# Scriptural Proof for the Imputed Righteousness of Christ



## WrittenFromUtopia

In this day, I find it important to look to Scripture in order to learn theology, not the latest and most popular, trendy books. The books all sound great and wonderful, and seem to even be right, but I often find a lot of new academic material to be quite at odds with Scripture on many, many subjects.

When studying imputation, it has been most helpful for me to simply read through Scripture, whether it is Paul's epistles or the gospels. Scripture is very clear on all doctrine, especially on ones as vital as double-imputation.

I wanted to start a thread and let some of the pastors and wiser men on the board contribute where they believe Scripture speaks strongly on this doctrine and briefly explain why, etc.

One passage that has stood out a lot to me lately is in Philippians:



> Phil 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, *not having a righteousness of my own* that comes from the law, *but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith*"” 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.


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## Ex Nihilo

Thank you for starting this thread! I look forward to seeing what everyone posts.


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## Peter

Romans 5

especially Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of *the gift of righteousness* shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath *clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness*, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.


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## VirginiaHuguenot

Romans 4-5

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. 5.18-21

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Ps. 32.1-2

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jer. 23.6

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isa. 53.5


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## Arch2k

Psa 71:16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.  

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.  

Eze 16:10 "I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 
Eze 16:11 "I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. 
Eze 16:12 "And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 
Eze 16:13 "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 
Eze 16:14 "Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD. 

Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. 

Zec 3:4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes."  
Zec 3:5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by. 

Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  
Mat 5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  
Mat 5:19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Rom 4:6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 
Rom 4:7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 
Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin." 

Rom 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  
Rom 5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned; 
Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 
Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 
Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 
Rom 5:17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 
Rom 5:18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  
Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.  
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 
Rom 5:21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

He condemned sin in the flesh, 
Rom 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us  who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 
Gal 4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 

Phi 3:9 and be found in Him, *not having my own righteousness, which is from the law*, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God  by faith; 

Heb 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those  who are being sanctified.


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## pduggan

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> One passage that has stood out a lot to me lately is in Philippians:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Phil 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, *not having a righteousness of my own* that comes from the law, *but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith*"” 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Click to expand...

If I recall, that is one text that Wright is willing to claim fits a traditional view of imputed rigtheousness, as a status which comes from God, as a result of the 'sharing' of everything with Christ.


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## pduggan

> _Originally posted by Jeff_Bartel_
> Eze 16:10 "I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
> Eze 16:11 "I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.
> Eze 16:12 "And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
> Eze 16:13 "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.
> Eze 16:14 "Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD.



I dunno, using that text to defend imputed rigtheousness sounds pretty iffy, since God goes on to declare that all that stuff is stripped away from Israel because of her sinfulness. Imputed righteousness can't be lost, right?


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## Saiph

All scripture that has been posted is good for showing imputation no doubt.

Consider these though and you will get a hint of a bit more than merely an _extra nos_ forensic declaration.

II Co 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might *become the righteousness of God. *

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 
Rom 1:17 For *in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith*, as it is written, *"The righteous shall live by faith."* 

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested *apart from the law*, although *the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--* 
Rom 3:22 the* righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.* For there is no distinction: 
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 
Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 
Rom 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. * This was to show God's righteousness, *because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 
Rom 3:26 It was *to show his righteousness* at the present time, so that he might be *just and the justifier* of the one who has faith in Jesus. 


Is justification only how one becomes a christian ? Or is it also describing an intrinsic sanctification granted to us by God's grace ? Does Hebrews not tell us that without personal holiness nobody will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14)?


Paul seems to say that the sanctification and righteousness which follows our deliverance from the power of sin is a necessary condition for eternal life in the future.

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, *or of obedience, which leads to righteousness*? 

Rom 6:21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. 
Rom 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, *the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end*, eternal life. 



> "œTherefore, as we ourselves, when we have been engrafted in Christ, are righteous in God´s sight because our iniquities are covered by Christ´s sinlessness, so our works are righteous and are thus regarded because whatever fault is otherwise in them is buried in Christ´s purity, and is not charged to our account. Accordingly, we can deservedly say that by faith alone not only we ourselves but our works as well are justified" (Institutes, 3.17.10).



N.T. Wright affirms that justification is based upon faith, not upon our personal works of righteousness.

Jeff pointed out Romans 5 speaks of the alien righteousness of Christ :

Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so *by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.*

But it is also something we "practice":

1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. *Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. *

1Jo 3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: *whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,* nor is the one who does not love his brother. 



Even if we could obey the law in our flesh, which is impossible, it would not be enough without faith in God's covenant faithfullness.

Luk 17:9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 
Luk 17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"

[Edited on 1-4-2006 by Saiph]


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## Tirian

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, *To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:* 

Matthew Henry says on this:

The preciousness of faith, as well as our obtaining it, is through the righteousness of Christ. The satisfactory meritorious righteousness and obedience of Christ gives faith all its value and preciousness: and the righteousness of such a person cannot but be of infinite value to those who by faith receive it. For, (1.) This Jesus Christ is God, yea, our God, as it is in the original. He is truly God, an infinite Being, who has wrought out this righteousness, and therefore it must be of infinite value. (2.) He is the Saviour of those that believe, and as such he yielded this meritorious obedience; and therefore it is of such great benefit and advantage to them, because, as surety and Saviour, he wrought out this righteousness in their stead.


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## pduggan

> _Originally posted by Matthew Glover_
> 2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, *To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:*
> 
> Matthew Henry says on this:
> 
> The preciousness of faith, as well as our obtaining it, is through the righteousness of Christ. The satisfactory meritorious righteousness and obedience of Christ gives faith all its value and preciousness: and the righteousness of such a person cannot but be of infinite value to those who by faith receive it. For, (1.) This Jesus Christ is God, yea, our God, as it is in the original. He is truly God, an infinite Being, who has wrought out this righteousness, and therefore it must be of infinite value. (2.) He is the Saviour of those that believe, and as such he yielded this meritorious obedience; and therefore it is of such great benefit and advantage to them, because, as surety and Saviour, he wrought out this righteousness in their stead.



That's rather alot to get out of one short clause. Isn't Henry being a bit eisegetical?


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## WrittenFromUtopia

We need to be careful to not confound justification and sanctification...


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## Saiph

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> We need to be careful to not confound justification and sanctification...



We can keep them distinct, and still show where they overlap.

ALL categories of knowledge work this way. For instance, when does a raindrop become small enough to be considered "mist" ?


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## WrittenFromUtopia

> _Originally posted by Saiph_
> 
> 
> 
> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> We need to be careful to not confound justification and sanctification...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We can keep them distinct, and still show where they overlap.
> 
> ALL categories of knowledge work this way. For instance, when does a raindrop become small enough to be considered "mist" ?
Click to expand...


Would you apply this to all things?


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## Saiph

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> 
> 
> Would you apply this to all things?



Until someone proves otherwise ? yes.


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## Steve Owen

Matt 3:13-14. *'The Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it it fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."'*

1Cor 1:30. *'But of Him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.'*

Martin


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## Contra_Mundum

This translation is cobbled together from the NIV (first part) and the KJV (latter part). But it is literal. You can also find a similar rendition ofthe first part of the verse in Kistemaker, _Revelation,_ Baker commentary series:

Rev. 19:8 "Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear; for the fine linen is the righteousness* of the saints."

*literally "righteousness*es*" plural, which I would argue is congruent with "the saints" also plural--each of them has this grant of righteousness.


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## RamistThomist

Chris Rhoades has it filed away somewhere but the best overall summary (ie, within several pages) of imputation I have seen is from Greg Bahnsen. Chris can provide the link.


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## Semper Fidelis

> (Genesis 15:5-6) And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
> And he believed the LORD, *and he counted it to him as righteousness.*





> (Galatians 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"--


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## SolaScriptura

Excellent work, everyone! 

While it doesn't necessarily prove the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us, per se, I think that the Day of Atonement (Lev 16) is helpful for clearly demonstrating the concept of imputation, especially in verses 21 and 22, which read:


> And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.



Thus, the goat is seen as having the guilt of the people transferred - or imputed - to it....


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## WrittenFromUtopia

Many "Reformed" in serious error in recent days have claimed that the active obedience of Christ is unnecessary for our justification and salvation. Reading through the OPC Justification report, I found a very helpful analogy, I'll attempt to present it (maybe someone has a direct quote):

Imagine you were promised a reward for fulfilling a certain task, but were promised punishment if you failed. You failed to complete the task, and are condemned to punishment. Then, someone decides to step in and take the punishment on your behalf. Would you then be entitled to the reward? Of course not! You failed to fulfill your task, which was requisite for receiving the reward.

In the same way, we are promised eternal life in communion with God if we live a life of perfect obedience. If we fail in the least, we are guilty and condemned to death (eternal/physical/spiritual). Christ stepped in and received the wrath of God on our behalf (the elect's). But, this does not entitle us to the reward of eternal life, we have simply been spared the full wrath of God and His punishment. Perfect obedience is still the requisite for eternal salvation. Therefore, Christ had to fulfill "all righteousness" (which is moral and not relational in nature, as the OPC report and our Confessions with Scripture CLEARLY teach) in order for us to receive the reward by resting on and receiving His righteousness, being credited or imputed to our account, by faith (not faithfulness or obedience, He fulfilled this for us).

Hope this helps someone! It sure makes sense to me.


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## crhoades

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> Many "Reformed" in serious error in recent days have claimed that the active obedience of Christ is unnecessary for our justification and salvation. Reading through the OPC Justification report, I found a very helpful analogy, I'll attempt to present it (maybe someone has a direct quote):
> 
> Imagine you were promised a reward for fulfilling a certain task, but were promised punishment if you failed. You failed to complete the task, and are condemned to punishment. Then, someone decides to step in and take the punishment on your behalf. Would you then be entitled to the reward? Of course not! You failed to fulfill your task, which was requisite for receiving the reward.
> 
> In the same way, we are promised eternal life in communion with God if we live a life of perfect obedience. If we fail in the least, we are guilty and condemned to death (eternal/physical/spiritual). Christ stepped in and received the wrath of God on our behalf (the elect's). But, this does not entitle us to the reward of eternal life, we have simply been spared the full wrath of God and His punishment. Perfect obedience is still the requisite for eternal salvation. Therefore, Christ had to fulfill "all righteousness" (which is moral and not relational in nature, as the OPC report and our Confessions with Scripture CLEARLY teach) in order for us to receive the reward by resting on and receiving His righteousness, being credited or imputed to our account, by faith (not faithfulness or obedience, He fulfilled this for us).
> 
> Hope this helps someone! It sure makes sense to me.



good post.


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## WrittenFromUtopia

As far as the "righteousness of God" being moral and not relational, verses such as Romans 1:17 are more than sufficient:



> For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "œThe righteous shall *live* by faith."



The righteousness of God is revealed by a life characterized by faith in God. This is not God's "covenantal faithfulness", it is our moral standing before God, as we receive and rest on the righteousness of God that comes through faith.


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