Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” Romans 5:18
Awareness of our need for Justification begins with accepting that we owed a debt we could not pay. We stood guilty before God in a sinful nature, deserving of punishment and eternal separation. BUT God, in his great love and mercy, made a way for sins to be paid, declaring man justified and made right before Him.
“… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
Romans 3:23-25
Easton’s Bible Dictionary says:
Justification is not the forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses a righteousness which perfectly and forever satisfies the law, namely, Christ’s righteousness…..
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21, ESV
….“Justification is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ,…..justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified”.
“..but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification." Romans 4:24-25, Berean Standard Bible
Justification from Discovery Bible Helps Word Studyshows the following meaning ~
Cognate: 1344 dikaióō (from dikē, "right, judicial-approval") – properly, approved, especially in the legal, authoritative sense; to show what is right, i.e. conformed to the proper standard ("upright").
The believer is "made righteous/justified" (1344/dikaióō) by the Lord – cleared of all divine charges (punishment) related to their sins.
The easiest way to remember what justification is the way I learned this when I was first saved. Justified:‘just as if I’d never sinned’. It is what the gospel presents and what Jesus has given us at our salvation. Justification makes us acceptable before God, because we have been cleansed by His blood and given His righteousness.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:9, ESV
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21, ESV
Hard to reason, but simple to believe, and believe we must in order to walk in the benefits this brings. Our faith is the one required condition for us to apprehend His righteousness. Freedom from sin consciousness, guilt, shame, and condemnation are done in this place of ‘just as is I’d never sinned,” forgiven, and accepted before God our Father. Not because of what we have done, but only in Christ and by His blood.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Romans 3:22-26, NLT