Reference: Justificiation
American
The being regarded and treated as if innocent; or acquittal from the consequences of guilt before the tribunal of God. "Justification by faith" means that a person, on account of true and living faith in Christ as manifested by good works, will be delivered from condemnation on account of his sins; that is, his sins will be forgiven, and he be regarded and treated as if innocent and holy. Thus, besides the remission of sins and their penalty, it includes the restoration and everlasting enjoyment of the favor of God.
We obtain justification by faith in Christ. Yet neither this nor any other act of ours, as a work, is any ground of our justification. In acquitting us before his bar, God regards not our works, in whole or in part, but the atoning work and merits of Christ. He was treated as a sinner, that we might be treated as righteous. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus;" the moment we believe, our justification is as perfect as the infinite worthiness of our Redeemer. Its validity does not depend on the measure of our assurance of hope, nor on spotless holiness of life. Sanctification, indeed, or progressive growth in holiness, commences simultaneously with justification, and must in the end reach the same perfectness. Yet it is important to distinguish between the two, and to observe that, could the believer's holiness become as perfect as an angel's, it could not share with the atoning merits of Christ in entitling him to admission to heaven.
The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne;
But faith can answer thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord hath done."
True justification, by the gratuitous gift of the Savior, furnishes the most powerful motive to a holy life. It is followed by adoption, peace of conscience, and the fruits of the Spirit in this life; and by final sanctification, acquittal in the day of judgment, and admittance to heaven, Ro 3:20-31; 5; 8:1-4; 10:4-10; Ga 2:16-21; Eph 2:4-10.
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For no man will be justified in God's sight by works of the Law; for through the Law comes the consciousness of sin. But now, quite apart from any law, a righteousness coming from God has been fully brought to light, continually witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets. read more. I mean a righteousness coming from God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe. For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, since all have sinned and lack the glory which comes from God; but they are now being justified by his free grace through the deliverance that is in Christ Jesus. For God openly set him forth for himself as an offering of atonement through faith, by means of his blood, in order to show forth his righteousness??ince in his forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed??o show forth his righteousness, I say, at this present time; that he himself might be just, and yet the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of boasting? It is shut out. What sort of law forbids it? A law of works? No, but a law of faith. For I conclude that a man is justified by faith, altogether apart from the deeds of the Law. Is God then the God of the Jews alone, and not of the Gentiles also? He is God of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised through faith, and by their faith will he justify the uncircumcised. Do we then render law invalid through faith? Certainly not; on the contrary we make it stand.
Thus there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death. read more. For God has done what the Law could not do, weakened as it was by flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and on account of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; in order that the Law might be fulfilled in us who order our lives not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
For to every believer Christ is an end of law as a means of righteousness. For Moses writes concerning the righteousness of the Law, saying, The man that doeth it shall live by it. read more. But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way. Say not in thine heart, "Who shall ascend to heaven?"??hat is, to bring Christ down; Nor, ??ho shall descend into the abyss?"??hat is, to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The word is near thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the very word of faith which we preach; Confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God actually raised him from the dead, and you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
"yet because we know that no man is justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we ourselves also have put our faith in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law; for "By the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified." But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves also have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Far from it! read more. For if I am rebuilding the very things which I destroyed, I am proving myself a transgressor. For it is through law I died to law, in order to live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, so it is no longer I who am living, but it is Christ who is living in me; and the life I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not annul the grace of God; for if righteousness comes by way of the Law, then indeed Christ died Christ for nothing.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us live together with Christ (it is by grace you have been saved). read more. together with him He raised us from the dead, and together with Christ Jesus seated us in the heavenly realm, in order that he might show to the ages to come the amazing riches of his grace by his goodness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is God's gift. It is not of works, so that any one can boast of it; for we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good deeds, which God predestined us to make our daily way of life.