Does God justify people because they deserve it?
No. God justifies people freely, without a cause, not because they deserve it. Justification is God's judicial act whereby He declares the sinner who believes just as if he had never sinned. It is granted even though they do not deserve it, and it comes when they believe.
Les teaches that justification is not something people earn or deserve. He explains that to justify someone is to declare them just as if nothing had ever happened. In the scriptural realm, justification is that judicial act of God whereby He declares the sinner who believes just as if he had never sinned. Les says this is hard to comprehend, but it is a biblical truth. God did not get backed into a corner and say He would justify people because they deserved it. Instead, God justifies freely without a cause even though we do not deserve it when we believe.