Justification, Justified

Justification means that God declares sinners to be righteous—that is, God forgives their sins and brings them into a right relationship with himself. God does this on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and people receive it through faith in him. A person who is justified has been accepted by God as righteous.

Since the Reformation, the teaching of justification by faith alone has held an important place in Christian theology. Martin Luther treated this teaching as a central truth for understanding the Christian faith. He believed that he had rediscovered Paul’s teaching and used it to challenge medieval Catholic teaching about good works and indulgences.

Justification by faith alone teaches that all people are deeply affected by sin and cannot overcome sin by their own power. Through the death of Jesus Christ, God provides complete atonement, which means that Christ deals fully with sin and restores people to God. People receive this gift through simple trust in Christ. They cannot claim that they have earned it through their own goodness or religious actions.

The words "justification" and "justify" are not common in the Bible. For example, in the King James Version, the verb "to justify" appears fewer than 25 times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, both words appear only 40 times. The Bible more often uses related words such as "righteousness" and "to declare (or make) righteous." These words translate the same or closely related Hebrew and Greek terms. Therefore, to understand justification, we must also understand the biblical meaning of righteousness.

In common Greek usage, "justification" and "justify" are often legal terms. They describe what happens in a court when someone is declared innocent or shown to be in the right. More broadly, these words can describe whether a person acts according to the standards and duties of a relationship.

n the Old Testament, righteousness is connected with relationships and the duties that come with them. A person may be called righteous because that person has a right relationship with someone else. A person may also be called righteous because they fulfill their duties within that relationship (Genesis 38:26).

More importantly, the Old Testament uses righteousness to describe God. God is just and rules with justice (Genesis 18:25). His judgments are true and righteous (Psalm 19:9).

Both innocent and guilty people recognize God’s justice. Innocent people trust that God will show that they are in the right. Guilty people know that God’s law and judgment will prevail.

Justification and righteousness have special meanings in the Bible. Both are closely connected with God’s saving work for his covenant people. A covenant is a binding relationship that God establishes with his people.

In this context, God’s righteousness refers not only to his justice. It also refers to his faithful action to save and defend his covenant people. For this reason, justification should be understood mainly in relation to God’s covenant, rather than only as a legal decision.

Abraham is the main example. God counted Abraham as righteous because Abraham responded in faith to the covenant that God offered him (Genesis 15:6). Abraham could not make himself righteous. Instead, God accepted him as righteous on the basis of the covenant.

All people share Abraham’s inability to make themselves right with God. No one can stand before God and claim to be righteous (Psalm 143:2). Humanity’s hope is that God will remember and remain faithful to his covenant.

Righteousness is therefore a result of God’s mercy and grace. God acts toward his people according to his faithful love (Isaiah 63:7). Justification comes from God’s own character. It first describes a person’s relationship with God and then shapes how that person lives.

Most New Testament discussion of justification appears in Paul’s letters, especially Romans and Galatians. In these letters, justification is one of Paul’s main ways of explaining what Christ’s work means for sinful humanity.

Paul presents justification by faith in contrast with attempts to make obedience to the law the basis of salvation. He strongly rejects any message that replaces the good news of Christ with another way of salvation (Galatians 1:6–9).

Paul’s message points to the words and work of Christ. Righteousness, or justification, is God’s gift through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. His blood is also described as covenant blood, the blood that establishes God’s binding relationship with his people (Hebrews 13:20). This gift comes apart from the law (Romans 3:21).

The law cannot make a person righteous before God. Paul also teaches that God did not give the law as the means by which people could gain righteousness.

Galatians 3:15–25 explains the role of the law, which came 430 years after the covenant that brought Abraham into a relationship with God. Whatever purpose the law had, it was not given to bring about righteousness: "For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law" (Galatians 3:21). Christ justified people, and this should be understood in terms of the covenant, not the law.

Since the time of Abraham, justification has always come through faith in the God who keeps his covenant, not through the law. Righteousness is a relational term, confirmed by those who, by faith, are brought into a right relationship with God. The law brings judgment and exposes our inability to deal with sin (Acts 13:39; Romans 8:3). Justification, however, addresses the problem of sin and guilt, offering salvation. The believer is set free from condemnation (Romans 8:1).

The main understanding of justification comes from focusing on the covenant and grace, not the law and judgment. Paul's references to Abraham in Romans and Galatians show that the covenant has always been humanity's only hope. God remains faithful to His covenant, even when his people break it daily.

In Paul's teaching, God is both just and the one who justifies. Sin demands judgment and must be addressed. God's way to bring people to him is revealed apart from the law. It is in the life and death of Christ, whom God made an atoning sacrifice (Romans 3:21–26). Sin was dealt with in the death of Jesus, who took on sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:2). In his death, Christ bears the guilt of all humanity so that by trusting in him, people can come to know God in a true relationship.

For Paul, justification begins with the character of God. Human beings are sinful and cannot heal or save themselves. God alone takes the first step to rescue and restore them. Justification is therefore entirely a gift of grace, God’s undeserved kindness.

God makes this gift available through the work of Christ. For this reason, the New Testament often says that Christ died "for us" or "for our sins" (Romans 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 15:3).

People receive this gift through faith alone (Romans 3:22; 5:1). This faith is simple trust that the work of Christ is fully sufficient. Through faith, a person freely and fully identifies with Christ, loves and accepts his word, and commits to the values of the kingdom of God.

A justified person understands that a right relationship with the living God does not depend on personal merit or achievement. From beginning to end, it is a gift of God’s limitless love. Human weakness is answered by the power of the good news, which reveals God’s saving work (Romans 1:17).

In the Gospels, the idea of justification appears in the parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. Both men went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee pointed to his religious actions and claimed that he was morally better than others. The tax collector knew that he was sinful and unworthy. He could only ask God for mercy. Jesus said that the tax collector went home justified, or accepted by God as righteous (Luke 18:14).

This is the only Gospel passage that uses the language of justification in this direct way. However, the same issue appears throughout the ministry of Jesus. Many people trusted in their own religious devotion and tried to prove that they were righteous before God. They looked down on sinners and people whom society rejected. They trusted so much in their own works that they were offended by grace, God’s undeserved kindness, and by the full forgiveness of sinners (Luke 7:36–50).

Jesus addressed the same problem that Paul later faced. Those who humble themselves before God will be honored by him (Matthew 18:4; 23:12). Those who know that they are sinners receive the message of grace (Luke 5:32; 15:7, 10; 19:7). Those who know they are unworthy receive healing (Matthew 8:8).

Justification by faith means that God makes people right with himself through faith. This truth must be taught again and again. People naturally want to prove that they are righteous. They want to stand before God because of their own good character and religious actions.

However, the church grows strong when it understands that righteous people live by faith. Both Martin Luther and John Wesley moved from trusting in good works to trusting in faith as they studied Romans. Scripture teaches that "the just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38; 11:7).

See also Adoption; Biblical Concept of Law; Faith; Sanctification.