Below is a chart of every occurrence of the words justify, justification, justified, etc., that occurs in the New Testament. The purpose is to see how it is used in different senses and contexts so that the semantic domain might be easily understood for those inquiring about our salvation.
| NEW TESTAMENT VERSES Noun: Justification, dikaiosis, (δικαίωσις) Noun: Justification, dikaioma (δικαίωμα), Verb: to justify, vindicate, dikiaoo (δικαιόω) |
Justified by means of: blood, Christ, Christ’s crucifixion, conduct, court, deeds, faith, gift, God, grace, integrity, law, words, works | Justified in what sense? declared to be, forgiveness, God’s justice, legal, moral, self-righteous, without sin. | Justified before whom: before God, before people, before ourselves | |
| Matt. 11:19 | “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” | By Deeds | Self-Vindication | Before People |
| Matt. 12:37 | “For by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned.” | By Words | Moral | Before God |
| Luke 7:29 | “And when all the people and the tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.” | — | God’s Justice | Before People |
| Luke 7:35 | “Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” | By Deeds | Self-Vindication | Before People |
| Luke 10:29 | “But wishing to justify himself he said to Jesus ‘And who is my neighbor?'” | By Works | Self Righteousness |
Before God |
| Luke 16:15 | “And He said to them ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.'” | By Works | Self Righteousness | Before People |
| Luke 18:14 | “I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” | By Faith | Without Sin | Before God |
| Acts 13:39 | “and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” | By Faith | Freed, Forgiven | Before God |
| NEW TESTAMENT VERSES Noun: Justification, dikaiosis, (δικαίωσις) Noun: Justification, dikaioma (δικαίωμα), Verb: to justify, vindicate, dikiaoo (δικαιόω) |
Justified by means of: blood, Christ, Christ’s crucifixion, conduct, court, deeds, faith, gift, God, grace, integrity, law, words, works | Justified in what sense? declared to be, forgiveness, God’s justice, legal, moral, self-righteous, without sin. | Justified before whom: before God, before people, before ourselves | |
| Rom. 2:13 | “for not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the doers of the Law will be justified.”1 | By Works | Legally Right | Before God |
| Rom. 3:4 | “May it never be! Rather let God be found true though every man be found a liar as it is written, “That you might be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.” | In Words | Right Standing | Before God |
| Rom. 3:20 | “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” | By Works | Legally Right | Not Before God |
| Rom. 3:24 | “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;” | By Gift | Christ | Before God |
| Rom. 3:26 | “for the demonstration I say of His righteousness at the present time that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” | By faith | Legal (sins context. sin is breaking God’s Law, 1 John 3:4) | Before God |
| Rom. 3:28 | “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” | By Faith | Legal (law context) | Before God |
| Rom. 3:30 | “since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.” | By Faith | Legal (law context) | Before God |
| Rom. 4:2 | “For if Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about; but not before God.” | By Works | Legal | Not Before God |
| Rom. 4:5 | “But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly his faith is reckoned as righteousness | By Faith | Right Standing | Before God |
| Rom. 4:25 | “He who was delivered up because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification.” | Justified by faith | — | Justified by God |
| Rom. 5:1 | “Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ | Justified by faith | Legal (Rom. 4:22) | Before God |
| Rom. 5:9 | “Much more then having now been justified by His blood we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” | By Christ’s blood | Legal (wrath of God) | Before God |
| NEW TESTAMENT VERSES Noun: Justification, dikaiosis, (δικαίωσις) Noun: Justification, dikaioma (δικαίωμα), Verb: to justify, vindicate, dikiaoo (δικαιόω) |
Justified by means of: blood, Christ, Christ’s crucifixion, conduct, court, deeds, faith, gift, God, grace, integrity, law, words, works | Justified in what sense? declared to be, forgiveness, God’s justice, legal, moral, self-righteous, without sin. | Justified before whom: before God, before people, before ourselves | |
| Rom. 5:16 | “And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.” | Christ’s Crucifixion | Legal, forgiveness | Before God |
| Rom. 5:18 | “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” | Christ’s Crucifixion | Legal, Forgiveness |
Before God |
| Rom. 6:7 | “for he who has died is freed from sin.” | Freed | Legal (sin is breaking God’s Law, 1 John 3:4) | Before God |
| Rom. 8:30 | “and whom He predestined these He also called, and whom He called these He also justified; and whom He justified these He also glorified.” | — | — | Before God |
| Rom. 8:33 | “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.” | — | Legal (context is judgment and condemnation) | Before People |
| 1 Cor. 4:4 | “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.” | By God | Legal (context 1 Cor. 4:3,5) | Before God |
| 1 Cor. 6:11 | “And such were some of you; but you were washed but you were sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” | By God | Righteousness (context of contrasted with idolaters, adulterers, thieves, etc.) | Before God |
| Gal. 2:16 | “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.” | Faith | Legal (dealing with Law) | Before God |
| Gal. 2:17 | “But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found sinners is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!” | By Christ | Legal (sin is breaking God’s Law, 1 John 3:4) | Before God |
| NEW TESTAMENT VERSES Noun: Justification, dikaiosis, (δικαίωσις) Noun: Justification, dikaioma (δικαίωμα), Verb: to justify, vindicate, dikiaoo (δικαιόω) |
Justified by means of: blood, Christ, Christ’s crucifixion, conduct, court, deeds, faith, gift, God, grace, integrity, law, words, works | Justified in what sense? declared to be, forgiveness, God’s justice, legal, moral, self-righteous, without sin. | Justified before whom: before God, before people, before ourselves | |
| Gal. 3:8 | “And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you.” | By Faith | Legal (context Gal. 3:6 dealing with righteousness and the Law v. 11) | Before God |
| Gal. 3:11 | “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for ‘The righteous man shall live by faith.'” | By Faith | Legal (context is law) | Before God |
| Gal. 3:24 | “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ that we may be justified by faith.” | By Faith | Legal (context Gal. 3:23 dealing with the Law). | Before God |
| Gal. 5:4 | “You have been severed from Christ you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” | By Law | Legal | Before God |
| 1 Tim. 3:16 | “And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” | — | — | Before God |
| Titus 3:7 | “that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” | By Grace | — | Before God |
| James 2:21 | “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” | By Works | — | Before People (context is James 2:14,18) |
| James 2:24 | “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” | By Works | — | Before People (context is James 2:14,18) |
| James 2:25 | “And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” | By Works | — | Before People (context is James 2:14,18) |
| Rev. 22:11 | “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and let the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and let the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” | — | Righteousness | Before God |
References
| 1↑ | The context is Paul telling the self righteous Jews that those who keep the Law perfectly are justified. See Rom. 3:20, Gal. 3:10, and James 2:10. |
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