There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22–24 (NIV, emphasis added)
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Romans 5:18 (ESV, emphasis added)
To be just is to live a life that conforms to upright moral, legal, or social standards. It means seeing things as they truly are and making fair, unbiased judgements. Living justly is one of the main characteristics of a righteous person, and God is the perfect embodiment of justice.
When we think of justifying something, we are usually trying to “make it make sense”. Maybe you’ve heard of “girl math”. For example, a woman would use girl math to justify the purchase of a $200 purse by reasoning that if she uses it each day for one year, she’s actually only spending 55 cents per day, making the purse a sound investment.
When you think about it, God is using some serious girl math to make our salvation make sense. We aren’t a sound investment - we’re sinners who come up short of meeting God’s perfect standards. Because God is perfectly just, He cannot tolerate any imperfection when deciding our eternal verdict. But God loves and desires us so much that when we accept His free gift of salvation simply through our faith and by His grace, He justifies us. Through justification God is able to welcome us into relationship, partnership, and life everlasting.