Justification (theology)

===Reformed/Calvinist===
{{Main article|Imputed righteousness}}
[[John Calvin]]'s understanding of justification was in substantial agreement with Martin Luther's. Calvin expanded this understanding by emphasizing that justification is a part of one's union with Christ. The center of Calvin's [[soteriology]] was [[Union with Christ]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|title=Institutes of the Christian Religion|at=III.xi.10}}</ref> For Calvin, one is united to Christ by faith, and all of the benefits of Christ come from being united to him. Therefore, anyone who is justified will also receive all of the benefits of salvation, including [[sanctification]]. Thus, while Calvin agreed in substance with the "simultaneously saint and sinner" formulation,<ref>{{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|title=Institutes of the Christian Religion|at=III.xiii}}</ref> he was more definite in asserting that the result of being justified is a consequent sanctification.<ref>{{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|title=Institutes of the Christian Religion|at=III.xiv.19; III.xvi}}</ref> Calvin also used more definite language than Luther, spelling out the exchange notion of [[imputed righteousness]]: that the good works that Jesus did in his life (collectively referred to as the [[active obedience of Christ]]) are imputed to his people, while their sins were imputed to him on the cross.

For Calvin, Adam and Jesus functioned as ''[[federal head]]s'', or legal representatives, meaning that each one represented his people through his actions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|title=Institutes of the Christian Religion|at=II.i.8}}</ref> When Adam sinned, all of Adam's people were accounted to have sinned at that moment. When Jesus achieved righteousness, all of his people were accounted to be righteous at that moment. In this way Calvin attempted to simultaneously solve the problems of original sin, justification, and atonement.

Some of the technical details of this union with Christ are tied into Calvin's understanding of the [[Atonement (satisfaction view)|atonement]] and of [[predestination]].

One outcome of Calvin's change in center over against Luther was that he saw justification as a permanent feature of being connected to Christ: since, for Calvin, people are attached to Christ monergistically, it is therefore impossible for them to lose justification if indeed they were once justified. This idea was expressed by the [[Synod of Dort]] as the "perseverance of the saint."

In recent times, two controversies have arisen in the Reformed churches over justification. The first concerns the teaching of "final justification" by [[Norman Shepherd]]; the second is the exact relationship of justification, sanctification, and church membership, which is part of a larger controversy concerning the ''[[Federal Vision]]''.