By: Dallas Burdette June 29, 1996

Thrust Statement: God’s righteousness is imputed to man through faith in Jesus.

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:17; 10:3-4; Jeremiah 23:6; 1 Corinthians 1:301

For in the gospel righteousness from God is revealed, righteousness that is by faith from first to last (Romans 1:17).

Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes (Romans 10:3-4).

What is the "righteousness of God" in Romans 1:17 and 10:3-4? Is it the righteousness that justifies the sinner or the righteousness of the Christian life? The question is: Does Paul employ the word "righteousness" in the sense of that which is imputed to man or in the sense of that which man performs? Does this righteousness involve one’s keeping the commandments of God?2 Or, is this a righteousness that is outside man? Is the righteousness in Romans 1:17 and 10:3-4 imputed or earned?3 Put another way, how is man placed in a right relationship with God? Is it by imputation or by works? Even though both kinds of righteousness appear in the book of Romans, the question still remains concerning the proper exegesis of the above passages. Since Paul employs the word "righteousness" in both senses, one must exercise discriminating judgment in distinguishing between the various nuances based upon context in which the term is used. One must distinguish between the "righteousness of faith" and "the righteousness of holy living" (sanctification).4 "Active" righteousness is the fruit of "passive" righteousness. Sanctification (active) is the fruit of righteousness by faith (passive).5

In Romans 1-8, Paul develops the theme of justification by faith alone. Even though he stresses justification by faith alone, or imputed righteousness, in the first eight chapters, he, nevertheless, addresses the fact that all Christians are servants of righteousness. God is concerned about holiness in the lives of those to whom He has imputed His righteousness. But the focus of the first part of Romans is imputed righteousness, that is to say, how a man is placed in a right relationship with God. Thus, Paul’s emphasis is upon "He who through faith is righteous shall live" (Romans 1:17). More clearly put, the emphasis is upon the righteousness of God, separate and apart from works of law, imputed to man through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, the theme of these eight chapters is: How can a man be justified?-- by works or by faith?

After Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith,6 he demonstrates graphically that holiness is the believer’s spiritual worship. Thus, Paul begins chapter twelve with emphasis upon holy living, not for justification, but as the means of presenting one’s body as a living sacrifice which is one’s worship. Once an individual is free from God's wrath through Jesus Christ, Paul emphasizes the behavior of those who through faith are righteous. Christians are to be pure in their daily walk with the Lord (Titus 2:12-14).7 "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness," said Paul (Romans 6:18). Those in Christ are "servants of God," therefore, they are to "have fruit unto holiness" (Romans 6:22).

But the word "righteousness" (dikaiosuvnh, dikaiosuvnh) in Romans 1:17 and 10:3-4 is much more comprehensive than personal holiness or even correct teaching.8 This righteousness is the righteousness of the new aeon -- the righteousness of God9 revealed through Jesus Christ. When Paul articulates the "righteousness of God" in Romans 1:17 and Romans 10:3-4, he is not using the word "righteousness" as an activity on the part of man but as an activity on the part of God. Perhaps to better clarify, God gives us Christ as "righteousness." This "righteousness" is not the "righteousness of law," but the "righteousness of God." The law of God can never, under any circumstances, be a way of salvation, not even for one "in Christ" (Romans 7:14-25). Paul differentiates between the "righteousness of law" and the "righteousness of faith." If one is to have a correct understanding of the "righteousness of God," without law, it is essential that one distinguish between righteousness as an attribute of godly living and the righteousness that is vicarious, that is to say, a righteousness that is done for us, not in us.10 This righteousness begins with faith and ends with faith, not good deeds performed, or works of the law, or a correct understanding of Scripture.

Imputed righteousness is entirely outside the behavior of the believer.11 It is the doing and dying of Jesus.12 Adding anything to this substitutionary work and calling it our righteousness by faith is blasphemy. We work from justification, not to it. Justification is the mother of sanctification.13 Before justification, man was the "servant of sin," but after justification, he is a "servant of righteousness" (Romans 6:16-22).

The Gospel of Jesus and the Life of Holiness

The gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned about right conduct,14 even as the law is.15 This is self-evident from Paul's arguments in Romans, chapter 6, about "free from sin." No Christian has the right to set himself above the law. It is not in that sense that a Christian is "free from the law." But it is only "in Christ"16 that the law is fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4). This fulfillment is not something accomplished by man, but by God in Christ. Even though man is "free from sin," nevertheless, he is exhorted to "yield" his "members servants to righteousness unto holiness (Romans 6:19b)." Since man cannot keep the law perfectly, Christ's right conduct is credited to man through faith.17 The gospel is insistent upon man's holiness in the presence of God. The gospel does not do away with law as an expression of God's will. 18

Paul, in essence, says this very thing in Romans 3:31: "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." We do not dismiss the law, the gospel establishes it. "To Paul there can be no thought of the law dying. It is not a case of the Christian's decision to regard the law as repealed and nonexistent . . . . Nor can it be said that, with the coming of Christ, the law was outdated and abolished," says Nygren.19 There is a distinction between the "law dying" and the believer "dying to the law."

In Romans 7, Paul specifically states that the believer is "dead to the law" and is "delivered from the law" (Romans 7:4, 6).20 This death to the law is the only way one can escape the "wrath of God." Even though the Christian is "Not under law"; nevertheless, he or she delights in God’s law. Paul sets forth the question: "Is the law sin?" (Romans 7:7). No, "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12). The Christian delights in the law of God after the inward man (Romans 7:22). Paul not only delighted in God’s law, but he also served the law of God. For example, he writes: "with the mind I myself serve the law of God" (Romans 7:25). Even though Paul served the law of God, he did not serve the law of God for justification. Christians work not TO justification, but FROM justification.21 Paul stresses that God’s grace teaches believers to live holy lives:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself [His] own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ meant to do? What is it supposed to achieve? Is the gospel merely to forgive sinners and deliver them from hell? No! The end of the gospel is to reveal an answer to Job's question: "How shall a man be just with God?" (Job 9:2). The business of the gospel is to make persons righteous in His sight, to make people acceptable to God, to enable individuals to stand in the presence of one's Holy God. How does God accomplish this feat? It is only by the fact that one is in Christ that one can stand in the presence of a Holy God. Christ has become for everyone all that God requires of one.

Justification is the central purpose of the Gospel of God. In the gospel, God reveals righteousness apart from law. The "righteousness apart from law" is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The righteousness from God does not make void the just requirements of the law; rather it establishes the law's goal.22 It is this righteousness apart from the law that Paul calls the "righteousness of God." Thus, the status of righteousness which the law sought to bring about is now realized in anyone who accepts Jesus as God’s appointed means of salvation. To restate this truth concisely, "the righteousness of God" comes to one through faith in Jesus.

Can a man be just with God through law keeping? No! If one is "under law," any law, Old Testament or New Testament, then, before one can be placed in a right relationship with God, the law of God must be kept perfectly in every respect. James, brother of Jesus, explains this thought in this way: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). The law condemns. Under law one is under Wrath (Romans 5), Sin (Romans 6), Law (Romans 7), and Condemnation (Romans 8). How can man escape the wrath of God, the dominion of sin, the curse of the law, and the condemnation?23 There is only one way; namely, "in and through Jesus Christ."24 This is what the gospel is all about. This is the whole glory of the gospel. Why did Paul rejoice in the gospel? He gives us his answer: "For in the gospel (ejn aujtw'/ ejn aujtw) a righteousness from God is revealed" (Romans 1:17).

In one’s confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and belief in His resurrection, one receives the "righteousness of God," apart from law. God does not loose the just requirements of His moral law,25 but he upholds his demands through Jesus. In one’s acknowledgment and acceptance of Jesus as God’s way of salvation, God imputes,26 that is to say, credits, to that individual the righteousness of his Son. Where justification is exalted, the law of God is elevated. Justification by faith makes the law and the sinner friends: "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (Romans 7:22).

Even though Paul expresses his delight in the law of God, he does not delight in the law of God for justification. Why? In Romans 3:19-20, Paul sets forth the terrifying aspects of the law. He says that the law of God shuts every man’s mouth, no man can boast. But the apostle does not leave man in despair; he gives hope to sinful man. Paul reveals how a man can be righteous before a holy God. Immediately, he develops this righteousness from God, apart from law. Paul’s assessment of man’s situation is full of hope, he writes:

But now a righteousness from God apart from law, has been made known to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-24).

But Now the Heart of the Gospel

But now is the heart of the gospel of Christ.27 This "but now" is how faith answers the indictment of the law, the accusations of the conscience, and everything else that would doom and demoralize us. There are no more wonderful words in the whole of Scripture than these two words—"but now." No man ever has provided or ever will provide a righteousness that will satisfy God and the demands of his holy law. Well, is there hope for humankind? Can nothing be done for humanity? Is everyone irretrievably doomed? The Apostle answers these questions. How? "but now!" Yes, God's grace provides the righteousness his law demands. The Gospel is about God’s activity of redemption for man in Christ Jesus. "But now" is man’s defense against the curse of law. This is the heart of the gospel.

The gospel tells us of a righteousness from God, a righteousness provided by God, in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has satisfied the law of God on man's behalf. He fulfilled the law of God perfectly. When Paul speaks of this saving, justifying righteousness, he means a righteousness that is external to man, a righteousness that is alien to man, a righteousness that is passive to man, a righteousness that is imputed to man.28 This righteousness is so infinite, so incomprehensible that it is even beyond the ability of the angels to comprehend it.29 But God unfolds it and presents it on display in the gospel of his crucified Son; Christ’s crucifixion for guilty sinners is the gospel. In this act of crucifixion, God reveals his way of redeeming sinners and upholding his holiness. Paul poignantly captures this truth when he pens:

God presented him a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished -- he did it to demonstrate his justice presently, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).

IMPUTATION AND SUBSTITUTIONARY
ATONEMENT OF CHRIST

Justification by faith is a legal transaction30 related to God’s law and to divine jurisprudence. The idea of imputation (righteousness that is credited to man) is tied to the biblical doctrine of a substitutionary atonement (Christ died as a substitute for man).31 Imputation and substitutionary atonement of Christ stand together. The ultimate act of salvation is in the Christ event. Thus, it is fitting to call God’s redemptive act in Christ "the righteousness of God." This righteousness is furnished by God, devised by God, made obtainable by God. It is God’s salvation from beginning to end. The prophets testify to this event. Jeremiah says: "This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)." Isaiah, through the Holy Spirit, writes:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:5, 11-12).

Not only is the "righteousness of God" that which belongs to His Son Jesus that comes to every individual through faith, but Jesus is the "righteousness of God." Paul, in Romans 1:17 and 10:3-4, is not talking about acts of righteousness, or the doing of good deeds, but rather the issue of "imputed righteousness" -- a righteousness bestowed upon man through faith in His Son Jesus. If one is to understand "imputed righteousness," he or she, first of all, must understand how one becomes a sinner before God. Sensitivity to this question will shed great light on how one becomes righteous before God.

Paul speaks of this righteousness as coming from God, not man; he describes it as "God’s righteousness." Very succinctly, he writes about "a righteousness from God, apart from law" (Romans 3:21). This "righteousness from God" is Christ’s faithfulness, truthfulness, and obedience to God’s law. These attributes of Christ are credited to the believer as his own. Paul uses credited eleven times in chapter four of Romans. The central thought in justification is that, although man clearly and totally deserves to be declared guilty (4:9-19), God declares him righteous through the doing and dying of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our righteousness. Paul aptly stresses the centrality of the gospel: "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."32 Jesus is our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. This is the only means by which sinful man can stand before his God. One can only boast in the Lord, not his works of righteousness. Jesus is "our everything."

ABRAHAM AND IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS

Brinsmead captures the essence of imputation and the substitutionary atonement of Christ when he writes:

The whole concept of imputation is tied to the biblical doctrine of a substitutionary atonement. Imputation and the substitutionary atonement of Christ stand together. An attack on one is an attack on the other. . . . God laid our sins on Jesus Christ by imputation. He "was numbered with the transgressors (Isa. 53:12). This is how He was Amade...to be sin for us." There was nothing in Him worthy of death. But He was condemned by the righteous judgment of God, for He had been made to be sin by imputation. In this sense it was right that Christ should suffer the wrath of God. He had to be treated as if He were a sinner.33

Paul expounds upon the principle of justification by faith by using Abraham to prove that the "righteousness of God" is credited to man "through faith." Since the Scripture is its best interpreter, one should look to "it is written" for one’s understanding of that which God reveals to His people through the Holy Spirit. Note the following Scriptures:

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation (Romans 4:4).

...his faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:5).

David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works (Romans 4:6).

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him (Romans 4:8).

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (Romans 4:13).

The words "it was credited to him" were not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness -- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Romans 4:24).

Again, one should reflect upon Paul's letter to the Corinthians as he contemplates the "righteousness of God." For example, "Christ Jesus . . . has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). This "righteousness of God" is JESUS CHRIST. Remember, "the Scriptures foresaw," says Paul, "that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you" (Galatians 2:8). Paul very vividly describes the "righteousness that is by faith":

Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: The man who does these things will live by them. But the righteousness that is by faith says:...The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:5, 6, 8, 10).

One must be careful that he or she does not fall into the same error of the Jews, that is to say, seeking to establish one's own righteousness through law keeping. It is not uncommon for believers today to seek justification through "absolute perfection" in knowledge and obedience (sanctification) to God. One may be mistaken about many things taught in the Scriptures, but one’s salvation is NOT contingent upon absolute freedom from error in knowledge nor is one’s salvation conditional upon perfect obedience to law. One’s salvation is dependent upon one’s acceptance of Jesus, who is God’s righteousness, the savior of the world. If the head is righteous, then the body is righteous.

To state more fully, this righteousness is unattainable by obedience to any law, old or new, or by merit of one’s own initiative, or any other condition than that of faith "in Christ." It begins with faith and ends with faith (Romans 1:17b). Nygren pinpoints this truth: "Faith is the beginning and the culmination."34 The man or woman who trusts in Christ becomes "the righteousness of God in Him."35 One becomes in Christ all that God requires a man or woman to be, all that he or she could never be in-and-of themselves. Thus, everyone must conclude that a person is justified "freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Freedom from wrath, sin, law, and condemnation is in and through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21b; 6:23b; 7:25b; 8:39b). Is it any wonder that Paul writes "Therefore having been justified by faith, peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). "Faith alone"36 means that the righteousness of God's provisions is everything necessary for one’s salvation. It is "from faith to faith," said Paul (Romans 1:17). Paul stresses, as stated above, forcefully this truth with double prepositions: it begins with faith and it ends with faith. Robert Brinsmead correctly states:

Imputation. The words impute, reckon, account, credit all come from the Greek word logizomai, which is used eleven times in Romans 4. The believer has righteousness imputed or credited to him (Rom. 4:6). This is "the righteousness of One," even Christ (Rom. 5:18, KJV). Paul is not talking about the believer’s experience but about his status in the judgment of God. Imputation of our sins to Christ (Rom. 5:19-21) and of His righteousness to us deals with legal realities. Neither the imputation of sin nor of righteousness means a change of character of the object. But it does change the way the object is regarded. Surely Calvary is the proof of this.37

SINNERS THROUGH ADAM

To appreciate more fully the subject of righteousness through imputation, one must reflect upon Paul’s analogy between the first Adam and the second Adam (Romans 5:15-19). One does not become a sinner because of something that happens within; but one is a sinner because of something that took place outside man in another person, namely, Adam. "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:15-19). Adam was the first father. He stood as the federal head. The whole human race is constituted in him. When Adam fell, it was the same as if every man had fallen.38 Paul maintains that through one man (Adam), death reigned, and through one man (Jesus), the gift of righteousness reigns:

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:15-19).

In Romans 5, Paul develops imputation from Adam as well as imputation from Christ. God reverses the fall of Adam by giving the human race another Father, as it is written:

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).39

Just as the whole race is comprehended in Adam, so God comprehends all faithful humanity in His Son. Jesus became the new Head, the Representative, the Father of the fallen race. Robert Brinsmead captures the essence of the righteousness of God, when he says, "Jesus was the total outlay of heaven’ treasure, the accumulated love and wealth of eternity, the totality of God’s righteousness."40 Paul burst forth in rapturous language when he writes: "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Paul’s second letter to Corinth, he captures the very essence of the gospel:

That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. . . . God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:19a, 21).

JESUS: THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

Again, one must ask the question: What is this righteousness? IT IS JESUS! God’s righteousness is revealed historically and transacted in the Christ event.41 Paul makes abundantly clear that God’s righteousness did something in the Christ event. The believer is credited with Christ’s righteousness because Christ obeyed, even unto death. In the time of Christ and the apostles, the Jews, as a whole, did not comprehend this external righteousness that is credited, or imputed, to man. They went about to establish their own righteousness rather than submit to God’s righteousness, which is Jesus.42 When one speaks of the righteousness of God, he or she is addressing the subject of justification by faith. In analyzing justification by faith, Paul discusses the relationship of the law to the believer. The believer is dead to the law. The believer is free from law. Paul argues that "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). But the Jews were pursuing righteousness by works, instead of righteousness by faith. Thus, Paul deals with this illegal use of the law, namely, a pursuance of righteousness by works, instead of righteousness by faith. Paul further elaborates this issue in his epistle to the Galatians. He asserts that:

A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16).

Paul’s concern for the Jews lies in the fact that they were going about to establish their relationship to God upon their works rather than upon the work of Christ. He does not reject obedience to the law,43 but rejects righteousness by works, that is, the attempt to use the law to put God in one's debt. Paul writes: "No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" (Romans 3:20). From the negative viewpoint, God declares the person not guilty. From the positive viewpoint, he declares him righteous. Again, Paul exclaims: This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:2-24).

Although all are sinners, God declares everyone who puts his trust in Jesus not guilty, but righteous. This legal declaration is valid because Christ lived a perfect life and died to pay the penalty for our sins; thus, His righteousness is credited to man. This imputed righteousness is the central theme of Romans, as Paul expresses this truth in 1:17: "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: `The righteous will live by faith.’"

CONCLUSION

How does God justify the ungodly? Brinsmead goes right to the heart of the matter when he says,

How can a Judge who is supremely just justify the ungodly? Paul’s answer is the doctrine of imputed righteousness. It is true that the believer is wholly a sinner in himself and will in this life continue to fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23)). But God imputes to him the righteousness of Jesus. And on this basis God can declare him righteous and treat him as if he were righteous.44

For one to be justified, one must be obedient to the faith (Romans 1:5; 10:3; 10:16). But what does it mean to be "obedient to the faith"? What does it mean to "submit to the righteousness of God"? What does it mean to "obey the gospel"? All three phrases are synonymous. It means to submit yourselves to the "righteousness" made available through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The Jews sought a salvation through law keeping, that is, "righteousness by law," rather than salvation through faith in the Christ event, that is, "righteousness through faith." The Jews, as a whole, did not "obey the gospel." To state more forcefully, they did not submit to God’s way of salvation--Jesus.

Paul’s argument is that man’s righteousness cannot be built from below, but from above. God’s imputed righteousness is revealed through His Son Jesus Christ. The only righteousness is the righteousness of faith. "A righteousness of God IN IT [gospel] is revealed from faith to faith" (Romans 1:17). Paul employs, as mentioned above, two prepositions to emphasize the faith principle: ejk pivstew" eij" pivstin ( ejk pivstew" eij" pivstin, "from faith to faith"). Paul drives home the point of one’s justification -- this righteousness begins with faith and ends with faith. It is God’s righteousness, not man’s righteousness through compliance with the teachings of God. The following passage is worth quoting in full, showing as it does the proper definition of faith:

We must be careful, however, about our definition of faith, and what faith does, and where faith comes in. Faith is nothing but the instrument of our salvation. Nowhere in Scripture will you find that we are justified because of our faith; nowhere in Scripture will you find that we are justified on account of our faith. That is where that teaching I have just been denouncing goes wrong; it says that we are justified on account of our faith. The Scripture never says that. The Scripture says that we are justified by faith or through faith. Faith is nothing but the instrument or the channel by which the righteousness of God in Christ becomes ours. It is not faith that saves us. What saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect work. It is the death of Christ upon Calvary’s Cross that saves us. It is His perfect life that saves us. It is His appearing on our behalf in the presence of God that saves us. It is God putting Christ’s righteousness to our account that saves us. This is the righteousness that saves; faith is but the channel and the instrument by which His righteousness becomes mine. The righteousness is entirely Christ’s. My faith is not my righteousness and I must never define or think of faith as righteousness. Faith is nothing but that which links us to the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness.45

The righteousness of God, in Romans 1:17 and 10:3, is the righteousness prepared by God, made available by God, and imparted by God to man through faith. In these Scriptures Paul is writing about the righteousness that God declares to man, not man's holiness through holy deeds. The paramount thought is the state of being "in the right," not by works, but by Jesus. The only way man can be in union with God is through God's anointed One. No amount of good deeds can put a man right with God, only Jesus can accomplish this performance. How does God’s righteousness come to man? The Scripture says "through faith."46 Faith always points away from itself, it rest for salvation on Christ’s union with God Faith is the channel or instrument through which God’s righteousness is imputed to the believer.

The law is not the answer to the problem of sin, but Jesus is. The law of God is not life, but Jesus is. Grace bestows mercy, but law demands death. The written code demands death, but the Spirit gives life. It is Christ or law, not Christ and law. The Christian is not under law, but under grace. The Christian still delights in the law of God. The believer still serves the law of God, but not for justification. Paul argues the ethical implications of the law in Romans:

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:12-18).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Nygren, Anders. 1967. Commentary on Romans. Philadelphia: Fortress.

McGrath, Alister E. 1988. Justification by Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

Stewart, Jack. 1989. The Legalist. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press.

1. All Scripture citations are from the NIV, unless stated otherwise.

2 Although Christians are justified by "faith alone," not faith and works; nevertheless, Christians are to be pure in their daily walk with the Lord. Paul writes that the grace of God: "Teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:12-14). Again, he pens: "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness" (Romans 6:18). Righteousness of faith always leads to righteousness of life. Holiness is the legitimate fruit of the righteousness of faith and the proof that faith is the genuine article (James 2:14-18). Sanctification is not optional for the believer. One cannot be saved by sanctification, but one cannot be saved without it. A person who is dead to holiness is not righteous by faith. The gospel of "free justification" saves the believer to holiness. Alister E. McGrath, Justification by Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 57, says: "A distinction is made between justification and sanctification (or regeneration): the former is the work of God outside us, the latter his work within us."

 

3 "Imputed" is from logivzomai (logizomai, "reckon, calculate, take inventory, count, consider") and is employed by Paul 34 times out of a total of 41 times in the New Testament. The Greek word is an accountant’s word. In other words, God "credits" righteousness to believers through faith, not through law.

4 Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991), 102, captures the essence of "sanctification," when he writes:

Sanctification, or holiness (the two words are virtually interchangeable), is essentially conformity to the moral character of God. We normally think of sanctification as progressive, as an inner change of our character whereby we are conformed more and more to the likeness of Christ. That is certainly a major part of sanctification, but that is not all of it. Scripture speaks of both a holiness we already possess in Christ before God and a holiness in which we are to grow more and more. The first is the result of the work of Christ for us; the second is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The first is perfect and complete and is ours the moment we trust Christ; the second is progressive and incomplete as long as we are in this life.

5 For an excellent discussion concerning "active" and "passive" righteousness, see Robert Binsmead, Righteousness of God, (Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1980), 9-25, 57-74.

6 Justification means to declare righteous, not to make subjectively righteous. Justification by faith in Jesus the Messiah changes our relationship to God, but justification is not a change in our moral state. Justification is what God does for us. Justification does not indicate a change in us, but it does constitute a change in the way God views us. Justification must not be merged with sanctification. One must not shift the ground of salvation from the vicarious righteousness of Christ to the personal righteousness of the believer -- vicarious means it is done for us, not in us. It is by faith that the sinner accepts the vicarious atonement of Jesus, that is to say, Jesus as the righteousness of God. Yes, justification is by "faith alone," but sanctification is NOT by "faith alone." "Faith alone" means that the righteousness of God’s arrangement is everything essential for redemption. Living a life of purity depends on faith, but not faith alone.

7 See Robert Brinsmead, Sanctification (Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1980, 7, where Brinsmead expresses himself most forthrightly in his comments on sanctification:

We have taken a strong stand for the Pauline doctrine of justification by an outside-of-me righteousness as opposed to the subjectivism of the current religious scene. But Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith did not do away with the law. It merely put the law in its right place (Rom. 3:31). Our purpose is not to exalt justification and degrade sanctification. We want to put sanctification in its proper place so that we can give it the great emphasis it deserves.

8 Some Christians relate these two passages to a so-called worship service. In other words, if one utilizes individual cups in the Lord’s supper, instrumental music in Sunday morning worship, Sunday school for different ages, orphan homes, Bible colleges, etc., it is argued by some that one is not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God if one adopts any of the above practices. Thus, the "righteousness of God" is identified with correct mental understanding of the Scriptures, not the righteousness made available by God through faith in Jesus.

9 It is called the "righteousness of God" because His grace provides it. The "righteousness of God" is God’s redemptive act in Christ.

10 See Robert Brinsmead, The Legal and Moral Aspects of Redemption, Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1980, where Brinsmead draws attention to this great truth:

The Bible makes clear that God’s righteousness did something in the Christ event. Sin was dealt with, Satan was defeated, death was destroyed, and redemption was accomplished. This mighty action of God, which transcends every other action for all eternity, was not a work done in us (moral). It was a work done outside us in the person of Christ (legal).

11 Throughout Romans 3 and 4, Paul examines righteousness being imputed rather than the believer’s holiness of life. On the other hand, in the next four chapters (5-8), he turns his attention to the life that righteousness by faith demands. In chapters three and four, He sets forth the righteousness of God as something objective to us, reckoned to us, or set to our account; therefore, this righteousness is not internal work.

12 In Romans 1:17a Paul speaks of faith. In writing about faith, Paul uses the double expression "through faith for faith" (ejk pivstew" eij" pivstin, ejk pivstew" eij" pivstin). This is Paul’s way of excluding the thought of a righteousness of one’s own, attained through law and works. By this joining of phrases (from faith to faith) the last crumb of works-righteousness is uprooted.

13 Sanctification means separation to a life of obedience to God, to fellowship with Him, to devotion to His glory and service (2 Corinthians 6:17). Sanctification is a continual cleansing and separation from sin; it is a continual growth in the attributes of the divine character. See also Brinsmead, Sanctification, 13, where Brinsmead aptly stresses the centrality of sanctification:

So, on the one hand, sanctification means separation from sin, from unholy fellowship, from the abomination of the heathen, from the world and its allurements, from the ways of the ungodly. And, on the other hand, it means separation to a life of obedience to God, to fellowship with Him, to devotion to His glory and service.

14 The reformers stressed the distinction between the legal and moral aspects of redemption, that is, between justification and sanctification. Paul negates law as a method of salvation, not as a valid demand of a righteous God. See Brinsmead, The Legal and Moral Aspects of Redemption, 27. Where he captures the legal and moral aspects of redemption: "Any reformation of life and conduct not based on God’s law is fraud. Jesus said, ‘If you love Me, you will obey what I command’ (John 14:15). While the law points us to Christ, Christ points us back to the law."

15 Since the subject of justification by faith is not very well understood by many Christians, it is necessary to use the literary technique of "repetition" to instill this vital teaching into the hearts of God’s people. In fact, there are three laws to learning: (1) repetition, (2) repetition, and (3) repetition.

16 To be "in Christ" is to be beyond the pale of the law’s power. It is to be free from the "curse of the law" (Galatians 3:10-13). The person that is outside the realm of faith, that is, Christ, the realm of the law still rules. To be under law is to be under "wrath," "sin," and "condemnation." This is where the "good news" comes into play. Paul writes: "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4).

17 Christ fulfilled the covenantal stipulations of the Ten Commandments; Christ kept God’s commandments (John.15:10); He fulfilled the law (Matthew. 5:17); He was obedient (Philippians 2:5-9; Hebrews 5:7-9); The obedience of Christ to the law of God constitutes His righteousness. The obedience of Christ was consummated in His death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). One might also say that Christ’s act of atonement is the righteousness of Christ.

18 See 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

19 Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans (Philadelphia, Fortress, 1967), 272.

20 The Greek text states: "you were put to death (ejqanatwvqhte, ejqanatwvqhte) to the law" (verse 4), and "we were discharged (kathrghvqhmen, kathrghvqhmen) from the law" (verse 6).

21 Brinsmead, Righteousness of God, 106.

22 See Romans 3:31: "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." See Brinsmead, Sanctification, 8, where he correctly says: "We want to make clear that justification by faith alone is not an alternative to personal holiness but the only basis for it."

23 I am indebted to Anders Nygren for calling attention to these concepts in his Commentary on Romans.

24 Paul concludes chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 with "in and through Jesus." Chapter 5 is "through Jesus" (verse 21); chapter 6 is "in Jesus" (verse 23); chapter 7 is "through Jesus" (verse 25); chapter 8 is "in Jesus" (verse 39).

25 Jesus told His disciples:

Do not think that I have come to abolish (katalu'sai) the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:17-19).

26 In the New Testament, this doctrine of "imputation" is given far-reaching attention. It is alluded to in Romans 4:6-25 concerning Abraham’s faith and his justification. Also, Paul mentions this in his second letter to Corinth: "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). James also makes notice of "imputed righteousness" when he writes: "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend" (James 2:23). This word appears over one hundred times in the Hebrew Bible--examples are: Leviticus 7:18; 2 Samuel 19:19; Psalms 32:2.

27 I am grateful to Dr. Lloyd Jones for much of my insight concerning justification by faith. The late Dr. Jones, one of the ablest and most respected Bible expositors of the twentieth century, wrote several volumes on Romans. For an illustration of his ability to express clearly the teachings of Romans, see D. M. Lloyd Jones, Romans, An Exposition of Chapters 3:20-4:25, Atonement and Justification (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971), 27 where he says:

‘But now’? This is the essence of the Christian position; this is how faith answers the accusations of the Law, the accusations of conscience, and everything else that would condemn and depress us. These are indeed very wonderful words, and it is most important that we should lay hold of them and realize their tremendous importance and their real significance.

28 Christian writer Leon Morris has penned some compelling words that need to be heard. See Leon Morris, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 1983) 187, where he says:

An important idea in the New Testament is that righteousness may be imputed. There are grounds for imputation in an Old Testament passage, that in which we read, ‘Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness’ (Gn.15:6). This presents a problem to some modern people, because we so firmly believe that righteousness is an ethical quality. It is ‘being good’. In that sense it is nonsense to talk about righteousness being imputed. Everyone who aspires to this kind of righteousness must merit it for himself, by right living. It cannot be ‘credited’ or ‘reckoned’ or ‘imputed’ to him other than in some fictitious and fanciful sense. But when we see righteousness as basically legal, as ‘right-standing’, it is another matter. A standing or status can be conferred. The narrative says that God conferred this status on Abraham because of his faith. Paul uses this as his classic example of justification by faith. Abraham received his ‘right-standing’ not on account of any meritorious action but simply because he trusted God.

29 Peter writes about the angels’ intense desire to know something about this salvation:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things (I Peter 1:10-12).

30 See Brinsmead, The Legal and Moral Aspects of Redemption, 21, where he points out that:

The atonement was a satisfaction made to the divine law (legal) as well as a demonstration of God’s love to change our hearts (moral). Salvation consists in a change in our standing before the law, which is called justification (legal), as well as a change in our state, which is called sanctification (moral).

31 The following extract from Brinsmead, Sanctification, 52, may explain more clearly the substitutionary work of Christ:

The work of the Second Person of the Godhead was substitutionary. He lived for us a sinless life. He stood in our place in the judgment of God and was wounded for our transgressions. He rose again for our justification. And as our Representative, Substitute and Surety, He now presents the merits of His life and death on our behalf in the presence of the Father. These glorious redemptive acts are substitutionary. They were done for us. They were done outside us and without our effort or aid.

32 First Corinthians 1:30-31.

33 Robert Brinsmead, Righteousness byFaith (Verdict Publications: Fallbrook, CA., 1980), 87.

34 Nygren, Commentary on Romans, 78.

35 Second Corinthians 5:21: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

36 By "faith alone" I mean justification through faith on account of what Christ accomplished for mankind through His atonement. Man is passive and God is active in one’s justification. The righteousness that God imputes to man through faith is "alien righteousness," that is, it is something given to man in and through Jesus Christ. God offers man salvation as a gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One is reconciled to God in and through Jesus. Faith is the earthen vessel, or channel, that conveys the treasure of Christ to sinful man.

37 Robert Brinsmead, The Pattern of Redemptive History (Verdict Publications: Fallbrook, CA, 1980), 45.

38 For an excellent and insightful analysis of the two aeons, see Nygren, Commentary on Romans, 16-37.

39 See also Romans 10:1-17. Jesus is God’s way of Righteousness, not works!

40 Robert D. Brinsmead, Justification, 29.

41 Robert Brinsmead seems to have fully assessed the Christ event. See Robert Brinsmead, Justification (Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1980), 63, where Brinsmead captures the Christ event:

In no sense is God’s gift of justification something done in man. We may correctly say that the righteousness of God in the Christ event is communicated to the believer by imputation (Rom. 4), but it is scandalous to say that it can be communicated to us by impartation (infusion). The righteousness of God is a once-for-all event which took place two thousand years ago. Even God Himself cannot reenact it outside of us, to say nothing of doing it in us. But what Christ did He did as our Substitute. Therefore, His life was really our life, and His death our death. God counts them as ours. That is what justifies. Or to put it another way, what He did He did as our Representative, so that we lived and died and rose again in Him.

42 See Romans 10:1-3. The Jews sought justification through obedience to law, not Jesus as God’s way of salvation. It is not uncommon for Christians also to seek their "own righteousness," or justification before God, through complete understanding of the Word of God, not Jesus as God’s appointed means of right-standing. Many Christians have a zeal for legitimate-standing before God, but not in agreement to God’s plan of imputed righteousness based upon faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Today, among many believers in the Messiah, righteousness is pursued by exactness in knowledge and by perfection in obedience to a so-called "new law," that is to say, the New Testament Scriptures. Flawlessness in knowledge is the battle cry; but freedom from error is not a condition of salvation, else all men would be damned. One is not saved by attainment to an assured ratio of knowledge, else all men would be damned. One is not saved by accomplishment to a certain degree of knowledge but by faith in Christ. It is by belief of facts related to Him and not by grasp of abstract truth that one is justified before God. One’s justification before God is not by performance of meritorious deeds nor by legalistic conformity. When Christians postulate a program of justification by knowledge, then, they hang themselves on the very gallows they have constructed to rid themselves of others, unless they are prepared to make themselves even more ridiculous by affirming they know as much as God.

43 No Christian has the right to set himself above the law. Every believer is "free from the law," but not above the law, see Romans 7. The law is given by God, and is an expression of His holy will. McGrath, Justification by Faith, 117, is especially helpful in this area when he writes:

The gift of our justification lays upon us the obligation to live in accordance with our new status. We are made children of God through our justification as an act of free grace -- and now we must act in accordance with this transformation. The slogan ‘Become what you are!’ neatly summarizes this situation and encapsulates the essence of Pauline ethics with some brilliance. In justification we are made to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:15-16): therefore we must shine out as lights in a dark world, as a city on a hill (v. 14; Phil. 2:15). Our justification brings about a new obedience -- an obedience that would not be conceivable before our justification and that ultimately rests on the grace of God.

44 Brinsmead, Righteousness by Faith, 76.

45 D. Martin Lloyd Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3:20-4:25, Atonement and Justification, 120.

46 See Romans 4:5, "However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Again, Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . . ." Finally, Romans 3:22, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ