Justification (theology)

In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God.

[](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Justification_%28theology%29#/media/File:Fra_Angelico_024.jpg)The Harrowing of Hell as depicted by Fra Angelico

In the 21st century, there is now substantial agreement on justification by most Christian communions. The collective bodies of most of the largest Christian denominations, including Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Methodist, have affirmed a 1999 Lutheran–Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification that details this consensus, noting different distinctive emphases that individual communions consider essential to state.

Historically, the difference in theories on the means of justification has often been the theological fault line that divided Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox from the Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed traditions of Protestantism during the Reformation.

Central issues of dispute have revolved around the nature or mechanism of the righteousness given by God when God justifies humans: is it a quasi-legal act of imputation only where the person is not or only subsequently changed (associated with Protestants), or a dynamic transformative process where God's goodness is infused, or a moral and spiritual energy working in humans (associated with Anabaptists),, or both imputed and infused (associated with Catholics), or better expressed using concepts such as "adhered" (Newman) or "reputed" (Erasmus)? Also: can justification be lost or re-gained? Can justification be usefully treated apart from sanctification and vice versa? What role does baptism play? Is it a process or event or both?

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Overview

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Catholic and Orthodox doctrine characteristically have been interested in infused, i.e., God "pours" grace into one's soul or, "fills" one with his grace more and more over time; faith—shown through charity and good works—justifies sinners (fides caritate formata) and less focused on imputed righteousness.

Broadly speaking, Catholics have spoken of justification—which in their view initially occurs at baptism, partaking of the sacraments and the resulting grace of cooperation with God's will (sanctification)—as an organic whole: one act of reconciliation ultimately brought to completeness in glorification.

Orthodox theology similarly teaches that "Salvation is accomplished by grace in response to faith. But that faith cannot be passive; it must express itself by feeding, clothing, visiting and otherwise caring for the “least” of Jesus’ brethren (Mt 25)." On sanctification, there is a characteristic emphasis in Byzantine Christianity on theosis.

In the Lutheran and Reformed denominational traditions, this righteousness is portrayed as imputed to the inherently ungodly, by grace, through faith in the voluntary sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. The Reformed, Lutheran and Anglican traditions emphasize that "the observance of the moral law is not necessary either as a prerequisite for obtaining justification or as a means for preserving it." Therefore, a righteousness from God is viewed as being credited to the sinner's account through faith alone, apart from works, being based solely on the "blood of Christ". Growth in personal holiness is considered distinct from justification, belonging rather to sanctification.

In Anabaptist Christianity, the Lutheran doctrine of justification is rejected. Rather than a forensic justification that only gives a legal change of one's status before God, Anabaptists teach that "justification begun a dynamic process by which the believer partook of the nature of Christ and was so enabled to live increasingly like Jesus."

In Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant theology, anyone who has been justified will produce good works as a product of faith, as a result of God's grace in sanctification. Notable exceptions to the idea that sanctification and good works always accompany justification are found in Free Grace Theology held by many Independent Baptist churches.

For Lutherans, justification can be lost with the loss of faith. Lutherans affirm that mortal sin can destroy faith; for Catholics and Orthodox Christians, justification can also be lost by committing a mortal sin. Anabaptists teach that Christians can apostatize, resulting in a loss of salvation, through disobedience to God and indulgence in sin; for Methodists along with other groups belonging to the Holiness Movement, salvation also can be lost with the loss of faith or through sinning (cf. conditional security). The Reformed tradition generally holds that justification can never truly be lost: for those who have been justified by grace, will certainly persevere through faith until the return of Christ himself.

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Biblical and patristic references

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[](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Justification_%28theology%29#/media/File:Vega_-De_iustificatione_doctrina_universa,_1572_-4322876.tif)Andreas de Vega, De iustificatione doctrina universa, 1572

Gospels

See also: Substitutionary atonement

Jesus used the idea of ransom, or redemption when referring to his work on earth (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). Christ's death and resurrection (triumph over Satan and death) provide justification for believers before God. His righteousness becomes theirs, and his death becomes an offering to God in their place, to pay for all of their sins. According to Protestants this justification is by faith alone – not through good deeds – and is a gift from God through Christ. According to Catholics and Eastern Orthodox we are justified by God's grace which is a free gift but is received through baptism initially, through the faith that works for love in the continuous life of a Christian and through the sacrament of reconciliation if the grace of justification is lost through grave sin.

James

James discusses justification briefly but significantly, declaring that a faith that is without works, a fruitless faith (cf. Matthew 7:17), cannot be a justifying faith, because faith is made perfect or completed by works (James 2, especially James 2:22; see also Romans 4:11). Indeed, works are required for justification because "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:24), though the sense of the word justified in this passage is disputed. The writer of James emphasizes the Jewish belief that faith and deeds go together.

However, in James, it is possible that justification is referring to how believers are to behave as believers, not how an unbeliever becomes a believer (i.e., salvation). Faith without works is counterfeit. The faith must produce good fruit as a sign lest it become the occasion for self-justification.

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed", but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.