The word justification, as used in theological circles today, is
pregnant with meaning and laden with baggage carried over from
the Protestant reformation. There has been, in recent centuries,
a tendency among biblical scholars to exclusively adopt and
employ the standard western Christian or reformed protestant
[juridical] definition of the word. It often seems that this
understanding of justification is adopted de facto as the only
proper way to understand the Pauline use of the word. The word
justification is used three times in the book of Romans. The
word group is defined in the following manner: dike (root word
of the group, meaning right or just), dikaios (meaning
righteously or justly), dikaiosune (meaning righteousness or
justice), dikaiosis (meaning “the act of pronouncing righteous”
or acquittal), dikaioma (meaning an ordinance, a sentence of
acquittal or condemnation, a righteous deed), dikaio (meaning
“to show to be righteous” or “to declare righteous”), and
dikastase (meaning “to judge” or “a ju