In Mormonism, justification is generally understood as being pardoned from sins and brought back into alignment with God’s laws. It is closely tied to repentance, obedience, and keeping covenants. LDS scripture teaches that people are justified as they keep the commandments (Doctrine and Covenants 20:30–31), so justification is seen as conditional and maintained by continued faithfulness. Rather than a once-for-all courtroom declaration, justification in Mormonism is more like continually keeping one’s life aligned with God’s laws, the way text in a document must be re-aligned whenever it drifts off center.
In biblical Christianity, justification is God’s once-for-all declaration that a sinner is righteous because of Christ’s perfect life and substitutionary death. It is a legal verdict, not a process of realignment, and it happens through faith alone apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). Justification is complete and secure, grounded entirely in the finished work of Jesus.
