Who needs spiritual justification? “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Because of the disobedience of man toward God, all of the world lies guilty before God. “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:9,10).
When a person is convicted of his state of sinfulness, he seeks to be forgiven and be justified from his guilt.
What is justification? It is an act of God’s free grace, whereby he pardons all of the sinner’s sins, and accepts him as righteous in God’s sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to the repentant sinner, and received by faith alone.
The sinner’s work is not sufficient for justification. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9). The word “justification”, is the pillar and foundation of the Christian faith. It is a word borrowed from the law-courts, wherein a person arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is openly absolved. God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be righteous and looks upon him as if he had not sinned.
God does not justify us because we are worthy, but by justifying us, makes us worthy. How is a person justified? The works or merits of Jesus on the cross the sufficiency for all aspects of salvation and spiritual life. Jesus did the reconciling work. “And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth , or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death , to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.” (Colossians 1:20-22).
The method of justification is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner. “For he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21) “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” (Romans 4:22-25)
Imputed righteousness is the concept where God credits righteousness to believers through faith in Jesus Christ.