Justification: When does it happen?

Since sin entered into the human race, man has desired to contact and have a relationship with God. Unfortunately, seeing that man is unrighteous; “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” the holiness of God cannot have relationship with the sin of man; “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Rom 3:10, Rom 8:7, KJV) Therefore, if man wants to have relationship with his Creator there must be a change in his state. In other words, man must be justified or declared righteous.
While all agree that justification takes place in the life of a believer, there is great debate in Christendom over when this act takes place. To correctly deduce the moment when one is declared righteous there are four questions that must be answered. Firstly, what is justification? Secondly, how was justification made available? Thirdly, how does one receive justification? Fourthly, what is faith, specifically in its role in the process of justification? When these questions are answered we will be able to draw some reasonable conclusions as to when justification takes place.

I. What is Justification?
Justification can be defined as, “a divine act whereby an infinitely Holy God judicially declares a believing sinner to be righteous and acceptable before Him.” (from New Unger's Bible Dictionary) Justification is not a process, it is a statement or declaration that one is now righteous. To further define justification let us look at its Greek definitions:
In Romans, the words “justify,” “justification,” “righteous,” and “righteousness” all come from the same Greek root. Respectively, the Greek words are dikaioō, dikaiōsis, dikaios, and dikaiosunē. According to Bauer’s lexicon, to be “justified” (dikaiousthai) means to “be acquitted, be pronounced and treated as righteous and thereby become dikaios, receive the divine gift of dikaiosunē, as a theological t.t. [technical term] be justified.” (Bernard, The Role of the Holy Spirit in Justification)
Douglass Moo simplifies all this, he states that justification is the act where God restores a person to a right relationship with him. (Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans) To sum, justification is the act where God pardons one’s transgressions and remits their sin.

II. How was justification made available?
Justification was made available through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, that being his death, burial and resurrection. Paul states: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice…(Rom 3:23-25,NIV)

Seeing that humanity could not save itself, Jesus Christ made justification available through his redemptive work. Redemptive work defined as the death, burial and resurrection. Many attest that justification was made available at the cross, this view is incorrect, because the total work of Christ had to be completed before righteousness could be attainable. Paul says, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Cor 15:17, KJV) Seeing that we could not justify ourselves, Christ paid the price for humanity and made justification attainable for all.

III. How does one receive justification?
Seeing that Christ made justification available through his redemptive work, we are declared righteous through faith:
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. (Rom 3:27-30, KJV)
The question Paul is addressing in his letter to the Romans is a complex one. The Christian Jews at this time were coercing newly converted Gentiles to be circumcised so that they might be saved; and Paul’s argument to them is that we are not made righteous through the acts of our own sinful flesh but through faith in Jesus Christ.

IV. What is Faith
If faith is how one receives justification what is faith? Is it mere mental assent or is there something else we must look at. Faith:
In the Greek text is pistis, which Bauer et al. have defined as “faith, trust. 1. that which causes trust and faith-a. faithfulness, reliability…. 2. trust, confidence, faith in the active sense=‘believing’, in relig. usage.” Dunn explained that faith “is clearly intended to denote the basis of a relationship which is not dependent on specific ritual acts, but is direct and immediate, a relying on the risen Christ rather than a resting on the law.” (Bernard, The Role of the Holy Spirit in Justification)
Douglas Moo simplifies this definition:
We understand the words “obedience” and “faith” to be mutually interpreting: obedience always involves faith, and faith always involves obedience…. Paul called men and women to a faith that was always inseparable from obedience-for the Savior in whom we believe is nothing less than our Lord-and to an obedience that could never be divorced from faith-for we can obey Jesus as Lord only when we have given ourselves to him in faith. (Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans)
Therefore we can conclude that real biblical faith is more than mental assent but is rather active obedience in response to the redemptive work of Christ.

V. When is one Justified
Let us recap, justification was made available through the redemptive work of Christ, one receives that justification through faith or obedience in Jesus Christ. Now, at what point is one justified? One is justified, or counted righteous when they have correctly responded to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. This response includes repentance, baptism in Jesus name and the sealing or infilling of the Holy Ghost. Just as Christ had to die, buried and be raised from the dead for our justification we must identify with the same before we can receive justification:
We are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 4; 8:2).

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11). [emphasis mine]
If Christ had to die, be buried and rise again from the dead for our justification what makes us think that we become justified without complete identification? The Bible continually states that our unrighteousness is what condemns us therefore, we can conclude that when one is declared righteous they are no longer condemned. Where in Pentecostal theology have we come up with the idea that the “Acts 2:38” experience is needed for salvation but only repentance for justification? There is no difference between justification and salvation. I Corinthians 6:11 says “But ye are washed (denotes baptism) but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” “In the Name of the Lord Jesus” denotes the act of repentance and baptism united together where we are united with the death and burial of Jesus Christ and our sins are forgiven and “by the Spirit of our God” denotes the infilling of the Holy Ghost where we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of our inheritance. We are justified through our identification with the redemptive work of Christ. In conclusion, let us remember that our justification is only found in Christ. In our flesh we are condemned to death but when we identify with the redemptive work of Christ we become just because He is just. We are declared righteous because he is righteous. And as long as we stay under blood we will have a home with him in eternity.