Justification

Definition and Meaning

Justification (Korean chingui, literally "being called righteous") refers to a sinner's being accounted righteous before God. Protestants hold that justification is not earned by human works but is given by grace and received through faith in Jesus Christ. The doctrine is known in short as justification by faith (Korean isin chingui). It is regarded as a central doctrine explaining the starting point of salvation.

Biblical and Historical Background

The principal biblical basis is found in the Pauline epistles. Romans 3:28 and Galatians 2:16 state that a person is justified by faith, not by the works of the law. In explaining this, Paul cites the account of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4. James 2:24, by contrast, states that "by works a man is justified," and the relationship between these texts has long been debated.

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther placed this doctrine at the center of the Reformation, and "faith alone" (sola fide) became one of the Five Solas. Most Protestants understand justification as a forensic declaration: the righteousness of Christ is credited to the believer (imputation), and God declares that person righteous. The Catholic Church, at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), defined justification as also encompassing the process by which a person is inwardly renewed. In 1999 the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, stating that they had reached a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine.

Practice in the Korean Church

Protestant denominations in Korea generally share a confession of justification by faith, though their emphases differ.

• Presbyterian: Follows Chapter 11 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. It views justification as a once-for-all declaration by God and distinguishes it from the sanctification that continues afterward.
• Methodist and Holiness: In the tradition of Wesleyan theology, these churches confess justification by faith while placing strong emphasis on the subsequent life of sanctification and holiness.
• Baptist and Full Gospel: These churches stress personal conversion and the confession of faith, and they often explain justification in connection with the experience of salvation.
• Anglican: Confesses justification by faith in Article XI of the Thirty-nine Articles.

Within the Korean church, two debates continue in both theological circles and pastoral settings. The first is the so-called "cheap grace" critique, which charges that justification and assurance of salvation are emphasized to the neglect of transformation of life. The second concerns the "New Perspective on Paul," which reinterprets Paul's concept of justification.