Righteousness by Faith
By John A. Brunson
It is clearly taught in Rom. 1:16, 17, that the gospel of Christ is God’s power to save sinners, because it reveals righteousness by faith; or, expressed in different words, because it reveals the only plan which God, in His infinite love and righteousness, could devise for making poor, rebellious, lost sinners right in His sight, without in the least compromising His own character. That this is possible through the gospel, is distinctly affirmed in Rom. 3:25, 26, a literal translation of which reads as follows: “Whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to give outward proof of His righteousness on account of the passing over of previously committed sins in the forbearance of God, to give outward proof of His righteousness at the present time, that He may be right, and make him with faith in Christ right.” God is love, and is rich in mercy; and because of “His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins,” He is now and always has been inclined to show mercy. “He delighteth in mercy.” He solemnly declares, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” But in offering pardon to guilty sinners condemned to death by the inexorable demands of His own righteous law, He must proceed in strict harmony with the principle of absolute right; for, bear in mind always that salvation is the state of being right. It is God-harmony. But if God, in the act of making an unrighteous man right, should himself violate the eternal principle of right, He would be guilty of wrongdoing. He would himself be guilty of infringing the law of absolute right, and such an infringement on His part would prove Him to be a sinner standing in need of a savior, rather than the righteous Saviour engaged in the gracious work of saving others. Therefore, before any mercy could be extended to sinners, the severest demands of the strictest justice had to be fully satisfied. God cannot afford to be merciful in His righteousness, but He must be righteous in His mercy. In the cross of Christ a work of precisely this character has been accomplished. Absolute righteousness and boundless mercy meet in the sufferings of a dying Saviour. God has set forth Christ as a propitiation, a sacrifice in the sinner’s stead, that He may vindicate His own righteous character, and yet offer free pardon and salvation to all who repent and believe in Christ. Hence, the Christian’s joy is not so much in consequence of selfishly contemplating his escape from the suffering of sin, as it is of the sweet consciousness that he, in Christ, has been adjudged to be right by the one all-righteous God, in harmony with the severest demands of absolute right. O, the glorious privilege of being right! Who does not crave it? Who would not prefer it to any earthly emolument? More to be desired is it than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. How precious the thought that salvation is rightness before God, and rightness before God is salvation. Let every Christian worker prayerfully meditate upon this fact, until his whole being is thoroughly aroused, and animated with a desire to bring souls to Christ, that they may be made right. Outward compliance with church rules and regulations and inward rightness are not synonymous. Strive less to persuade men into visible union with your denomination; strive more to bring them into contact with the life-giving Saviour. Our business is not to build up a church. It is rather to seek for people to live with Christ in His righteous kingdom. And when we are engaged daily in this task, which would give infinite delight to angels, let us never forget the statement, “Thy people also shall be all righteous.” Let us repeat the truth that righteousness, right being, is the condition of entrance into the kingdom. How inspiring the thought that the kingdom of Christ will be peopled with those who are right! How Righteousness Is Obtained
Now, let us consider how this righteousness of the gospel is obtained. It comes not as the reward of right doing, for then it would be “not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” Neither is it in part the gift of grace, and in part the result of right doing, for “if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” It is all of grace. This righteousness is in no sense the award of personal merit, but the gift of God to the sinner. It is God’s gift to the sinner, while he is yet a sinner, without any righteousness of his own, and with no possible means of obtaining any righteousness for himself. He stands before God entirely helpless, justly condemned, without one excuse to offer in extenuation of his guilt, or in mitigation of his punishment. There he stands, clothed in his own righteousness, which the Judge has pronounced to be as offensive as filthy rags. In the helplessness of despair, he cries, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The Holy Spirit, Christ’s representative, bids him look to the cross. There he sees One dying in his stead, upon whom his sins have been laid. As he gazes upon the bleeding Sufferer, the Spirit whispers, softly, “He was wounded for your transgressions, He was bruised for your iniquities: the chastisement of your peace was upon Him; and with His stripes are you healed.” He hears, he heeds, he believes. Then the Judge issues the command, “Take away the filthy garments from him;” and turning affectionately to the poor, trembling soul, He says, “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” The work is done. The sinner is justified, made righteous. How? By his own deeds?—No. On account of his own merits?—No. A twofold imputation has taken place. His sins were imputed to the bleeding Victim on the cross, and the righteousness of the Victim was imputed to him, and he was accounted righteous apart from the works of law. This is the righteousness which the gospel reveals, and which brings salvation,—a righteousness entirely apart from the guilty offender’s law keeping. Therefore it is said to be imputed, not inherent. Now, to impute, as it relates to salvation, is to place to one’s account that which does not properly belong to him, as though it did. But to ascribe righteousness to one who really keeps God’s righteous and holy law, would not, in this sense, be an act of imputation at all. It would simply be the recognition of a permanent quality which belongs rightfully to the individual as an intrinsic possession, and this recognition would be a simple act of justice without any admixture of grace. Hence when God imputes righteousness to a sinner, it is not because the sinner is righteous. If he were righteous, he would not need to have righteousness imputed to him. He would have it as an intrinsic quality, his very own, and in his own right he would be entitled to a place in the kingdom of the righteous God. Exclusion from the kingdom would be an act of injustice, purely arbitrary, which would brand God as a tyrant. But when God imputes righteousness to the sinner, that is, when He justifies the ungodly, He places to his account that which does not properly belong to him, as though it did, and then proceeds to treat him accordingly. He regards him as righteous, and entitled to the blessings of the righteous. He adopts him into His family as a beloved son, and graciously accords to him the privileges and rights of sonship. God can do this, as has already been shown, and yet maintain strictly His own righteousness, and preserve the integrity of His law. Herein is seen one of the strongest proofs of the superhuman origin of the gospel, which causes it to become the wonder and admiration of angels. Just here lies also the mysterious efficacy of the blood of Jesus, “who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.” Jesus took the place of sinners, and died in their stead. God imputed to Him their sins; that is to say, He put to Christ’s account the sins of all sinners, of all ages, classes, and conditions,—sins which did not properly belong to Him,—and in consequence treated Him as if He had been an actual sinner. Having done this, He can now place to the sinner’s account the righteousness of Christ, which does not properly belong to him, and treat him as if he were actually righteous. This is all done apart from law, and independently of the sinner’s law keeping. Hence “we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law;” that is, he stands right with God through faith, quite apart from actions done in obedience to law. This, then, is righteousness by faith, which, apart from law, stands revealed in the gospel, but to which both law and prophets bear witness. It is God’s gracious gift to guilty sinners, whereby they are made meet for the coming kingdom. God be praised for a salvation that is complete, perfect, and right!