JUSTIFICATION

in Christian theology, either (1) the act by which God moves a person from the state of sin (injustice) to the state of grace (justice); (2) the change in a person's condition as he moves from a state of sin to a state of righteousness; or (3) especially in Protestantism, the act of acquittal whereby God gives contrite sinners the status of the righteous. The term is a translation of the Greek dikaiosis (Latin justificatio), originally a technical legal term derived from the verb to make righteous. Justification has had importance in the history of the church and of theology since the time of St. Paul. In his letters to the Galatians and to the Romans, he asks, against the background of the Pharisees' legalistic piety, how one becomes just before God. He answers that it is not by works, nor even by obeying the commandments (the law of God, which in itself is good). A person stands before God not as righteous but as a sinner, entirely dependent on God's grace. It is God who calls the sinner righteous. In human law courts, only the innocent person is justified; but in the tribunal of God, before whom all are sinners, it is precisely the unjust who are declared just by God's merciful verdict. This is no arbitrary pronouncement but is made with reference to Jesus Christ, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25). In this way, the sinner is acquitted from law, sin, and death; is reconciled with God; and has peace and life in Christ through the Holy Spiritis not merely declared just but is truly made just. In response, one should accept God's merciful judgment in Christ and place complete trust in the Lord; in short, have faith. The person who has been justified is tempted as before and therefore remains dependent on the grace of God. Faith must not be inactive, but a faith working through love (Gal. 5:6); i.e., one must authenticate religious faith by deeds of love. The Greek Fathers of the church did not emphasize the doctrine of justification, but it became an important theological concept in the thought of Augustine during his controversy with the Pelagians, a heretical group who were teaching an ethical self-sanctification by works. The doctrine received great stress in Martin Luther's struggle against the concept of justification by works current in the late Middle Ages, a struggle that led to a genuine reappraisal of St. Paul's doctrine of justification. It became a capital doctrine for the Reformers. The Council of Trent (154563) defined the Roman Catholic position in terms that reflected an anti-Protestant bias and for the next several centuries drew the lines for opposition between Roman Catholics and Protestants in their understanding of the doctrine.