Justification is not a relic of the past - it has direct relevance to us as Christians today. We often struggle with the thought of justification because of human pride; I can't be that bad and so justification is often undermined, wrongly presented or just plain ignored. Scripture though, is brutally clear: we have a real problem - the prospect of our lives marred by wrong-doing being laid out before an almighty God who is pure and will not forever let wrong go unpunished. We can't earn our way out of our predicament - as this is just rubbish according to the apostle Paul. We need something else, someone who can take the hit we so richly deserve - leaving us to be declared innocent instead.