Justification

Written by Mike Gendron.

Catholicism Teaches Scripture Teaches
Justification is God's act of making man righteous by good works and obedience Justification is God's act of declaring a sinner righteous by faith
Infused sanctifying grace through the sacraments makes the believer acceptable to God Christ's imputed righteousness makes the believer acceptable to God
Justification is achieved by faith plus good works Justification is received by faith alone
Justification is granted the sinner when he is actually made just Justification enables God to see the sinner as if he were just
Justification can be increased by receiving more sacraments Justification cannot increase since the ground is the perfect rightousness of Christ
Justification is affected by sin Justification is a permanent verdict and is not affected by sin
Final justification is not determined until death Justification comes at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ
The ground of justification is the righteousness of the person The ground of justification is the righteousness of Jesus Christ
Sanctification and justification are similar Justification precedes sanctification
Emphasis is on the sacraments Emphasis is on God's verdict