The Gift of Justification: Freely Given

"The righteousness imputed in justification is a gift - a free gift. The basis of justification is a gift: the lifelong obedience and the death of Jesus Christ. The content of justification is a gift: the righteousness of the substitutionary in life and in death of Jesus Christ. The divine act in the sinner's consciousness is a gift: declaring the sinner righteous. The faith by which the sinner receives the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ is a gift. All is a gift, according to grace, gratuitously given." 

- David Engelsma, "Gospel Truth of Justification," p. 327, emphasis in the original 

In the paragraph above, Engelsma describes the central distinction of biblical Christianity, contrasted with both false doctrines and false religions, that true salvation is attained externally to the believer, and then given to him. Every false expression of Christianity or of other religions will, in some way, make its version of salvation based on some action of the individual, an internal basis. The contrast is absolute and uncompromisable. 

The difficulty here is that bit of Adam which remains in us. Adam alone lived under the covenant of works, the promise of salvation based on his obedience. It has, therefore, been passed down in our spiritual DNA to continue to want to contribute something of ourselves toward our salvation. However, Adam also passed to us his fallen nature. When he fell into sin, he lost for himself and for us anything inherent to us that would have merit in God's eyes. 

The bad thing about being sinners is that we have nothing within ourselves to give to God as payment for justification. The good thing about being sinners is that it is exactly for such helpless sinners that the Gospel is given: "I am not shamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..., for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16-17, incorporating Habakkuk 2:4). Exactly where I am helpless, the biblical Gospel provides my lack by free grace. In what way is it free? In that I need not, and cannot, contribute anything to gain it. Was there a cost? Yes, and a great cost, for it cost the Son of God's suffering and bleeding on the Roman cross.