Justification (theology)

In Christian theology, justification is God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God. Justification, from the Greek (dikaioō), "to declare/make righteous", is a Scriptural term, occurring in the books of Romans, Galatians, Titus, and James; the root noun δικαιοσ,-η,-ον righteous is occurs throughout both Old and New Testaments.^[1] The concept of justification occurs also in many Old and New Testament books. The extent, means, and scope of justification are of significant debate for all in the Western church. Justification is seen by historians as being the theological fault line that divided Catholic from Protestant during the Reformation.^[2]