Justification by Faith

Rom 5:1-2 (HCSB) "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

The word "righteous" in this verse shows up as "justified" in some other translations. Strong's defines the Greek word as:

G1344 δικαιόω dikaioo (d̮iy-kai-o'-ō) v.
1. to regard as righteous.
2. (judicially) to regard as innocent.
[from G1342]
KJV: free, justify(-ier), be righteous

Acts 13:38-39 (HCSB) "Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses."

Rom 3:21-22 (HCSB) "But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed — attested by the Law and the Prophets ​— that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction."   

Note this, dear saints: We have been declared righteous, been justified, by faith. We have peace with God, accessed by faith - we stand in grace that Christ has lavished upon us in redeeming us from our sin. These are explicit, showing justification being tied our believing on Jesus - not the date of His crucifixion.

Eph 2:8-10 (HCSB) "For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Again - saved through faith, exercised by those who were regenerated. We have good works to do, which were prepared some time ago - we did not exist but He has - always - and He chose us for salvation, applied that to us as humans in time, and causes us to walk as He ordains.

Since Scripture cannot be broken, there is no need to put meaning into passages such as Romans 4:25 to support an unwarranted claim that we were justified when Christ died or when He was raised up from the dead. Those two acts are instrumental in justifying us - if Christ be not raised we are without hope! If He did not deink our cup of wrath, we are doomed!

But nothing in Scripture mandates we think we existed in some fashion in the first century and were actually buried with Him or justified then.