Part 9 of this "ordo salutis" on the Theology of Holiness is justification. This important piece of the salvation "puzzle" is explained below. It should once again be noted that this theology is totally indebted to Dr. Ken Schenck. We are justified through faith in Jesus Christ!!

Justification
“Justification is the declaration of God that one, however sinful, who trusts in Christ’s atoning work is treated or accounted as righteous, insofar as in Christ one has entered into an upright relation with God” (Barth as cited in Oden, 1994, p.108). While the doctrine of justification has become associated mainly with Lutheran theology, its pursuit from a Wesleyan perspective is of great importance. “Justification’s nature is pardon, its condition is faith, its ground is the righteousness of God, and its fruits and evidences are good works” (Wesley as cited in Oden, 1994, p.109). Any ordo salutis would be lacking if justification were not included. In my personal ordo salutis, justification would come directly after repentance, which would lead to justification, regeneration and initial sanctification. Justification, then, stands as the foundation for which the rest of my ordo salutis may be built. “Justification is the liberation from the guilt of sin and the recovery of God’s favor” (Schenck, 2006, MIN543 lecture).
As mentioned, the doctrine of justification is most commonly associated with the teachings of Martin Luther. Luther contended that we received justification by faith alone. In keeping with the concept of justification being a free gift from God, it is also considered that a person is justified by faith alone, rather than by committing any good works. “Justification is that divine act whereby one stands in right relation with God, an act of God’s free grace through which the sinner is absolved from guilt and accepted as righteous on account of the Son’s atoning work” (Luther as cited in Oden, 1994, p.108-9). It should be noted that just as Wesley was extremely interested in the doctrine, so was Calvin. “No evangelical teaching is more crucial” (Calvin as cited in Oden, 1994, p.108). However, it should be noted that for Calvin, sanctification held roughly the same esteem in his mind. He attempted to take “care to give the two doctrines (justification and sanctification) equal weight” (Lane as cited in Vanhoozer, 2005, p.418).
Interestingly, according to Lutheran theology, sanctification is “not something added to justification. It is simply the art of getting used to justification” (Forde as cited in Alexander, 1988, p.13). Therefore, according to the Lutherans, everything that we need for living a Christian life is received at justification. There is no need for a second act of grace then. Furthermore, growth in the life of the Christian is not viewed in the same light as it is in Wesleyan theology. “If justification by faith alone rejects all ordinary schemes of progress and renders us simultaneously just and sinners, we have to look at growth and progress in quite a different light” (Forde as cited in Alexander, 1988, p.27).
As an argument for a lower view of justification, it should be noted that the “NRSV has “justification” as a term only six times in the NT, “justify” only five times in the OT” (Gowan, 2003, p.262). This argument bases “justification” on the Greek word, “dikaiosis”, as found in Rom. 4:25, “who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification” (NRSV). However, it would seem that the aforementioned six and five occurrences, respectively, take a limiting view of the word as a noun only. This is pointed out by the fact that there are “more than 500 occurrences in the OT and 225 in the NT where terms from these two roots (Hebrew “tsadaqah” and Greek “dikaioma”) are used” (Gowan, 2003, p.263). “Tsadaq”, in Hebrew, “was used to connote a conformity to a norm, or to declare righteous or to justify” (Erickson, 2006, p.968). These linguistic statistics are used to point out that justification is indeed an integral part of the salvation process.
Justification cannot be mentioned without an investigation of the legal ramifications of the word. This is also known as “forensic righteousness”. It is a doctrine that contends that “justify (dikaioo) doesn’t mean “make righteous” (Erickson, 2006, p.970), but is rather a type of legal “defense or vindication” (Erickson, 2006, p.970). From this perspective, the following definition is fitting. “God’s legal determination of the charges against a sinner as not guilty, made on the basis of the atonement of Christ and in light of man’s repentance and faith” (Drury, 2004, p.185). Likewise, “justification is God’s declarative act by which, on the basis of the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning death, he pronounces believers to have fulfilled all of the requirements of the law that pertain to them” (Erickson, 2006, p.969). From a legal standing, God’s pardon that is granted to us through Christ is a type of “executive clemency remitting the penalty, on the principle of the pardon” (Oden, 1994, p.114). N.T. Wright stated that, “we are justified in the present in order to bring God’s justice to the world” (2006, p.136).
Calvin taught that justification didn’t imply righteousness as much as it served to “declare or deem upright (the individual) so as to acquit from guilt and punitive liability” (Calvin as cited in Oden, 1994, p.109). This rendering of the “not guilty” verdict by God seems to indicate that justification is indeed, less about human activity and so much more about the actions of God. “Justification cannot therefore be based on any righteousness in man himself” (Lindstrom, 1980, p.59). Wesley also contended that “atonement was the legal basis of justification. Atonement was a single event in the past, justification its individual and present application” (Lindstrom, 1980, p.92).
I do agree that there is a sense of justice that flows through all that God does and justification is no exception. "Essentially, justification is a judicial act" (Wiley, 1946, p.279). This means that in order for us to be considered "not guilty", God's justice had to be quenched at some point, by a worthy sacrifice. "Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God" (Rom. 5:9, NRSV). This is why justification and Christ's atonement are two doctrines that are nearly inseparable for me. You can't really have one without the other. Further, both must be received in faith, yet accepted in a believer's life through works, which demonstrate the love and gratitude that a person has for God's gift of grace. However, it should be noted that "there is nothing in His justice which forbids the exercise of His mercy" (Tozer, 1961, p.88). We still receive a gift in justification that is as merciful as it is just.
Viewing justification from simply the viewpoint of God isn't complete for some. "Justification is bound up with three related factors: from God, his mercy and grace; from Christ, his satisfaction of God's justice by the ransom of his blood and his perfect fulfillment of the law; and from man: a true and living faith in the merits of Christ" (Lindstrom, 1980, p.64). Frankly, from viewing many scriptures, "(Rom. 2:5-11; II Cor. 5:10; cf. Rom. 14:7-12; I Cor. 3:12-15; 4:4-5; 5:5; 6:9; Gal. 5:19-21; 6:7-9)" it appears that "Paul teaches both justification by faith and judgment by works" (Lane as cited in Vanhoozer, 2005, p.418). James wrote, "Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith" (James 2:18, NRSV). Here, "James is not arguing that works must be added to faith. His point, rather, is that genuine biblical faith will inevitably be characterized by works" (Moo, 2000, p.120). In other words, there is at least an element of human interaction with justification. This interaction has more to do with gratitude and thanksgiving for the free gift of salvation than it does in meriting justification on our own.
Justification, then, is "what God does for us through His Son" (Schenck, 2006, MIN543 lecture). "While only God as Judge can pronounce the sinner righteous, only God as Sovereign can pardon or forgive. Thus, viewed negatively, justification is the forgiveness of sins; when viewed positively, it is the acceptance of the believer as righteous" (Wiley, 1946, p.279). So then, there is a certain duality that exists in justification. We are both forgiven and declared righteous. Justification serves to restore our favor with God. God works within the new believer to declare them "not guilty" of sins through the atoning work of Christ. "Justification is another word for pardon. It is the forgiveness of all our sins" (Wesley as cited in Lindstrom, 1980, p.86). This has been called a "relative change" (Lindstrom, 1980, p.84) by Wesley. "Justification only implies the forgiveness of sins and the acceptance incident to it" (Lindstrom, 1980, p.84). Wesley contended that the actual change in us occurs at sanctification. "Justification is not the work of God by which we are actually made just and righteous.