Yes — justification has a psychological effect because God's judicial declaration changes how we live.
Les Feldick teaches that the moment a person believes the work of the cross, God justifies him by virtue of Christ's shed blood and declares him just as if he had never sinned. That standing is not earned or produced by psychology; it is God's act. Yet the continuing awareness of that standing is intended to have a psychological impact, affecting how the believer behaves throughout the day.
Romans 3:28 — Paul's conclusion that justification is by faith apart from the law is the foundation for Les's repeated definition.
Romans 5:16 — The free gift of grace brings justification, showing it is not earned by the law or personal works.
Paul writes, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:28). He also writes, "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification" (Romans 5:16). These verses show that justification is a gift that comes through faith, not through legal performance.
Les Feldick defines justification as "that judicial act of God whereby He declares the sinner who believes just as if he had never sinned." He repeats this throughout Romans because God wants believers to understand it and not be in a fog about it. The psychological impact, as he puts it, is that when a believer is constantly aware from morning to night that he is a justified person, that awareness is going to affect his behavior. In God's chemistry, the blood of Christ washes sin-stained people white as snow, restoring them to Adam's standing before the fall — even though the physical body remains corrupt and prone to sin. Justification is free and without a cause; it is by faith, without the deeds of the law, because Christ died and shed His blood.
Les defines justification as the judicial act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner just as if he had never sinned. He says God looks at the guilty, helpless sinner and declares him just as if he'd never sinned, restoring him to the standing Adam had before the fall.
Les expressly calls this a psychological impact. If a believer is constantly aware from the moment he wakes to the moment he sleeps that he is a justified person, that awareness will affect his behavior. He says if it does not, something is wrong.
No. Les is careful to say justification is not physical. The body is still corrupt; a person whose liver is wrecked by alcohol will not suddenly receive a new liver when he believes. The change is judicial and spiritual, not physical.
Les says the whole sin problem began in Adam, and every person was in Adam. Justification is God's declaration that the believer is just as if he never sinned, restoring that Adam-before-the-fall standing through Christ's shed blood.
God's Chemistry and Adam's Standing
Les explains that in God's chemistry the blood of Christ makes a sinner white as snow, declaring him just as if he had never sinned—Adam's standing before the fall—while the physical body remains corrupt.
Justification's Psychological Impact
Les directly says that being constantly aware that you are a justified person is a psychological factor that will affect your behavior; if it doesn't, something is wrong.
The Judge's Declaration
Les pictures God on the bench declaring the guilty, helpless believer just as if he had never sinned—a judicial act of God, not something man produces.
Justified Freely, Without a Cause
Les stresses that God justifies freely without a cause; the believing sinner does not deserve the declaration that he is just as if he had never sinned.
Justified Despite Ongoing Sin
Les notes that even after justification believers still fall into sin, yet God tells us we are justified and sees us as if we had never sinned.
The Free Gift unto Justification
Les says Paul hammers justification because it is what believers are; through the free gift God restores us back as Adam was before he fell.
Sin Began in Adam
Les points out that the whole sin problem began in Adam and that every person was in Adam, which is why justification relates to Adam's pre-fall standing.
Justified by Faith Without the Law
Les cites Paul's conclusion that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law, calling it settled truth—no more room for argument.
Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Les quotes this conclusion in Clip 7 to show justification is by faith, not law-keeping.
Romans 5:16: And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Les mentions the free gift coming 'unto justification' to show it is a gift of grace through many offenses.
Yes. Les Feldick defines justification as a judicial act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner just as if he had never sinned—the same standing Adam had before the fall.
No. Les says God justifies us freely without a cause, and Paul concludes that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Les says the awareness of being justified has a psychological impact. When a believer is constantly conscious of being declared righteous, it has to affect his behavior.
Watch the Teaching: What Does "Justified by Faith" Really Mean? Romans 5