Imputation, Chapter Five
The
great Apostle Paul made a very profound statement in Rom. 4:20-25 when he said
about Abraham,
"He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he
had promised, he was able also to perform. And
therefore it (his faith) 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 offences, and
was raised again for our justification."
We live in a world that is filled with rules and regulations and laws that we must obey and as a result we have become accustom to living by laws. It is then natural when we read the New Testament to view the teachings of Jesus as laws that we must follow if we are to be pleasing to God. However, Jesus came to fulfill the Law and set us free from it's bondage. It is very difficult for most who have been raised to follow the Ten Commandments to come out from under the bondage that the Law causes. Paul had a lot to say about the Law and you can even see his tendency to rely upon the Law in his writings. He talked about the Law in Rom. 3:19-31,
"Now we know that what things so ever the
law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified
in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe: for there
is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has 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? No: but by the law of faith. Therefore
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he
not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the
circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through
faith? God forbid: yea, we
establish the law.
Wow! What a
powerful passage of scripture! Paul's understanding of the Gospel is profound
and so different from what the Jews were brought up under. It is no wonder the
Jews from Jerusalem were constantly following Paul around and stirring the
people up with their law of circumcision they wanted to put the people into
bondage with.
The Law was
given to Israel in order to reveal sin or to bring sin out into the open where
all could see and understand how guilty they are before God because of their
inability to obey the Law. Guilt is the consequence of those who want to live
by Law. Even though the Law is good, because of the weakness of the flesh or
this body we live in, it brought forth guilt and the consciousness of sin. I
have had people say to me on their death bed that they were not sure if they
would go to heaven because of some of the things that they have done in this
life. This is the consequence of living under Law. It brings about
self-righteousness and the bondage of having to live up to the standard of the
Law.
When Jesus died
on the cross He took us out from under the rules of the Law and put us under
the Law of Grace which operates by our faith in what He has done for us. Paul
said in Eph. 2:8-9,
"
For by grace are
you saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast."
We have been
told that the word 'grace' means unmerited favor and it does but it also means
that God has imputed His grace or favor to us by the faith He has given to us
to believe Him!!! Yes, that is right! Even the faith we have to believe God He
has given to us! Faith is a living active thing and it has the ability to grow
and become strong even as Abraham's faith did as Paul said in Rom. 4:20-22,
"He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God; And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."
Peter understood this and said in 2 Pet. 1:2-4,
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According
as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has
called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by
these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust."
Our father has given us everything we need to have His kind of
life and godliness which is eternal. Jesus said in John 10:10,
"I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly."
We have been given this abundant life through the faith that the
Lord has given us to believe Him. We
are righteous because He is righteous. My plea to you today is what the Apostle
Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:34,
" Awake to righteousness,
and sin not!"
You are not a sinner saved by grace! You once were a sinner but
are no longer! You are a child of God and have been saved by His unlimited
mercy and grace. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Paul said
in 2 Cor. 5:20-21,
"Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's
stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in
him."
Because you are righteous, it is normal for you to walk in righteousness
and the desire of your heart is that of righteousness. The teachings of Jesus
are not that of Law but that of instructions of how to live righteously in this
world. Paul said to his young disciple Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:16-17,
"All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
We must understand that we are righteous because He
is righteous and we are in Him and He is in us!