Stepping away from the “study of” terms we’ve had up to now, we get to the next term in the series – justification.
Dictionary.com
noun
1. a reason, fact, circumstance, or explanation that justifies or defends:
His insulting you was ample justification for you to leave the party.
2. an act of justifying : The painter’s justification of his failure to finish on time didn’t impress me.
5. Printing. the spacing of words and letters within a line of type so that all full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right.
Etymonline.com
late 14c., “administration of justice,” from Late Latin iustificationem (nominative iustificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of iustificare “act justly toward; make just” (see justify). Meaning “action of justifying, showing something to be just or right” is from late 15c. Theological sense “act by which the soul is reconciled to God” is from 1520s. Meaning “act of adjusting or making exact” in typography is from 1670s.
Discussion/Explanation
Why would such a legal sounding term be involved with Christianity and the Bible?
To answer this we need to look no further than the books of Genesis and Romans. In Genesis, we have the record of the fall of man where the first humans committed the first sin against God. This cursed mankind with the corruption of sin which impacts us to this day. We stood condemned (in a legal sense) before a just God.
Justification is an important element. God is so holy that our good actions, thoughts, etc. are mere rags by comparison. God is so holy (set-apart) that many early followers feared they would die when in just a fraction of His presence. Our sinfulness has made us imperfect, corrupted beings and it is only through His light and truth that we know to be otherwise.
Christ’s work on the cross brought us salvation from our sin. Any who truly believe in Him can be saved from their sin and no longer face condemnation, thereby becoming justified before God – accounted just. This status is brought to us by Christ alone.
Two chapters come to mind from Romans that specifically talk about justification. These are Romans 4 and 5. Three particular verses would be Romans 4:25 ; 5:16 & 18. These would be a good place to start for further reading and study.
See more from this series here.
Monergist Gratia 