What Is The Meaning Of "Justify" In The Writings of Paul?

• Discussion:

          -Catholic Nick published an article in which he explains his understanding of what it means for God to justify sinners and how that allegedly undermines the doctrine of justification by faith alone. His comments are cited in bold and followed with critical commentary:

          "To begin, the Greek word "justify" appears in about 36 verses in the New Testament. Of all these occurrences, the only time it is used in an explicitly forensic (legal, courtroom) context is in four verses: Mt 12:37; Rom 3:4; 8:33; 1 Cor 4:4. So how do Protestants come to the conclusion that it must mean "declare legally righteous by a judge"? Certainly not from the New Testament evidence, especially since 'forensic terms' don't really appear in places like Romans 3-4 and Galatians 2-3. Turning to the 40 verses of the Old Testament that use the term "justify," there were more occurrences in a legal context than in the New Testament, but still not enough to form any concrete conclusion: Ex 23:7; Deut 25:1; 2 Sam 15:4; 1 Kings 8:32 (same as 2 Chron 6:23); Ps 19:9; 51:4 (quoted in Rom 4:3); Ps 143:2; Prov 17:15."

          The meaning of "justify" should be determined by the context in which that word is used. When Jesus speaks of people being acquitted or condemned by their words in Matthew 12:37, the term clearly means "to declare righteous." This understanding is consistent with how the term is used in other passages, such as Romans 3:4 and 8:33, where God is said to be justified in His words, meaning "shown to be righteous." The Protestant interpretation that "justify" means "declare legally righteous" is well-founded, given its consistent use in a forensic sense within these contexts.

          Protestants argue that Paul's writings in Romans and Galatians emphasize that God declares believers righteous through faith alone, not by their own works. This understanding of justification by faith ties back to the consistent theme in the Bible, where faith is credited as righteousness, as seen in Genesis 15:6. The broader message of the Bible supports this in several ways: Abraham's faith being credited as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), the emphasis on grace over Law (Romans and Galatians), the significance of Christ's sacrificial atonement, and the universal need for divine righteousness due to human sinfulness (Romans 3:23). So, even if the term “justify” is not always used in a legal sense, the broader message supports a legal declaration of righteousness by God.

          "So for a Protestant to say that "justify," especially as Paul uses it in Romans 3-4 and Galatians 2-3, means "declared to be a perfect law keeper by a judge" is by no means an established fact at all."

          Paul speaks of both Jews and Gentiles being justified by faith and refers to God's covenant with Israel as a relationship of promise. He pits attempts to be justified by the Law against hearing with faith, highlighting the life-and-death outcomes of these relationships. These themes support the forensic understanding of justification as a declaration of righteousness, as Paul consistently emphasizes faith over works of the Law.

          "Matthew 12:37, 1 Corinthians 4:4, and (arguably) Romans 8:33, are speaking of the final judgement, not something that takes place at the moment of conversion.Romans 3:4 (Psalm 51:4) and (arguably) Psalm 19:9 are speaking of God being justified, thus it cannot mean "declare righteous by a judge," for no judge is above God. So despite being in a forensic context, "justify" here can really only mean vindicate."

           This does not undermine the usual meaning of "justify." To be vindicated means to be shown as right or innocent, which is closely related to being declared righteous in a forensic context. Romans 8:33 clearly presents forensic categories such as charges, accusations, and advocacy, supporting the interpretation that justification involves the declaration of righteousness.

          "Ex 23:7, Deut 25:1, Rom 8:33, 1 Cor 4:4, (and likely) Prov 17:5; Mt 12:37 are not speaking of "declaring righteous" - as in declaring that someone has done his duty like keeping the commandments perfectly - but rather of "acquittal," meaning being found not guilty, i.e. innocent. For example, if I'm on trial for speeding, the Judge can either find me guilty (condemn), or he can acquit me (find innocent), but he cannot declare me to be a perfect driver and worthy of a reward."

          We agree that justification means acquittal, the verdict of "not guilty." However, it is difficult to see how the Roman Catholic Church could even affirm such given concepts like purgatory and the treasury of merit. The imputation of Jesus Christ's righteousness takes place through us being united with Him (1 Corinthians 1:30).

          "I made a distinction between vindicating and acquitting because it seems acquitting fits best in situations where a person is being found 'innocent' of a charge, where as vindicating means more to show someone is in the right. But that said, I would argue that acquitting is a form or subset of vindicating, so the terms are conceptually not that different. With that in mind, all vindication/acquittal framework, meaning this is how we should most probably view it as well, especially in the key texts of Romans and Galatians. This approach to rendering the term term "justify" as vindicate/acquit has the devastating effect of rendering the Protestant definition not only dubious, but completely without precedent."

          This seems to be quite a leap of logic, hairsplitting distinctions are made and no explanation is given as to how these points are "devastating" to the "Protestant" argument. The author actually seems to contradict himself, since he says that the term "justify" as meaning "declare righteous" is "completely without precedence" while earlier acknowledging and citing certain passages of Scripture that definitely are to be understood in that same forensic sense.