According to protestant theology, justification is a legal declaration whereby Christ's righteousness is imputed to us and God declares us to be just. This legal declaration does not make us actually righteous and cannot be reversed. In Catholic theology, however, justification is more than just a legal declaration. It is the lifelong process by which God infuses righteousness into and makes us actually righteous when we obey Him. Because we must accept His grace, one can, in Catholic theology, reject it and lose justification.
To determine whether justification is an infusion or imputation, there are six kinds of passages that we must consider:
1) Passages that use the verb "to justify."
2) Passages that speak of people being justified without using the verb "to justify."
3) Passages that speak of justification in general without describing the justification of any specific individual.
4) Passages that speak of people who are just or righteous.
5) Passages that describe the kind of righteousness we must have.
6) Passages that say whether or not God judges our works in justification.
I. Passages that use the verb "to justify."
As far as I know, there are no passages in Scripture that use the verb "to justify" in a context that would necessitate an infused righteousness. An example of such a passage would be one that says, "John was justified, and he became intrinsically righteous." However, just because there are no such instances of the verb "to justify" in Scripture does not mean that justification is not an infusion of righteousness. First of all, just because a meaning is not necessary does not mean it's not true. Secondly, we must also look at how Scripture uses the noun and adjective forms of "justify."
However, before we go on to the next section, we cannot skip a set of passages that Protestants use to try and prove that justification is merely a legal declaration. In these passages, they claim, one can clearly see that justification is a legal declaration that does not make the person actually just.
"If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." - Deuteronomy 25:1 (KJV)
While this verse does use the verb "justify" in a declarative sense, the declaration is made only if a person exhibits righteousness. The judges declare someone to be just because they recognize that he actually is just. God declares us to be just when He sees us obeying Him and exhibiting righteousness, but He doesn't stop there. He also infuses righteousness into us and makes us even more just.
"One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD." - Proverbs 17:15
Again, we see the verb "to justify" used in a declarative sense, but again, this only supports the Catholic position. In the previous verse, we saw that one is declared righteous only when he exhibits righteousness, and in this verse, we see that it's wrong to falsely justify someone. If it is wrong to apply the term "just" to someone who really isn't, then how can God declare us to be just without us actually being so? To say that Christ's righteousness is taken into account rather than our sinfulness does not solve the problem; the fact remains that, if righteousness is merely imputed to us, we still remain intrinsically unjust.
"Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us." - Romans 8:33-34
Protestants like to focus on Paul's contrast between justification and condemnation. They say that since condemnation is a legal term, its opposite, justification, must also be a legal term. The problem with this interpretation, however, is that it is not the only one possible. If you take justification to be an infusion of righteousness, then the impossibility of condemning one of God's elect comes from the fact that they are truly righteous.
II. Passages that speak of people being justified without using the verb "to justify."
"And he [Abraham] believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness." - Genesis 15:6
St. Paul tells us that Abraham was justified here (Romans 4:2-3); God reckoned his faith as righteousness. On the surface, this passage doesn't seem relevant to our discussion, but Protestants focus on the word "reckon." In passages such as Genesis 31:14-15 and Leviticus 25:31, that same word is used to mean "to consider something as having a quality it really doesn't have." What they miss, however, is that in passages such as 2 Samuel 4:2 and 2 Samuel 19:19-20, the same word is used to mean "to recognize a quality inherent within something." So, on the basis of the word "reckon" alone, no case for an imputation of righteousness can be made. Remember, God justifies us when we obey Him and exhibit righteousness, so He can consider us just because we really are.
To try and figure out which meaning of the word "reckon" is used in Genesis 15:6, let's look at another passage that uses that same exact phrase.
"Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped. And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation for ever." - Psalm 106:30-31
Here, we see the exact same phrase applied to Phinehas not because of his faith, but because of a good act he performed. The most natural meaning of the word "reckon" in this passage is that God recognized the quality of Phinehas's act and reckoned him as righteous. Granted, just because the word "reckon" is used in the same exact phrase here and refers to a recognition of righteous, it does not necessarily follow that the same is true of Genesis 15:6. However, I think there is a good reason for making that inference. The phrase "reckoned to him as righteousness" refers to justification, and it's highly unlikely that justification would be described as a recognition of righteousness in one place and an imputation in another. It's one or the other, not both. Plus, Abraham's faith was admirable and was an act of righteousness, so it makes sense that God would have recognized that righteousness.
III. Passages that speak of justification in general without describing the justification of any specific individual.
There are a number of passages that can fit in this category, some of which I have already dealt with, but I would like to focus on one passage in particular.
"If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." - Romans 5:17-19
1) Paul compares Adam's sin, which was infused into us (well, sin is really just a lack of good, so technically we had good taken out of us), to Christ's sacrifice and says that they act in the same way. It follows, then, that since Adam's sin is an infusion of sin (loosely), justification (which comes from Christ's sacrifice) is an infusion of righteousness.
2) The last two verses can be paraphrased in this way: "Adam's sin condemns us in the same way that Christ's sacrifice saves us because Adam's sin made us actually sinful, and Christ's sacrifice makes us actually righteous." He specifically says, "so by one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." He is clearly teaching that justification is an infusion of righteousness.
IV. Passages that speak of people who are just or righteous.
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God." - Genesis 6:9
"Both of them [Elizabeth and Zechariah] were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord." - Luke 1:6
Elizabeth, Zechariah, and Noah were all righteous because they were blameless and obeyed God. The clear implication is that we can be described as righteous not because Christ's righteousness is legally imputed to us, but because God makes us actually righteous and enables us to obey His commands.
"Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous." - 1 John 3:7
Again, we see that we can be described as righteous because we do what is right, not because we have had Christ's righteousness legally imputed to us. Furthermore, we are said to be righteous just as "Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1) is righteous. What significance does this have to this issue? If we are righteous just as Jesus is righteous, then we must be truly righteous, not mere dunghills covered with snow (to borrow a metaphor from the early reformers).
V. Passages that describe the kind of righteousness we must have.
"Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19-20
Here, Jesus tells us that we must be more righteous than the Pharisees to enter heaven. This righteousness, rather than being His own righteousness imputed to us, is an intrinsic righteousness that enables us to follow His commands. How do we know this?
1) His statement about being righteous comes right after His statement telling us that whoever breaks the least commandment will be called least in heaven. The connection is obvious: we must not break the commandments because we need to be righteous to enter heaven.
2) So, how exactly do we become righteous? After this, Jesus goes on to give the Sermon on the Mount, which was 99% about works! He even tells us that those who do not do God's will (which, in this context, is clearly works) will be damned (Matthew 7:21-23), and the most plausible interpretation (given the context) is that they were damned because of their lack of works, not because their lack of works proved that their faith was false.
Given these two points, we can conclude that Jesus was telling us that we must be actually righteous to be saved.
"But nothing unclean will enter it [the heavenly Jerusalem after the end of time], nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." - Revelation 21:27
Here, John tells us that nothing unclean will enter the New Jerusalem, and this can be extended to being a condition for entering heaven before the end of time as well. If nothing unclean can enter heaven, then how can God merely declare us righteous yet leave us unclean? Plus, we are even told that those who will not enter it are the unrighteous, those who practice "abomination or falsehood," "the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and idolaters" (Revelation 22:15). Since the people who won't enter are the ones who are genuinely unrighteous, it follows that those who are clean and will enter are genuinely righteous. That is, the ones outside are intrinsically unrighteous, and those inside are intrinsically righteous. As with Matthew 5:19-20, we see that the righteousness required is an actual, not merely declared righteousness, which means that God must infuse this righteousness into us.
VI. Passages that say whether or not God judges our works in justification.
If justification makes us truly righteous, then it follows that God would probably judge our works along with our faith. If justification were merely an imputation of Christ's righteousness, then it follows that God would not judge our works at all. Since this topic is not the primary focus of this essay and has been dealt with adequately elsewhere, I'll just list a few verses that show that God judges us by our works.
"The Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped, and that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever." - Psalm 106:30-31
"For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury." - Romans 2:6-8
"If you invoke as God and Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds�" - 1 Peter 1:17
"And the dead were judged according to their works�" - Revelation 20:12
Conclusion
To close, I'd like to just wrap everything up about imputation/infusion in a few points.
1) While justification does have a declaratory aspect to it, that doesn't prove that it's not an infusion of righteousness. Protestants set up a false dichotomy between what God declares and what He recognizes within us; in addition, they don't consider every relevant Scripture that refers to justification as an infusion of righteousness in addition to being a declaration. In fact, Scripture says that it's wrong to apply the term "justified" to an unrighteous person.
2) When Scripture says that Abraham and Phinehas had their faith and work reckoned to them as righteousness, God recognized that they were displaying an intrinsic righteousness and justified them.
3) Paul says that Adam's sin made us sinful in the same way that Christ's sacrifice makes us righteous, so justification has to be an infusion of righteousness.
4) When Scriptures describes people who are righteous, it is made clear that they are righteous because they act righteously.
5) When Scripture speaks of the kind of righteousness we must have to enter heaven, it speaks of an intrinsic righteousness that displays itself through good works (in addition to faith).
6) God judges our works in justification, something He wouldn't be able to do if it were merely an imputation of Christ's righteousness.
