God is Truly Happy with You

Since the problem of sin is the loss of the presence of God, justification is ultimately about the restoration of his divine presence through the Holy Spirit. Justification is the means for the reconciliation between God and man. This reconciliation between God and us is the basis of the term “atonement” (i.e., “at-one-ment”), which is at the heart of justification. Atonement describes what justification accomplishes: restoring a ruptured divine-human relationship, making those who were at odds “at one.” Justification draws on the imagery of a courtroom in which God judges and declares us—the guilty—innocent based on Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.