justification, in Christian theology, either (1) the act by which God moves a willing person from the state of sin (injustice) to the state of grace (justice), (2) the change in a person’s condition moving 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 dikaiōsis (Latin: justificatio), originally a technical legal term derived from the verb “to make [someone] 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” (Romans 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 Spirit—is 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” (Galatians 5:6); i.e., one must authenticate religious faith by deeds of love.
The Greek Fathers of the Church did not emphasize the teaching of justification, but it became an important theological concept in the thought of St. Augustine during his controversy with the Pelagians, a heretical group who were teaching an ethical self-sanctification by works. Augustine maintained that humans are completely unable to contribute to justification, a notion that was modified by most medieval theologians, who held that God and the individual work together in the process. The Protestant reformers, led by Martin Luther, echoed Augustine in their insistence that justification is by grace alone, which is appropriated by faith. The Council of Trent (1545–63) defined the Roman Catholic position in terms that echoed the medieval understanding. The council’s decision also 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.