What is the Catholic doctrine of justification?
Justification is the passing from the state of sin to that of justice. When a soul is justified, two effects are produced: (1) sins are truly remitted, effaced, and destroyed; (2) man is renewed interiorly and becomes a new creature in Christ. The Catholic doctrine insists on the complete interior renovation of man, so that his soul becomes intrinsically pleasing to God. His soul is pleasing to God because sin is erased, taken away, and in its place the life of God, sanctifying grace, is infused in the soul. 2. What is the Lutheran doctrine on justification? The Lutherans teach that in justification sins are neither remitted nor effaced, but rather are merely covered up and hidden by the justice of Christ. Sins are no longer imputed (applied) to the sinner, even though they remain in the soul. Hence, for the heretics, there is no interior renovation produced by sanctifying grace. The soul is not truly pleasing to God. Rather, our justification is merely extrinsic, that is, God forgets
