passages that pertain to this topic. White clearly shows that justification by faith alone is taught by Paul. He touches on "works of the law." I've seen better James 2 commentaries (Matthew Henry comes to mind), but White does a very good job. The second part is a lot like his treatment of John 1 in "the Forgotten Trinity." He will use a lot of Greek. I do not know coine Greek, but I was able to follow along quite well. He discusses any issues with textual variants along the way. This is a most rewarding treatment of Scriptures!All in all, it is an excellent resource. Once I got to the second section, I started using it as a Bible study. You would go through a section of Scripture, and then James White would be your commentator.