A major preoccupying argument of fundamentalists is justification. They say people are justified by faith rather than works (Rom 3:28). The simple reason they give is that people cannot save themselves. (Rom 3:24)

There is no justification for sin, not through faith or works. Normally, justification means something was not wrong in the first place. If someone is justified in cutting down a tree, it means the tree was supposed to be cut down; it doesn't mean he destroyed his neighbor's property, but God says he doesn't care.

The technical argument is that Christ's crucifixion justified the sin of certain select persons. After being justified, salvation supposedly occurs without overcoming sin. The logic is that no one could overcome sin if they wanted to. Why then did Christ teach? He taught how to overcome sin.

The technicality is irrelevant, because it says justification is the "allow" mechanism for salvation, while there never was a "disallow" mechanism. Every person who can possibly get saved gets saved. The rationalizers contrive a disallow mechanism for salvation on the basis of some oddity of God's, while there is no evidence, logic or quotes that indicates God ever had such a quirk in his head.

Sin cannot be justified. Ending it is the only relevance. Since there is not a justification for sin, the fundamentalists say only the crucifixion could justify it. In saying that, they falsify the meaning of the crucifixion and replace moral concerns with a mindless argument. The real purpose of the crucifixion was to produce truth. It showed that humans would crucify God for doing good deeds and teaching morality.

A quote which is used to rationalize justification is Luke 18:9-14. It says two persons, one arrogant and one humble, prayed. The humble one was justified, but not the arrogant one. It doesn't say praying took away their sins, it says their praying was or was not justified.

This example does nothing to rationalize the dogma of justification. It shows the common sense of the subject, while the dogma contrives absurdities about God using the murder of one person to justify another person.

In regard to salvation, Christ said that on judgment day, the sheep will be separated from the goats on the basis of who fed the hungry, clothed the naked, etc (Mat 25:31-46). Those good deeds are how sin is overcome, as I explain on the page titled "Morality Applied."

Also, Christ said each persons will be repayed according to his conduct (Mat 16:27)(J 5:29). The justification theology of Paul says the opposite.

Constructive acts, when clearly defined, end sin, because they require a total reorientation from the destructive mentality, with all of its attitudes, values and habits, to the proper attitudes, values and habits.

The logic of justification and salvation