And such some of you were; but you are washed, but you are sanctified,
but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6, 11

Protestants who adhere to the classical reformed persuasion believe that Catholics are mistaken in their understanding of what it means to be declared just or righteous by God. They differentiate the biblical concepts of sanctification and justification, viewing the person declared justified by God as only being synthetically just and not inherently made righteous by the power of divine grace infused into the human soul through the work of the Holy Spirit. According to this view, justification does not constitute a genuine renewal of being and supernatural transformation of the soul that affects interior holiness within the believer. Therefore, in line with the Protestant conviction, God declares a person just or righteous even when they are sinful or in a state of sin, only because of their profession of faith in the redemptive merits of Christ (sola Christo). Christ’s personal righteousness is instrumentally imputed to them because of their faith (sola fide).

This particular branch of Protestantism believes that we, as humans, can never attain divine perfection that meets God’s standards in this life. It can only be achieved in life after death once we are freed from the limitations of our physical bodies. When God declares a person righteous or just, the person has entered into a right relationship with Him. Justification involves a change in our relationship with God, not a change in our nature or spiritual renewal. Therefore, believers can only be justified by being covered with Christ’s extrinsic or alien righteousness through faith in Him. The intrinsic righteousness from God’s sanctifying grace through the Holy Spirit has no bearing on their justification, which is strictly a legal or forensic declaration.

However, St. Paul uses the terms justification and sanctification interchangeably, suggesting a symbiotic relationship between the two (Heb 13:12; Rom 5:9; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Cor 6:11). To better understand how justification and sanctification are related in the Apostle’s theology, we can turn to the metaphysics of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He proposed that all created things exist based on four causes: efficient, material, formal, and final. We focus on formal causality since the Council of Trent defined sanctification as “the single formal cause (causa formalis) of justification” in the instrumental application of our redemption. The Council defines the single formal cause as the justice of God, not that by which He is just, but by which He makes us just. By being endowed with this justice, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind (Decree on Justification: Chapter 7).

All things have a formal cause, which comprises the elements defining the thing or its conception. This includes the idea of a formative principle that works with physical matter. Essentially, everything is made up of both matter and form. The form determines what something is, like an oak tree or justification. The substantial form of something determines which category or species it belongs to.

Justification cannot exist as intended without its principle of determination, namely sanctity. However, neither justification nor sanctification can exist without the principle of efficient causality, which is responsible for putting something into effect for a specific purpose. In this case, the material cause is the grace given by God, and the efficient cause is the Divine favor and persuasion through the activity of the Holy Spirit, who justifies us by His sanctifying grace. Justification and sanctification are the results of the Divine initiative, and they function inter-dependently like two sides of a single coin – redemption. Therefore, neither state can fruitfully exist alone in the entire Divine plan of redemption.

For us to be considered righteous in the eyes of God, we must first receive the initial grace of forgiveness. Only after this can our sanctification through regeneration begin to take place. And it is only through this sanctification process that we can be truly justified before God when he passes judgment on our souls. The final cause of justification is to free us from all guilt in our relationship with God and to prepare us for our predestination to glory. This purpose cannot be accomplished without sanctity, which is the principal determinant of the justification process. It’s important to note that our righteousness, not Christ’s alien righteousness, must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees if we hope to enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:20).

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you
used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of
the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our flesh, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest
we were deserving by nature of wrath. But because of his great love for
us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2, 1-4

According to Catholic theology, justification is formally and collectively a declarative and forensic process. This means that God has decided to make us righteous in His eyes through His mighty grace and the spiritual gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit, all of which are a result of Christ’s redeeming merits. In simpler terms, it means that we are reconciled to God through His gift of forgiveness and justification, not because of anything we have done (Eph 2:8-9). Our spiritual renewal is solely dependent on the redemption achieved by Christ for all of humanity through His just merits in His passion and atoning death on the Cross. Christ alone has earned the gift of our salvation by Divine decree. Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, the entire human race has fallen from a perfect friendship with God (Eph 2:3-5). Our natural abilities and the law cannot save us from divine justice as we are all prone to sin because of the effects of original sin, and therefore, we cannot save ourselves.

God alone can initiate the process of reconciling us to Him and saving us from our state of sin and death. Therefore, God sent His Son to free the world from bondage by paying a ransom for us with his blood and offering atonement on our behalf (1 Tim 2:5-6). Through His passion and death on the Cross, Christ became the source of grace and human merit that enables us to actively participate in His merits and thus attain our redemption through self-denial and spiritual sacrifice. This process requires us to put to death the deeds of the flesh and engage in good works of charity (agape) and grace under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While we must cooperate with God’s plan (subjective redemption), it is only possible because of Christ’s objective redemption of humanity (Rom 6:6-23). The elect have the privilege of contributing to the final destiny of their souls by cooperating with God’s saving grace in accordance with God’s will and our free will. In a distributive sense, our justification isn’t strictly forensic (Eph 2:10).

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the
flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit… If Christ is in you, though the body is
dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of
Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the
dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So
then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are
putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God… 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 8, 1-17

In Romans 3:28, St. Paul states that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. What St. Paul means is that we are not justified by observing the external ceremonies of the Old Covenant, such as circumcision, kosher, and ritual washings, after having made contact with unclean things. St. James would add that good works done in charity and grace are necessary for our salvation. Our faith in Christ and devotion to Him make us righteous by fulfilling the spirit of the moral law. Having faith in Christ is primary since it is by having faith in Him that we receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit justifies us by making us able to do with a renewed interior disposition what is pleasing and just and fulfill the moral requirements of God’s commandments summed up in the law of Christ given to us in the Gospels.

As believers in Christ, it is crucial to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and lead a life that is pleasing to God. Even though we are justified by grace through faith, we must strive to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and remain steadfast in our faith. The book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 1-17, emphasizes that we can fulfill the requirements of the law by walking in the Spirit and not according to our fleshly desires. It is up to us to choose between eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him. If we choose to live according to our flesh, we will face the consequences of the second death. However, if we choose to live by the Spirit and put the deeds of our body to death, we will live. Moreover, the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God. Those who live by the flesh are hostile to God, while those who live by the Spirit are considered children of God and are heirs of His kingdom. We must overcome our selfish desires and strive to live a life that is worthy of entering Heaven and receiving our eternal reward.

Therefore, as we have borne the image of the earthly,
let us also bear the image of the heavenly.
1 Corinthians 15, 49

We are justified by faith and not by external works of the Old Dispensation. This is because our faith in Christ and our love for Him results in receiving the Holy Spirit, who enters our lives and empowers us to do what is just in God’s sight. We will be judged by the works that the Spirit has enabled us to do by giving us the strength to put the deeds of the body to death. Faith in Christ grants us the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, fulfill the moral law of Christ (love of God and neighbor), and be genuinely pleasing to God, thus making us judged worthy of being with Him eternally.

St. Paul teaches us that we need to cleanse ourselves from every impurity of body and spirit and perfect our holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor 7:1). Holiness is related to our inner being, which comes from God, who gives us sanctifying grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. This holiness is not a fabrication or a false justification for the effects of original sin on human nature. Although we are constantly plagued by concupiscence, it is not a sin. The truth is that Christ is in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. This presence causes an internal transformation that makes us righteous and pleasing to God, provided that we do not receive His grace in vain (2 Cor 3:15). God is actively working in us. His power is so great that He can transform us by recreating and renewing our nature through the Holy Spirit, who justifies us (Phil 2:13).

God is not distant from us, announcing impersonal, external verdicts like a judge in a courtroom towards a defendant who needs to be bailed out by someone who can pay his debt without asking for anything in return. The idea that God only declares us righteous by covering us up with Christ’s external righteousness while pretending not to notice our inherent unrighteousness disregards the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit continues the work of the resurrected Christ for our justification by infusing His sanctifying grace into our souls, thereby changing our interior being despite the challenges we face due to our wounded nature. The main point of Romans 5:19 is that there isn’t just a change of relational status between God and us but an objective transformation of our human nature. Though the process may be gradual, God doesn’t just declare us righteous but makes us righteous by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. When God declares something to exist, it becomes a tangible and objective reality, just like when He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen 1:3).

The verse from 1 John 1:7 states that if we walk in the light like Jesus did, we’ll have fellowship with each other, and Jesus’ blood will cleanse us from all sin. Jesus didn’t come to the world just to atone for our sins but also to help us live holy lives and be righteous like Him by applying His righteousness in our lives daily with the help of His saving grace and the Holy Spirit. We’re supposed to actively remove our guilt and seek forgiveness for our sins to be just in God’s sight. God has declared this necessary if we hope to be saved through the merits of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who made all of this possible.

Early Sacred Tradition

“So likewise men, if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and
receive the Spirit of God, and bring forth the fruit thereof, shall be spiritual, as
being planted in the paradise of God. But if they cast out the Spirit, and remain
in their former condition, desirous of being of the flesh rather than of the Spirit,
then it is very justly said with regard to men of this stamp, ‘That flesh and blood
shall not inherit the kingdom of God… …For when men sleep, the enemy
sows the material of tares; and for this cause did the Lord command His disciples
to be on the watch. And again, those persons who are not bringing forth the
fruits of righteousness, and are, as it were, covered over and lost among
brambles, if they use diligence, and receive the word of God as a graft, arrive at
the pristine nature of man–that which was created after the
image and likeness of God.”
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:10,1
(inter A.D. 180-190)

“You are mistaken, and are deceived, whosoever you are, that think yourself
rich in this world. Listen to the voice of your Lord in the Apocalypse, rebuking
men of your stamp with righteous reproaches: ‘Thou sayest,’ says He, ‘I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to
buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear in
thee; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.’ You, therefore,
who are rich and wealthy, buy for yourself of Christ gold tried by fire; that you
may be pure gold, with your filth burnt out as if by fire, if you are purged by
almsgiving and righteous works. Buy for yourself white raiment, that you who
had been naked according to Adam, and were before frightful and unseemly,
may be clothed with the white garment of Christ. And you who are a wealthy
and rich matron in Christ’s Church, anoint your eyes, not with the collyrium of
the devil, but with Christ’s eye-salve, that you may be able to attain to see God,
by deserving well of God, both by good works and character.”
St. Cyprian, On Works and Alms,14
(A.D. 254)

“He from the essence of the Father, nor is the Son again Son
according to essence, but in consequence of virtue,
as we who are called sons by grace.”
St. Athanasius, Defense of the Nicene Creed, 22
(A.D. 351)

“You see indeed, then, how the strength of the Lord is cooperative in human
endeavors, so that no one can build without the Lord, no one can preserve
without the Lord, no one build without the Lord, no one can preserve without
the Lord, no one can undertake anything without the Lord.”
St. Ambrose, Commentary on Luke, 2:84
(A.D. 389)

“ ‘To declare His righteousness.’ What is declaring of righteousness? Like
declaring of His riches, not only for Him to be rich Himself, but also to make
others rich, or of life, not only that He is Himself living, but also that He makes
the dead to live; and of His power, not only that He is Himself powerful, but also
that He makes the feeble powerful. So also is the declaring of His righteousness
not only that He is Himself righteous, but that He doth also make them that are
filled with the putrefying sores ‘asapentas’ of sin suddenly righteous.”
St. John Chrysostom, Romans, Homily Vll: 24, 25
(A.D. 391)

“All His saints, also, imitate Christ in the pursuit of righteousness; whence the same apostle,
whom we have already quoted, says: ‘Be ye imitators of me, as I am also of Christ.’ But besides
this imitation, His grace works within us our illumination and justification, by that operation
concerning which the same preacher of His [name] says: ‘Neither is he that planteth anything, nor
he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.’ For by this grace He engrafts into His body
even baptized infants, who certainly have not yet become able to imitate any one. As therefore
He, in whom all are made alive, besides offering Himself as an example of righteousness to those
who imitate Him, gives also to those who believe on Him the hidden grace of His Spirit, which He
secretly infuses even into infants…”
St. Augustine of Hippo,
On the merits and forgiveness of sins, 1:9
(A.D. 412)

For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes
and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5, 20