What does it mean to be justified?
Justification is God's declaration that a person is righteous, not on the basis of who they are or what they have done, but on the basis of Christ. In it, the Judge accepts the sinner for Jesus' sake, pardoning their sins and crediting Christ's righteousness to them.
This question arose from studying Does James contradict Paul? Is it faith or works? and What is grace?.
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Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
It is a legal declaration, not a moral change
Justification is a courtroom word, the verdict of the Judge: 'righteous.' Paul says we are 'justified by faith apart from the works of the law,' and asks, 'Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died… who is at the right hand of God.' God is the one who justifies; the verdict is His, and it is final.
We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Its ground is Christ, not our record
We are 'justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.' God set Him forth as a propitiation, and 'being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God's wrath through him.' The basis is the blood and righteousness of Christ, not anything in us.
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance;
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.
For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Its instrument is faith: counted, not achieved
'To him who doesn't work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.' Blessed is the one 'whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.' Faith is not the merit; it is the hand that receives what is freely given.
But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”
yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law.
It is the great exchange
For 'him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.' On the cross Christ bore our sin; through faith we receive His righteousness. Our condemnation is transferred to Him; His righteousness is credited to us.
For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
Its fruit is peace and salvation
'Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' Those He justifies, He glorifies, and we stand 'heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' Justification is not the end of the story; it is the peaceful foundation of everything that follows.
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
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What is faith, exactly?→“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.”What is repentance?→““Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,”Does grace mean I can live however I want?→“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”What does it mean that Christ's righteousness is 'imputed' to us?→“For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”Is it okay to have doubts sometimes?→“Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!””Is repentance a one-time decision or a lifelong posture?→“Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!”What is the kingdom of God?→“and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.””What is the difference between grace and mercy?→“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.”How are justification and sanctification related?→“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;”What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight?→“for we walk by faith, not by sight.”How do I know my repentance is genuine?→“For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.”Did God choose me to be saved before I chose Him?→“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;”Can anyone resist God's grace?→“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.”What price can buy forgiveness?→“none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,”What does it mean that God remembers our sins no more?→“and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.”What are the parables of the kingdom about?→“He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.””Explore further
Does James contradict Paul? Is it faith or works?→Our Walk with Him trail“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.”What does the Bible mean by being 'holy'?→Our Walk with Him trail““Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
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