“and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 ESV).
Earlier in Romans chapter two, we examined the spiritual concept of justification. “Justification” describes the manner in which sinful human beings are made acceptable to a holy God. (1) The original language of the New Testament defines “justification” as, “to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be.” (2) In short, justification involves a divine act of God that eliminates the guilt and penalty of sin for those who trust in Christ.
This leads us to the legal aspects of justification. In addition to the definitions given to us above, “justification” represents a legal concept that pertains to one’s standing before God. One common way of expressing this idea involves the phrase “just as if I never sinned” to describe those who are justified in God’s sight. While that expression has merit, the concept of justification actually goes much further.
When God justifies someone, He legally attributes (or confers) the positive righteousness of Christ to those who place their faith in Him. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross makes this possible, for it satisfies the penalty demanded by the Law. This means divine mercy is now available to humanity because divine justice has been satisfied in Jesus’ sacrificial death.
Since justification pertains to our legal status before God through Christ, it is not subject to our personal faults, mistakes, or deficiencies. For instance, a person who has been acquitted of a crime in a human court of law is deemed “not guilty” even though he or she is a fallible human being. The fact that he or she is an imperfect person with human weaknesses and shortcomings has no bearing on that person’s legal status before the court. The same is true of our justification.
So, justification is more than just a mere pardon, as in, “just as if I never sinned.” Justification is an act by which God legally declares someone to be righteous in His sight. Those who are in Christ are deemed righteous before God under the Law, and we can summarize this concept in the following way…
“[Justification] is grounded in Christ’s lifelong obedience, in which He fulfilled the precepts of God’s law for us, and in His death on the cross, where He bore the penalty of God’s judgment against us… Therefore, believers now share the same righteous status as the risen Christ Himself, with whom they are united now and forever (2 Cor. 5:21).” (3)
(1) “Justification” Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers
(2) G1344 – dikaioo – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1344/kjv/tr/0-1/
(3) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 1984.