Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Lord Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6) | Charles Spurgeon
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to reform thinking. This is the deep dive.
- 0:03Here we try to take a subject and really unpack it, you know,
- 0:05aiming to help you get well versed and, well, pretty
- 0:08quickly, but with some real insight too.
- 0:10We're here to distill those core truths, maybe uncover some
- 0:12surprising angles and just help you grasp concepts that really
- 0:16matter. So today, yeah, we're doing a
- 0:18deep dive into some, well, really rich source material.
- 0:20It's all centered on what many folks consider a central truth
- 0:23of our faith. The title is the Lord Our
- 0:26Righteousness. We'll be looking closely at how
- 0:28our standing before. God is made right through
- 0:30Christ. And we're drawing straight from
- 0:33some classic theological thinking on this now.
- 0:35It might seem a bit dense at first, maybe a little complex,
- 0:38but stick with us. By the end, we really hope
- 0:41you'll see it's well, it's glorious simplicity and what it
- 0:45means for you. That's right.
- 0:46And our material today, it really tackles A foundational
- 0:49question. It's one people have wrestled
- 0:51with for ages. How can a God who is perfectly,
- 0:53just, perfectly holy, how can he accept and even reward sinful
- 0:56people like us? It brings up justification by
- 0:59faith, which you know, many listeners will be familiar with.
- 1:02But then it goes deeper, drilling down to the bedrock,
- 1:05this truth of what's called imputed righteousness.
- 1:07And that's key, because it's not just about having your sins
- 1:10wiped away, forgiven. It's about having something
- 1:12actively positive credited to your account.
- 1:15OK. And that's where it gets,
- 1:17really. Fascinating, isn't it?
- 1:18We're going to unpack why just being pardoned, just getting
- 1:22forgiveness, isn't quite enough for, let's say, full acceptance
- 1:26and reward. We'll look at what it means for
- 1:28Christ to be called the Law Incarnate.
- 1:30That's a striking phrase and maybe most astonishingly, how
- 1:34his perfect obedience somehow becomes ours.
- 1:39You might hear a concept or two that it may be challenges, how
- 1:41you've usually thought about salvation.
- 1:43But really this deep dive, the whole point is to give you a
- 1:46clearer, maybe more confident picture of where you stand
- 1:49before God. All right, so let's start at the
- 1:51beginning with the fall. Our sources talk about the
- 1:53wreckage of the fall, and they say it caused humanity to
- 1:55sustain an infinite loss in the matter of righteousness.
- 1:58So the phrase infinite loss, it sounds huge.
- 2:01When we hear a loss, we think something's missing.
- 2:02But what is infinite loss? Really dig into here.
- 2:06Yeah, infinite loss. It's a devastating phrase, much
- 2:09more so than it might first appear.
- 2:11It's not just that we piled up a dead of sin, though goodness
- 2:13knows that happened. What the sources are stressing
- 2:16is that through the fall, humanity lost its original,
- 2:19righteous nature completely. Think about it like this.
- 2:23You're not just massively in debt, but you've also lost your
- 2:26ability to work, your capacity to earn anything, to ever pay it
- 2:29back, or even to do genuinely good deeds that could count for
- 2:32something. The fall didn't just make us
- 2:34guilty sinners, it fundamentally corrupted our very nature.
- 2:38It stripped away that inherent ability we originally had to
- 2:41perfectly obey God. Our original uprightness, that
- 2:44perfect standing before God? Gone, Utterly gone.
- 2:47The sources say it was a complete wrecking of his
- 2:49original character. Wow, so not just a slip up but a
- 2:53fundamental breaking. And our sources describe this
- 2:56loss as having real legal weight before God A2 fold loss of legal
- 3:00righteousness. Can you break that down a bit?
- 3:01What are these sins of Commission and sins of omission
- 3:03they talk about? And why do both matter so much?
- 3:06Sure. So first, sins of Commission.
- 3:09These are the act of sins, the times man directly transgressed
- 3:13God's commands. You know, like a law is clearly
- 3:15stated and it's deliberately broken.
- 3:17Stealing something, telling a lie, actively rebelling against
- 3:20what God said. These are acts against the law.
- 3:22They make us guilty, no longer innocent.
- 3:24This is probably what most people think of when they hear
- 3:27the word sin doing something wrong.
- 3:29OK, actively breaking the rules makes sense.
- 3:31But, and this is crucial in our sources, it wasn't just about
- 3:34what we did wrong. There were also the sins of
- 3:36omission. This means failing to do what
- 3:39God required, failing to keep the positive commands.
- 3:43So not only did humanity commit wrongdoing, but it also
- 3:46neglected its duties. It failed to uphold its side of
- 3:49the covenant, you could say, leaving undone the things that
- 3:52should have been done. Think of it like actively
- 3:56committing a crime versus neglecting A vital duty, like a
- 3:58guard falling asleep on watch in God's eyes.
- 4:02According to these sources, both were equally devastating.
- 4:05Both led to that complete wrecking of our original
- 4:07righteous character. They're very clear.
- 4:09And that which he committed and that which he made his original
- 4:11character for uprightness was completely wrecked.
- 4:14Well, there was just nothing left of that original standing
- 4:16or even the inherent capacity to please God perfectly.
- 4:19Right wrecked from both sides doing wrong and failing to do
- 4:22right. And this leads us straight into
- 4:25a big problem. Our sources highlight a problem
- 4:28of divine justice. It's this why isn't pardon, just
- 4:32forgiveness enough for many people?
- 4:35That sounds like the whole deal. Sins forgiven, Slate wiped
- 4:38clean. But our material says, hold on,
- 4:40there's more to it. It really does push deeper.
- 4:42Now don't get me wrong, the sources absolutely affirm the
- 4:45incredible life changing truth of pardon.
- 4:47They talk about Christ's precious blood, His one
- 4:50sacrifice, and how it removes the consequences of sin for
- 4:52believers. He really did bear our sins and
- 4:55his own body on the tree. And because of that work, a
- 4:58pardoned person is viewed by God as without sin.
- 5:01That's huge. The penalty is gone.
- 5:03Your past failures, their debt is cancelled.
- 5:05That sounds pretty complete, so why isn't it?
- 5:07Well, the sources stress it is not enough for a man to be
- 5:10pardoned if we're talking about full acceptance and reward from
- 5:13God. Think of it maybe in human terms
- 5:15for a second. Someone might get a presidential
- 5:17pardon for a crime. They're free from prison.
- 5:19The legal penalty is removed, but does that pardon
- 5:22automatically mean they've earned, say, a Medal of Honor
- 5:25for outstanding service? No, forgiveness of the negative
- 5:29doesn't automatically grant the positive reward.
- 5:31The original requirement for humanity wasn't just don't break
- 5:34the rules, it was also positive. Actually keep the command and
- 5:38continue in all things that are written in the book of the law
- 5:40to do them. There was always this
- 5:42requirement for perfect, lifelong active obedience that
- 5:46needed to be met too. OK, I see.
- 5:48So God's justice has two sides, punishing the wrong but also
- 5:53rewarding the right. And if only the sin part is
- 5:56dealt with, but that positive obedience is still missing,
- 5:59what's the issue for God's character then?
- 6:00That's precisely the point the sources make.
- 6:03They're very direct about it. God cannot reward a soul that
- 6:06has not perfectly kept the law to grant heaven that ultimate
- 6:11reward of perfect fellowship with him without that perfect
- 6:14service being rendered. That would call God's own
- 6:17justice into question. It would be like giving the
- 6:19prize when the race wasn't perfectly run.
- 6:21It would suggest the rules don't ultimately matter that much.
- 6:24Such an act, they argue, would impeach his justice, implying
- 6:27God himself isn't perfectly just if he just waves away the need
- 6:30for positive righteousness. His law is perfect, you see, and
- 6:34His justice demands that perfection be met, not just that
- 6:37failures be forgiven. So the standard remains absolute
- 6:40perfection. Yes, and then the sources hit us
- 6:42with a reality check. We are not so deluded as to
- 6:46think that this righteousness can be wrought out by
- 6:47yourselves. It's made crystal clear.
- 6:50Humanity in our fallen state, we are completely incapable of
- 6:53achieving this perfect positive obedience on our own steam after
- 6:58the fall. We're not just guilty
- 6:59lawbreakers. We also lack the internal
- 7:01ability, the moral engine, to perfectly fulfill the law's
- 7:04demands from the heart all the time.
- 7:06And this really sets the stage dramatically for understanding
- 7:09Christ's work. It had to be more than just
- 7:11paying a penalty. It had to include providing that
- 7:14perfect life of active obedience that we couldn't.
- 7:16OK, that really clarifies the dilemma.
- 7:18We need pardon for our failures and we need a record of perfect
- 7:21obedience. And we can't produce the second
- 7:23part. So this naturally shifts the
- 7:25focus squarely on to Jesus Christ and his life.
- 7:28Our material says something incredible about Him.
- 7:31His life was righteousness itself, not just righteous, but
- 7:33righteousness itself. It wasn't just a good example,
- 7:35He was. This phrase is amazing.
- 7:37The law Incarnate, what God commanded on Sinai, you know,
- 7:41with the fire and Thunder. Those same precepts were, as the
- 7:43sources put it, written in flesh in the person of.
- 7:46Christ. What does that actually mean for
- 7:48the law to be embodied like that?
- 7:50It means his entire being, every single aspect, was in perfect,
- 7:54flawless harmony with God's divine law.
- 7:57Every thought, every word, every action.
- 7:59It wasn't just that he followed the rules really well.
- 8:01He was the living, breathing expression of God's perfect
- 8:05will. And this means zero offense, 0
- 8:08blemish, nothing imperfect in him at all, right down to the
- 8:10deepest part of his being. The sources get very specific,
- 8:14painting a vivid picture. They say there was no fire of
- 8:17unhallowed anger from his eye. Now think about that.
- 8:19It's not just avoiding throwing a tantrum, it means even the
- 8:22slightest internal flicker of unjust irritation, impatience,
- 8:26or self-righteous anger was completely absent.
- 8:29His gaze was pure love and righteous judgement.
- 8:31Just the gaze itself. Exactly.
- 8:32And then on his lip, there was no unjust or licentious word of
- 8:36so. Not just avoiding outright lies
- 8:37or crude talk, but every single word he spoke was perfectly
- 8:41aligned with truth, with grace, with divine purpose.
- 8:43No gossip, no careless speech, no word that didn't ultimately
- 8:46bring glory to God or benefit the hearer.
- 8:48His communication was perfect. That level of perfection is hard
- 8:51to even imagine. What about his inner thoughts
- 8:53and feelings? Just as flawless.
- 8:55His heart, the sources say, was never stirred by the breath of
- 8:58sin or the taint of iniquity. Can you picture a mind and heart
- 9:02so cure that? Not even a whisper of sin, not a
- 9:05shadow of wrong desire could find any foothold, not even for
- 9:08a microsecond. And deeper still, no fault
- 9:10hidden in the secret of his reigns.
- 9:12That's referring to the deepest seat of his emotions and
- 9:14motivations. Utter purity within.
- 9:16And his mind, his actions. His understanding had no defect,
- 9:19his judgment no error. He saw everything clearly,
- 9:23perfectly discerning truth, right, wrong in every single
- 9:25situation, flawless wisdom. There was no guile in him,
- 9:29meaning absolutely no deceit, no manipulation, no hidden agendas,
- 9:33just pure transparent integrity. Even his miracles, which were
- 9:37powerful displays, showed no ostentation, no showing off, no
- 9:41performing for the crowds to build his own brand, so to
- 9:44speak. Everything he did, every
- 9:46miracle, was genuinely for God's glory and people's good,
- 9:48completely free from pride. So every part of him worked
- 9:51together perfectly. Yes, his powers, his will, his
- 9:54understanding, his emotions, they acted and Co acted to
- 9:57Perfection's very self. It's this image of perfect
- 10:01internal and external harmony and the result never was there
- 10:04any flaw of omission or stain of Commission.
- 10:06He perfectly did everything God required, and he perfectly
- 10:09avoided everything God forbade. His whole life was the law lived
- 10:12out Florida State a perfect record.
- 10:14That's an incredible standard, and it wasn't just passive
- 10:17perfection, Was it not just avoiding wrong?
- 10:19The sources emphasize his active fulfillment of the commands,
- 10:22especially the commands of love. He perfectly obeyed that first
- 10:26great command. Love the Lord thy God with all
- 10:28thy heart, soul, and mind. How did he actively show the
- 10:31supreme love for God? Right.
- 10:33It wasn't just an idea he agreed with, it was the engine of his
- 10:36entire life, the sources say. It was his meat and his drink to
- 10:39do the will of him that sent him.
- 10:41That phrase tells you how vital, how nourishing, how fundamental
- 10:45doing God's will was for him. It wasn't a chore.
- 10:48It was his deepest satisfaction, his very sustenance.
- 10:51He poured himself out completely, considering physical
- 10:53needs like hunger and thirst and nakedness.
- 10:56Nothing to him, even death itself was secondary to
- 10:59fulfilling his Father's purpose. Every thought, every action,
- 11:02every drop of energy was dedicated to God's will.
- 11:05That's how He proved His perfect love for the Father right to the
- 11:07very end. Complete devotion.
- 11:09And what about the second command?
- 11:10Loving your neighbor as yourself?
- 11:12How did he fulfill that so actively?
- 11:14Here again, the sources say he more than fulfilled the precept,
- 11:17not just met the requirement, but exceeded it.
- 11:19How? Well, think about the cross.
- 11:22The sources quote the mocking words that actually reveal a
- 11:25deep truth. He saved others himself.
- 11:27He could not save. He chose the path of suffering
- 11:30and death because he valued saving souls more than his own
- 11:32earthly life. He loved humanity better than
- 11:35his own life. He willingly endured spitting,
- 11:37mocking, unimaginable physical and spiritual agony.
- 11:40Agony is, it cannot be described why, so that we might be saved
- 11:43from eternal loss. He exhausted the utmost
- 11:46resources of love, the sources say, in his self sacrifice.
- 11:49It was the ultimate act of active, costly, saving love for
- 11:52his neighbor, for us. Wow, more than fulfilled.
- 11:56Yes. So the result of this whole
- 11:58perfect life, this act of obedience, is that Christ
- 12:01carried out the law to the very letter.
- 12:04He didn't just skim the surface, He spelled out its Mystic
- 12:07syllables, meaning. He revealed its true depth and
- 12:10meaning by living it perfectly. He showed us what perfect human
- 12:13obedience actually looks like, and in doing so, he magnified it
- 12:17and made it honorable. He upheld the law's glory by
- 12:20fulfilling it completely, and it's this perfect act of
- 12:23righteousness, his life's work, that becomes the crucial
- 12:26positive element credited to us. OK, so we have the problem,
- 12:30humanity's total inability to meet God's standard of perfect
- 12:33righteousness, both in avoiding sin and in fulfilling commands.
- 12:36And we have the provision Christ absolutely perfect life,
- 12:38embodying and fulfilling the law, completely driven by
- 12:41perfect love for God and neighbor.
- 12:43Now the big question, how does His perfection become ours?
- 12:46How does that bridge get built? This is where our sources bring
- 12:49in what they call the grand truth, imputed righteousness.
- 12:51Exactly. Imputation.
- 12:53And according to the material we're looking at, this isn't
- 12:55just some minor theological point.
- 12:57It lies at the very bottom of the entire teaching of
- 13:00Scripture. It's fundamental.
- 13:01So what is imputation? Simply put, it's a legal act.
- 13:05It's God crediting something to someone's account.
- 13:08That something could be sin, as we saw with Adam, or it could be
- 13:11righteousness, as we see with Christ.
- 13:13It's put on your record, legally speaking, even though you didn't
- 13:16personally perform the action or possess the quality yourself.
- 13:19Think of it like a divine accounting transaction.
- 13:21The legal crediting, yeah. So how does this play out for
- 13:25believers? For us, well, the sources
- 13:27explain that when we believe in Christ by faith, we receive our
- 13:31justification. Justification means being
- 13:34declared righteous in God's sight.
- 13:36And how can God declare us righteous when we're not in
- 13:39ourselves through imputation? They draw a vital distinction
- 13:43here. As the merit of His blood takes
- 13:46away our sin, so the merit of His obedience is imputed to us
- 13:49for righteousness. See the two parts.
- 13:52Christ's death, His blood pays the penalty for our sins.
- 13:55That's pardon dealing with the negative.
- 13:57But His life, His perfect obedience, provides the positive
- 14:01righteousness we lack. And that perfect record is
- 14:03legally credited, imputed to our account when we trust in Him.
- 14:07So it's not just erasing the debt, it's depositing infinite
- 14:10wealth into our account. That's a great way to put it.
- 14:13It's not just bringing us back to zero.
- 14:15It's crediting us with Christ's perfect score.
- 14:17The sources are very clear on this.
- 14:20We are considered as soon as we believe, as though the works of
- 14:22Christ were our works. Just pause and think about that.
- 14:26God looks at you, the believer, not based on your own track
- 14:28record, but as though that perfect obedience had been
- 14:31performed by yourselves. That's staggering.
- 14:34It is God considers us as though we were hurt.
- 14:37Christ looks upon us as though His life had been our life and
- 14:41accepts, blesses and rewards us as though all that He did had
- 14:45been done by us, His believing people.
- 14:48It's a complete transfer. His perfection becomes our legal
- 14:51standing. We are clothed in His
- 14:53righteousness, not our own. Which brings us right back to
- 14:56that title, the Lord our righteousness.
- 14:58You said earlier the key is that little word are it makes this
- 15:02huge theological concept intensely personal.
- 15:05Absolutely. The sources say the pith, the
- 15:07real heart of it is the little word are it's not just the Lord
- 15:10is righteousness, true as that is, it's the Lord our
- 15:12righteousness. It signifies possession,
- 15:14connection. This R describes how we
- 15:17personally take hold of Christ and His righteousness makes it
- 15:19ours legally and effectively. How do the sources describe this
- 15:22connection? You mentioned some vivid
- 15:24metaphors. Yes, they use several to help us
- 15:26grasp it. It's called the grappling iron,
- 15:28with which we get a hold on Him. You know, a grappling iron hooks
- 15:31onto something solid, lets you hold fast.
- 15:33Faith, expressed in that hour is how our soul hooks onto Christ's
- 15:37perfect righteousness and makes it ours.
- 15:40It's also described as the anchor which dives into the
- 15:43bottom of this great deep of His Immaculate righteousness.
- 15:46An anchor grounds a ship, gives its stability in the storm this
- 15:50hour anchors our soul securely in the infinite, unshakable
- 15:55perfection of Christ. Grappling iron anchor at Strong
- 15:58images of holding on and security.
- 16:00What else? It's also called the sacred
- 16:02Rivet, by which our souls are joined to Him.
- 16:04Think of a rivet, a permanent, strong fastener holding things
- 16:07together. It speaks of an unbreakable,
- 16:10divinely forged union and finally, maybe the most intimate
- 16:13one. It's the blessed hand with which
- 16:14our soul touches him and he becometh to us.
- 16:16All in all, it's that personal touch of faith, reaching out and
- 16:19receiving Him that makes His righteousness ours and makes Him
- 16:22everything we need before God. So our is the link the point of
- 16:26contact? Precisely.
- 16:28And the absolute sufficiency of this righteousness is guaranteed
- 16:31because the one who achieved it is Jehovah himself.
- 16:34God the Son became man to obey the law perfectly for us.
- 16:38The Lawgiver fulfilled his own law.
- 16:40So the sources asked reasonably. Thank you that he has done it
- 16:43imperfectly, given who he is. Thank you that his service will
- 16:46be incomplete. The very fact that it's
- 16:48Jehovah's righteousness means it's absolutely perfect,
- 16:51complete, and eternally sufficient for all who receive
- 16:53it by faith. When it becomes our
- 16:55righteousness, it's flawless. OK, this concept of imputed
- 16:58righteousness credited perfection.
- 17:01It's beautiful, but it hasn't always been accepted, has it?
- 17:04Our sources mentioned some pushbacks, specifically citing
- 17:06Faustus Sesenas back in the 16th century.
- 17:09He apparently called this doctrine execrable, detestable
- 17:12and licentious. Those are strong words.
- 17:14Why such a harsh reaction? They are very strong words.
- 17:17So Sinus and his followers rejected several core Christian
- 17:20doctrines, including things like original sin and the idea that
- 17:23Christ's death was a substitutionary payment for sin.
- 17:27They emphasized God's simple forgiveness based on repentance
- 17:30and human effort in obedience. So for them, this idea of
- 17:34righteousness being legally transferred or credited from
- 17:37Christ to a believer seemed absurd, unjust even.
- 17:40They thought it would lead to licentiousness, people thinking
- 17:43they could sin freely because Christ's righteousness colored
- 17:45them. They saw it as undermining
- 17:47personal responsibility and morality.
- 17:49So a fundamental clash of understanding about how
- 17:51salvation works. How do our sources respond to
- 17:54that charge? They respond very directly,
- 17:56particularly through Spurgeon's words quoted in the material.
- 17:59He turns those accusations right around.
- 18:02He says this doctrine is not execrable, but most delightful.
- 18:06It's a source of immense joy and relief.
- 18:08It's not abominable, but God like reflecting God's Amazing
- 18:13Grace and wisdom. And critically, it's not
- 18:16licentious but holy. The argument is that truly
- 18:19grasping the magnitude of this gift, being clothed in Christ's
- 18:22perfection doesn't lead to careless living.
- 18:25Instead, it fosters overwhelming gratitude, love for God, and a
- 18:28deep desire to live in a way that honors the One who gave
- 18:31everything for you. It motivates holiness.
- 18:33It doesn't undermine it. So the effect is the opposite of
- 18:35what critics feared. That's the argument.
- 18:37The sources even hint that maybe so.
- 18:39Sinus's harsh words said more about his own spiritual
- 18:41understanding than the doctrine itself.
- 18:43For believers who embrace it, it's seen as liberating and life
- 18:46changing, not corrupting. And the defense doesn't stop
- 18:49there. Our sources argue that
- 18:51imputation is actually very consistent with how the Bible
- 18:54explains other key events, especially the fall itself.
- 18:57They draw a parallel, saying that the mechanism is similar.
- 19:01How exactly did we fall according to this view?
- 19:04Right. This parallel is key for showing
- 19:06it's not some strange isolated idea.
- 19:09The sources ask how did we fall, and the answer given is we fell
- 19:13by the imputation of Adam's sin to us.
- 19:16Adam is presented as our federal head.
- 19:19Think of federal like a representative head of a
- 19:21federation or nation. Adam represented the entire
- 19:24human race, so when he sinned, we sin representatively in him,
- 19:28and what he did was imputed to us.
- 19:30His act of disobedience was legally credited to all
- 19:32humanity. That's where we're born sinful,
- 19:34not just because we imitate Adam, but because his guilt was
- 19:37legally assigned to us as his descendants under his headship.
- 19:40OK, so we fell through representation and imputation.
- 19:43Exactly. We fell through the actions of
- 19:44our representative Adam being legally counted against us.
- 19:46Then it makes sense that we would rise the same way.
- 19:49Precisely the argument. Since by representation we fell,
- 19:53it follows logically that it is by the representative system
- 19:57that we rise. So it shouldn't seem strange or
- 19:59arbitrary that we rise by imputation in Christ.
- 20:03He is the second Adam, the new representative head.
- 20:06God is using the same principle, the same legal framework, but
- 20:08now in grace through a perfect representative whose
- 20:11righteousness is credited to us. To reject imputation and
- 20:14salvation, the sources suggest, is kind of like rejecting the
- 20:17explanation for the fall itself. It breaks the consistency of
- 20:20God's plan. That consistency argument is
- 20:22quite compelling. And they add another layer by
- 20:25contrasting our situation with that of fallen angels.
- 20:28Angels, the sources say, fell personally and individually.
- 20:31Each one made their own choice to rebel.
- 20:33There was no representative. And the consequence?
- 20:36They never rise. There's no provision for the
- 20:38restoration. But humanity fell in another in
- 20:42Adam, and because we fell representatively, it opened the
- 20:45door by God's grace for us to rise in another, namely Christ.
- 20:49This difference highlights why a representative system involving
- 20:52imputation is uniquely suited to humanity's situation based on
- 20:56how we fell in the first place. And what about pardon itself?
- 20:59If someone denies imputation, does it create problems even for
- 21:02understanding forgiveness? Yes, the sources argue it does.
- 21:06They ask if you deny imputation, how are men pardoned at all?
- 21:10Think about it. For God to justly apply the
- 21:12benefits of Christ's death, the pardon achieved by his
- 21:15sacrifice, to us, how does that happen?
- 21:17For God to be just in forgiving your sins based on what Christ
- 21:20did, Christ's death must be first of all imputed to them.
- 21:24His payment has to be legally credited to your account.
- 21:27Otherwise, God would be forgiving sin without its
- 21:29penalty actually being legally accounted for in the specific
- 21:32person he's forgiving. Imputation is the legal
- 21:35mechanism that allows God to be both just and the justifier of
- 21:39the one who has faith in Jesus. It ensures His justice isn't
- 21:42compromised when he pardons US based on Christ's work.
- 21:45So imputation isn't just about the positive righteousness, it's
- 21:48fundamental even for understanding how Christ's death
- 21:51applies to us for forgiveness. That's the view presented.
- 21:54It undergirds both pardon and the granting of positive
- 21:57righteousness. So pulling this together, our
- 21:59sources present imputation not as some, you know, friend's
- 22:02theory, but as a grand truth, a truth that really makes the
- 22:06gospel clear, showing how it all fits together to the fall, God's
- 22:10justice, pardon, Christ's life, our standing.
- 22:13It provides A coherent picture. Yes, coherence is a big part of
- 22:17the argument. It ties everything together
- 22:19logically, and this leads to a very strong statement in our
- 22:22material I must give up justification by faith if I give
- 22:26up imputed righteousness. That might sound extreme at
- 22:29first, but it flows from everything we've discussed.
- 22:32If justification means being declared truly righteous in
- 22:35God's sight, not just forgiven, then you need more than pardon.
- 22:38You need that positive, perfect righteousness.
- 22:41Where does that come from? Only from Christ.
- 22:43How does it become yours? By imputation.
- 22:46So if you remove imputation, you remove the basis for God
- 22:49declaring you positively righteous.
- 22:51You might have forgiveness, but you don't have the full
- 22:52righteousness God requires. Justification by faith would
- 22:55then seem impossible, because faith would have no perfect
- 22:58righteousness to lay hold of and present to God.
- 23:00It's like the engine driving justification by faith.
- 23:03Without it, the car doesn't move.
- 23:05That's a good way to think about it, and the sources use their
- 23:08own analogy involving soil and rock.
- 23:10Right. Can you unpack that one?
- 23:11It sounds helpful. They say true justification by
- 23:14faith is the surface soil picture or field.
- 23:17The soil is what you see, what you interact with directly.
- 23:20It's where the seeds grow. This represents the immediate
- 23:23truth believers experience experience.
- 23:25I trust Christ and God declares me righteous.
- 23:28It's the practical, experiential reality of faith.
- 23:31OK, the visible part, the experience.
- 23:33Yes, but then they say imputed righteousness is the granite
- 23:36rock that lies underneath it granite.
- 23:38It's solid, foundational, unseen perhaps, but absolutely
- 23:42essential. It's what supports the soil if
- 23:43you dig down beneath the surface.
- 23:45Experience of being justified by faith.
- 23:47If you ask why God can declare you righteous just because you
- 23:50believe, you must inevitably come to the doctrine of the
- 23:53imputed righteousness of of Christ as the basis and
- 23:56foundation on which that simple doctrine rests.
- 23:59Justification by faith isn't floating in midair.
- 24:02It rests firmly on the bedrock reality that Christ's perfection
- 24:05is legally credited to the believer.
- 24:06That's why faith justifies, because it receives Christ and
- 24:09his imputed righteousness. So the simple truth rests on
- 24:11this profound foundational reality.
- 24:15Surface soil on granite rock. Got it.
- 24:19Now let's talk about the implications of this.
- 24:21If this imputed righteousness is real, if it's ours through
- 24:24faith, what does that mean for the believer standing before God
- 24:28right now? Our sources use beautiful
- 24:31language here. They say you stand before God,
- 24:33robed in your Savior's garments, clothed with his spotless
- 24:36vestments on, holy as the Holy One.
- 24:39That's not just clean. That sounds like being dressed
- 24:41in perfection itself. It is.
- 24:43Imagine standing before the infinitely holy God, not
- 24:46cowering in your own inadequacy, not even just standing there
- 24:49pardoned, but bare, but clothed, fully adorned in the perfect
- 24:53dazzling righteousness of Christ himself.
- 24:55That's the picture. And this leads to an almost
- 24:57unbelievable level of acceptance.
- 24:59The sources make a direct comparison to Adam before the
- 25:01fall. Listen to this not Adam when he
- 25:04walked in Eden's Bowers was more accepted than you are not more
- 25:06pleasing to the eye of the all judging the sin hating God than
- 25:10you are if clothed in Jesus righteousness and sprinkled with
- 25:13his blood. More accepted than perfect Adam
- 25:15and Eden. That's what it says.
- 25:16Think about it. Adam's perfection was human
- 25:19perfection. Wonderful, yes, but created and,
- 25:23as history showed, fallible. Your righteousness, if you're in
- 25:27Christ, is Christ's righteousness.
- 25:28It's divine righteousness. That's why you can be seen as
- 25:31even more pleasing, more secure than Adam was.
- 25:35So this leads to the idea that we actually have a better
- 25:37righteousness than Adam had. Yes, that's the explicit claim.
- 25:40You have a better righteousness than Adam had.
- 25:42Why better? Because he had a human
- 25:44righteousness. Your garments are divine.
- 25:46Adam's robe, so to speak, was woven by earth, created
- 25:50perfection. But our garment, our robe of
- 25:54righteousness, heaven has made it for you to wear.
- 25:56Its origin is divine. Its quality is divine.
- 25:59Its endurance is divine. That gives it an ultimate,
- 26:01unshakable merit that even Adam's original righteousness
- 26:04didn't possess. It's a superior standing.
- 26:06A divine righteousness crafted in heaven.
- 26:09That should change things for us, shouldn't it?
- 26:11How we live, how we approach God, how we face life.
- 26:13Our sources say because of this, because our Savior is Jehovah,
- 26:15because his obedience is complete and divine and ours, we
- 26:18should be bold, be very courageous.
- 26:20Yes. This isn't about mustering up
- 26:22your own courage. It's a boldness that comes from
- 26:24knowing your standing is absolutely secure.
- 26:26Not in yourself, but in Christ. It means you can face anything.
- 26:30Life, death, judgement, accusations from anywhere,
- 26:34heaven, earth and hell. With the challenge of the
- 26:36apostle, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
- 26:40If God himself has declared you righteous based on Christ's
- 26:43imputed perfection, who can possibly overturn that verdict?
- 26:47No one. That really addresses fear,
- 26:49doesn't it? Especially the fear of
- 26:50condemnation. Completely, the sources
- 26:52encourage you. Look back upon your past sins,
- 26:55Look upon your present infirmities and all your future
- 26:57errors. Acknowledge them, yes.
- 26:59And while you weep the tears of repentance because genuine
- 27:02sorrow for sin is right and good, let No Fear of damnation
- 27:05blanch your cheek. That deep, paralyzing fear of
- 27:08eternal judgement is removed not because sin doesn't matter, but
- 27:12because Christ's righteousness covers you completely.
- 27:14His life and death are sufficient.
- 27:16So repentance without terror, sorrow without despair.
- 27:20Exactly. It allows for genuine humility
- 27:22and godly sorrow, but anchors it in the unshakable security of
- 27:26Christ's work credited to you. And the security then becomes a
- 27:30reason to, as the sources say, boast exceedingly and glory in
- 27:34your God. Your boasting isn't in yourself,
- 27:36your ever, or your progress. It's entirely in God and what He
- 27:40has provided in Christ. Your standing is based on His
- 27:43rock solid perfection, not your shifting performance and then
- 27:46that. Final encouragement.
- 27:48Let this be on the top and summit of your heart and soul.
- 27:50Jehovah, the Lord, our righteousness.
- 27:52Yeah, make that the central truth, the highest point of your
- 27:55confidence and joy. Yes, letting that truth permeate
- 27:58everything, this deep dive into the Lord, our righteousness, it
- 28:01really uncovers something that's meant to liberate, not burden.
- 28:04When you start to grasp at Christ's perfect life, not just
- 28:06His death, that His active, lifelong obedience is legally
- 28:10credited to your account through faith, it changes your whole
- 28:12outlook. It's a truth that ought to fill
- 28:15you with incredible gratitude and also a holy desire to live
- 28:18for the One who has done absolutely everything necessary
- 28:21for you. You stand complete in Him.
- 28:23So maybe the question to leave you with is this.
- 28:25What might it truly mean practically in your daily life,
- 28:28in your struggles, in your worship, to consciously rest in
- 28:31a righteousness that isn't yours by achievement, but yours by
- 28:34imputation? A righteousness that is divine,
- 28:37perfect, heaven made freely given?
- 28:39How does resting in that change how you face today and tomorrow?
- 28:43We really trust this deep dive has given you a clear
- 28:45perspective on this absolutely essential truth.
- 28:48Please join us next time on the Deep Dive for more insights from
- 28:50Reformed thinking. Until then, continue to seek
- 28:52understanding.