Imputed Righteousness

Q: What does the Bible say about imputed righteousness?

The Bible teaches that imputed righteousness is God's gift to those who believe in Christ, granting them a status of holiness and perfection before God. Imputed righteousness is a foundational doctrine in Reformed theology, emphasizing that believers are counted as righteous before God based solely on their faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 4:3 illustrates this by showing how Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. This righteousness is not earned through works or adherence to the law, as stated in Romans 3:20, where no person can be justified by the deeds of the law. Instead, it is a divine declaration that believers are viewed as holy and perfect in Christ, who fulfilled the law on their behalf. This doctrine assures believers that their standing before God is secure, based on Christ’s perfect obedience and sacrificial death.

Q: How do we know justification by faith is true?

Justification by faith is affirmed in Scripture, specifically in Romans 3:28, which states that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. We know that justification by faith is true because it is a central theme of the New Testament, elaborated most clearly by Paul in the book of Romans. In Romans 3:28, it states unequivocally, 'Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.' This verse emphasizes that human effort cannot achieve righteousness; rather, faith in Christ's completed work is what justifies us. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, the consistent message is that salvation and righteousness come through faith, as seen in Abraham's example (Romans 4:3). Moreover, Romans 5:1 declares that since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, establishing faith as the means by which we enter into a right relationship with God.

Q: Why is imputed righteousness important for Christians?

Imputed righteousness is crucial as it assures Christians of their standing before God, providing confidence in their salvation. Imputed righteousness is important for Christians as it secures their position in Christ, offering assurance that they are accepted and loved by God despite their sinful nature. According to Colossians 1:21-22, believers who were once alienated and hostile in mind have been reconciled through Christ, who presents them as holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in God’s sight. This doctrine not only emphasizes God's grace but also relieves believers from the burden of trying to achieve righteousness through their own efforts. The law, as stated in Romans 3:20, reveals our sinfulness and inability to attain God's standards, but imputed righteousness assures us that Christ fulfills the law for us. Thus, Christians can approach God with confidence, knowing they are clothed in Christ's righteousness, which assures them of eternal life.

Now open your Bibles again to
Romans chapter 3. Now as I stated earlier, I'm going
to be so plain and so simple in dealing with this subject. There are four prominent lessons
set forth here in chapter 3. So prominent, so vital, so important. The first one is this, found
in verse 20. The first lesson is this. There
is absolutely no justification for Jew or Gentile before God. by the deeds of the law and the
works of the flesh. That's just so. We can call ourselves
Methodists or Baptists or Presbyterian or Catholic or whatever, Christians,
non-Christians, religious, etc. But according to this verse of
scripture, look at verse 20, Romans 3, "...therefore by the
deeds of the law." by the deeds or works of the law, there shall
no flesh be justified in God's sight." No flesh. Isn't that
clear? None whatsoever. There is no
way to be justified before God by anything you do, anything. The second prominent lesson is
found in the next verse. But now, right this minute, there is a righteousness, there
is a holiness, a righteousness of God in which the law has no
part. Now, here's the law and the commandments
of God. They're perfect and holy. We
can find no fault with them. But there's no way in this world
by obeying them or doing them that a man be justified before
God. But there is a righteousness,
there is an acceptance. It says here, but now the righteousness
of God without the law, without any consideration being given
to the law as far as we're concerned, in which the law has no part,
the law has no part in this. And it's manifested, and it's
witnessed by the Word, by those who wrote the Word, the law and
the prophets. Verse 22, it is the very righteousness of God,
it is the very holiness of God. Now I know there's a denomination
known as the holiness people. But there are no holy people,
not in themselves. I read to you a moment ago, there's
none good, there's none righteous, there's none that seeketh after
God, they all together become unprofitable, there's none that please God, we've come short
of the glory of God. But there is a holiness, there's
a holiness to be coveted, there's a holiness to be sought, there's
a holiness to be gained, and it has nothing to do, nothing
whatsoever to do with your relationship to the law, none whatsoever.
But it has to do, verse 22 says, with the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Christ, by the faithfulness of Christ, by the obedience of Christ. And
who's it for? It's for all and upon all that
believe. There's no difference. We've
all sinned and come short of the glory of God. So there is
a righteousness, there is a holiness, without the law, without my being
looking into the law and seeing where I shape up or how I come
out in reference to this law. It's totally accomplished by
someone else, by his faithfulness and his obedience. Here's the third prominent lesson,
verse 25. Now, this perfect obedience and
righteousness which we have in Christ, not
only justifies the sinner, but it justifies God. It not only justifies the sinner,
but it justifies God. Look at verse 25. Jesus Christ, this Redeemer,
God has sent him forward. God has foreordained him to be
a propitiation. That word means a mercy seat,
a sin offering, a sacrifice, an atonement, a covering. God
sent him forward. God sent him through faith in
his blood to declare God's righteousness. for the remission of sins that
have passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness, his holiness, that he might be
just and to justify." God's got to be just if he's going to justify
the ungodly and those who believe on Christ Jesus. You see, this
perfect righteousness and holiness that God provides without the
law, without any consideration to the law as far as we are concerned,
justifies the sinner, but it also is done in such a way that
it justifies God. It honors God's law and satisfies
God's justice, enables God to be just and justified. Now, you've
got to see this. Turn with me to Luke 7. You say,
what is this you're talking about to justify God? Well, let's look
at Luke 7. This will help you. Luke 7. Luke 7, verse 29. It says in Luke 7, 29, And all
the people that heard him, that is, heard Christ that day, and
the publicans, justified God. they justified God being baptized
with the baptism of John. When they went down into the
water of baptism, the baptism of repentance, they were saying,
yes, what God says is so. What God says about us is true.
We justify him. That's what David said. He said,
I've seen And I confess my sins that you might be justified and
clear when you condemn me." We've got to take sides with God on
this issue. That's where we start, taking
sides with God, admitting that what he says is so. And these
people justified God. They said, you're right. Everything
you say about us is right. God's got to be right. Shall
not the judge of the earth do right? But now look at verse
30. But the Pharisees and the lawyers, they rejected the counsel
of God against themselves. They said, it's not so. We'd
be not sinners. We'd be not guilty. When God
says that by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified,
we don't believe that. We're going to keep on trying
to be justified by the law. We're going to keep on trying
to present our works to God. We're not going to justify God. And they refuse to be baptized.
They refuse the baptism of repentance. They refuse to go down in the
water saying that we're dead and we're buried and we're risen. Our only hope is God's mercy
in Christ Jesus. And you see, that's what the
Lord Jesus Christ does. He justifies God. He comes here. We admit we're guilty. We avow
there's nothing in us that God's law is sacred and holy. And we've
not kept it, and Christ comes down to this earth and obeys
it for us, and he not only justifies us, but he justifies God. He
enables God to be just and justify. All right, verse 28 of Romans
3, here's the fourth truth. Therefore we conclude, this is
my conclusion, Paul said of the whole thing, that a man is justified
before God. What does the word justified
mean? not guilty, holy. He's justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. That is, without a Sabbath day,
without a tithe, without an obedience to the law, without a religious
profession, he's justified by faith without these duties and
deeds and works of religion. That has nothing to do. Now,
do you understand what he's saying? Do you understand those four
things? Well, in chapter 4, he illustrates it. What he has said
in chapter 3, he illustrates in chapter 4. Do you understand?
There's no use going any further if you don't understand those
four things. All of us are born in sin. We are by nature, practice,
choice, sinners. Our sins have separated us from
God Almighty. Guilty, vile. That's what he
said there in Romans 3. And God requires perfection.
Turn with me to Galatians 4. Galatians 4. Listen to this.
Galatians 4, verse 21. Paul has been in conflict with
these people at Galatia, keep bringing in these laws and rules
and regulations to recommend them to God. And he said in verse
21 of Galatians 4, Tell me, you that desire to be under the law,
do you Do you not hear the law? Do you not hear what the law
requires? When you talk about working and serving and laboring
in the kingdom of God and acquiring certain recognition or the favor
of God or rewards for what you've done or these deeds recommending
you, do you not hear that? Do you hear the law? Do you know
what it says? The perfection it requires, the
holiness it requires? God requires perfection, nothing
less than perfection. But that third thing I told you,
God in grace and love has sent Christ, his beloved Son, into
this world. Christ Jesus came into this world.
He was born of a woman. He was born flesh and bones and
blood. He was born made under the law.
He came here as a man in the flesh, that's what it is, God
set him forth as a perpetuation through faith in his blood. And
as a man, he did what the law required. He obeyed the perfect
holy law of God. And he went to the cross and
there he suffered for our sins as our sin offering and sacrifice. He was buried and rose again.
Now he said in this fourth thing, he said, my conclusion is that
all who believe on him, not those who work, but those who believe,
those who believe on him, as he's presented in the word, in
the character that he's presented in the word of God, our prophet,
priest, and king, those who believe on him, not a mythical character
now, not even a historical character, but those who believe on him
as he's given as he's revealed in the record here. They're justified
before God. They're justified. They're perfect,
they're holy, they're justified. They have actually counted as
their own reckoned and imputed to them as their own disrighteousness
he worked out. this perfect obedience that Jesus
Christ accomplished by his life on earth, by his death. It's
theirs. Every believer in Christ is perfect
toward God, holy, righteous. Then in chapter 4, he illustrates
it. Do you understand what he's saying?
If I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, if I If I understand who he is, who
Jesus Christ is, and what he actually did before God, and
why he did it, that I, because I can and could, and because
God must require it, and he did it for me. If I understand who
he is, what he did, why he actually did it, to justify God, to honor
God's law, to satisfy God's justice, if I believe that, that he died
on that cross to bear our sin, if I actually believe that, then
in the sight of God I'm as holy and perfect as Christ himself. That's what that's saying. I'm
as holy and righteous and perfect as Christ himself. And he illustrates
it. Now let's go to chapter 4. And if you'll notice in this
chapter, If you'll notice that the word imputed, it's used in
three different ways, the word imputed or impute, the word counted
and the word reckoned is used eleven times in this chapter.
You've got to see this. This is just so very important. How holy is the believer in Christ? Let me just read it to you. You
don't need to turn to it, but in Colossians 1, listen to this.
Colossians 1, verse 21. Listen. And you that were sometime
alienated enemies in your minds, enemies of God by wicked works,
hath he now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death
to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight.
What are we? Holy, unblameable, unreprovable, if you believe on Christ. And
he is able to present you faultless before his presence with exceeding
glory. That's what I'm saying, this
is what I'm saying. I hear people say, well, I'm
no saint. Well, you better be. You've got
to be sanctified in Christ Jesus or God can't touch you. Well,
I'm not holy. In yourself you're not, but in
Christ you've got to be perfect or God can't have you. Righteous, holy, perfect, and
hitching your hair a certain way won't do it. Wearing your
sleeves a certain length won't do it. Going to certain places
and not going to others is not it. By the deeds of the law, no flesh
shall be justified. God's law is perfect, perfect,
perfect, perfect, perfect. If you don't go that route, you've
got an impossible route. But now there is a holiness,
there's a holiness, there's a righteousness, there's a perfection that's provided,
accomplished by Jesus Christ, has nothing to do with that law
as far as you're concerned. He kept it, but you didn't. And
he kept it so explicitly and so perfectly that even God the
Father could find no fault with him. Perfect. I mean in the flesh
as a man tempted and tested in all points as we are. And then
he went to that cross and died for all of our sins. And if we
believe on him, if we believe on him, not if we serve him,
not if we work for him, if we believe, if we in our hearts
believe on him, we have that righteousness imputed, reckoned,
counted as our own in the sight of God. It's mine. I am right
now perfect. in Christ, if I believe it. Chapter 4, verse 1. He is going
to take Abraham as an example. The scripture says he is the
father of the faithful. What shall we say of Abraham,
our father, as pertaining to the flesh? That is, he is writing
here as Abraham, the father of the Jews. What has he found?
He has found righteousness. God called him his He found heavenly
blessing. He found everything I want. He's
a friend of God. He's with God right now. That's
what I want. He found what I want. What has
he found? Acceptance with God. Don't talk
to him mouth to mouth as a man talks to a friend. That's what
the Bible says. Well, verse 2, if he were justified
by works, by what he did, who he was, he hath whereof to glory.
God doesn't get to glory, Abraham does. But certainly not before
God. He can't glory before God because
God knows what Abraham is and what Abraham was. God knows his
flesh. God knows his inability. God
knows his imperfection. God knows his infirmity. God
knows his failure. He can't exalt. Now, if he earned
what he has by what he did, he can glory before us, but not
before God. He can run around acting like
he's somebody before us, but God knows he's not. But what
sayeth the scriptures? What does the scripture say how
Abraham got what he has, what our Father has found? The scripture
says he believed God and was counted unto him. Underscore,
I want you to underscore these words with a pen. Underscore
that word counted. It was counted unto him for righteousness. He believed God. Let's go back
to Genesis 15 and show you where this is first mentioned in the
Bible. If you can get hold of the law of first mention, you'll
have learned something today. The first time this thing is
mentioned in the Bible is right here in Genesis 15, and that's
what it means all the way through. After these sayings, the word
of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, saying, Genesis 15,
verse 1, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. And
Abraham said, Lord God, what will you give me? I grow childless. The steward of my house is this
Eliezer of Damascus. Abraham said, I don't have any
children. I don't have any heir. And Abraham said, Behold, to
me thou hast given no seed. Lo, one born in my own house
is my heir, one of my servants is my heir. I don't have any
seed, I don't have any sons or daughters.' And behold, the word
of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir,
but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels will be
your heir." This man is a hundred years old nearly now, and his
wife is too. And God brought him forth abroad
and said, Look towards the heavens. Tell me how many stars are there.
Are you able to number them? And he said to him, so shall
your seed be, as many as the stars of heaven. He's telling
us to a man who doesn't even have a son, who's a hundred years
old. Talk about impossible, impossible
for Abraham to accomplish this. But God said, I'm going to do
it. You're going to have as many
seed as the stars in that sky. Next verse. And he believed in
the Lord, and God counted it to him for righteousness. I think
Abraham believed God. That's where it all is. He believed
him. He believed that God was able
to do what he said. And God Almighty counted that
man, that human being, that son of the early Calvary, as holy
in his sight. He hadn't done a thing, he hadn't
been circumcised, he hadn't done a thing. But he just believed
God. Let us read on, Romans 4. Now, to him that worketh, no
matter how little or much he works, is the reward not reckoned
of grace, but of debt. If I'm serving God and God takes
into account my service and rewards me, then he didn't give me anything,
I worked for him. It's debt, not grace. But to
him that worketh not. in any shape, form, or fashion,
but believe it on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness." Look back in verse 4, see that word, reckoned? Same thing. If something is counted,
if something is reckoned or imputed as mine, it's regarded as mine. It is mine. And that's what he's
saying here, that this man's faith is counted, as far as God
is concerned, that counts for righteousness, not his works,
but faith. Look at verse 6. Even as David
also described the blessedness of the man, the happiness of
the man, under whom God, underscore it, imputeth righteousness without
works. Even David said this. holiness,
perfection, righteousness, without works. You say, I'm just not
good as I ought to be. I know it. I don't love God like
I ought to. None of you do, none of us do.
I just don't serve with the fervor and zeal I ought to. I know it.
I don't love others like I ought to. That's so. But if we can
believe on Christ, we have a holiness and a perfection before God It's
perfect, it's charged to us, it's worked out by his Son, that's
what this is saying. Faith. Read on. Verse 7, saying,
"...blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are
covered. Blessed is that man to whom the
Lord will not impute or charge sin." There is no sin charged
against the believer, none whatsoever. It doesn't matter what your past
is or what your present is or what lies in your future. If
you believe on Christ and love Christ and know Christ, God charges
no sin to your account, none whatsoever. But he charges a
perfect holiness in Christ. That's right. Now, verse 9. Cometh this blessedness, this
holiness, this righteousness, then, upon the circumcision only,
upon the Jew only, or upon the uncircumcision also? Jew and
Gentile both, for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness. Now, how was it reckoned? When
was it reckoned? When was this holiness given
to him? When was this perfection given
to him? After he did the things he did, after he gave the land
a lot, after he rescued the Lot from the kings of Sodom, after
he offered Isaac as a sacrifice, after he was circumcised, no
sin. When was Abraham declared righteous? Verse 10, when was it reckoned?
When he was in circumcision or uncircumcision? Not in circumcision,
but in uncircumcision. Verse 11, and he received the
sign of circumcision, a seal. of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet being uncircumcised." In other words, when he stood
out there that night and God said, Abraham, I'm going to bless
you, your seed is so great, he says, Lord, I don't even have
a son. I'm an old, bent old man. I don't even have a son. He said,
Abraham, look up at the stars. And he looked up and he said,
that's how many seeds you're going to have. And right then
he believed God. He didn't doubt him. And right
then he was righteous. That's 15 years before he was
circumcised. Wasn't it, John? 15 years. That's
15 years before he was ever circumcised, before he ever went about these
different things that God ordered him to do. But he was righteous
then, and righteous then, and righteous now. That's what it said. And verse 11, he received a sign
of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which
he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of
all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, though
they are not Jews, that righteousness might be, here it is again, imputed
to them also, charged to them also. And he's the father of circumcision
to them that are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the
steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had yet being
uncircumcised. Who are the children of Abraham?
Who are these seeds he's talking about? You who believe. Hold that place there and turn
to Galatians again. Turn to the book of Galatians.
Galatians chapter 3. Now, I know there are a lot of
preachers who preach a lot about Israel and the Jews and the rebuilding
of the temple and the millennium and all of these different things
about Israel. But let me tell you something. He's not a Jew which is one outwardly. He's a Jew which is one inwardly. Circumcision is not the flesh,
it's the heart. Israel is not that nation over
there going by that name. Israel and children of Abraham
are the seed of Christ, believers, sons of God. Let me show you
that in Galatians 3, verse 7. Know ye therefore that they which
are of faith, they are the children of Abraham, those which are of
faith. Look at verse 16, Galatians 3.
Now, to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made, he
saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, to thy seed
which is Christ. Christ is the seed of Abraham,
and all who are in Christ are children of Abraham. Look at
verse 29. Verse 28, there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither
bond nor free, there's neither male nor female, you're one in
Christ. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed. And it is according to promise.
There's those stars of the sky. Believers! Believers! And my friends, every believer
is holy, perfect, righteous, and is the friend of God by faith. Not by works. Verse 13. For the promise that he should
be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or his seed through
the law, but through the righteousness of faith. It never was through
the law. It never has been through the law. Somebody says, well,
they were saved by grace, now they were saved by law. That's
not so. The promise to Abraham, and Abraham goes back so far,
you don't want to go back any further. The promise that he
should be the heir was not made through the law, but through
the righteousness, the holiness of faith. Am I making this clear
enough? Verse 14, For if they which are
of the law be heirs, faith down the drain. There's no use for
faith. There's no place for faith if
the law is what recommends us to God, and the promise God made
is of non-effect, because we can't keep it. It's so clear
to me. I hope it is to you. Because
the law works right out. The law doesn't. When you look
into the law, does that give you peace? It upsets me. When
God says, Love your Lord, your God with all your heart, mind,
soul, and strength, how do you respond to that? Well, my soul,
that won't give you any peace. You don't love God with all your
heart, mind, soul. Love your neighbors yourself.
How does that affect you? It upsets me. Wrath. The law worketh wrath. The Apostle
Paul said, I wouldn't have known sin if the law hadn't said, you
shall not covet. But he said, I did. Therefore, it is a faith." What
is a faith? Righteousness, acceptance, justification,
salvation. It's a faith, and there's a reason
for that. Number one, that it might be by grace, that it might
be all of grace, that God might get all the glory. Secondly,
it's a faith to the end that the promise might be sure to
all the seed. There's a lot of seed, the stars
of the sky. Boy, there's a lot of differences
there. There's a fellow that Oh, there's
a thief on a cross, and there's a murderer, and there's a whoremonger,
and there's a blasphemer, Apostle Paul. But the only way that this
promise can be sure to all of us is by faith, because there's
not enough works and a carload of them to recommend one to God.
And then thirdly, it's by faith that it might be sure. And not
to only that which is of the law, but to that which is of
the faith of Abraham, to us poor Gentiles who have no tabernacle
or ceremony. Verse 17, as it is written, I
have made thee a father of many nations, not just the Jew, but
the Gentile, before him whom he believeth, even God. Now,
stay with me. who quickeneth the dead, and
calleth those things which be not as though they were. Abraham,
who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the
father of many nations according to that which was spoken, so
shalt thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old, near yet the deadness of Sabaoth's womb."
Here is a man with all those promises. but he believed God,
was able. And here we are. Can you imagine
yourself in the presence of God? Can you imagine yourself with
a perfect holiness before God, a perfect righteousness? Can
you imagine yourself with a body that never grow old and never
weep and never hurt and never moan and never groan and never
die? Perfect, holy, an heir of God,
glorified like Christ? Can you? Well, do it. I can't. But he can. He can. And you've got to believe that
he can do all that he promised. He can make you holy now and
perfect later. He can justify you now and accept
you in Christ. He can do these things. And you're
not going to work to earn it or work to merit it or work to
accomplish it. He's going to do it by his full
grace. I believe him. That's just so. And Abraham,
verse 20, he didn't stagger at the promises of God through unbelief,
but he was strong in faith, and he gave God the glory. Boy, that's
important there. Gave God the glory. We're taking
too much on ourselves. But so-and-so won me to the Lord.
I accepted Jesus. I got saved. I've been attending
Sunday school all my life. I did this and I did that. They give God the glory. I know
whom I have believed. I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed to him. And verse 21, being fully
persuaded that what God had promised he was able to perform, and therefore
it was imputed, underscore it, to him for holiness, righteousness. Now, let's be done with this
put-on holiness, put-on righteousness. I tell you, it's an abomination
to God. Our Lord said, You are they which
justify yourselves before God. You justify yourselves. But that
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination to God.
This whole thing, I never have done this, never have done that,
never said this, never said that, I've always been a good little
boy, a good little girl, always served God and gone to church,
accepted Jesus and got saved and all that. Don't bring that
stuff up to God. Don't justify yourself. You stand
back as a weak, helpless, defiled, undeserving sinner and believe
on him who is God's righteousness, believe in Christ. And he will
be charged to you for righteousness. Now, look at verse 23, this is
so important here. This was not written for Abraham's
sake alone, that holiness was imputed, underscored again, reckoned,
counted, charged to him, but for us also to whom it What's
it? Righteousness, holiness. But
to us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on
him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. This is the
whole thing now, believe on him. You know, a lot of people have
this idea that, well, you know, the God of the Old Testament,
the Father and all that, he's pretty tough. He's pretty tough. He's pretty rigid. But now, sweet little Jesus,
boy, I can't accept Him as my personal Savior. And He's going
to be able to thrash all this out and get God in a good notion
and humor to show some mercy to me. That's not it. That's
not it. Christ didn't come to make God
love us. He came because He did. For God
so loved, He sent His Son. This origination and execution
of redemption is the purpose of the Father. And if you're
going to believe on God, if you're going to believe to righteousness
and believe to holiness, you're going to take all of this out
of him. I mean, his glorious character
and sovereignty and power and might and covenant, the Father. Jesus is the gift of God, he
was sent of God, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.
I believe God, this is all his purpose, please God to bruise
him, please God to smite him. I believe on God who sent Christ,
I believe on Christ who was sent. I believe on Christ who accomplished
the work, I believe on Christ who died and was buried and rose
again, I believe on Christ who is the only revelation of God.
and only God will ever save. They are all in one. That's right. Therefore, I tell you, if you
look at this, we better look at it. This is the gospel, and
this wasn't written for Abraham's sake alone, that this was imputed
to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe
on him that raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. who
was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification.
You look through that chapter again, those two chapters. I've tried to make it plain.
Do you believe? You say, well, how are you going
to motivate people to righteousness? That's not my subject right now. You can do all you want to do
and you'll still come short of the glory of God. But what we've got to start,
we've got to start where Abraham started. He stood out there on
that night, that starry night, and God had a confrontation with
him. You're just an idol-worshipping
mass of flesh that I brought out of the air of the Chaldees.
That's all you are. You're old and you're decrepit and you've
got no sons and no heir and nothing. You're nothing! But I've got
a plan and a purpose, and I'm going to shower it upon you.
Why don't we even have a son? How are you going to do all this?
I'm going to do it." Now, you look at the sky and you see all
that? Abraham saw it. He said, So shall your seed be.
And Abraham just laid down every shotgun and put up his sword
and submitted himself and said, I believe you, God. I believe
you. And right then, he was accepted,
justified, perfectly holy, righteous before God, when he thoroughly
and completely, honestly, personally believed God. Now, later on,
he proved to believe God. Later on, God said, do this,
he did it, go there, he went there. But God didn't accept
him and he wasn't holy because Abraham stumbled and stumbled
all the way down this road until he got to the end of it. But
he died in faith! And he was covered in that same
holiness that he started in. And that was the holiness that
made God love him to start with, he was in Christ. And that's
the only way a man is saved, woman, boy, girl, is believe
God. I believe God. But I don't understand
all this. I bet Abraham didn't either. I can't understand all this.
I can't put it all together. Who can? I believe God. And those who believe God are
as holy as God. We're a holy people. righteous
myself. You see that? Boy, if you do,
you ought to jump up and click your heels. Ninety-nine percent
of the religious people in this world don't see it. And they're
going to still stand before God someday and say, I preached in
your name, and I did many wonderful works, and I cast out devil. I never
knew you. Never knew you. part of me.

Imputed Righteousness

What does the Bible say about imputed righteousness?

How do we know justification by faith is true?

Why is imputed righteousness important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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Imputed Righteousness

What does the Bible say about imputed righteousness?

How do we know justification by faith is true?

Why is imputed righteousness important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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