In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God.
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.For example, Kurt Aland, 1986, A History of Christianity, vol. 2, trans. James Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, pp. 13–14.
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?
Overview 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.
Biblical and patristic references
Gospels
Jesus used the idea of ransom, or redemption when referring to his work on earth (; ). 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,Note especially the context of this much-cited passage in James: in context, he is speaking to christian believers, exhorting the rich to accept the poor into their church gatherings, thus being good trees (see ) and merciful, true believers (). To be merciful is to "keep" (τελεῖτε) "the royal law" (; cf. //). For mercy reflects the Father of Jesus Christ (). declaring that a faith that is without works,Note that the specific Greek word referenced here, χωρὶς, is used in both and in , usually being translated as "apart from" in both instances. Yet the meaning of James' usage of χωρὶς may be found in , where this "faith" is said to be καθ' ἑαυτήν, "by itself." This "faith" is what we would refer to in English as "mere assent," or, alternatively, a "belief." Even the demons have a "faith," a "belief" – they believe that God is one (), yet they certainly are not justified by said faith! a fruitless faith (cf. ), cannot be a justifying faith, because faith is made perfect or completed by works (, especially ; see also ). Indeed, works are required for justification because "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (), 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).Justified in the Spirit, Macchia, Frank D 2010, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. pp. 211–15 Faith without works is counterfeit. The faith must produce good fruit as a sign lest it become the occasion for self-justification.
D. James Kennedy explains this verse:
Paul It was Paul who developed the term justification in the theology of the church. Justification is a major theme of the epistles to the Romans and to the Galatians in the New Testament, and is also given treatment in many other epistles.
In Romans, Paul develops justification by first speaking of God's just wrath at sin (). Justification is then presented as the solution for God's wrath (, ). One is said to be 'justified by faith apart from works of the Law' (). Further, Paul writes of sin and justification in terms of two men, Adam and Christ (). Through Adam, sin came into the world bringing death; through Jesus, righteousness came into the world, bringing justification unto life (). In this connection, Paul speaks of Adam's sin being 'imputed' or 'accounted' (Greek ελλογειται) and speaks of justification as acting in analogy to sin (; ). In chapter 8, Paul connects justification with predestination and glorification (). He further states that those who are justified cannot be separated from the love of Christ (). Several of these passages are central in the debate between Roman Catholics, and the various streams of Protestantism (while there is broad agreement on justification by faith, there is no complete doctrinal uniformity on justification among all Protestant denominations), who can understand them in quite different ways.
In Galatians, Paul emphatically rejects justification by works of the Law, a rejection sparked apparently by a controversy concerning the necessity of circumcision for salvation (, ; see also and Council of Jerusalem). He also adds that the only thing that counts is the "faith [which] works by love"().
Other New Testament writers The Epistle to the Hebrews also takes up the theme of justification, declaring that Jesus' death is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices in that it takes away sin once for all (). In Hebrews, faith in Jesus' sacrifice includes steadfast perseverance (, ).
Early church
Justification as a concept is mentioned in the works of early Church Fathers, and in the sermons of John Chrysostom, but it is not developed until Augustine's conflict with Pelagius.
Pelagius taught that one became righteous through the exertion of one's will to follow the example of Jesus' life. Over against this, Augustine taught that we are justified by God, as a work of his grace. Augustine took great pains in his anti-Pelagian works to refute the notion that our works could serve as the proper basis for our justification. Following an appeal from Augustine, Pope Innocent I condemned Pelagius. The accused heretic wrote an appeal of his own, declaring his innocence, which was duly accepted by Innocent's successor, Pope Zosimus. However, the Council of Carthage (418) again renounced Pelagius with papal approval.
Joint Declaration on Doctrine of Justification (1999)
In 1999, Roman Catholics and most Lutherans as represented by most of the Lutheran councils worldwide agreed to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ): with this, "consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification exists between Lutherans and Catholics."
Consensus "We confess together that sinners are justified by faith in the saving action of God in Christ. Such a faith is active in love and thus the Christian cannot and should not remain without works. But whatever in the justified precedes or follows the free gift of faith is neither the basis of justification nor merits it. "We confess together that in baptism the Holy Spirit unites one with Christ, justifies, and truly renews the person. "We confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works. "We confess together that all persons depend completely on the saving grace of God for their salvation. Justification takes place solely by God's grace. "We confess together that persons are justified by faith in the gospel 'apart from works prescribed by the law' (Rom. 3:28); a faith which worketh by love, Gal. 5:6"