Justification and Faith

Justification means to make something righteous.

The Bible will use words like “declare,” “count,” “accounted,” and “reckoned” to convey the idea.

This does not mean that Christ’s righteous deeds were added to your account, nor that Christ kept the law for you. Nor does it merely mean that God thinks you are righteous even though you continue to live the same life you lived before your supposed justification.

To make something righteous is to do just that: to make something righteous. Even the word “declare” means to show forth. It doesn’t simply mean God said you were righteous. He makes you righteous and you show forth that righteousness by doing righteous things.

People don’t like this idea of justification. We’d rather believe that God sees me as righteous while I continue to live in sin. We like the idea of eating our cake and having it too. Enjoying…