Defined simply, justification is "the legal right to stand before God." A most vivid but negative picture of this is provided by the psalmist when he declares that the wicked and sinners "will not stand in the judgment, nor . . . in the assembly of the righteous" (Psm 1:5). Traditionally, it speaks of an act in which the judge—in a case between an accuser and the accused—finds in favour of the accused and declares him "justified" (or simply "just"). In the ultimate scheme of things, the NT asserts that all sinners—should they trust in Jesus as having died for them—will be justified, i.e., declared forgiven and favoured with God's promise of eternal rest and blessings and can, therefore, stand before Him without condemnation both now and on the great day of judgment. In more recent times, the meaning of justification has been expanded. Michael Bird, of Ridley College, Melbourne, e.g., explains justification "as the act where God creates a new people with a new status in a new covenant as a foretaste of the new age" (see Library Talk under resources below). This represents a healthy shift from the narrow focus on the individual to the more biblical covenantal and social perspective.
The background to the biblical idea of the justification, esp. in Romans, is the law-court; hence, theologians often speak of justification as being forensic. When the accused is found not guilty of the charge against him, he is (as noted above) said to be justified, just, or righteous. These adjectives do not describe that person's moral character; they simply define his standing before God's court. The traditional Reformed understanding of justification, however, insists also on the ontological aspect of the event, or as John Calvin put it, that:
Therefore Christ justifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify. These benefits are joined together by an everlasting and indissoluble bond, so that those whom he illumines by his wisdom, he redeems; those whom he redeems, he justifies; those whom he justifies, he sanctifies."
The subject of justification has seen a great deal of renewed debate among scholars in the last four decades as a result of what is commonly referred to as the "New Perspective on Paul." The term was coined by J. D. G. Dunn in 1982, and encompasses a range of scholars who are aggreed only on the simple claim that Martin Luther had significantly misunderstood Paul, and, therefore, much of what the post-Reformation who follow in Luther's footsteps are flawed, especially on the place of justification and law in Paul's theology.
Since the concept of justification ultimately has to do with out relationship with God—i.e., how is it that we sinners can possibly stand before a holy God—it naturally has a long history in the biblical records which it is impossible to summarise in a glossary such as this. A full article is planned for ALBERITH. If you are to follow on into reading any of the literature suggested below you will soon discover how vital it is that the terms we use should be defined and used with precision. This is true for all of theology, but you will find that a great deal of what is involved in the debate on justification has to do with defining what we mean by simple things such as 'faith,' 'grounds, 'means,' and so on.
Further Reading:
D. A. Carson, ed., Right with God: Justification in the Bible and the World. Grand Rapids/Carlisle: Baker/Paternoster, 1992.
D. A. Carson, Peter T, O'Brien, and Mark A. Seifried, eds., The Paradoxes of Paul. Vol.2 of Justification and Variiegated Nomism. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.
Alister E. McGrath, Justification by Faith: An Introduction. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988.
Alister E. McGrath, Iustitia Dei. A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification. 4th ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Mark A. Seifrid, Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul's Theology of Justification. Studies in Biblical Theology; Leicester: IVP Academic, 2001.
Stephen Westerholm, Justification Reconsidered: Rethinking a Pauline Theme. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.
N. T. Wright, Justification: God's Plan Paul's Vision. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009. (Click on the book image in the new page to read the first pages of the book; this help give a flavour not just of the book but also of where the debate has come.)
Media Resources:
Library Talk: New Perspective on Paul Debate. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 37.09 mins. 20 July, 2019. Youtube N
Mark A. Seifrid, "Justification by Faith," Faculty Address, delivered on 16 February, 2000 at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Audio
N. T. Wright, "2. No Condemnation," Address delivered at audio
Print Resources:
☰ Louis Berkhof, Systematice Theology. Alberith Edition.
html SP 5-6 If you are new to the subject, start with this before you venture into the resources below.
Christopher Fitzsimmons Allison, "The Pastoral and Political Implications of Trent on Justification: A Response to the A.R.C.I.C. Agreed Statement Salvation and the Church ," Churchman 103.1 (Spring 1989): 15-31.
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James Atkinson, "Justification by Faith ," Vox Evangelica 9 (1975): 70-79.
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Michael F. Bird, "'Justified by Christ's Resurrection: A Neglected Aspect of Paul's Doctrine of Justification ," Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 22.1 (Spring 2005): 72-91.
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Michael F. Bird, "Justification as Forensic Declaration and Covenant Membership A Via Media Between Reformed and Revisionist Readings of Paul," Tyndale Bulletin 57.1 (2006): 109-130.
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Gerald L. Bray, "Justification: The Reformers and Recent New Testament Scholarship, " Churchman 109.2 (Summer 1995): 102-126.
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Gerald Bray & Paul Gardner, "The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification ," Churchman 115.2 (Summer 2001): 110-128.
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Donald A. Carson, "Reflections on Salvation and Justification in the New Testament," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40.4 (Dec. 1997): 581-608.
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William W. Combs, "The Disjunction Between Justification and Sanctification in Contemporary Evangelical Theology," Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 6 (Fall 2001): 17-44.
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Bill Dumbrell, "Justification and the New Covenant," Churchman 112.1 (Spring 1998): 17-29.
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Ronald Y.K. Fung, "The Forensic Nature of Justification ," Themelios 3.1 (Sept. 1977): 16-21.
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Ronald Y.K. Fung, "The Status of Justification by Faith in Paul's Thought: A Brief Survey of a Modern Debate, " Themelios 6.3 (April 1981): 4-11.
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Simon Gatehrcole, "After the New Perspective: Works, Justification and Boasting in Early Judaism and Romans 1-5 ," Tyndale Bulletin 52.2 (2001): 303-306.
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Lee Gatiss, "Justified hesitation? J.D.G. Dunn & the protestant doctrine of justification ," Churchman 115.1 (Spring 2001): 29-48.
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Norman R. Gulley, "Debate Over Justification by Faith: Evangelicals and Catholics," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 20:1-2 (2009): 112-146.
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Donald Macleod, "How Right Are the Justified~ or, What is a Dikaios?" Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 22.2 (Autumn 2004): 173-195.
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Alister McGrath, "Justification - 'Making Just' or 'Declaring Just'? A neglected aspect of the ecumenical discussion on justification," Churchman 96.1 (1982): 44-52.
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Alister McGrath, "John Henry Newman's 'Lectures on Justification': the Hugh Church misrepresentation of Luther," Churchman 97.2 (1983): 112-122.
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Alister McGrath, "The Emergence of the Anglican Tradition on Justification, 1600-1700," Churchman 98.1 (1984): 28-43.
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Alister McGrath, "Justification in Earlier Evangelicalism," Churchman 98.3 (1984): 217-228.
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Alister McGrath, "Roman Catholic Teaching on Justification," Anvil 1.1 (1984): 27-42.
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Alistair E. McGrath, "Luther's Doctrine of Justification," Evangel 7:1 (1989):16-18.
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Dane C. Ortlund, "Justified by Faith, Judged According to Works: Another Look at a Pauline Paradox," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52.2 (June 2009): 323-339.
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Jonathan R. Pratt, "The Relationship Between Justification and Spiritual Fruit in Romans 5-8," Themelios 34.2 (July 2009):
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Thomas R. Schreiner, "Justification: The Saving Righteousness of God in Christ," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54.1 (March 2011): 19-34.
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Mark A. Seifrid, "In what sense is 'justification' a declaration?" Churchman 114.2 (Summer 2000): 123-136.
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Mark Seifried, "Justified by Faith and Judged by Works: A Biblical Paradox and Its Significance," The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (Dec 2001): 84-97.
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David A. Streater, "Justification by Faith Yesterday and Today," Churchman 113.2 (Summer 1999): 147-157.
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R. V. G. Tasker, "The Doctrine of Justification by Faith in the Epistle to the Romans," The Evangelical Quarterly 1 (1952): 37-46.
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Justyn Terry, "The Justifying Judgement of God," Anvil 22.1 (2005): 29-39.
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Guy Prentiss Waters, "Justification Defined," Churchman 123.1 (Spring 2009): 67-81.
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Guy Prentiss Waters, "Justification Undermined," Churchman 123.3 (Autumn 2009): 243-270.
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Preview of course on Paul and His Letter to the Romans: Part 1 (Romans 1-5) by N. T. Wright. The course itself has to be purchased.
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