← Back to sermon library

May I turn in your Bibles to 
Romans chapter 4 for our meditation before the Lord's Supper. Romans 
chapter 4. Our focus this evening is going 
to be on the doctrine of imputation. Specifically, the Apostle says 
in verse 5 of Romans 4, "...but to him who does not work, but 
believes on him who justifies the ungodly." Some have taken 
offense at the reality that God in the gospel justifies the ungodly. And if we were to ask the question, 
how can such a thing be just? Well, the doctrine of imputation 
helps us to understand. I don't think it would be an 
underestimation to say it is that word or that doctrine. or 
concept of imputation that in many respects at the time of 
the Reformation was the chasm between Roman Catholicism and 
Protestantism. Now there were certain other 
things to be sure, many other corollaries, many other doctrines 
that were at stake in that particular battle, but imputation is what 
the Protestant reformers insisted upon. that God imputes, God reckons, 
God counts, God accounts to sinners. Rome insisted on infused righteousness. They looked at the moral transformation 
of the sinner as being that which commended themselves to God. 
And so what we find here in Romans chapter 4 and chapter 5 as well 
is Paul's insistence upon a lot of things, but one of the things 
that we'll look at tonight is on this doctrine of imputation. And I'll explain this as we move 
along tonight. But beginning in Romans 4 at 
verse 1, I just want to read the chapter. so our minds are 
focused upon the context. What then shall we say that Abraham, 
our father, has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham 
was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but 
not before God. For what does the scripture say? 
Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but 
as debt. But to him who does not work, 
but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted 
for righteousness. Just as David also describes 
the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness 
apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless 
deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is 
the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Does this blessedness 
then come upon the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised 
also? For we say that faith was accounted 
to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While 
he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while 
uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, 
a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while 
still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those 
who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness 
might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision 
to those who not only are of the circumcision, but those also 
who walk in the steps of faith, which our father Abraham had 
while still uncircumcised. For the promise that he would 
be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed 
through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For 
if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and 
the promise made of no effect. Because the law brings about 
wrath. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore, it is of faith that 
it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be 
sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, 
but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is 
the father of us all. As it is written, I have made 
you a father of many nations. In the presence of him whom he 
believed, God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things 
which do not exist as though they did. who, contrary to hope, 
in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations. 
According to what was spoken, so shall your descendants be. 
And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, 
already dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and the 
deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise 
of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving 
glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised, 
he was able also to perform. And therefore, it was accounted 
to him for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his 
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall 
be imputed to us who believe in him, who raised up Jesus our 
Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and 
was raised because of our justification. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for this epistle to the Romans. We thank 
You for the rich theology that the Apostle sets forth. We pray 
that tonight, as we consider these things, our hearts would 
be warmed and encouraged as we consider Your kind dealings with 
us. We know, Father, this is not 
a righteousness that we've earned, a righteousness that we have 
worked for, but it's a righteousness imputed to us and received by 
faith alone. Father, thank you that you've 
answered to every need that man has. Thank you that our Lord 
Jesus Christ and the Gospel is delivered up because of our offenses 
and raised for our justification. May you be glorified now as we 
consider these truths and we ask through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Well, as I said, if you look 
at Romans 4-5, but to him who does not work, but believes on 
him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. If you were a stranger to the 
Bible, if you didn't understand the gospel, you could see where 
that might cause some offense. The Lord justifies the ungodly? And even more so if you did understand 
or you did have some concept of biblical justice. Proverbs 
17, 15 tells us that he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns 
the just, both of them alike, are an abomination to the Lord. 
Well, if you consider the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and you consider our lives, you will see that according 
to Proverbs 17, 15, there's a problem. He who justifies the wicked. 
Isn't this what Paul tells us in Romans 4, 5? justifies the 
ungodly, and he who condemns the just." Doesn't the Bible 
testify that Jesus was holy, harmless, and undefiled? And 
nevertheless, it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, putting Him 
to grief. If we take these things into 
consideration, some would say this is an offense. And they 
would be right. The gospel is an offense to the 
unspiritual man. Man works or operates in terms 
of a barter system. He thinks that if he does enough 
good things, then God will reward him. The apostle says that cannot 
be the case. That is never the way it is in 
terms of man's acceptance with God. He says in verse 4 of Romans 
4, Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, 
but as debt. In other words, if we were able 
to obey the law perfectly in terms of the covenant of words 
when we got to heaven, it would be because we deserved it. But 
never forget that Romans 4 comes on the heels of Romans 1 to 3, 
where the apostle testifies that all man everywhere is dead in 
his sin. All man everywhere has gone astray. 
There's no fear of God before us. There is none who seeks after 
God. There is none righteous. We are 
all justly liable to the punishment and wrath of God. So if we're 
going to move from Romans 1.18 to 3.20 into a state of favor 
with the Lord God Most High, it must come from the Lord God 
Most High. It must be monergistic. It must 
be the Lord Himself who reaches down in mercy and delivers us 
from our sins. I submit that the way that we 
understand this whole concept of God justifying the ungodly 
and God laying upon the Lord Jesus Christ the sins of the 
world is the doctrine of imputation. And what is the doctrine of imputation? It means to reckon to one's account. to credit to one's account. The word is used in a forensic 
or legal way. It is the language of the law 
court. It's not the language of moral 
transformation. It is the language of this whole 
idea of crediting one's account or to reckon. It destroys the 
notion of Rome's transformation of character approach to justification. Our Confession outlines it this 
way in chapter 11, paragraph 1. It says, those whom God affectionately 
calls, He also freely justifies. Not by infusing righteousness 
into them. This is absolutely crucial that 
we get this. You might say, well, how does 
this warm the heart when we come to the supper of our Lord? If 
good theology and precision in terms of our acceptance with 
God does not warm your heart, then may I suggest you pick up 
more theology and seek God's grace to warm your heart as you 
understand these concepts. But our confession says He also 
freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but 
by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their 
persons as righteous. That's good news! It's not our 
moral transformation that God says, well, I'll accept that, 
that's the best you have. No, He accounts us as righteous, 
He accepts us into His sight, and then it goes on to say, not 
for anything wrought in them, the moral transformation, or 
done by them, but for Christ's sake alone. This is why it's 
gospel. This is why it's good news. This 
is why God can justify the ungodly. It's because of what the Lord 
Jesus has accomplished in His perfect life and in His death 
and resurrection. It says, not for anything wrought 
in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone. Not 
by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other 
evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness. Not even 
our faith. God doesn't say, wow, you have 
faith, therefore you are righteous. No, faith is the instrument by 
which we appropriate the blessings that God gives us freely. The faith itself is a gift from 
God. They then say, but by imputing, 
there's that idea of reckoning to one's account or crediting 
to one's account, but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto 
the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole 
and soul righteousness. That's what Protestantism is 
all about. That is what biblical Christianity 
is all about. That is Pauline through and through, 
and you see that here, argued by the apostle in Romans chapter 
4. So he references this idea of 
imputation. Note the two examples or the 
two illustrations that he gives here in Romans 4, 1 to 8. First 
is Abraham. Abraham, verses 1 and 2. What 
then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according 
to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified 
by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. You see, Abraham was not justified 
by works. He was justified by faith. It was imputed to him. It was 
accounted to him. It was reckoned unto him when 
he believed the God who made the promise. It wasn't by Abraham's 
works, which, incidentally, is pretty intriguing. Because if 
you look at salvation history, Abraham was a pretty good guy, 
wasn't he? I mean, all things being equal, 
in Genesis chapter 12, to remedy the situation that man had created 
in Genesis chapters 3 to 11, which culminates at Babel, when 
the people want to make a name for themselves and build this 
tower which will reach up into heaven, God confounds them, He 
confounds their lip, He scatters the nations, and on the heels 
of that, He comes with the remedy. He calls Abram. He tells Abram 
to leave the land of Ur of the Chaldeans. And what does Abram 
do? He leaves. He leaves his father. He leaves his household. He leaves 
his wealth and riches and all those things. John Chrysostom 
made this observation concerning Abraham. He says, for a person 
who had no works to be justified by faith was nothing unlikely, 
but for a person richly adorned with good deeds, Abraham, not 
to be made just from these, but from faith, this is the thing 
to cause wonder and to set the power of faith in a strong light. So Abraham was received by God, 
not on the basis of his works, but on the basis of faith. Again, 
instrumentally, it connects him savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 3, for what does 
the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness. Accounted there is the idea of 
imputed. was reckoned, it was credited 
to his account. It wasn't the moral transformation 
from having come in contact with the living and true God. Now 
that happens. When we're justified freely by 
His grace, moral transformation then kicks in. We call that sanctification. But we're received by God, not 
because of our degree of sanctification, but because of our justification 
at the hands of our merciful Father, wherein faith is the 
instrument. by which we come into contact. I hope that this is making sense 
to you all. As we move through these passages, 
I want us to see and appreciate God's gospel. We've already referred 
to verse 4. Now, to him who works, the wages 
are not counted as grace, but as debt. The contrast is clear. Salvation based on works righteousness 
equals a debt paid by God to the person. That's not grace. 
You see, when somebody says, this whole gospel isn't fair, 
they're right, you know. Do you know what fair is? Fair is every miserable son and 
daughter of Adam burning in hell for all eternity. That's fair! That's justice, that's righteousness, 
that's equity. What is gracious is that some 
of the sons and daughters of Adam will not burn in the lake 
of fire for all eternity, but will enter into heaven. We don't 
sing amazing justice, how sweet the sound. We sing amazing grace, 
how sweet the sound. I was lost, now I'm found. I 
was dead, now I'm alive. I was blind, now I see. That 
isn't because we worked well. It's not because of our righteousness. 
It's not because God has become our debtor. But it's because 
God in Christ has saved us. It's because God has given us 
or imputed to us this righteousness of Christ that avails with Him. The gospel is the gospel of grace. And this is what Paul takes pains 
to illustrate in this section. Verse 5, But to him who does 
not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his 
faith is accounted for righteousness. The one who does not work is 
not Paul's way of saying, it's bad to do the right thing. He's 
not saying that Christians shouldn't pursue good works. He is condemning 
the person out there who looks to their works as the basis for 
their acceptance with God. He says, those are the ones who 
are excluded. The ones who are accepted, the 
one who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, 
his faith is accounted for righteousness. You see, just like it was in 
Abraham's case. Abraham believed God and it was 
accounted unto him for righteousness. Paul says the same is true for 
the Christian. The one who believes on Him who 
justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 
Douglas Moo makes this comment on Romans 4-5. He says, the one 
who justifies the ungodly is justly famous as a succinct and 
bold statement of Paul's conviction that our standing with God is 
wholly of God's free grace. That's his point. That's why 
the Protestants emphasize this. This is why it has creedal encapsulation 
in the documents of the Reformation. This is crucial. How does a man 
get right with God? It comes by God pardoning his 
iniquity and imputing the righteousness of Christ to him, which is received 
by faith alone. Mu goes on to say, what is highlighted 
by the phrase that he is the one who justifies the ungodly, 
what is highlighted by the phrase is the nature of God. It's not 
highlighting his injustice. It's not highlighting the fact 
that he's wretched. It's not highlighting the fact 
that he's inequitable. But as Mu says, it highlights 
the nature of God, loving, freely giving, and incapable of being 
put under obligation to any human being. Again, we'll see in just 
a moment this doctrine of imputation, how in terms of the legal courtroom, 
God is not subject or God is not under wrath or condemnation 
for dealing unjustly. In 326, Paul calls God the one 
who is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. You see, the Gospel not only 
answers to our pardon, it not only answers to our imputation 
of righteousness, but it answers to the justice and the righteousness 
and the glory and the majesty of God. In fact, that's what 
Paul is pointing out in Romans 3, 25 and 26. The cross demonstrates 
the righteousness of God. And when the Father crushes the 
Son, it is to demonstrate his righteousness in how he can be 
both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So Abraham is an example and 
then David is an example. Notice in 4.6. Just as David 
also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes 
righteousness apart from works. We just read this at the outset 
of worship. Blessed are those whose lawless 
deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is 
the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Now, consider 
who authored that. David, David the king of Israel, 
David the national hero, David the one our hearts throb when 
we read Samuel, and we see him on his exploits, and we see him 
spinning or twirling that sling when he drops Goliath with that 
one stone that nails the giant. right in the head. Don't you 
just see David walk over to that giant, take his sword out, and 
lop his head off? Maybe some of you ladies don't. 
You say, that's kind of gross. Most men say, yeah, David, go! But we see David, we reflect 
upon him in his younger career when he's out in the fields and 
he's a shepherd. What prepared him to meet the giant? When he's 
watching over the flock of sheep, bears and tigers and all manner 
of predatory animals came after his flock. And what did he do? 
With bare hands, he ripped these things apart. You mess with David, 
right? David was the man. But imagine 
David on the day of judgment. Why should I let you into heaven? 
Because I was a faithful shepherd. Because I slayed the Goliath, 
or I slayed the giant Goliath. I led Israel to the best of my 
ability. Oh, but David, don't you remember 
that encounter with Bathsheba? Don't you remember the way that 
you covered it up? Don't you remember the marching orders 
given to Joab to go out to the battle and put Uriah in the hottest 
part so that he could die and so that your sin would be covered? 
Don't you remember that, David? Well, yeah, Lord, but can you 
just look the other way and accept the 80% of my good life and not 
remember the 20%? Now, look at what David muses 
on in the Psalms. Blessed are those whose lawless 
deeds are forgiven. You see, we don't go to heaven 
because of our works. We don't go to heaven because 
of our righteousness. We don't go to heaven because how we keep 
the law. Remember Romans 1.18 to 3.20 
is a reality. All we light sheep have gone 
astray. Every one of us has defied God. Every one of us has broken 
the Ten Commandments. Every one of us is liable justly 
to the wrath and fury and punishment of God. And David knew this, 
and David understood this, and David realized the only way I 
am commendable to my God is because He pardons my sin, because He 
forgives me. He says, blessed are those whose 
lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. You see, 
David couldn't do that. He tried. He tried even before 
the murder of Uriah to get Uriah to lie with his wife. He called 
him in from the battle and he said, go and refresh yourself 
at home. And what does Uriah do? He's a man of honor, so he 
lays on the floor outside the house. David plies him with alcohol. Certainly when he gets a little 
bit of a buzz on, he'll go home to his wife and he'll have relations 
with her. No, Uriah is a man of honor. 
He's not going to do that. You see what David's attempting 
to do? He's trying to cover his sin. This is what man does. He 
tries to cover his sin. When Adam and Eve sin in the 
garden, what do they do? They hide themselves among the 
trees and they put garments over their private parts. They're 
trying to cover their sin. David understood all too well 
what it was to try and cover sin. Uriah didn't cave in. Uriah was then sent to the hottest 
part of the battle. Uriah was slain in battle. And 
as far as David was concerned, the perfect crime had been carried 
out. And the last statement, 2 Samuel 
11. But the thing that David did displeased the Lord. He tried 
as hard as he could to cover it. But when all was said and 
done, and the prophet approves him, and the forgiveness is received, 
when David muses in the Psalter, blessed are those whose lawless 
deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is 
the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. By implication, we can say, blessed 
is the man to whom the Lord shall impute righteousness. This doctrine of imputation is 
the reality by which the active and the passive obedience of 
Christ is the foundation, the basis, the ground of our acceptance 
with God, and it's received by faith alone. That's Paul's meaning. We have Abraham, we have David. Now, if we ask the question, 
How many acts, how many types, how many ways of imputation does 
the Bible speak of? There are three. Three times, 
three situations, three occurrences where imputation is applied in 
terms of sinners and our Lord. The first is the imputation of 
Adam's sin to his posterity. People say, oh, that's not fair. 
I remember talking to a philosophy major from UCLA. Well, that's 
not fair. I never liked that whole idea 
of original sin. I never liked the fact that people 
today are held accountable for something that Adam did. God 
deals with man on the level of two men, Adam the first and Adam 
the second. It is God's prerogative not to 
test every single human being. It is God's prerogative to look 
at man through federal headship. And the first instance of imputation 
is Adam's sin imputed to mankind. He took a federal role. He stood 
in a covenant of works as the federal head or representative 
of all his posterity. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 
says it this way. Did all mankind fall in Adam's 
first transgression? The answer, the covenant being 
made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, 
all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned 
in him and fell with him in his first transgression. You say, 
well, the Westminster divines concocted this covenant theology, 
but where does the Bible teach that? Romans 5. Romans 5 is a 
passage rich in theology and what we call covenant or federal 
theology. Notice in 518. 518a, therefore, as through one 
man's offense, judgment came to all men. resulting in condemnation. It's the imputation. It is the 
reckoning. It is the accounting. It is the 
case that God does not deal with each and every one of us as individuals 
and put us in this probationary period in the Garden of Eden 
and giving us this tree of the knowledge of good and evil and 
prohibiting us from eating it upon the pain of death. He did 
that with our federal representative. He did that with our covenant 
head. And so we in Him fell with Him. And if you have a problem with 
that, you cannot justly accept the imputation of Christ's righteousness, 
which we'll see in just a moment. But Romans 519a, for as by one 
man's disobedience, many were made sinners. This is an unfortunate 
translation in the New King James. Made is imprecise. The verb is 
best translated as constitute or appoint. The term does not 
speak to a moral change within the descendant of Adam. It refers 
to the change in legal or forensic status of the descendant. And 
then in 1 Corinthians 15, 22, the Apostle Paul says, for as 
in Adam, all die. So you see the first leg, or 
the first aspect, or the first kind of imputation is Adam's 
sin to his posterity. The second is the imputation 
of the elect's sin to Christ. The imputation, constitution, 
accounting, reckoning, legal, courtroom, that imputation of 
our sin unto the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Leviticus fleshes 
this out with its sacrificial symbolism. Already in Leviticus 
chapter 1, when the worshipper came to the tabernacle with his 
animal, he laid his hand upon that particular animal. Now, 
we understand what that means because we have Leviticus 16 
and we have the rest of the Bible. There is something of a transfer 
going on. There is something of an imputation 
going on. It is the worshipper saying, 
my sin is upon this sacrifice, and when its throat is cut, the 
sin is punished in the victim. We're not left to guess when 
we get to the Day of Atonement. In Leviticus chapter 16, there 
are two animals that the high priest deals with. There is the 
blood of the one goat that he takes into the most holy place, 
that he sprinkles there for his sin. He sprinkles there for the 
sin of Israel. And then there's a second goat 
that is not executed. It does not have its throat cut. 
It is not put to death. That goat, in the presence of 
all Israel, has the high priest lay his hands upon that goat, 
and he confesses the sins of Israel. What's going on? Constitution, 
reckoning, accounting, imputation. The sin of Israel is placed upon 
this goat and then this goat is driven out into the wilderness 
as a perfect picture, a symbol, a sacrament, if you will, of 
God's removal of guilt from the people of Israel. We have the 
prophet Isaiah, who speaks in Isaiah 53, 6. He says, "...and 
Yahweh has laid on Him," this is the servant, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, "...the iniquity of us all." So Yahweh lays upon the 
Son the iniquity of us all. Later in 53.11 it says, And the 
Lord was pleased to bruise him, putting him to grief. John Gill 
comments on Isaiah 53.6, That is, God the Father, against whom 
we have sinned, from whom we have turned, and whose justice 
must be satisfied. He has laid on Christ, His own 
Son, the sins of all His elect ones, which are, as it were, 
collected together. and made one bundle and burden 
of, and therefore expressed in the singular number, iniquity, 
and laid on Christ, and were bore by Him, even all the sins 
of all gods elect, a heavy burden this, which none but the mighty 
God could bear." It's glorious. This is how we know it's particular 
atonement as well. When that high priest in Israel 
put his hands on that goat and he confesses the sin of Israel, 
he's not confessing the sins of Canaan. He is not confessing 
the sins of the Hittites. He is not confessing the sins 
of the Hivites. He is not concerned about the 
Jebusites. It is the confession of sins. 
It is the imputation of Israel's sin to that scapegoat. And the 
same thing is true in the New Covenant. The Lord Jesus says 
in His high priestly prayer, I do not pray for the world. Neither does He die for the reprobate. He dies for Israel. He dies for 
His church. He dies for His elect. He dies 
for His sheep. He makes atonement. He doesn't 
make it possible. He doesn't make it probable. 
He doesn't make it something that you can activate. He actually 
saves His people from their sins. Christ has the sin of the elect 
imputed to Him. John 1.29, when the Baptist sees 
Messiah, he says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the 
sin of the world. Again, the language there is 
suggestive of the old covenant sacrificial system. The people 
would understand what he meant. The Lamb of God is the one upon 
whom the sins of the world has been laid. and the Father crushes 
the Son in order to save His people from their sins. And then 
2 Corinthians 5.21, another passage that teaches the imputation of 
the elect's sin to Christ. For God made Him, Christ, who 
knew no sin, to be sin for us. Now we know that this is legal. 
We know that this is forensic. We know that this is the connotation 
of imputation. Because when Christ had the sins 
of the elect imputed to him, it wasn't a moral transformation. He wasn't actually guilty of 
murder. He wasn't actually guilty of 
adultery. It was constituted, it was reckoned, 
it was imputed unto him. The same thing holds true with 
us. We are imputed as righteous. That doesn't mean we're as holy 
as Jesus in our acts. It doesn't mean that our moral 
transformation is such that we never sin. It's the language 
of the courtroom. It is the language of justice. 
It is the language of God reckoning according to His gracious plan. So we have the imputation of 
Adam's sin to his posterity. We have the imputation of the 
elect's sin to Christ our Lord. And then thirdly, we have the 
imputation of Christ's righteousness to the elect. You see, 80% goodness 
doesn't cut it with God. Not that I think any of us are 
near 80%, but let's just suppose for a moment. Can you honestly, 
with your Bible in your lap, or your Bible in your closet, 
or Exodus 20 opened up, or Deuteronomy 5, say, yeah, yeah, I'm doing 
quite well with those. I'm doing really awesome. I mean, 
sometimes I think we evidence or manifest that sort of a disposition, 
but in our heart of hearts, before a high and holy God, can we honestly 
say that, man, we're doing well? I don't think so. Maybe you can, 
so you don't have to listen to this part. 80% doesn't get it. 99.999% doesn't get it. God demands 
100%. That's why we need Christ. He 
was holy, harmless, and undefiled. He never disobeyed the Father. 
He never disobeyed his human parents. He continued in subjection 
to them. He paid taxes to Caesar. He did 
everything that was required of him, every step of the way. 
That's the righteousness that avails with God. One man as well 
said, if you want to see what righteousness looks like, there's 
only 33 years in the history of the world that you can look 
at. And that's the life and the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's it! That is acceptable 
to God and no other. Even if we did our best, even 
if from this day on we never sinned again. We've got all the 
sin in our background that needs to be dealt with. It's Christ's 
righteousness that we desperately need, and what we find in the 
scriptures is that the gospel answers to that. At the end of 
Romans 4, we read, verses 22 to 25, and therefore, It was accounted to him for righteousness. This is Abraham. Now it was not 
written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also 
for us. It shall be imputed to us who 
believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 
who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised 
because of our justification. Back to Romans 5, we read, the 
first part of verse 18. Therefore, as through one man's 
offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. 
Notice this, even so through one man's righteous act, the 
free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. You 
see, God deals with us in this way. Covenant headship, Adam 
and Christ. In Adam all die, in Christ all 
shall be made alive. Romans 5.19, we read that verse. The first part, for as by one 
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one 
man's obedience many will be made righteous. Again, constituted, 
reckoned, accounted. It's not moral transformation 
that is primarily in view here, which unfortunately is communicated 
by the New King James use of make, but the verb indicates 
that constitute is what's going on here. It is a change in legal 
or forensic status. 1 Corinthians 1.30. You can turn 
there. I just want you to see the imputation 
of Christ's righteousness given to the elect. 1 Corinthians 1, 
beginning in 26. It's a wonderful passage of Scripture. I always feel guilty when I say 
this is a wonderful passage of Scripture. Every passage of Scripture 
is a wonderful passage of Scripture. Every single one. This one is 
too. 126. For you see your calling, 
brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many 
mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish 
things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen 
the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which 
are mighty, and the base things of the world and things which 
are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, 
to bring to nothing the things that are. That no flesh should 
glory in His presence. You see, this is the design of 
the Gospel. Yes, our blessedness is involved. Yes, our felicity is involved. Yes, our pardon is involved. And yes, our righteousness is 
involved. But the grand design of God's 
holy gospel is His glory. It is His honor, it is His praise, 
it is His majesty, it is His excellence that is upheld and 
viewed by the moral order so that all praise and glory and 
honor redounds to His great name. I think if sinners, redeemed 
sinners, got a hold of that, there'd be no debate over Calvinism 
and Arminianism. When we see the chief end of 
God, is to glorify God and to enjoy Himself forever, then it 
really puts the debate in the proper sphere. There is no place 
for human boasting, there is no place for human applause, 
there is no place for credit on our behalf. But of Him, he 
now says in verse 30, you are in Christ Jesus. Why are we in 
Christ Jesus? But of Him. It's not because 
you came forward in a tent meeting. It's not because you raised your 
hand when every eye was closed and every head was bowed. You 
are not in Him because of what you've done. You want a verse 
dealing with monergism or one-ism in terms of who saves who? But 
of Him you are in Christ Jesus. It's not because of you, it's 
not because of your wisdom, it's not because of your righteousness, 
it's not because of your law keeping, it's not because you 
were wise and came forward when the altar call was published. 
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus. Never forget that. You are where you are because 
of a gracious God. And conversely, in terms of comfort, 
you are where you are because of the grace of God. You're not 
going anywhere. You're not going to be ripped 
out of His hand. You cannot mess it up if you 
are truly in Christ. There is nothing in the language 
of the Apostle at the end of Romans 8 that shall separate 
us from the love of God. which is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord." You see what men call Calvinism, or the doctrines of 
grace, or whatever you want to call it. I call it Pauline and 
Isaac theology, or Isaiah, whatever the adverbial form or adjectival 
form is. It is the theology of the Bible. 
It's not just to shut the mouths of free willers, it's to provide 
boatloads of comfort for the elect. We're in Christ because 
of the Father. Christ has become all of this 
to us because of God's grace. We have every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ because God chose us for this 
before the foundation of the world. We have redemption through 
His blood. We have righteousness because 
of Christ's work. We have the Spirit who is the 
seal and guarantee of our final inheritance. We have everything 
in Him. It's not just to win theological 
debates, it's to bring great comfort to the soul of man when 
there's struggles and discouragements and trials and difficulties. 
What gets you through a day when everything is against you? Is 
it, but of me, I'm in Christ Jesus? No, it's but of Him. I 
am in Christ Jesus. And then note what he says. But 
of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from 
God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that as it is 
written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. You need 
these things and you have these things because of our gracious 
God. You need righteousness. God answers to that in the Gospel. 
The Lord Jesus fulfilled the law. God imputes that righteousness 
to us. It is received by faith alone. We need sanctification. Yes, 
our initial setting apart, being vessels of God Most High, but 
on a daily basis, we need to put off sin. We need to put on 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we do this in our own strength? 
Do we do this in our own flesh? No. The life that I now live 
in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me 
and who gave himself for me. We need righteousness, he answers. We need sanctification, he answers. We need redemption. And I think 
the redemption there has in view the final day, that final acceptance 
with God. Not that there's a two-stage 
process, not that it's a new perspectivism where there's a 
first stage of justification and then a final justification. 
I think the whole idea is the gamut of salvation as it comes 
out from first to last. Fesco defines or Fesco comments 
on this verse this way. He says, when one is united to 
Christ, he receives the wisdom of God through calling. Righteousness 
through imputation, sanctification through the indwelling of the 
Holy Spirit, and redemption through the cross. Everything we need 
is given to us by our Heavenly Father. 1 Corinthians 15.22, 
for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made 
alive. And then a final verse with reference 
to the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the elect, 2 
Corinthians 5.21. Again, we've already rehearsed 
it. God the Father made Him Christ who knew no sin to be sin for 
us. Remember the elect? Sin imputed 
to the Son so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Righteousness of Christ imputed 
to us. Again, our dear Baptist brother, 
just as Christ is made sin or a sinner by the imputation of 
the sins of others to Him, so they are made righteousness or 
righteous persons through the imputation of His righteousness 
to them. And in no other way can the one 
be made sin or the other righteousness. So brethren, when Paul says in 
Romans 4-5, God justifies the ungodly, when Paul says in Romans 
3-26 that God is just and the justifier of the one who has 
faith in Jesus, it is because of this legal declaration. It 
is because of covenant theology it is because a federal headship 
it is because God most high took our sin put it upon his beloved 
son punished him in our stead to satisfy divine justice he 
then took the righteousness of Jesus Christ accomplished by 
his perfect life and imputes it to us so that when we stand 
before him on that day we can sing with top lady, nothing in 
my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Thou lie to the 
fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. From first to last 
and everywhere in between, salvation is of the Lord." So we see, in 
imputation, it answers this particular issue or question. We see that 
it does uphold the justice and the righteousness of God. Go back for just a moment to 
321 in Romans. But now, the contrast there is 
between the wrath of God revealed in 118, Detailed explanation 
up to 3.20. And then Paul shifts gears. But 
now, he says, wrath is revealed, 1.18, against all ungodliness 
and unrighteousness of men. And then in verse 21 of chapter 
3, but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is 
revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even 
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all 
and on all who believe. For there is no difference for 
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified 
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through 
faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God 
had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to 
demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might 
be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. And then chapters 4 and 5 explain 
how that is the case. God imputes. God declares. God graciously receives the elect 
because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
see in this not only the justice of God, but the graciousness 
of the Gospel. Listen to Sproul. He says, this 
is the glory of the Protestant doctrine of justification. The 
person who is in Christ is at the very same instant a sinner 
and just. Right? Right? You're justified freely by his 
grace. Are you perfect right now? If this is any evidence 
of being perfect, I'm just kidding. Perfect people would be going, 
yeah. I'm just really kidding. Just trying to wake everybody 
up. Christ is at the, the person who is in Christ is at the very 
same instant a sinner and just. He says, if I could be justified 
only by actually becoming just and having no sin in me, I would 
never see the kingdom of God. You hear that? It's the problem 
with all false religion. It's the problem with everything 
non-Christian. It's the problem of repudiating the grace of God. If I could be justified only 
by actually becoming just and having no sin in me, I would 
never see the kingdom of God. He says, the point of the gospel 
is that the minute a person embraces Jesus Christ, all that Christ 
has done is applied to that person. All that he is becomes ours, 
including his righteousness. Luther was saying that at the 
very instant, I believe I am just by virtue of the imputation 
of Christ's righteousness. It's Christ's righteousness that 
makes me just. His death has taken care of my 
punishment, and his life has taken care of my reward. So my 
justice is completely tied up in Christ. That's the point of 
the Apostle in Romans 4. That's the point of the supper 
tonight. It is to remind us not of our 
goodness. It is to remind us not of our 
worthiness. It is not a reward for our having 
done well in this week. But it is a continual reminder 
to us that Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ has given Himself 
for us. And that because God is gracious, 
He has placed us in Him, we eat this bread and we We drink this 
cup and we proclaim not our goodness, not our worthiness, not that 
this is an award for good behavior, but we proclaim His death until 
He comes. This points us to Romans. This points us to the cross. 
This points us to the reality. of a living, dying, risen Savior 
who has accomplished everything for us and has provided righteousness, 
who sanctifies us by the power of the indwelling Spirit, and 
has redeemed us by the blood of the cross itself. This time 
is a great reflection upon the great gospel truth that Christ 
has died and we have everlasting life as a result. Well, praise 
God. Not only did he die, but he rose 
again as the Apostle encapsulates the whole scheme in verse 25. 
He was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised for 
our justification. Let us pray and thank God for 
his mercy and his grace. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your Word. We thank You for Your work. We thank You that You are 
just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ. 
Thank You that You have dealt so mercifully with us. Thank 
You that You have blessed us richly with every spiritual blessing. Thank You that Jesus Christ has 
done what He has done on behalf of all those whom the Father 
had given Him. I pray that You would bless the Word as it goes 
forth. I pray that You would encourage our hearts She would 
strengthen us with gospel truth, with the reality of a gracious 
and a sovereign God, and may these things cause us to find 
comfort in the coming weeks and months and years as we persevere 
in this lower world. May the truth of the cross always 
be that which encourages our hearts. And we pray through Christ 
the Lord. Amen.