03-What Is Justification?

Justification is a declaration or pronouncement that someone is
righteous; for example, in court after due trial (Deut. 25:1).1 Such
declarations are made in everyday life, also. For instance, when the
tax collectors ‘justified God’ (Luke 7:29), they declared him
righteous. Justification, I repeat, is a declaration. To ‘justify’ does
not mean ‘to make righteous’. This is most important. Judges do not
make defendants righteous or wicked – they declare them so (Deut.
25:1). The Spirit did not make Christ righteous – he declared,
demonstrated him righteous (1 Tim. 3:16). The crowd did not make
God righteous – they declared him righteous (Luke 7:29). Of
course, if a human court could make the guilty righteous, it would
be highly commended, to say the least – but that is an utter
impossibility, and not what we are talking about. Likewise,
condemnation – the opposite of justification – is a pronouncement
or declaration. To condemn a man does not make him guilty; it
declares him guilty.