Justification

Romans 3:24 (ESV) states, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Here, Paul employs judicial language to describe how sinners are declared righteous the moment they place their faith in Christ. Once and for all, every sin is blotted out; no record of guilt remains. Christ has borne the full weight of humanity’s sin upon Himself at the cross. Through His sacrificial and holy blood, Jesus Christ has paid the legal price to satisfy God’s righteous anger against the ungodly. This is why the New Testament refers to His death as the perfect sacrifice offered for sin.

Justification, therefore, refers to the remission or forgiveness of sins. It is not a gradual process by which a believer improves morally or spiritually through virtuous deeds. While sanctification describes the ongoing transformation of believers over time, justification is God’s definitive, instantaneous legal declaration over all who trust in Christ.

In the moment of faith, God imputes Christ’s righteousness to the believer, changing their status from guilty sinner to forgiven child of God. Even more, believers are described as becoming “the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This righteousness is not earned through human effort or spiritual achievement; it is granted fully and immediately by divine mercy. As Titus 3:5 (ESV) affirms,

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His mercy.”

Paul reinforces this idea by reflecting on the example of Abraham. Abraham’s status of righteousness was “counted” to him not as a reward for obedience but as a gracious gift from God. His obedience, though commendable, was not the grounds of his justification. Paul elaborates on this in Romans 4:1–6 (ESV):

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.”

The Greek term for “justified,” δικαίωσις (dikaiōsis), refers to the act of pronouncing someone righteous — an acquittal, a declaration of absolution. In historical sources such as Josephus (Antiquities 18.14) and Plutarch (Artaxerxes 14.3), the term conveys the sense of being released from deserved punishment.

Thus, in Pauline theology, justification is not merely moral improvement but a legal and relational transformation grounded entirely in Christ’s atoning work, received solely by faith.

“Justification is by faith alone, but it isn’t a faith that is alone, for true faith produces good works. Still, good works are not the ground or cause of salvation; they are the fruit of one’s faith. The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers, so that their righteousness is not inherent but is theirs because they are united to Jesus Christ.” (Thomas R. Schreiner, Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification—What the Reformers Taught… and Why It Still Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), p. 76).