Justification

In the legal system of Ancient Israel, a dispute put both parties at risk of the judgment of the court. The court’s process had a redemptive role; the judge was meant to help the party in the right to correct the wrong. At the end of the case, one party would be declared righteous and the other in the wrong. Successful performance of this function meant ‘justice’ had been done. The Hebrew word for righteous is tsaddiq, which some versions of the Bible translate as ‘innocent’ or ‘just’ – one whose status is right. This is the Old Testament background to being ‘justified’. The child’s definition of justified is ‘just as if I’d’ never sinned. Jesus died for our sins. If you put your faith in him then you are justified. You are acquitted. You are declared righteous in his sight. Sin no longer separates you from God. You can live in a right relationship with him and with others. This is ‘justification’.