A key verse in discussing justification is the very first verse in Romans chapter 4. It reads as follows.

“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?” Romans 4:1

This is key because it distinguishes faith from deeds according to the flesh, like circumcision. Ultimately, this is what Paul is excluding from the subject of justification—things that mankind can do according to the flesh. Circumcision can’t justify; sacrifices can’t justify; obedience to Torah can’t justify; etc. The reason these things can’t justify is because they are within the means of human ability. One can take a knife and circumcise. That is a work of flesh. Faith, on the other hand, is of divine origin. It is something that mankind cannot do according to the flesh. It must be placed within man by something external to man.

This is why faith can be seen as a truly righteous deed; a deed so righteous that God counts it as righteousness to the whole man. Its origin is from heaven, and only that which has its origin in the Divine can be recognized by the Divine as righteous. As Paul says: “from faith for faith.”

Therefore, if one roots the objective source of faith as proceeding from the Godhead to the believer, they will see why God calling faith “righteous” in no sense elevates the works of man. The whole point of faith’s nature is that is CANNOT be a work of man, because it is wrought in man by the Spirit, through the merits of Christ.

This view is better than the idea of imputation, because God doesn’t simply impute Christ’s righteousness to us through faith, as though faith were simply an empty hose through which imputed righteousness is pumped. Rather, faith is the objective means of identifying righteousness within the sinner—proof that a true union that has taken place between the sinner and Christ. Saving faith has a pleasing aroma to God, because it is an expression of Christ’s person in us.

With this in mind, we can see why Paul is so clear that works of the law play no role in justification. Works of the law are inherently within the natural capacity of man. Even an unbeliever can externally manifest obedience to the law. But an unbeliever cannot have faith. How could he manifest an internal disposition that can only come via grace? Faith is beyond humanity. Faith is a divine virtue, rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, and therefore becomes the means of justification. Through union, God recognizes his Son through the faith of the believer, and formed by love this faith is both the result and means of union with Christ.

Thus, it is not simply that we are justified through faith (though that is true). It is that we are justified BY faith, because faith, having a divine origin, is evidence to the living presence of Christ within us.