Justification Is Just the Beginning

During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 51, in which we discuss what it means to be “justified.” Fr Aaron explained that the Greek word that is often translated as “justified” can also be translated as “declared righteous.” And so, we can understand that to be justified means that we have been declared righteous. With this legal terminology in mind, we then discussed that while part of salvation is legal or juridical, salvation goes beyond a mere legal process. St. Paul is telling us in Galatians that to be declared righteous means that we have been freed from the Mosaic Law which allows us to avoid the curse of the Law. This leads to the opportunity for us to find salvation, healing, and restoration. Thus, to be declared righteous is not the end, but rather the beginning of our walk as a Christian.