Justification

Justification is the decision to submit to God.² Those who perfectly follow the example of Jesus as they understand him to be are called justified.³ Justification is a condition of perfectly replicating your understanding of how Jesus would be in your place. We are justified if we continuously live according to how we believe God would live in our situation. Justification through Christ means living in a state where you completely and constantly reconcile your desires, thoughts, and actions to your current, sincere idea of what is best, and as such, is a synonym for blamelessness. Justification occurs when you scrutinize your life, admit where your desires, thoughts, and actions deviate from the example of Christ, and improve to reconcile yourself to his example.

Justification is an event. It occurs in the moment you decide to follow God, and is maintained as long as you continue to follow him. When you determine to choose God’s purpose as your own, and subdue all other interests to his, you are justified. Justification is a gospel doctrine that has been significantly distorted by common Christians. An unfortunate number of Christians believe righteousness is a question of God’s decree upon a person in response to their statement of belief in him, rather than a description of how they actually are compared to their belief about how Jesus is. God can’t and won’t bestow upon you the rewards of righteousness while you continue to willingly sin against him. Justification is a property, not a decree. God does not lie,³⁶⁰ and because righteousness is a measure of similarity to God, he cannot declare anyone righteous except through their conformity to their understanding of how God is, or how he actually is. There isn’t a third option that magically transforms a sinner into a saint. Even when God forgives you, he cannot make you holy except through your choice to follow how he demonstrates himself to be.