Theological term
Infusion
3 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 11 - Of Justification
The doctrine of justification — that sinners are legally declared righteous before God on the basis of Christ's work alone — is examined through 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 11, paragraphs 1, 2, and 5. The sermon distinguishes the essence, grounds, and method of justification, exposing the errors of Rome's infusion theology, Arminian faith-as-righteousness, and Baxterian neonomian imputation, while showing that faith is the instrument, not the ground, of justification. The inseparable yet distinct relationship between justification (a single forensic event) and sanctification (a progressive inward work) is explored against both legalism and antinomianism. Hearers are called to theological precision, assured confidence in their unlosable standing before God, and consistent holy living as fruit of that standing.
Philippians 3
Paul's account of his own conversion and apostolic suffering in Philippians 3:7–11 sets forth the believer's possession of Christ, position in Christ, and privileges flowing from union with Christ. The sermon expounds the doctrine of justification by faith alone, distinguishing the imputed righteousness of Christ received through faith as instrument from any righteousness derived from law-keeping or personal merit. The Zechariah 3 vision of Joshua the high priest illustrates the two components of justification — pardon of sin and the clothing of the sinner in Christ's righteousness — as wholly God's initiative. Understanding this doctrine is shown to be the ground of genuine assurance, the antidote to legalism, and the only proper basis for a God-honoring sanctification.
Possession, Position, and Privileges of Believers, Part 1
Philippians 3:8–11 sets the apostle Paul's counting of all things as loss against the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord, and this sermon expounds that text as a sustained defense of justification by faith alone. Working through Paul's commercial language of profit and loss, the preacher distinguishes between Paul's past renunciation of his religious pedigree and his present, continuous counting of all things as rubbish, pressing the congregation to feel the radical reorientation the gospel demands. The heart of the exposition is the doctrine of imputed righteousness in verse 9 — the forensic declaration by which God pardons sins and credits Christ's active and passive obedience to the believer — set in direct contrast with Rome's infusion of righteousness and with modern Protestant departures such as the New Perspective on Paul and the Federal Vision. Because justification is an objective, once-for-all act of God and not a process, assurance is grounded in Christ's faithfulness alone, not in the believer's covenant performance, freeing sanctification to flow from gratitude rather than fear.