The word justified comes from the Greek verb dikaióo, which means to prove or declare someone to be righteous or as he ought to be. In the context of Scripture and the doctrine of salvation, the word justified is a forensic, or legal, declaration.11 The man who believes God is justified, that is, righteousness has been credited to his account. He is reckoned, or declared, to be right with God, and God treats him as such. In his letter to the church in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”12
