Objective and Subjective Justification

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." -Ephesians 2:8

The Formula of Concord explains that there are three necessary parts of Justification:

1. The grace of God
2. The merit of Christ
3. Faith, which receives the righteousness of Christ in the promise of the gospel.

Objective Justification is the first part of the Ephesians verse, and the first two necessary parts of Justification that God justifies us by grace because of the merit of Christ. That is why 1 Corinthians 6:11 states, "you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."  Our being justified is solely a work of God, which was done through his son's atoning sacrifice. If then, there is an objective justification that is outside myself, then Christ's atoning sacrifice must have atoned for my sins at the time. Therefore, if someone asked when you were saved, you could reply, 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross. This is why Paul knew and preached only Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

However, some claim that only those predestined to be saved had their sins atoned for. This is called Limited Atonement and is the "L" in the Calvinists' TULIP.  However, 2 Corinthians 5:19 clearly states that, "in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself", not just a subset of the world. Also, John 3:16 states that "God so loved the world...", not just God so loved the people he predestined. The Bible clearly teaches that God's sacrifice atoned for everyone's sins.  This is confirmed in 1 Timothy 2:4, which states that "God wills all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Unfortunately, some err on the opposite side with that verse by stating that everyone will be saved, which is called Universalism. However, the Bible clearly teaches that "many are called, but few are chosen" in Matthew 22:14. This is confirmed in Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 13:22-27, Romans 9:27, Revelation 19:21, Revelation 21:8, and many other places. It is God's perceptive will that all be saved, but not his declarative will. I discussed the difference between those two in a previous post.


Universal Atonement means that Christ's sacrifice atoned for everyone's sins. Unfortunately, universal atonement is also misunderstood by some. Four point Calvinism, also called Amyraldism, teaches that while all sins are atoned for, God predestined those he knew would believe, so only they can be saved.  This is sometimes called General Atonement. Erring on the other side, Arminianism teaches that Jesus' sacrifice was a universal offer to all people, but that it only actually paid the penalty for those who choose to accept Jesus. This is sometimes called Unlimited Atonement to distinguish it from Limited Atonement (basically to sound like the opposite of Calvinism). The truth is that Christ's sacrifice atoned for everyone's sins, but we still need to receive the righteousness through faith.

Subjective Justification is when we receive  the righteousness of Christ through faith, which is the second part of the Ephesians verse and the third necessary part of salvation. Since receiving faith is not of our own doing, how do we get it?  Through the Word (Romans 10:17) and Sacraments, which are Baptism (Mark 16:16) and the Lord's Supper (John 6:53-59). This is why 1 Peter 3:21 states that, "Baptism... now saves you." That is why we are a Word and Sacrament church. That is why the marks of the true Church are the Word and Sacraments. When we receive this subjective justification, we are regenerated, or born again. Some erroneously say that the sacraments are just symbolic, which is against the scripture.  Others erroneously claim that Christ is re-sacrificed every time the Lord's Supper is given, as they believe in Rome. Christ's atonement was once and for all, but distributed individually in all times. As Martin Luther explained in "Against the Heavenly Prophets":

"We treat of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ has achieved it on the cross, it is true. But he has not distributed or given it on the cross. He has not won it in the supper or sacrament. There he has distributed and given it through the Word, as also in the gospel, where it is preached. He has won it once for all on the cross. But the distribution takes place continuously, before and after, from the beginning to the end of the world."

This is why we can say that we were justified by the spirit, by faith, by grace, and by grace through faith and all are equally true. This is also why we can say we were saved 2,000 years ago, but that we realized that salvation, or received it, at our baptism. As Herald Senkbeil says in his book Dying to Live:

"God won victory once at Calvary, and He applied that victory to us once in our baptism, but he extends that victory to us over and over again the word of His gospel.... Through the word and sacraments God dispenses today all of the benefits of his saving work long ago."