Grace of god Quote by John Murray
““But justification does not refer to this renewing and sanctifying grace of God. It is one of the primary errors of the Romish Church that it regards justification as the infusion of grace, as renewal and sanctification whereby we are made holy. And the seriousness of the Romish error is not so much that it has confused justification and renewal but that it has confused these two distinct acts of God’s grace and eliminated from the message of the gospel the great truth of free and full justification by grace. That is why Luther endured such travail of soul as long as he was governed by Romish distortion, and the reason why he came to enjoy such exultant joy and confident assurance was that he had been emancipated from the chains by which Rome had bound him; he found the great truth that justification is something entirely different from what Rome had taught.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Doctrine of Justification, John Murray, 1975
Murray argues that true justification is a free, full act of God’s grace, distinct from the Catholic view of it as a process of sanctification.
In simple terms: Justification is a free gift, not a gradual process.
Key Takeaway
Seek assurance in grace alone.
Themes
theology
grace
reformation
Mood
thoughtful
serious
Type
theological
educational
When to use this quote
- personal study
- sermon preparation
- faith counseling
Key Concepts
justification
grace
Catholicism
Protestantism
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “free justification” mean for daily life?
- How does this view affect your sense of worth?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on works can still creep in.
