The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum The When and How of Justification

Sorry, neither Gill nor Elder David Pyles refutes what the overwhelming doctrine held by the vast majority of Reformers and Puritans believed; they being of different opinions on less essential doctrines, e.g., the mode of baptism, church polity, et al. But, what is most important and the only determining factor is Scripture itself. And, it's; Scripture is to properly interpreted by Scripture's own hermeneutical principle, aka: The Analogy of faith. Eisogesis is eliminated and forbidden, of which Gill and Pyle are guilty as are you also, e.g.:
"The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are" have no authority to interpret Scripture. And, "And he believed [b]in his righteousness as justifying him before God:" is nowhere to be found in Scripture either. In fact, James writes that ones works "justify" one before men and God as evidence of another's, i.e., he who assumes to believe, faith.

In the NT, the phrase "by faith", e.g., Rom 3:22,28; Gal 3:24,26, 5:5; Phil 3:9, pistei is grammatically, the 'dative of means', which owns no merit whatsoever, and which no Strict Baptist would disagree. On this important matter, Dr. Joel Beeke wrote extensively and of which, of which again the overwhelming majority of Reformed/Calvinist believers give assent... see here: Justification by Faith Alone: The Relation of Faith to Justification.

To iterate, NO ONE is justified before God UNTIL and AFTER they believe upon Christ with a saving faith. This faith unites the believer to the Lord Christ and thus the righteousness merited by Christ is THEN imputed to them.