What does Paul mean by being "justified" in Romans 4?

Question

Please don't tell me that it simply means being saved, as this concept of being saved is recent and wasn't exactly what Paul meant. I'm looking for a scholarly response, perhaps a better translation of the greek word. Thanks!

Answer 1

We teach it means:

just as if I'd never sinned

Once you're justified, you're forgiven, and your sin
is remember no more just as if you'd never sinned
in the first place.

Answer 2

I think a more complete order may help; Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Justified means you are in the court room guilty of a crime and the Governor pardons you. It doesn't matter what you did, now it as if you never did this crime at all, this is what Jesus Christ did for you by believing only. And this act of justifing you happened a long time befiore you were even born. Here is the proof from the Bible----Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
You must read the words and understand Jesus Christ knew who he was dying for before the world began by this scripture.
Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
God hated Esau before he was born, and Jesus said about Judas Iscarot it would have been better he had not been born.
Matthew 26:24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
This shows the opposite of justification, Abraham was chosen only because he believed it was possible to have a child. He was and is the Father of Faith, the first one to have very strong faith not looking at himself or his body, he also was Jesus father as was Mary his mother.

Answer 3

I'm not a "scholar", as the pharasees and saducees were highly educated and "scholarly" so therefore, we don't follow that example.
Romans 5: 1 says Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It means our lives are justified for the faith we have in Jesus. vs. 2 basically states we have access to our faith by grace and we rejoice for this in which God has given us this hope. Vs 5 says "hope does not disappiont, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit in the hope of the glory of God.
Being "justified" im my observation means God put this in our hearts when he was forming us in our mothers womb. Though we still have troubles and heartaches in our lives, he is always with us and will never leave us, regardless of what or how the outside worldly values try to influence us. Therefore, we are "justified" in the love we have for God and nothing or no one can , or ever will change or influence that. I pray this helps:)

Answer 4

The Greek word Paul used here is "dikaioo," which, according to the Greek Lexicon means:

"1) to render righteous or such he ought to be

2) to show, exhibit or evince one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered

3) to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be."

In other words, justification is being brought back into a right relationship with God, which is by faith alone. Paul's point in Romans 4 and 5 is that you cannot do anything that corrects this relationship; all you can do is believe.

p.s. -- the concept of being "saved" is not a new one. Read each use of this word in the New Testament and you will see: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=saved&version1=50&searchtype=all&bookset=2 In fact, Acts 2:47 specifically refers to believers as being saved.

Answer 5

It basically means to be declared righteous before the God's law, very much like a legal term. It does not mean one "is" righteous, but one is being treated as such in legal standing. It does have the connotation of "being saved" in the sense you are claiming is recent.

Answer 6

The work in Greek is a verb form of the word just. God is described as "just" (dik-ay) This word can mean righteous or jumping through all the rule hoops correctly. That God is the standard and fulfills every expectation of holiness. "Justified" is the verb form of "just" (so it's dik-ay-a-o and probably passive) So justified is "one who is made just"- so one who did not meet God's standard, one who did not fulfill the expectations of God's perfect holiness who has now been made to fulfill those expectations. To be made to fulfill that standard infers that it was done by something outside of yourself- inferring that it was done by Jesus. Great question.

churchtogether.blogspot.com

Answer 7

He was before Jesus, the standards were different. To be justified back then they had to follow God and His commandments. Now, we can just accept His gift of salvation and if we truly mean it we will go to heaven

Answer 8

Follow Jesus (pbuh) not Paul!!!

http://www.sherryshriner.com/zeoli.htm
http://www.voiceofjesus.org/paulvsjesus.html

Answer 9

You asked for it.

G1344

δικαιόω
dikaióō; contracted dikaiṓ, fut. dikaiṓsō, from díkaios (G1342), just, righteous. To justify. Verbs which end in -óō generally indicate bringing out that which a person is or that which is desired, but not usually referring to the mode in which the action takes place. In the case of dikaióō, it means to bring out the fact that a person is righteous.
In Class. Gr., dikaióō could also mean to make anyone righteous by permitting such a one to bear for himself his condemnation, judgment, punishment, or chastisement. Such action of guilt upon one being tried in court would have been better expressed by the verb dikázō (which does not occur in the NT), although the subst. dikastḗs (G1348), a judge, does occur (Luk_12:14; Act_7:27, Act_7:35 [TR]). The more common word referring to the condemning of a guilty person examined in court is katadikázō (G2613), to condemn (Mat_12:7, Mat_12:37; Luk_6:37; Jam_5:6). The noun katadíkē does not occur in the NT, but it does in Class. Gr. and means a judgment given against one, a sentence. The verb is used in Mat_12:37, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned [katadikasthḗsē]" (G2613). Thus katadikázō stands as a direct opposite of dikaióō. The examination of a case, whether favorable (1Co_4:3-4) or unfavorable (1Co_9:3; 1Co_14:24), is expressed by the investigative verb anakrínō (G350).
It must be clearly understood that in the NT the verb dikaióō, to justify, never means to make anyone righteous or to do away with his violation of the law, by himself bearing the condemnation and the imposed sentence. In the NT, man in his fallen condition can never do anything in order to pay for his sinfulness and thus be liberated from the sentence of guilt that is upon him as it happens in the mundane world; i.e., when a guilty person has paid the penalty of a crime, he is free from condemnation.
In the NT, dikaióō in the act. voice means to recognize, to set forth as righteous, to declare righteous, to justify as a judicial act. This is clear from Luk_10:25 in which a lawyer who came to Jesus asked Him how he could inherit eternal life. "Willing to justify himself" (Luk_10:29) means that he wanted to establish himself as righteous. So also the Pharisees to whom the Lord said in Luk_16:15, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men," i.e., you have set yourselves forth as righteous, as if there is nothing wrong with you if you were to stand in a court of justice. Used in the same sense in Luk_7:29 stating that the people recognized that God acted justly in sending John the Baptist to preach repentance. This was an indirect recognition that indeed man needed to repent.
In the OT, in some instances (such as Psa_73:13 KJV), the Sept. translation of edikaíōsa, "I justified my heart" really means "I cleansed my heart." Elsewhere, when used in regard to a thing or a person, it means to find anything as right, to recognize or acknowledge anyone as just, to set forth as right or just.
(I) As a matter of right or justice, to absolve, acquit, clear from any charge or imputation. In Mat_12:37, dikaióō stands in direct opposition to katadikázō (G2613), to condemn, to sentence (see 1Co_4:4, where the Apostle Paul speaks of God's favorable judgment upon him, after having examined or investigated him and his actions in life). This investigative process is expressed by the verb anakrínō (G350). See 1Co_9:3; 1Co_14:24 where the verb anakrínomai (the pass. form) is used as a parallel of elégchomai (G1651), to be reproved, convicted of one's error and condemned. The Apostle Paul, therefore, does not use the word dikaióō, to declare right by a capricious judge, but rather that he declares a person right or wrong after the process of investigation and the finding of guilt or innocence.
In Act_13:39, it is used with the prep. apó (G575), from, referring to all those things from which the Mosaic Law could not liberate us. In this instance, therefore, as well as in Rom_6:7 where apó is used with the word "sin," "from sin" (see also Rom_6:18), it refers to our liberation from something, i.e., sin which holds man a prisoner, a slave. The verb dikaióō, therefore, is used in a similar vein as the verb eleutheróō (G1659), to deliver, set free. Thus dikaióō does not mean the mere declaration of innocence, but the liberation from sin which holds man a prisoner (see Sept.: Exo_23:7; Deu_25:1; 1Ki_8:32).
When used with heautón (G1438) in the acc., himself or oneself, it means to justify or excuse oneself. This meaning must definitely be distinguished from the use of the verb with God as Judge and man the object of His judgment. God never excuses man for being wrong, since He has His own perfect standard of judgment. Man, on the contrary, being perverse, due to the fall of Adam, judges himself by his own standard and excuses himself. That was what the young lawyer who came to Jesus did, "But he, willing to justify himself . . ." (Luk_10:29). The word dikaióō, to justify, here did not mean that he kept the commandments that he quoted in Luk_10:27, but that he excused himself from keeping them.
In the Class. Gr. writers, the word is used more widely meaning to do justice to or to defend the right of anyone, irrespective of whether such a defense may prove the person guilty or innocent.
(II) Spoken of character, dikaióō means to declare to be just as it should be, to pronounce right; of things, to regard as right and proper. It means to have the right to own or to claim things. In the NT, however, it is used only of persons meaning to acknowledge and declare anyone to be righteous, virtuous, good, díkaios (G1342), just; therefore it means:
(A) By implication, to vindicate, approve, honor, glorify, and in the pass. to receive honor, and so forth. In Luk_7:29, the people who heard Jesus "justified God," meaning they declared that God was right and that they approved of what He was saying. In Mat_11:19, "wisdom is justified of her children" means wisdom was approved by wise people. One has to be wise to recognize wisdom and declare it worthwhile (cf. Luk_7:35). To understand 1Ti_3:16 with the same meaning of approval see below. In Rom_3:4, "that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings" (from Psa_51:4), means acknowledged to be just and righteous in His sentence. This implies that when God is the judge, He exhibits the righteousness of His character, while man judges to exhibit the guilt or innocence of the accused. What God says proves what He is (Sept.: Eze_16:52).
(B) In relation to God and the divine Law, it means to declare righteous, to regard as pious. In Luk_16:15 the Lord Jesus castigates the Pharisees for presenting themselves to be righteous and pious before men, no matter what God thought of them. Their interest was in their appearance before men. Spoken especially of the justification bestowed by God upon men through Christ, through the instrumentality of faith (Rom_3:26, Rom_3:30; Rom_4:5; Rom_8:30, Rom_8:33; Gal_3:8); in the pass. in Rom_3:28; Rom_5:1; Gal_2:16; Gal_3:24 where faith is stressed as the means of being justified; with the phrase "of works" (ex érgōn [G1537, G2041]), or with the neg. ouk (G3756), not (ouk ex érgōn) as in Rom_3:20; Rom_4:2; Gal_2:16; Jam_2:21, Jam_2:24-25); with the expression "not by law," i.e., not by means of law (Gal_3:11 [cf. Rom_2:13; Rom_3:24; Rom_5:9; 1Co_6:11; Gal_2:17; Tit_3:7]).
(III) In the sense of to make or cause to be upright. In the mid., to make oneself upright, i.e., to be upright, virtuous. In Rev_22:11, in the aor. pass. imper. with mid. meaning, "he that is upright, let him be upright still" (TR).
(IV) Everywhere in the OT, the root meaning of dikaióō is to set forth as righteous, to justify in a legal sense (Eze_16:51-52).
Exo_23:7 is noteworthy: "Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent [athṓon {G121}] and righteous [díkaion {G1342}] slay thou not: for I will not justify, the wicked" or as the Sept. has it, "thou shall not justify" because of receiving gifts (Exo_23:8). In other words, no man can declare someone righteous because of the gifts he receives from him or from anybody else. Dikaióō is one aspect of judicial activity as demonstrated in the Sept. by the expression díkaion, just, and the verb krínō (G2919), which in the Bible is the main verb referring to judicial activity, deciding whether a person is guilty or not. "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord" (Pro_17:15). In this verse díkaion is translated "just," and ádikon (G94) "the wicked," which really means unjust.
(V) In the NT, dikaióō means to recognize, set forth as righteous, justify as a judicial act (Luk_10:29; Luk_16:15). It has the same meaning in the pass., to be recognized, found, set forth as righteous, justified (Mat_12:37; Rom_2:13; Rom_3:20). A comment is necessary on Rom_2:13, "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Here there is a contrast between the hearers (akroataí [G202]), and the doers (poiētaí [G4163]). The verb used here is dikaiōthḗsontai, fut. pass. punctiliar, which indicates that at a particular time in the future they will be judicially declared as righteous. The first part of the verse could be better translated: "For the hearers of the law [are] not just alongside or before God" (a.t.). There is no verb at all which makes the statement true without any time limitation. What it declares is a timeless truth, i.e., the mere hearers of the law have never been and never will be considered by God as just. If, however, they change from mere hearers to doers of the law by believing in Him who became the fulfillment of the law (Mat_3:15; Mat_5:17; Rom_8:21; Gal_4:4-7; Col_2:14), only then will God pronounce them as just. No one can become a doer of the law without believing on Christ. This verse declares a standard, a norm, that not he who knows the law but he who is a doer of the law in Christ can be declared just before the Judge.
Compare this verse with Rom_3:20 where seemingly a contradictory statement is given: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." The explanation is that, whereas Rom_2:13 affirms the norm that the doer will be declared just, a matter-of- fact declaration is made in Rom_3:20 that by the deeds of the law no man can be justified, inasmuch as the deeds of the law are only possible in and through Christ. Even if man is able to do the works of the law, he still cannot be justified since a person can be legally correct but morally wrong. He may conform to a certain law in spite of the fact that he may hate it, but if he did not fear the consequences of transgression, he might never obey it. No law can make a person morally right, although he can be proven legally conforming to the law if he does the works that are detailed by it.
Therefore, dikaiōthḗsontai, shall be justified, in the first phrase of Rom_2:13 must be interpreted as not to be made or found righteous in character, but simply to appear as righteous because of having conformed to the directions of the law. This is made clear in Rom_4:2, "For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God." Here the verb edikaiṓthē, was justified, does not have the meaning of being declared righteous in reality, but only in appearance. No law could condemn a person who keeps it, but that does not mean that God will assume that a person, legally right before Him, recognizes His (God's) rightful ownership of himself. Abraham, although he obeyed the law, could not stand before God as righteous and boast about it. His declaration of his righteousness by the law was not equal to God's _declaration of righteousness. Paul says in 1Ti_3:16 that Jesus Christ was not declared righteous by the law, but in the Spirit. This means that His high claims of being the Son of God, the Messiah, the Redeemer, were justified or proven true by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him at His baptism, by the miracles that He performed, the life that He lived, and finally through His resurrection from the dead (Rom_1:4; 1Pe_3:18).
(VI) The NT tells how being justified by God and declared just before Him may be achieved in the lives of men. We are justified before God by Christ's grace through faith (Gal_2:16; Gal_3:11; Tit_3:6-7). When we receive Christ, we recognize God's right over us, and then we are made just (Rom_5:19). With our justification God simultaneously performs the miracle of regeneration and changes our character. We do not then obey God because we are afraid of the consequences of our disobedience, but because His grace has changed our character and made us just. When we become the children of God, we exercise rights toward God and act as His children. We are thus liberated from the guilt and power of sin, but not from the presence of it. That will come later (Rom_8:23).
In 1Ti_3:16, it is said of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, that He was justified in (en [G1722]) the Spirit or by means of the Spirit. In the appearance of the Spirit upon Jesus, there was the confirmation of the claims of the Son of God that He was the Messiah, the King of Israel, the Redeemer of mankind. This refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him at His baptism and through the miracles which He performed in full agreement with the Spirit and with God the Father. The justification of His claims, however, was through His resurrection (Rom_1:4; 1Pe_3:18).
The two phrases in 1Ti_3:16 must be taken together: "God was manifest in the flesh." That was His incarnation. And then immediately after that we read, "justified in the Spirit." This means that through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit which came upon Him, His claims for Himself as the God-Man were confirmed. "He was justified" refers to the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son in His preincarnate state, and God the Holy Spirit. Note that the word Theós (G2316), God, has no definite article before it and refers to the triune God who was by the Second Person the incarnate Christ, the God-Man (Col_2:9). He was confirmed as such by the descent and testimony of the Holy Spirit. Later Christ proved His deity by His works, death, and resurrection. What Christ left behind with the Father when He became the God-Man was His glory (dóxa [G1391]), the recognition He received in heaven for all that He was. This glory He regained as He ascended to the Father (Joh_17:5). His deity was proven by His words (Mat_7:29; Joh_7:46), His works (Joh_2:11; Joh_3:2; Joh_14:11), and His resurrection (Act_2:27; Rom_1:4).
(VII) According to the Apostle Paul man is justified by God's grace (Rom_3:24; Rom_4:5; Eph_2:8; Tit_3:7). God's grace arouses man's faith (Act_13:39; Rom_5:1). Thus grace is the principle on God's side which involves the free and unmerited love of God (Rom_3:24), and faith on man's side (Rom_1:17; Rom_4:5). As proceeding from the divine grace, justification by faith is totally opposed to justification by works, which depends on merit (Rom_4:4). Instead of attaining a righteousness by his own efforts, the believer submissively receives a righteousness which is wholly of God and is His gift (Rom_5:17; Rom_10:3; Phi_3:9).
Thus faith is the method by which the grace of God is subjectively appropriated. Faith is therefore to be conceived of as obedience (Rom_10:3) emanating from devotion and love, not self-righteousness. Paul speaks of obedience of faith (Rom_1:5).
A revelation of the divine grace which awakens faith takes place, according to Paul, in the person of Christ (2Co_5:17), in His work, His death, and also His resurrection. Christ's death was the work of divine grace, in that God ordained it as an expiatory sacrifice for sin. Christ was dying on behalf of sinners, that in the act of justification He might not be misconstrued as being indulgent of sin (Rom_3:25 [cf. Rom_5:8; 2Co_5:21]). Christ's resurrection is also included in the revelation by which God's grace is made known to sinners (Rom_4:25; Rom_8:34; Rom_10:9; 1Co_15:17).
Grace represents the divine activity in justification and faith represents the human activity. Thus it is a justification of the ungodly (Rom_4:5; 2Co_5:19). It is not by works of the law (Rom_3:20; Gal_3:11), or of the law written in the heart of Gentiles apart from their uncircumcision (Rom_2:15). It is for remission of sins (Rom_3:25), peace with God, access into grace, and hope of glory (Rom_5:1-2), righteousness (Rom_3:22; Rom_4:22; Rom_5:17; 2Co_5:21; Eph_4:24; Phi_3:9), and for life (Rom_5:18), which means it is a justification resulting in life, which is through the body of Christ (Rom_7:4) and by His Spirit (Rom_5:5; Rom_8:2, Rom_8:4, Rom_8:6, Rom_8:10-11; Eph_2:18).
Deriv.: dikaíōma (G1345), judgment, ordinance; dikaíōsis (G1347), justification.
Syn.: Inasmuch as dikaióō means to declare righteous by making a sinner righteous through faith in Christ, it can be said to have the following syn.: aphíēmi (G863), to forgive, to take sins away from the individual sinner and make him free through and in Christ; charízomai (G5483), to pardon, from cháris (G5485), grace, with the meaning of to remit, forgive, not to exact the due punishment (Luk_7:42-43, involving a debt; 2Co_2:7, 2Co_2:10; 2Co_12:13; Eph_4:32; Col_2:13; Col_3:13 which refers to wrong or sin, meaning to forgive, not to punish); charitóō (G5487), also related to the basic word cháris meaning to grace, supply with grace, make acceptable. In the NT, this is spoken only of the divine favor which is offered, not in condemnation of sin, but in redemption from sin as the word cháris, grace, always implies. In Luk_1:28 we have the angel speaking to the virgin Mary in the annunciation saying, "Hail, thou that art highly favored." The word in the Gr. here is kecharitōménē which is the perf. pass. part. of charitóō. It means, someone who has been graced or honored, who has been the recipient of God's grace at a particular time and has a present possession of that grace. The verb charitóō is also found in Eph_1:6, "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted [echarítōsen, the aor. of charitóō ] in the beloved," meaning with which grace He hath graced us, or in which grace He has richly imparted that grace unto us in relation to the forgiveness of our sins.
Additional syn: sṓzō (G4982), to save from the guilt and power of sin, equivalent to giving eternal life; apallássō (G525), to deliver in a legal sense from the claims of an opponent; lutróō (G3084), to redeem by paying ransom; lúō (G3089), to loose, let go, and the comp. apolúō (G630), to dismiss, forgive, set at liberty; rhúomai (G4506), to rescue. For further syn., see dikaiosúnē (G1343), righteousness.
Ant.: krínō (G2919), to judge, determine; anakrínō (G350), to examine, investigate for the purpose of judging whether a person is innocent or guilty; katakrínō (G2632), to condemn, sentence; diakrínō (G1252), to discern, judge; katadikázō (G2613), to pronounce judgment, condemn; kataginṓskō (G2607), to know something against, condemn; mōmáomai (G3469), to find fault with; diaginṓskō (G1231), to ascertain exactly, determine.

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