Rom 4:25 who was .. raised for our j
Rom 5:16 the gift came because of many for j
Rom 5:18 for the righteousness of one came .. the j of life
1Co 1:30 which has been made for us by God .. j
2Co 3:9 the ministry of j shall abound in glory
Justification (Gr. dikáií‡ma, “demand”, “just act”, “statute”, “judicial sentence”, “declaration of justice”, dikáíí‡sis, “justification”, “vindication”, “acquittal”). The verb “justify” occurs much more frequently than the noun “justification.” In theological usage, justifying is the divine act by which God declares a penitent sinner righteous, or he considers him righteous. Justification is the opposite of condemnation (Rom 5:16). Neither of the 2 terms specifies what the character is like, but only the situation before God. Justification is not a transformation of inherent character; it does not produce righteousness, just as condemnation does not produce sinfulness. A person falls under condemnation because of his transgressions, but, as a sinner, he can experience justification only through an act of God. Condemnation is earned or deserved, but justification cannot be earned: it is a free or unearned “gift.” By justifying the sinner, God absolves him, declares him righteous, considers him righteous, and treats him as a righteous person. Justification is both the act of absolving and the corresponding declaration that a state of justice exists. Accusations of wrongdoing are cancelled, and the sinner, now justified, comes into a right relationship with God (which Paul describes as “peace with God”; Rom 5:1). The state of righteousness that the sinner attains through justification is imputed (4:22), that is, it is counted as righteousness (vs 3, 4). When God imputes righteousness to the repentant sinner, he figuratively places Christ’s provided atonement and his righteousness as a credit on the books of heaven, and the sinner stands before God as if he had never sinned. Justification presupposes that God has a perfect standard of justice, by which he expects created beings to order his life, and that he demands perfect obedience to this standard. Theoretically, God could not condemn a man who had never violated this standard (Rom 2:13), but since we all have (3:10, 23). Divine law – all of God’s revealed will with respect to man – is thus an expression, a reflection of his own character and a standard to be met by all created beings. Justification is necessary because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; cf v 10). Without it, sinners could never be accepted by God, but would remain in a state of perpetual hostility against him. Justification is possible because of divine grace, or his willingness not to hold sinners responsible for their mistakes, on the condition that they accept the justice provided by him 688 “because of having overlooked, in his patience , past sins” (vs 24, 25), and by virtue of the righteousness of Christ (5:18). The provision of righteousness is the gift of his Son, “who was delivered for our trespasses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom 4:25; 5:16, 18; cf Joh 3:16). When, by faith, the sinner accepts the vicarious death of Jesus Christ as the just punishment for his own offences, God in turn accepts the sinner’s faith instead of his personal righteousness, and puts the righteousness of Jesus Christ on the credit from him. Jesus’ resurrection was as essential “to our justification” as was his death on the cross (Rom 4:25). Strict justice provides no escape from the penalty for sin: death. That is why Christ suffered that punishment on the cross. But just as his death is a demonstration of divine justice, so the resurrection (which freed him from that punishment) is a demonstration of divine mercy and of God’s willingness to transfer the merits of Christ’s vicarious death to sinners who they are willing to accept your gracious gift. If Jesus had remained forever in the tomb, there would be no objective evidence that God is able and willing to justify sinners (Rom 4:24, 25). Therefore, faith in a risen Lord allows us to accept justification by Christ, and enables us to do so. We are “justified by his blood” and “saved by his life” (5:9, 10). The counterpart or complement of God’s act of grace in justifying is the sinner’s faith reaching out to accept the grace offered (Rom 5:1,2). By himself, man can do nothing to obtain justification. By exercising faith he confesses his inability to arrive at a state of righteousness by his own works. God recognizes his faith and justifies him and “now… there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8: 1): now he is “righteous” (Gr. Díkaios: Rom 5:19, etc.) before God. Justification has negative and affirmative aspects. It consists first of forgiveness of sins (Rom 4:5-8), but this is accompanied by a declaration that the forgiven sinner has been restored to divine favor. Paul describes this right relationship as being “at peace with God” (5:1), or “reconciled to God” (v 10). Sorrow for sin (Luk 18:13,14) and a deep desire to be right with God (Mat 5:6) are prerequisites for justification. Faith then arises to accept the divine provision of grace (Rom 4:4, 5, 16, 24). This due relationship with God grants the repentant sinner his title to the kingdom of heaven. This is why Jesus was able to assure the thief on the cross that he would be with him in Paradise (Luk 23:43). Justification gives the repentant sinner the right to enter and travel on the highway to the kingdom, but it does not grant him the power to advance on it. That power is imparted by the indwelling of Christ in the person (Gal. 2:20), through the lifelong process of sanctification. By faith in Christ’s death, the justified sinner will rise to walk “in newness of life” (Rom 6:4, 5). Although justification does not give him the power to walk the path to a new life in Christ Jesus, it assumes that this is his intention. Actually, the justification would be useless if he refused to do it, and unless that experience happens, there would be no evidence that the justification has occurred. The afterlife testifies to the reality of justification. Justification and sanctification are 2 steps in salvation. A life in Christ means growth in grace (2Pe 3:18), growth to the full stature of Christ (Eph 4:15).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
(Heb., tsedheq, tsadheq; Gr., dikaioo, validate, absolve, vindicate, rectify). The word justification can be defined as the judicial act of God whereby, based on the meritorious work of Christ imputed to the sinner and received by faith, God declares the sinner absolved from sin, released from his penalty, and restored as righteous. It means being established by God in a right relationship with him. This doctrine is found in Paul’s epistles, especially Galatians and Romans.
As a reversal of God’s attitude toward the sinner given the sinner’s new relationship with Christ, justification is:
(1) A declaratory act by which the sinner is declared free from guilt and from the consequences of sin (Rom 4:6-8; Rom 5:18-19; Rom 8:33-34; 2Co 5:19-21 );
(2) a judicial act in which the idea of judgment and salvation are combined to represent Christ’s fulfillment of the law on behalf of the sinner (Mat 10:41; Rom 3:26; Rom 8:3; 2Co 5:21; Gal 3:13; 1Ti 1:9; 1Pe 3:18);
(3) an act of remission in which God actually remits sin in complete forgiveness (Rom 4:5; Rom 6:7); Y
(4) a restorative act by which the forgiven sinner finds God’s favor again by having the righteousness of Christ imputed to him (Rom 5:11; 1Co 1:30; Gal 3:6).
The Scriptures teach four basic and indispensable points about the act of justification. Justification implies:
A. Remission of punishment, whereby the justified believer is declared free from the demands of the law since they have been satisfied in Christ (Rom 4:5) and is no longer liable to the penalty of the law (Rom 6:7).
B. Restoration to God’s favor, in which the justified believer is declared personally righteous in Christ. A mere acquittal or remission would leave the sinner in the same condition as a criminal set free.
Justification implies that God’s dealings with the sinner are as if he had never sinned. The sinner is now considered personally righteous in Christ (Gal 3:6). There is not only absolution but also approval; not only forgiveness, but also promotion.
C. Imputed righteousness of God, which is imparted to the justified believer through the presence of Christ. Salvation in Christ imparts to the believer the quality and character of the righteousness of Christ (Rom 3:22-26; Phi 3:9). Christ becomes the Justifier through whom new life is inaugurated in the believer (1Co 1:30).
D. New legal status before God in which, instead of being under the condemnation of sin, the justified believer stands before God in Christ. Christ takes the place of the sinner, the place of the curse (Gal 3:13), being made sin (2Co 5:21) and being judged for sin; the believer is now in the righteousness of Christ (Rom 3:25) and is regarded as a son (Gal 4:5).
The ground on which justification depends is the redemptive work in the death of Christ. The intrinsic righteousness of Christ is the only basis by which God can justify the sinner (Rom 3:24; Rom 5:19; Rom 8:1; Rom 10:4; 1Co 1:8; 1Co 6:11; Phi 3 :9; Tit 3:7).
The instrumental cause of justification is faith, this being the soul’s response to God’s redeeming grace (Rom 3:28). Faith is the condition of justification but it cannot be considered meritorious, but only as the condition by which the meritorious work of Christ is accepted by the sinner. The ultimate ground of justification is the work of Christ—completed, finished, and adequate—which as an atoning sacrifice for the sinner’s good he obtained in his redemptive work on the cross.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Act of making a man just, acceptable before God. It could be inferred, then, that †¢salvation was reserved for them. This concept of †¢justice, however, was only acceptable in relative terms, from the human point of view, but before God, before his holiness, the Bible says emphatically that no man is completely and absolutely just (“Certainly there is no man righteous on earth, who does good and sins not† , “There is none righteous, not even one† ). Hence Job’s disturbing question: “And how shall a man be justified with God?” (Job 9:2). The search, then, for methods and ways to obtain the j. it is a constant in the Jewish world. In OT times it was thought to reach j. by a perfect observance of the law (the Torah). It was, then, a j. wanted by…