The concepts of justification and peace with God are intimately tied together. After all, how would someone who is not justified and therefore an enemy of God, have peace with that same God? But how does that justification occur? It occurs by faith, which is our belief and trusting in Christ for our salvation.

Here is the way the Apostle Paul was inspired to describe it in Romans 4:1-8.

“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Later in the passage in verses 23-25, Paul summed it up this way:

“Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

With that as the background, Paul was inspired to write the following about the way that is related to justification and peace.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  Romans 5:1-2

In Israel today, there is no peace. Even on days when no warfare takes place, there is not peace. You cannot have true peace if there is the constant threat of war breaking out. This is why our relationship with God can be described as “peace”.  Due to our justification, there is no more possibility of war with God. The wrath that was due for our sins was borne by Jesus on the cross. That’s why he is called “the propitiation for our sins”. 

But many will say that it cannot be by faith alone.  Surely works must be added to it in order to receive salvation. We have to “do something” we can see to receive this salvation. But faith is not something you can see, and neither is the new birth! (John 3:3) Yet what about James 2? Doesn’t James say we are justified by faith AND works? Let’s take a look at what James says.

“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” James 2:24

But in James, the subject of salvation is not being addressed. James is talking about how faith is proven genuine in the sight of others.  Justification does not always refer to salvation. The context determines the meaning, and in this case salvation is not the subject.  Here is an example of another place in the New Testament where Jesus uses the same word in this way.

Luke 7:34-36 New King James Version (NKJV)

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a [a]winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

In this passage, wisdom is proven genuine in the sight of others by those who are following its principles. No one would say that “wisdom is declared righteous and saved by her children”. That is definitely not what Jesus was trying to say. In the same way, James is saying that others know our faith is genuine because they see it walk out in our actions.

So we have peace with God because we have been justified by faith, and also because we are no longer having sin imputed to us. Like Paul says in Romans 4:8, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”  We could never have true peace, which is the absence of the threat of war, if we are one big sin or incorrect doctrine away from losing our salvation.  That’s why it is so blessed that the Lord no longer imputes sin to our account! So if you have trusted in Christ for salvation and done what Paul said later in Romans 10:9-10, you are justified and truly have peace with God!