Category Archives: Salvation

“He will save his people from their sins.”

Posted by Dan C. on

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21 ESV)

I love these few words that the angel of the lord spoke to Joseph:

"for he will save his people from their sins."

The grand announcement concerning Jesus’ birth, at least to Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was that the purpose of this miraculous birth was that the Christ child was born to ‘save His people from their sins’.

We don’t often hear modern evangelical sermons in which salvation from sin was the reason for the birth of Jesus – at least I can’t remember a specific Christmas sermon that addressed that as its main point. But then again I’m old enough to have more frequent memory lapses than say 20 or so years ago. However, I could also offer that the subject and problem of sin itself is not seriously mentioned, if at all, in many mega-churches these days, on any given Sunday (or any other time)

I am not saying that we should overly emphasize the issue of sin as we celebrate the birth of Christ, but I do suggest that the angel’s words to Joseph at least remain in our hearts and minds in the midst of celebrating the birth of our Savior in all of our usual ways, and especially when we gaze upon a Nativity scene.

Admit it, we love Nativity scenes and the sight of Jesus in the manger, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and often angels in the background. Thoughts of ‘peace on earth’, feelings of warmth, love and good cheer fill our minds and hearts – and rightly so.

But how many of us dare to dwell, even for a few moments, on the angel’s words to Joseph:

"for he will save his people from their sins."

This year, I for one am dwelling on those words, perhaps more than anything else; not in a morbid way, with graphic pictures of Calvary and the Cross, but with a sense of wonder and awe. Jesus came, first and foremost, to save his people from their sins.

And while all those who witnessed the birth of Jesus so long ago might not have realized the full significance of His birth, God, His Father, knew exactly the course that was being set in motion on that day. The Father knew that one day His Son would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, buried, and be raised up again – that The Father sent his Son to die for the sins of men.

So in the midst of all of the usual activity this season brings, I spend some time reflecting on the words of the angel to Joseph and their enormous significance as the greatest gift ever given to men – salvation from our sins. Unlike Joseph, who had no way of knowing all that those words meant, I peer into the pages of my Bible and reflect on a few of seemingly simple questions:

  • Who really are ‘His people’?
  • What does it mean that He would save them from their sins?
  • How does discovering answers to those questions impact how I celebrate this wondrous season of the year?

Dear reader, if you are reading the musings of this old soldier, my encouragement to you is to do the same. You will be tremendously blessed!

May you indeed have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Dan

The Offense of the Gospel

Posted by Dan C. on

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,”

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

“A gospel which is after men will be welcomed by men; but the true gospel of the grace of God needs a divine operation upon the heart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his utmost soul such a distasteful truth.

My dear Brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds. Hide not the offense of the cross, lest you make it of none effect. The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength: to pare them off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of strength, but the death of it.

Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity, Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel, the gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it. Whenever its enemies rail at a certain kind of gun, a wise military power will provide more of such artillery.

A great general, going in before his king, stumbled over his own sword. I see, said the king, your sword in is the way. The warrior answered, Your majesty’s enemies have often felt the same. That our gospel offends the King’s enemies is no regret to us”. – C. H.Spurgeon, 1834-1692

_________________________

“There is no offense whatsoever in going to India, into the heart of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam and declaring that we are there to talk about social justice and public policy and the concerns of poverty. There is no shame in that.

All of the shame lies in going there to declare that Jesus is Sovereign Lord, He is the Savior, and He is the only way. And it is that message which is foolishness in India and foolish in America, which is the message that we have been called to proclaim and to live, and the implications of which put the foot down in the realm of justice and in the concerns of poverty and so on.

But I have a sneaking suspicion and an increasingly deep-seated concern that there is here in North America a growing loss of confidence in the Bible itself as the unerring word of God and an increasing willingness to play fast and loose with the uniqueness of the claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and to the extent that that is true, the cutting edge of world evangelization is radically affected.” – Alistair Begg, 1952 – Present

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

1 Corinthians 1:22-25 ESV

Christian Values Cannot Save Anyone

Posted by Dan C. on

Tuesday, September 11, 2012, Al Mohler

A recent letter to columnist Carolyn Hax of The Washington Post seemed straightforward enough. “I am a stay-at-home mother of four who has tried to raise my family under the same strong Christian values that I grew up with,” the woman writes. “Therefore I was shocked when my oldest daughter, ‘Emily,’ suddenly announced she had ‘given up believing in God’ and decided to ‘come out’ as an atheist.”

The idea of a 16-year-old atheist in the house would be enough to alarm any Christian parent, and rightly so. The thought that a secular advice columnist for The Washington Post might be the source of help seems very odd, but desperation can surely lead a parent to seek help almost anywhere.

You usually get what you expect from an advice columnist like this — therapeutic counsel based in a secular worldview and a deep commitment to personal autonomy. Carolyn Hax responds to this mother with an admonition to respect the integrity of her daughter’s declaration of non-belief. She adds, “Parents can and should teach their beliefs and values, but when a would-be disciple stops believing, it’s not a ‘decision’ or ‘choice’ to ‘reject’ church or family or tradition or virtue or whatever else has hitched a cultural ride with faith.”

Related Posts

That is patent nonsense, of course. Declarations of adolescent unbelief often are exactly what Hax argues they are not: rejections of “church or family or tradition or virtue.” Hax does offer some legitimate insights, suggesting that honesty is to be preferred to dishonesty and that such adolescent statements are often indications of a phase of intellectual questioning or just trying on a personality for style.

Hax then tells this distraught mother that she “didn’t throw out what my childhood, including my church, taught me; I still apply what I believe in. I just apply it to a secular life.” In other words, Hax asserts that she maintains many of the values she learned as a child in church, and simply applies these values now to a secular life.

“How can I help my daughter see that she is making a serious mistake with her life if she chooses to reject her God and her faith?,” the mother asks. Hax tells the mother to accept the daughter’s atheism and get over her “disappointment that she isn’t turning out just as you envisioned.”

What else would you expect a secular columnist who operates from a secular worldview to say?

The real problem does not lie with Carolyn Hax’s answer, however, but with the mother’s question. The problem appears at the onset, when the mother states that she has “tried to raise my family under the same strong Christian values that I grew up with.”

Christian values are the problem. Hell will be filled with people who were avidly committed to Christian values. Christian values cannot save anyone and never will. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a Christian value, and a comfortability with Christian values can blind sinners to their need for the gospel.

This one sentence may not accurately communicate this mother’s understanding, but it appears to be perfectly consistent with the larger context of her question and the source of the advice she sought.

Parents who raise their children with nothing more than Christian values should not be surprised when their children abandon those values. If the child or young person does not have a firm commitment to Christ and to the truth of the Christian faith, values will have no binding authority, and we should not expect that they would. Most of our neighbors have some commitment to Christian values, but what they desperately need is salvation from their sins. This does not come by Christian values, no matter how fervently held. Salvation comes only by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Human beings are natural-born moralists, and moralism is the most potent of all the false gospels. The language of “values” is the language of moralism and cultural Protestantism — what the Germans called Kulturprotestantismus. This is the religion that produces cultural Christians, and cultural Christianity soon dissipates into atheism, agnosticism, and other forms of non-belief. Cultural Christianity is the great denomination of moralism, and far too many church folk fail to recognize that their own religion is only cultural Christianity — not the genuine Christian faith.

The language of values is all that remains when the substance of belief disappears. Tragically, many churches seem to perpetuate their existence by values, long after they abandon the faith.

We should not pray for Christian morality to disappear or for Christian values to evaporate. We should not pray to live in Sodom or in Vanity Fair. But a culture marked even by Christian values is in desperate need of evangelism, and that evangelism requires the knowledge that Christian values and the gospel of Jesus Christ are not the same thing.

I pray that this young woman and her mother find common hope and confidence in the salvation that comes only through Christ — not by Christian values. Otherwise, we are facing far more than a young woman “making a serious mistake with her life.” We are talking about what matters for eternity. Christian values cannot save anyone.

Share

The sovereignty of God in the salvation of men. . .

Posted by Dan C. on

. . .according to scripture:

“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:44).

And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65).

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48).

And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14).

For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:34-36).

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you” (John 15:16).

Ours is not to argue or fuss about the clear declarations in the above passages, but to study them, discover what they mean and humbly submit to the wondrous truths found therein. 

Share

"Chosen to Salvation"–A.W. Pink

Posted by Dan C. on

“But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”
2 Thessalonians 2:13

There are three things here which deserve special attention.

First, the fact that we are expressly told that God’s elect are “chosen to salvation”: Language could not be more explicit. How summarily do these words dispose of the sophistries and equivocations of all who would make election refer to nothing but external privileges or rank in service! It is to “salvation” itself that God has chosen us.

Second, we are warned here that election unto salvation does not disregard the use of appropriate means: salvation is reached through “sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” It is not true that because God has chosen a certain one to salvation that he will be saved willy-nilly, whether he believes or not: nowhere do the Scriptures so represent it. The same God who “chose unto salvation”, decreed that His purpose should be realized through the work of the spirit and belief of the truth.

Third, that God has chosen us unto salvation is a profound cause for fervent praise. Note how strongly the apostle express this – “we are bound to give thanks always to God for you. brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation”, etc.

Instead of shrinking back in horror from the doctrine of predestination, the believer, when he sees this blessed truth as it is unfolded in the Word, discovers a ground for gratitude and thanksgiving such as nothing else affords, save the unspeakable gift of the Redeemer Himself.

Share

The Glorious Tension between Human Responsibility and Human Inability

Posted by Dan C. on

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES

Human Responsibility to Come to Christ

1. “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15)

2. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28)

3. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God.” (Jn. 7:17)

4. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (Jn. 7:37)

5. “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized” (Acts 2:38)

6. “Repent therefore and be converted” (Acts 3:19)

7. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)

8. “but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30)

9. “Whoever wills, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17)

Human Inability to Come to Christ

1. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? (No!) Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. (Jer. 13:23)

2. “How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Mt. 12:34)

3. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Mt. 7:18)

4. “‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” (Mt. 19:25-26)

5. “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:3)

6. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44)

7. “no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” (Jn. 6:65)

8. “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (Jn. 8:43)

9. “They could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.” (Jn. 12:39-40)

10. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6)

11. “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:7)

12. “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:8)

13. “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14)

Share

A Darkness to Be ‘Felt’

Posted by Dan C. on

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.” (Exodus 10:21-23 ESV)

Can you even imagine a darkness so dark you could feel it? Such was the darkness of the ninth plague God brought upon the land of Egypt when His children were in living in cruel bondage – a darkness so dark it could be ‘felt’. The closest I ever came to that was deep in Carlsbad Caverns when they intentionally turned out the lights for a few seconds. I really couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

In our passage, the Egyptians could not see each other, and they didn’t even venture outside the houses for three days! The children of Israel however had light where they lived. Reading that, I could not help but think about all those who live apart from Christ the Deliverer, in the darkness of sin, and those who have come to trust in Christ as Savior and have moved out of that darkness and into the light.

There’s a difference though, between the darkness the Egyptians experienced and the darkness that surrounds lost humanity. While the Egyptians knew they were in darkness and could literally ‘feel’ it, the lost and dying around us think they can see! And while physically they can, spiritually they are dead and lying in a foot-thick coffin six feet underground – so dark is their darkness. Can that spiritual darkness be lifted?

In our Exodus account the darkness could only be lifted by God, and God did lift it after three days. What about those trapped in the darkness of their sin? How can that darkness be lifted?

First of all, the Gospel of John identifies the light source that can conquer the darkness:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5 ESV)

Further, John identifies that light source as Jesus:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14-17 ESV)

Matthew’s gospel also identifies Jesus Christ as the great light shining in the darkness, repeating a prophesy of Isaiah:

"Now when he (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

‘. . .the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.’” (Matthew 4:12-14; 16 [Isaiah 9:2])

The remaining question is ‘How does the light overcome the darkness of sin?’ Here again, as with the Egyptian, it takes a work of God to lift the darkness and bring light to the human heart.

The Apostle Paul, in a letter to the Ephesian church, describes how someone living in darkness receives light:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.“(Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

When God brings life to the dead sinner, something marvelous happens – he begins to ‘feel’ the darkness of sin and his soul cries out for mercy! Nothing in this world seems more important than having the darkness lifted!

The message of the gospel is then applied to the heart crying for mercy. It might happen by way of picking up a Bible and reading, or by entering a church and hearing it, or in conversation with a friend or family member who has already discovered the light, to name just a few of the ways God has of bringing the beautiful message of the gospel to the sin burdened soul:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV)

Dear reader, are you living today in the light of Christ? Have you ‘felt’ the darkness and had it lifted from your soul? If you have, I rejoice with you! If you have not, I pray that God might begin a work no man can thwart, and that you would indeed ‘feel’ the darkness and flee to the Cross!

Are We Trying to Catch The Wind?

Posted by Dan C. on

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

Way back in 1965 British singer/songwriter Donavan recorded a song called “Catch The Wind”. It was his first recording and a chart buster. It was a love song about the woman he later married. Perhaps the most memorable line, repeated at the end of each stanza and a few times at the end of the song was (at least to this guy):

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”

What does a ‘Golden Oldie’ have to do with this blog post? Thanks for asking!

Well, the song compares the romantic thoughts a young man has concerning a young woman, and the chances of real romance being as elusive as ‘trying to catch the wind’. That memorable line line came to mind this morning while I was doing my morning workout and listening to a short teaching by a Baptist Pastor concerning evangelism; specific methods used, and of course the topic of obtaining an immediate decision for Christ, or ‘closing the deal’. If we can just obtain a ‘decision’ we can add another ‘saved’ soul to our evangelistic tally sheets. The question he posed the listener was “Who really ‘closes the deal?”

And an excellent question it is! While a decision for Christ is sometimes an immediate result of an evangelistic encounter (we see several accounts in the book of Acts alone), are decisions for Christ the product of our efforts or the result of the Holy Spirit’s work of impressing upon a human heart the gravity of sin, opening that heart to hear and receive the message of the gospel, offering grace through the gift of faith, and in essence ‘closing the deal’.

When we realize what happens in the above process, we can also see that there needs to be someone who delivers the gospel message.   That’s where we come in, and it seems to be our only role – just a messenger. But not ‘just’ a messenger. The good news we have for the lost and dying all around us is the greatest news a person could ever hear!

In that encounter with Nicodemus in John, Chapter 3 we have displayed before us, the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “– vv. 3-7

How does the ‘new birth’ happen? Do words of men, cleverly presented produce the new birth? Is it our presenting an attractive Jesus the hearer might like do it? Does the ‘fire and brimstone’ of threats of eternal punishment in Hell do it? Can we direct, steer, or otherwise influence a spiritual rebirth? I think not! Listen the very next verse:

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (v. 8)

The one who ‘closes the deal’ – produces faith to to believe, is none other than the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who gives life to spiritually dead men and women, who turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, creates a desire for God where there was none, who opens hearts to hear the message of the gospel, impresses the truth of the gospel on the human heart, causing the one who realizes his/her condition apart from Christ to run to the Cross!

At the same time, we are to persuade others of the truth of the gospel, since we have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:11). In our persuading however, we need to remember that it’s not our job to ‘close the deal’. Rather, remember Donavan:

“Ah, but we may as well try and catch the wind.”

Share

Why does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?

Posted by Dan C. on

Lately I have heard, from unnamed sources, that the doctrine of ‘double imputation’, that our sins were ‘imputed’ to Christ and His righteousness to us, is heresy. Further asserted is that it is only Christ’s substitutionary death that impacts our salvation, not his perfectly obedient life (righteousness). Leaving all of the theological terms associated with the idea of ‘double imputation’ aside for a moment, we have the question “Why do we need Christ’s imputed righteousness?” Or, “Why isn’t Christ’s death alone sufficient for our salvation?” In answer to the question, I offer the following for your consideration, taken from Making Sense of Salvation by Wayne Grudem, and presented online at GotQuestions.org

Question: “Why does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?”

Answer:

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uttered these words: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This comes at the end of the section of the sermon where Jesus corrects His listeners’ misunderstanding of the law. In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says that if His hearers want to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, their righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees who were the experts in the law.

Then in Matthew 5:21-48, He proceeds to radically redefine the law from mere outward conformity which characterized the ‘righteousness’ of the Pharisees, to an obedience of both outward and inward conformity. He uses the phrase, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you…” to differentiate between the way people heard the law taught from how Jesus is reinterpreting it. Obeying the law is more than simply abstaining from killing, committing adultery and breaking oaths. It’s also not getting angry with your brother, not lusting in your heart, and not making insincere oaths. At the end of all this, we learn that we must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, and that comes from being perfect.

At this point, the natural response is: “But I can’t be perfect” which is absolutely true. In another place in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus summarizes the law of God down to two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). This is certainly an admirable goal, but has anyone ever loved the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and their neighbor as themselves? Everything we do, say and think has to be done, said and thought from love for God and love for neighbor. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we have never achieved this level of spirituality.

The truth of the matter is that on our own and by our own efforts, we can’t possibly be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. We don’t love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We don’t love our neighbors as ourselves. We have a problem, and it’s called sin. We are born with it and we cannot overcome the effects of it on our own. Sin radically affects us to our core. Sin affects what we do, say and think. In other words, it taints everything about us. Therefore, no matter how good we try to be, we will never meet God’s standard of perfection. The Bible says that all of our righteous deeds are like a “polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Our own righteousness is simply not good enough and never will be, no matter how hard we try.

That’s why Jesus lived a perfect life in full obedience to the law of God in thought, word and deed. Jesus’ mission wasn’t simply to die on the cross for our sins, but also to live a life of perfect righteousness. Theologians refer to this as the “active and passive obedience of Christ.” Active obedience refers to Christ’s life of sinless perfection. Everything He did was perfect. Passive obedience refers to Christ’s submission to the crucifixion. He went willingly to the cross and allowed Himself to be crucified without resisting (Isaiah 53:7). His passive obedience pays our sin debt before God, but it is the active obedience that really saves us and gives us the perfection God requires.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). Through our faith in Christ, the righteousness of God is given to us. This is called “imputed” righteousness. To impute something is to ascribe or attribute something to someone. When we place our faith in Christ, God ascribes the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account so that we become perfect in His sight. “For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Not only is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us through faith, but our sin is imputed to Christ. That is how Christ paid our sin debt to God. He had no sin in Himself, but our sin is imputed to him, so as He suffers on the cross, He is suffering the just penalty that our sin deserves. That is why Paul can say, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

By having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we can be perfect, as God is perfect. It is not, therefore, our perfection, but His. When God looks at the Christian, He sees the holiness, perfection, and righteousness of Christ. Therefore, we can say with confidence “I am perfect, as God is perfect.”

__________________________

Blog author’s note: If you are engaged in the debate in any of it’s several forms and venues, or are merely interested in the question, I hope the above has been helpful to you.

Share