Justification by Christ alone

"... the meaning of justification: God has declared all those who believe the gospel to be in the right, and no one will be able to overturn God's verdict. Justification by faith is after all the ground of assurance, not of justification itself. We are not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith; we are justified by faith by believing in the gospel, by believing (that is) in Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord of the world. When we understand justification, we gain, not justification itself, but assurance. God who has called us in the gospel has declared that we are members of his family, and he will not let us go.... on that final day God will reaffirm the verdict already issued on the basis of faith."

Tom Wright, Romans for Everyone, volume 1 (London, SPCK, 2004) p.160