Deliverance (Justification)

Since before time, God has been for us—completely for us, for all of us, invested enough to take on our condition and lift us up out of it. Before time he chose us for adoption. From the time we were born he has been drawing us toward himself with a hidden hand through our experiences in life. At the right time, he granted us the ability to believe. Then, having gifted us faith, he made us new creations (regeneration), awakening our dead spirits and making a New Self for us, the one that will live forever in God’s New Reality. 

And right now, in this present life where we live in the paradox of Now and Not Yet, we are being delivered. You could also say we are being liberated. In saying that, I am departing from the common understanding of Paul’s theology and the most prevalent version of the Gospel. In that conventional understanding of the Gospel, we have been justified, not delivered.

Before I parse the difference between being merely “justified” and being “delivered” or “liberated,” let me preview the rest of God’s acts for us. We are reconciled to God through Jesus by means of the Spirit. We are in the process of being sanctified. When we appear before God we will be completely redeemed. Our entire being—body, soul, and spirit—will be resurrected. And we will be glorified, so that we will be pure and free from the presence of all evil in the age beyond time.

Election. Drawing. Granting. Regeneration. Deliverance. Reconciliation. Sanctification. Redemption. Resurrection. Glorification. 

Our present experience involves deliverance from Sin and Death. It is what Paul is talking about in Romans 3:23-24:

… for all have sinned 

and fall short of the glory of God, 

being justified 

as a gift 

by His grace 

through the redemption 

which is in Christ Jesus.

–Romans 3:23-24 NASB

Of course, the NASB translation says “justified” not “delivered.” If you look for the word “deliverance” in Paul’s letters, you will find it only rarely in English translations. The NASB, for example, only has it in Philippians 1:19—and it translates a completely different Greek word in that verse than the one this essay is about (this essay is about “deliverance” from the Greek root dikaioō, but Philippians 1:19 features the word sōtēria). And the word “liberation” does not occur in any Paul texts in the NASB.

So how, then, can we say that Paul has a major emphasis on “deliverance” in his writings? How can Douglas Campbell and John DePue (Beyond Justification) claim that the primary meaning of dikaioō is “deliverance” or “liberation”, when most English translations render it as “justification” and “justify”?

And what difference does it make anyway?

The difference between “justification”—the common translation—and “deliverance” is large. “Justification” means “acquittal” or “pardon.” “Deliverance” means more: actual rescue from the disease of Sin and Death, not a mere pardon from guilt. 

In the “justification” view, what we receive in Christ is a “not guilty” verdict in spite of the fact that we are guilty. 

In the “deliverance” view, we are being freed from the dominance of Sin and Death. We died with Christ. So our Old Self is non-existent as far as God is concerned. Our New Self already exists in God’s reality and he regards us as raised with Christ. Being dead, we have a new capacity to leave all the old patterns behind. That is the difference deliverance (liberation) makes.

The “justification” view sees the effect of the cross and resurrection having a limited effect on us. We had to be smart enough to deduce God and produce our own faith according to justification theory. And then what we receive is a pardon. God knows we are guilty but pretends we are “justified,” not guilty, legally innocent.

The “deliverance” view is God-centered. We have no capacity to save ourselves. And God is not into legal fictions. He is into transformations. We are not simply pardoned. We are perfected, stage by stage, from the lowly status of mortal sinner to our emerging future as a glorified child of God. God is not pretending we are perfect and pure. He already knows us that way:

Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; 

even though we have known Christ by the flesh, 

yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, 

[this person is] a new creation; 

the old things passed away; 

behold, new things have come.

–2 Corinthians 5:16-17 NASB

We are liberated from Sin and Death. It might not seem that way in our experience—and according to those who observe us, we are not that impressive morally. We all know that Christ-followers are not on average more saintly than other people. And there is much hypocrisy in churches. The first thing we must realize about this problem is that God has it handled:

For those whom He foreknew, 

He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, 

so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers [and sisters;] 

and these whom He predestined, He also called; 

and these whom He called, He also justified; 

and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

–Romans 8:29-30 NASB

According to Paul in Romans 8:29-30, all who are foreknown by God will be like Jesus Christ, glorified, sinless, and pure. God rehabilitates sinners and actually turns them into saints. 

The truth is, many Jesus-followers will not make impressive progress on the road of transformation. The sad results of Sin and Death remain evident in our midst. For many, the bulk of the progress may come through physical death. But it does not have to be that way.

Reconsidering Romans 3:23-24, with the correct translation “deliverance,” we could say: all human beings have sinned and fallen short, but God is delivering us as a gift according to Grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.

How is he delivering us? God took on our condition, becoming what we are, so that we are being transformed, becoming what he is. He lived our experience powerfully, receiving abuse and injustice, encountering pain and death. Yet he rose above it, defeating death from the inside, being raised to life as a New Creation on the third day. He recapitulated our experience, taking us up into his. In so doing, he broke forever the power of Sin and Death.

The truth—too often unrealized—is that we have the capacity as Christ-followers to escape the patterns of Sin that lead to Death. Jesus Christ came for our deliverance, not merely for our justification.

This truth concerning our deliverance has some implications. We need not remain in defeat. Our moral failings and distorted patterns of thinking can no longer enslave us. They remain strong influences, but their hold on us has weakened. 

Sadly, history has shown that few Christ-followers find the path to moral transformation. Growth in love, honesty, and charity is neither as widespread nor as evident as it should be. The old patterns defeat us. Though we can break free of them, too few of us make substantial progress.

And that is part of the work of theology. Knowing God’s truth helps us live God’s way. I have observed the fact that many Christ-followers give up on transformation and feel that progress is impossible. There is a kind of acceptance of defeat, and an excuse that everyone else is morally deficient so why should we Christ-followers expect to be different. 

We can be different. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. That step is knowing the truth and then implementing it. Since the Son has set us free, we are free indeed!