The Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness

by Brian Arend


But we are as an unclean thing. And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away--Isaiah 64:6.

But you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;
and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall.

          Malachi 4:1

     

Christ's Righteousness is Imputed to Believers

        Dear friends, have you heard such a statement in any of the recent sermons lately? Christ's righteousness is the heart of the gospel message. It is a grand and glorious truth, but if it is not preached, it will not be heard, if it is not printed, it will not be read.

        Therefore, I ask you, how will the heathen be converted if the heart of the gospel is left out of the printed page, and the preached word?

        All of the past worthies have made the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness a central theme in their gospel presentations. Let us look at the vitality of this doctrine. This we shall do in three ways: first, various scriptures to be considered, secondly, confessional statements, and thirdly, some concluding remarks and quotations.

        Various Scriptures to be considered

        "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies;" Psalm 103:3-4

        "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy to them that fear Him." Psalm 103:10-11

        "In those days, and at that time, will I cause thy Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6

        "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputed not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Psalm 32:1-2

        "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." John 10:11

        "And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Philippians 3:9

        "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." 2 Corinthians 5:19

        "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 Corinthians 5:21

        "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

        "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption:" 1 Corinthians 1:30

        "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16

        "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17

        "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Romans 3:24-28

        "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Romans 4:6-8

        "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Romans 4:22-25

        "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Romans 5:1

        "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness of everyone that believeth." Romans 10:3-4

        "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10

        "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Romans 5:9

        "Therefore as by the offense 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. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:18-19

        Confessional statements

        "God imputeth the righteousness of Christ unto us for our own: so that now we are not only cleansed from our sin, and purged, and holy, but also endued with righteousness of Christ." Confession of Helvetia

        "When therefore we do say, that we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1), this is our meaning: that we do obtain remission of sins, and imputation of righteousness, by mercy showed us for Christ's sake." The Augsburg Confession

        "Casting away all opinion of virtues and merits, we do altogether rest in the only obedience of Jesus Christ, which is imputed to us, both that all our sins may be covered, and that we may obtain grace before God." The Confession of France

        "Christ Himself is our righteousness, because that by His merit we have remission, and God doth impute His righteousness to us, and for Him doth account us just." The Confession of Saxony

        "We are accounted righteous before God only for the merits of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith; and not for our own works or deservings, wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine and full of comfort." The Church of England

        "Christ Himself is our righteousness, which imputeth all His merits unto us: faith is but the instrument, whereby we are coupled unto Him." Confession of Belgia

        "What believest thou concerning the forgiveness of sins?" "That God, for the sake of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins, neither my corrupt nature, against which I have to struggle all my life long, but will graciously impute to me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never be condemned before the tribunal of God." The Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 56

        "Justification is an act of the grace of God, judging and proclaiming man to be righteous, through imputing to him the righteousness of Christ, which is received by the sinner through faith. " The Welch Calvinistic Methodists' Confession

        "Those whom God effectually calleth, He also freely justified, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, 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 unto the whole law, and passive obedience in His death, for their whole and sole righteousness." The Philadelphia Confession

        "What is justification?" "Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone." The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question and Answer 33

        Concluding Remarks and Quotes

        The age old question, "Shall man be just with God?", must be spiritually revealed to us by God.

        "What then must a sinner do to be saved? He must believe in and rest upon that Savior who was, by gracious imputation, made sin for us, that we by a similar exchange, might be made the righteousness of God in Him. At so much pains is a Pharisee in going about to establish his own righteousness, rather than embrace the bible-way of salvation by submitting to the righteousness of God the Son." [1]

        "Therefore He is made wisdom and sanctification to us effectively by illuminating and regenerating us; but righteousness imputatively by imputing to us His righteousness." [2]

        "Positively, that the ground of justification can be found only in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is imputed to the sinner in justification" [3]

        It is important, when studying the righteousness of Christ, to understand the obedience of Christ in our place. At times, we may need to distinguish between His active obedience and His passive obedience, but never to separate the two. In His active obedience we understand that He, as our representative, obeyed the law perfectly. In His passive obedience, He bore our punishment and paid our sin debt, but that He did it voluntarily, intertwines the active and passive obedience of Christ.

        "He, therefore, was sin, that we might be righteousness, nor ours, but God's, nor in us, but in Him, as He demonstrated sin, not His own, but ours, nor in Himself, but in us constituted in the likeness of sinful flesh, in which He was crucified." [4]

        "In justification, righteousness is imputed, accounted, or reckoned. Faith distinguishes those to whom righteousness is imputed: it is unto all, and upon all them that believe, but it is not, in itself, either in whole or in part, the meritorious cause of justification. We are thus justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed to us." [5]

        "The declaration that the sinner is restored to God's favor, has its ground, not in the sinner's personal character or conduct, but solely n the obedience and righteousness of Christ, to whom the sinner is united by faith." [6]

        "If not on works or on faith, on what is the justification of the sinner founded? It is founded on the work of Christ alone. Its basis is not anything done by the sinner, nor anything wrought in him, but what was done for him." [7]

        "The righteousness by which a sinner stands accepted is called the righteousness of God, because it is in opposition to the righteousness of men, because God provided and approves it and none other, and because He puts great honour upon it. It is called the righteousness of Christ, because our Lord Jesus Christ, being made under the law, was obedient to all its precepts, and suffered its dreadful penalty for us, and so Himself brought in everlasting righteousness of us." [8]

        When the gospel is preached, the righteousness of Christ is revealed. The first sign of regeneracy is that the sinner becomes convinced of his or her unrighteousness, and the need for a perfect righteousness. The gospel declares to them the source of that perfect righteousness, which is the person and work of Christ alone.

        "The gospel reveals the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the foundation of our justification. By His life, death, and resurrection Christ Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for our complete justification. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to our account or record, while our sins were imputed to Christ's record. God declares us not guilty before the moral universe and pronounces us righteous in His sight." [9]

        "We delight to renounce all personal righteousness and call Him 'the Lord of righteousness.' Having established righteousness for us, Christ was 'obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,' as our substitute; and by His death He put away our sins." [10]

        "What he says, what ever He means is obviously that our own righteousness in every item and degree of it is wholly excluded from the ground of our salvation, and the righteousness provided by God in Christ is the sole ground of our acceptance in His sight." [11]

        "Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our righteousness, that is, heartily owned Him as such, our condition is a shameful, Unclad condition, and that is a wretched, miserable condition, Rev. 3:17, because, till clothed with Christ's righteousness, our shame appears in the sight of God." [12]

        "Adam's disobedience was imputed to all His seed and procured their condemnation, the obedience of Jesus is imputed to all his seed and procures their justification. his whole work is set before us in the gospel and is called the righteousness of God and the righteousness of faith, by faith it is received and before God in the perfect work of Christ and is justified from all things." [13]

        "Hereby it appears that none can deny the imputation of Christ's death and sufferings but those who deny His satisfaction, and so subvert the foundation of the gospel." [14]

        After mentioning many forms of righteousness in which people lay their trust, we read this: "all these several rooms, and many more, hath Satan contrived in men's own righteousness, and persuades sinners that they may be secure therein, and rely safely thereon. Whatever refuge men fancy in their own righteousness, it will prove a refuge of lies, it will deceive and betray those that fly thereto. If you will not trust in the righteousness of Christ only, and stay yourselves upon Him, but rely on your own righteousness, as the prophet saith: You kindle a fire, and compass yourselves about with sparks that ye have kindled, and what will be the issue? To lie down in darkness, for all your own sparks, in that darkness where there is eternal sorrow, where there is weeping, and etc." [15]

        "There are two things in justification. 1) The righteousness imputed; and that is Christ's and to Him we go for it. 2) The act of imputation, the accounting it mine or thine; and that is the act of God primarily." [16]

        "Justification is attributed as much to free grace as to Christ's righteousness, for both are joined, therefore faith looks as much to free grace ordaining and imputing, as to Christ performing." [17]

        Many fear that if they stay too long on the doctrine of justification the people of God will live ungodly, but nothing could be further from the truth. For, a right understanding of the ground of our salvation will produce a life of thankfulness for so great a salvation. Never do we separate the doctrine of justification from sanctification but we do distinguish for clarity as to our defense of the hope that is within us and the ground of our salvation.

        The preaching of moralism with its motivation being either fear of punishment, or promise of reward, leaves the sinner with no hope, but that of a works foundation which shall, sooner or later, surely fall.

        That the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers is the only way a sinner may appear before God, shall be the main emphasis of every gospel presentation.

        That the doctrine of assurance of salvation is based solely upon the work of Christ is what gives the believer peace with God, should serve as a great comfort to many unsettled souls.

        That the only true motivation to holiness of life is that which springs out of love and gratitude to God for so great a salvation.

        Therefore, a life of thankfulness is to be expected of all those who profess to embrace this doctrine as the heart of the gospel.

        "It is our thankfulness that we are in an unchangeable state of justification based solely upon Christ's unchangeable righteousness." [18]

        "The only way you can obtain the imputed righteousness of God in Christ is by faith (Rom 9:31-33). Faith does not perform righteousness, or merit righteousness. Faith receives righteousness." [19]

        "'It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?' Rom 8:33-34. 'And it is Jesus that justifieth all His redeemed, by His blood and righteousness; for He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification;' Rom 4:25. And that the hand of God the Holy Ghost was in all this, is equally evident; for it is as expressly said, that Christ was 'justified in the Spirit' which would never have been the case, had not both God's law and God's justice been satisfied, and thus justified Jesus, as the sinner's surety." [20]

        "Consider that it is a great work of God's Spirit to convince men and assure them that it is safe appearing in the righteousness of Christ." [21]

        "And never think that to live always on Christ for justification is a low and beggarly thing, and as it were a staying at the foundation; for let me tell you, depart from a sense of the meritorious means of your justification with God, and you will quickly grow light, and frothly, and vain." [22]

        "Romans 5:12-21 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. In it the fundamental doctrine of federal representation is openly stated, and the fact of imputation is emphatically affirmed." [23]

        "The doctrine of imputation is as bitterly hated as those of unconditional election and eternal punishment." [24]

        "'He, of God, is made unto us righteousness.' The transference is complete and eternal. From the moment that we receive the divine testimony to the righteousness of the Son of God, all the guilt that was on us passes over to Him, and all His righteousness passes over to us, " [25]

        "The imputation is an act of God, of His mere love and grace; whereby, on the consideration of the mediation of Christ, He makes an effectual grant and donation of a true, real, perfect righteousness, even that of Christ Himself, unto all that do believe, and accounting it as theirs, on His own gracious act, both absolve them from sin and granteth them right and title unto eternal life." [26]

http://members.fortunecity.com/alawson/arend.html

The world hates this doctrine, as it hates that of Justification By Faith,
Without Works.

"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

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." - Isa 54:17

---------
"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." - Isa 61:10

HISchild:

"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

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." - Isa 54:17

---------
"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." - Isa 61:10

Nice post.

^^^ To GOD be all the glory, all HIS holy words.

-----
"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified." - Psa 70:4

5solas:

The world hates this doctrine, as it hates that of Justification By Faith,
Without Works.

Justification by Faith is only the first half and for SALVATION.

But faith without works is dead.

To suggest that because Christ has forgiven us our sins, we are now free to indulge the flesh at will is False.

We are ONLY saved if we endure to the end and hold on to our faith.

Imputed Righteousness is a false doctrine.

this frosty frosbel chap is a riot. faith and work, eh?

you are falling my hand, mehn.

someday you will see how Jesus himself had faith in God and did good work of righteousness for the pleasure of God who protected him.

Can Jesus forgive? no. he needed forgiveness from God. You should turn to God, instead of turning to Jesus who also needed God.

We have left Muslim articles for Muslims.

Please leave Christian articles for Christians.

Thank You.

abeg, go sidon. you are too timid to discuss your salvation, instead of loading it on reluctant Jesus.

what did you mean by your la la land of yesterday?

Lala land means :


- A place renowned for its frivolous activity.
- A state of mind characterized by unrealistic expectations or a lack of seriousness.

Frivolous means :

Unworthy of serious attention; trivial: a frivolous novel.
Inappropriately silly: a frivolous purchase.


Read more: http://www.answers.com/

lala land also means sleep.

since i am older than you, you might have meant death. i don't trust your christian boko haram mindset. you are just as evil as boko haram.

^^
I am no longer debating you, we are now friends .

Please leave me to deal with these Calvinists

frosbel:

^^
I am no longer debating you, we are now friends .

Please leave me to deal with these Calvinists

Lol. Just make sure you are not kicking against the pricks. I dont want you to get hurt .

5solas:

The world hates this doctrine, as it hates that of Justification By Faith,
Without Works.

But that's the truth. We are justified by faith without works.

Galatians 2:16
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

@5solas, Joagbaje and hischild:

So, will a born-again who commits grave sins and fails to confess and seek God's forgiveness before death go to heaven?

There is no straight forward answer. It depends on the peculiarity of each case. For some yes , for others NO.
There are different kinds of sins. How do we define "GRAVE SIN"?.

If a christian commits sin and dies and was not able to ask God for forgiveness, will he go to Hell?

[flash=400,300]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDNzpyZN_Qk&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/flash]

italo:

@5solas, Joagbaje and hischild:

So, will a born-again who commits grave sins and fails to confess and seek God's forgiveness before death go to heaven?

Your penchant for trying to solve quadratic equations, without learning to solve linear ones, never ceases to amaze me.
Please tell me if Ananias and Sapphira (if they were believers, as I think they were) are right now in hell, for the lies they told.

@joagbaje,

So if its possible for a born-again to go to hell because of his sin(s), does that not show that WORKS have a part to play in determining whether one is saved or not? Since, as you admit, sin(s) bad WORKS can make a born-again(with FAITH) go to hell.

Does this not rubbish the doctrine of imputed righteousness?

@5solas,

Do you mind answering my question first, then I'll answer yours. God bless you. I wonder why you are being overly defensive. You, the teacher is teaching us a doctrine and your student only asked a harmless question.

Pls try watch that video. A born again won't go to hell just because he sins. If a christian sins , it doesn't take away his nature of righteousness. A mistake is not enough to change a mans nature . It takes sin u to death for a man to lose salvation. A sin of departing from the faith, apostacy. There are different kinds of sins.

frosbel:

But faith without works is dead.

^A dead faith is no faith. . .so basically we are saved by faith alone.

frosbel:

To suggest that because Christ has forgiven us our sins, we are now free to indulge the flesh at will is False.

^This is a straw man argument. I do not see in the OP or any where else where Christ's vicarious atonement of our sins and his imputed righteousness to us is considered a license to sin.

frosbel:

We are ONLY saved if we endure to the end and hold on to our faith.

^We endure to the end because we are saved and God keeps us. I believe you are putting the cart before the horse.

frosbel:

Imputed Righteousness is a false doctrine.

Imputed righteousness is what the Bible teaches. How can it then be a false doctrine?

italo:

So, will a born-again who commits grave sins and fails to confess and seek God's forgiveness before death go to heaven?

This is the question you have been throwing around for a while now. I will attempt to answer your question, if you will humor me by answering a series of questions first. Are you game? Here is the first question:

What do you consider to be grave sins?

Is forgiving those that have sinned against you a 'work'?

If Jesus says that in order for God to forgive you your sins then you must forgive your fellow men then is there some deeper esoteric thing that he is saying or are we allowed to take him literally.

The

aletheia:

^A dead faith is no faith. . .so basically we are saved by faith alone.
^This is a straw man argument. I do not see in the OP or any where else where Christ's vicarious atonement of our sins and his imputed righteousness to us is considered a license to sin.
^We endure to the end because we are saved and God keeps us. I believe you are putting the cart before the horse.
Imputed righteousness is what the Bible teaches. How can it then be a false doctrine?

"If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it." - Ezekiel 33:18

Ezekiel 3:20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved : Hebrews 10:39


My point is this.

We are saved by grace through faith and not of works - This I refer to as Phase 1.

Our faith must produce good works , by which I mean , living a holy life, bearing the fruits of the Spirit, visiting the widows and orphans in their affliction . preaching the word of God etc - This I refer to as Phase 2

If after our born again experience, we go back to worldly ways ( vice, addictive sins ) without REPENTANCE , we will surely be damned.

On the other hand if we REPENT there is forgiveness and hope for restoration.

To suggest that we bear evil fruit and still make heaven is simply heresy.

frosbel:

To suggest that we bear evil fruit and still make heaven is simply heresy.

Again who is suggesting that evil fruit will make its way into heaven? This is another straw man argument. So a "born-again" man who somehow dies and goes to hell has been lost. . .meaning God was simply unable to save him, contrary to what scripture teaches. Any one who continues to sin after being "born again" deceives himself and was not born again to start with.

The key to understanding the Kingdom of God is laid bare in the parables of Jesus. I urge you to consider again the parable of the Wheat and Tares.

An earlier post. . .

---

Zikkyy:

Well. . em. . . you forgot to add Philippians 2:14

14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

As you can see they can decide to abandon the work.

^First, God's purpose or work cannot be thwarted. If they decide to abandon the work (which are acts of obedience). . .

And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Luk 19:40

Second, if they abandon the work, then it probably an indication that they were not saved to begin with. (By their fruits you shall know them). That one is part of the crowd that calls itself Christian does not mean they are. Haven't you ever considered this scriptures:

And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mat 28:17

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1Jn 2:19

Zikkyy:

But seriously, i wasn't thinking Philippians when i made the initial post. I was just responding to what i read you say. Your post sometimes appears to conflict with the message you're sending.

^I fail to see the conflict.
God plants good seed. The good seed brings forth good fruits. . .because its genetic imperative compels it to produce good fruit. The arbiter of what constitutes good fruit/works is God himself, not man. In the parables lie the key to understanding the Kingdom as Jesus Christ said. Look again at the parable of the wheat and tares.
Most of us thinking of tares suppose that these plants are like the weeds growing on our grandfathers' farms - totally dissimilar in appearance. This is not so. The tares resemble the wheat and on occasion can be difficult to distinguish from wheat, hence the instruction:

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Mat 13:29-30

Since the tares and the wheat grow together and look alike, we men are often seduced into thinking tares are wheat; not surprising given that:

. . .for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Sa 16:7

ISBE: Tares
târz (ζιζάνια, zizánia (Mat_13:25 ff), margin “darnel”): Zizania is equivalent to Arabic zuwān, the name given to several varieties of darnel of which Lolium temulentum, the “bearded darnel,” is the one most resembling wheat, and has been supposed to be degenerated wheat. On the near approach of harvest it is carefully weeded out from among the wheat by the women and children.

Zikkyy:

Yes he did, he made a request that Jesus should remember him when he (Jesus) get to his kingdom or was it the Holy Spirit talking?

^No man can come to Jesus except the Father draws him. The thief's request was an acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord, a working out of his faith in Jesus. . .do you realize both thieves asked Jesus to save them?! Why was only one saved? Look again at the passage.

Zikkyy:

How do you expect a man nailed to the cross to do any additional work.

^And doesn't this precisely show that no additional work is needed beyond Jesus Christ's blood for the salvation of souls? If the thief did no work and yet was saved. . .what does that tell us? God is able to save to the uttermost those who put their trust in him.

Zikkyy:

My understanding of your posts is that some people were pre-destined to go to heaven and others to hell. So i wonder why the apostles needed to preach the good news, or was that process a formality as well?

We are commanded to preach the gospel (It is one of the works ordained for us by God). . .and it is God who does the saving. If you believe that God knows all; why balk at the fact that from the beginning, God knew those who will have been saved at the last, and knowing this made provision for them to be saved.

But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:64

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Act 15:18

And to show that our works count for nothing. . .here is one the hard sayings of Jesus.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:10

^^

Let's pull out some useful bible verses to better understand this topic.

You will have to totally kill these verses to come to any other conclusion.

Matthew 24:12 [/b]And because iniquity shall abound, [b]the love of many shall wax cold. 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

I Cor 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. ( Self Explanatory ).

II Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Can I inform you that Salvation consists of two parts, our part and God's part , which means then , that if we do not play our part we will be lost. Read this verse below :

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—1. continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,2.for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Phil. 2:12,13)

Personal Responsibility is of paramount importance with respect to the salvation of our souls.

God does not want Robots, he wants obedient children.

^
All the verses above are elucidated by these one in my post above (I guess you didn't read it?)

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 1 Jn 2:19

frosbel:

God does not want Robots, he wants obedient children.

^You quoted this verse:
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. [Php 2:13]
What does the part highlighted in red mean to you?

^^

Don't really have time to engage in a merry go round Calvinist debate.

The Soul that Sins shall die, any person who deceives himself that he will be saved , though he sins and engages in vice is seriously deceived. !!

frosbel:

^^

Don't really have time to engage in a merry go round Calvinist debate.

The Soul that Sins shall die, any person who deceives himself that he will be saved , though he sins and engages in vice is seriously deceived. !!

Again a straw man argument, it would have been nice to see you attempt to gainsay the o.p.

Why don't you, for example, give us your understanding of those verses cited to prove the doctrine.

frosbel:

^^

Don't really have time to engage in a merry go round Calvinist debate.

The Soul that Sins shall die, any person who deceives himself that he will be saved , though he sins and engages in vice is seriously deceived. !!

^
My, how you do like man-made labels. . ."Calvinist"? Why tie yourself up in knots?   I believe those labels prevent you from seeing beyond your preconceived notions.

Of course the soul that sins will die. That is the judgment pronounced on all men. . .for all have sinned.

But
. . .I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
[Rom 1:16-17]

The last six words in the verse above are as OT as the one in your post above.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. [Rom 10:3]

italo:


@5solas,

Do you mind answering my question first, then I'll answer yours. God bless you. I wonder why you are being overly defensive. You, the teacher is teaching us a doctrine and your student only asked a harmless question.

My student is refusing to take prerequisite courses   .

@Aletheia

Thanks for your refreshing posts.

aletheia:

^
My, how you do like man-made labels. . ."Calvinist"? Why tie yourself up in knots?   I believe those labels prevent you from seeing beyond your preconceived notions.

Of course the soul that sins will die. That is the judgment pronounced on all men. . .for all have sinned.

But
. . .I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
[Rom 1:16-17]

The last six words in the verse above are as OT as the one in your post above.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. [Rom 10:3]

^^^ And with these we begin to head in the direction of being able to unlock Jesus' statement 'except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees . . . .'

In terms of "fastidiousness", whose "righteousness" can exceed that of the Pharisees? And in terms of "holiness" who is really "holy" (except in the sense of being set apart)?

Of course, the righteousness that exceeds the "righteousness" of the Pharisees is the righteousness of Christ.