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Joint Declaration: 1. Biblical Message of Justification

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

8. Our common way of listening to the Word of God in Scripture has led to such new insights. Together we hear the Gospel that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). This good news is set forth in Holy Scripture in various ways. In the Old Testament we listen to God's Word about human sinfulness (Psalm 51:1-5; Daniel 9:5f.; Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth 8:9f.; Ezra 9:6f.) and human disobedience (Genesis 3:1-19; Nehemiah 9:16f., 26) as well as of God's "righteousness" (Isaiah 46:13; 51:5-8; 56:1 [cf. 53:11]; Jeremiah 9:24) and "judgment" (Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth 12:14; Psalm 9:5f.; 76:7-9).

Needless to say, the document fails to explain how we have a "common way of listening to the Word of God." If this way were so common, why is there such disparity in interpretation?

Also, note the wording: "the Word of God IN Scripture." The untrained eye can easily take that as the word of God, Scripture. However, this is phraseology similar to that used by theologians who want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are useful, thus it is similar to "The Bible contains the Word of God."

I'm not sure of the reference to Qoheleth. It would seem that it is another name (maybe the Hebrew name?) for the book of Ecclesiastes. Is this the Roman naming convention for this book?

The document also errs in stating that "In the Old Testament we listen to God's Word about human sinfulness." We also hear about the sinful human condition in the New Testament-Jesus' discussions with the Pharisees, Saducess, and scribes. Paul also addresses the sinful human condition in his letters-it's what tells us we need a Savior! The Old Testament also has Gospel. Adam and Eve were given the first promise right after eating from the Tree and being called on it by God. Isaiah and the prophets, even while pointing out sin, also pointed toward the Savior to come and save us from our sins! Unfortunately, what this approach does is divide the Bible neatly into what God wanted us to do, but now Christ came and did it so now we don't need to do it. It is an old antinomian trick.

9. In the New Testament diverse treatments of "righteousness" and "justification" are found in the writings of Matthew (5:10; 6:33; 21:32), John (16:8-11), Hebrews (5:1-3; 10:37-38), and James (2:14-26).(10) In Paul's letters also, the gift of salvation is described in various ways, among others: "for freedom Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1-13; cf. Romans 6:7), "reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:18-21; cf. Romans 5:11), "peace with God" (Romans 5:1), "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), "alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11, 23), or "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1:31; 2 Corinthians 1:1). Chief among these is the "justification" of sinful human beings by God's grace through faith (Romans 3:23-25), which came into particular prominence in the Reformation period.