Justification is God's verdict upon man in the Person of Christ. Justification is God's regenerating act in man. The sinner is justified by Christ's imputed righteousness alone. The sinner cannot be justified by imputed righteousness alone, but by righteousness poured into his heart. Justification enables God to treat the sinner as if he were just.
Justification means that the sinner is really made just.
The believer is pronounced righteous be-cause Christ, his Substitute, is found righteous before God. The believer is pronounced righteous because the Spirit of grace has made him righteous. Justification is a declaration of the fact that Jesus, who stands in man's place, is righteous. Justification is a declaration of what is a fact in the man himself. Justification is so infinite that it cannot be reduced to an intrahuman experience.