Defending The Biblical View Of Righteousness

“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believeallthat the prophets have spoken!²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?“²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (^NIVLuke 24:25-27)

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,¹¹trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predictedthe sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow…¹³Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given youwhen Jesus Christ is revealed. (^NIV1 Peter 1:10-13)

A. The Depravity of Man and the Holiness of God

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the chargethat Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.¹⁰As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;¹¹there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.¹²All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one….” (^NIVRomans 3:9-12)

Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.²²But the Scripture declares thatthe whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (^NIVGalatians 3:21-22)

As for you,you were dead in your transgressions and sins,²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…³Like the rest, we wereby nature objects of wrath.⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (^NIVEphesians 2:1-5)

B. Reconciliation by the Cross

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…¹⁰For if, when we wereGod’s enemies, we werereconciled to himthrough the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!¹¹Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now receivedreconciliation. (^NIVRomans 5:8-11)

God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,²⁰and through him toreconcile to himselfall things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, bymaking peacethrough his blood, shed on the cross.²¹Once you werealienatedfrom God and wereenemiesin your minds because of your evil behavior.²²But now he hasreconciledyou by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (^NIVColossians 1:19-22)

A. The Forgiveness of Sins

I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it againuntil it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God…¹⁸I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes…²⁰This cup isthe new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you [“for the forgiveness of sins”, Mt. 26:28]. (^NIVLuke 22:15-20)

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesusthe forgiveness of sinsis proclaimed to you.³⁹Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. (^NIVActs 13:38-39)

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, andwithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins…²⁶But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (^ESVHebrews 9:22-28)

B. The Righteousness of God

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness,have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;³¹but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness,has not attained it.³²Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” …^10:1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites isthat they may be saved.²For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.³Since they did not knowthe righteousness that comes from Godand sought to establish their own, they did not submitto God’s righteousness.⁴Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (^NIVRomans 9:30-10:4)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of Godfor the salvationof everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.¹⁷For in the gospela righteousness from Godis revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (^NIVRomans 1:16-17)

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced thatone died for all, and therefore all died…¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.²¹God made him who had no sinto be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (^NIV2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

But nowthe righteousness of Godhas been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,²⁴and arejustifiedby his grace as a gift, through theredemptionthat is in Christ Jesus,²⁵whom God put forward as apropitiationby his blood, to be received by faith. (^ESVRom. 3:21-25)

A. Propitiation (Gk.hilasmos)

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God,to make propitiation for the sinsof the people. (^ESVHebrews 2:17)

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to bethe propitiation for our sins. (^ESV1 John 4:9-10)

B. Justification (Gk.dikaiōsis)

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God…⁴Now to the one who works, his wages are notcounted as a giftbut as his due.⁵And to the one who does not work buttrusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith iscounted as righteousness. (^ESVRomans 4:2-5)

Therefore, since we have beenjustified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,²through whom we have gained access by faithinto this gracein which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God…⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,Christ died for the ungodly.⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,Christ died for us.⁹Since we have now beenjustified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (^NIVRomans 5:1-9)

C. Redemption (Gk.apolutrōsis)

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,²⁷and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,²⁸even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his lifeas a ransomfor many. (^ESVMatthew 20:26-28)

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blamelessin his sight. In love⁵he predestined usto be adopted as his sonsthrough Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he hasfreely given usin the One he loves.⁷In him we haveredemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (^NIVEphesians 1:4-8)

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they areoutwardly clean.¹⁴How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,cleanse our consciencesfrom acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!¹⁵For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receivethe promised eternal inheritance—now that he has diedas a ransomto set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (^NIVHebrews 9:13-15)

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you wereredeemedfrom the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,¹⁹but withthe precious bloodof Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (^NIV1 Peter 1:17-19)

D. The Circumcision Group

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”²This brought Paul and Barnabas intosharp dispute and debatewith them. (^NIVActs 15:1-2)

When Peter came to Antioch,I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.¹²Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid ofthose who belonged to the circumcision group. (^NIVGalatians 2:11-12)

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers,beware of the false circumcision;³for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…¹⁸For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, thatthey are enemies of the cross of Christ,¹⁹whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (^NASBPhilippians 3:2-19)

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves“the circumcision”(that done in the body by the hands of men)… (^NIVEphesians 2:11)

E. Justification by Faith Alone

God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,⁹and he made no distinction between us and them, havingcleansed their hearts by faith.¹⁰Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?¹¹But we believe thatwe will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. (^ESVActs 15:8-11)

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;¹⁶yet we know that a person isnot justified by worksof the lawbut through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to bejustified by faith in Christand not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.¹⁷But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!¹⁸For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.²⁰I 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 liveby faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.²¹I do notnullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, thenChrist died for no purpose. (^ESVGalatians 2:15-21)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by graceyou have been saved…⁸Forby grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it isthe gift of God,⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (^ESVEphesians 2:4-9)

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth ofknowing Christ Jesusmy Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ⁹and befound in him, not having a righteousness of my ownthat comes from the law, but that which comesthrough faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,¹¹that by any means possible I mayattain the resurrection from the dead.¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect,but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.¹⁵Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.¹⁶Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (^ESVPhilippians 3:8-16)

A. The Historical Witness

We are witnessesof everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem…⁴²He commanded usto preachto the people andto testifythat he is the one whom Godappointed as judgeof the living and the dead.⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in himreceives forgiveness of sinsthrough his name. (^NIVActs 10:39-43)

B. The False Witness

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.¹⁶Avoidgodless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.¹⁷Their teachingwill spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,¹⁸who havewandered away from the truth. They say thatthe resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.¹⁹Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord mustturn away from wickedness.” (^NIV2 Timothy 2:15-19)

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away fromgodless chatterand the opposing ideas of what isfalsely called knowledge,²¹which some have professed and in so doing havewandered from the faith. Grace be with you. (^NIV1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,²not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us,saying that the day of the Lord has already come.³Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (^NIV2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

C. The Faithful Witness in Word and Deed

This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,⁴⁷andrepentance and forgiveness of sinswill be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. (^NIVLuke 24:46-48)

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, andin view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.³For the time will come when men will not put up withsound doctrine[“sound teaching” ESV]. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.⁵But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.⁷I havefought the good fight, I havefinished the race, I havekept the faith.⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to meon that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (^NIV2 Timothy 4:1-8)

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,²⁰and through himto reconcile to himselfall things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, bymaking peacethrough his blood, shed on the cross.²¹Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.²²But now he hasreconciled youby Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation–²³if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, andI fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (^NIVColossians 1:19-24)

We arehard pressedon every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.¹¹For we who are alive arealways being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body…¹⁴because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (^NIV2 Corinthians 4:8-16)

D. Culture of the Cross

Do not let anyunwholesome talkcome out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.³⁰Anddo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.^5:1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children²andlive a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (^NIVEphesians 4:29-5:2)

The end of all things is near. Thereforebe clear minded and self-controlledso that you can pray.⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.⁹Offer hospitalityto one another without grumbling.¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has receivedto serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides,so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (^NIV1 Peter 4:7-11)