dr walt:
Yes sir
They were justified IN PURPOSE only not in reality.
God's Purpose is His reality..
No sir! They were by "NATURE" sinners just as were others
Yes they were by nature sinners as others, but they were elect in Christ and not in condemnation as others. and they were Justified while being enemies, unbelievers.
Rom 5:
10For if,
when we were enemies [unbelievers], we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Now, Paul speaking of the elect as he himself was, states that when we were enemies, which in the greek is present tense, being enemies, He say we were reconciled [past tense] to God ! How Paul ? Not by our faith, not by our repentance, but by the Death of God's Son..
Now the reconciled is the greek word katallassō and means:
to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value
a) to reconcile (those who are at variance)
b)
return to favour with, be reconciled to one
c)
to receive one into favour
Now get this Grace of a Truth. When the elect of God are yet in nature and at enmity to God, in unbelief, they nevertheless have been reconciled or received into His Favor, by the Death of His Son.
Now how can those who are received into God's favor, be not Justified[Legally], how could they be under any condemnation [legally] ?
They were charged with sin and under condemnation even as others
No they weren't, Christ was charged with their sins 1 Cor 15:3, the entire elect world never had sin imputed or laid to their to it 2 Cor 5:
19To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
they could not be regarded by God as "children of wrath" even as others.
Yes they can by nature, they have behaviour and a walk worthy of His wrath. This is describing their walk by nature Eph 2:
2Wherein in time past
ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience:
They themselves never were
the children of disobedience, though they acted like them.
But all that time, they were the favorites of Heaven, Justified by the Blood of Christ..
If they were not under condemnation and charged with sin before the foundation of the world then who did Christ come and die for? Who was he condemned unto death for?
You answered your own question, He was condemned for the elect of God, and so thats the very reason why they could not be condemned. God imputed their condemnation to Him, so they were Justified having no sin laid to their Charge.