Here is part 1 of the audio from my radio show on limited atonement

Here is the 2nd part of the audio from the radio show on the atonement:

Steve Chalke a member of the Evangelical Alliance popularized the view that penal substitution is a form of “cosmic child abuse”[2] Mr. Chalke is increasingly popular in the Emergent Church discussion and was promoted by Emergent Villageleader Mr. McLaren in The Story We Find Ourselves In, where he takes Mr. Chalke’s view and puts it in narrative form.[3]

Mr. Kunkle said of McLaren’s book, “Taken alone, this is worrisome. Coupled with McLaren's endorsement of Steve Chalke's book, The Lost Message of Jesus, this is cause for concern. But add to these the following account from McLaren's book, More Ready Than You Realize, and his views on the cross are a serious concern.”[4]

The conversation the Emergent Village is having relates to how to make disciples. When a conversation with good intentions turns south toward opinion that conversation as it relates to making disciples is no longer relevant. In Listening to the Beliefs of the Emerging Church: Five Perspectives, Pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, gives the Reformed position on the atonement.

Mr. Pagitt one of the leaders of the Emergent Village responded to Mark by saying, “Mark places great emphasis on Christianity’s explanation of God’s effort to save sinners. He says, “I will explore what is arguably most distinctive about Christianity, namely the nature of God’s revelation, the nature of God, and the means by which God has chosen to save some sinners.” So, for Mark, that serves as the unifying concept of his perspective, and as he wrote, he built into and from that presupposition. I find God’s hopes, dreams and plans for the world to include the eradication and freedom for humankind through Jesus, but those are not the primary points of the Gospel. I think much of our difference comes from the fact that in many ways we are telling different stories of Christianity. We seem to be calling for different starting and ending points.”[5]

Penal substitution is clearly taught in Isaiah 53, so the charge that penal substitution is a form of “cosmic child abuse” cannot be sustained in light of the text of Isaiah 53. The Bible is the message of how God redeems people from sin. From Genesis to Revelation; God is at work in people’s lives both visibly and invisibly to get them to understand His gift of salvation. The Gospel is the message of the Bible which means the claim of Pagitt that “much of our difference comes from the fact that in many ways we are telling different stories of Christianity”[6] is not biblical but appeals to his discomfort with Driscoll’s Reformed theology. Furthermore, Pagitt demonstrates his ignorance of the Gospel message by stating that “we seem to be calling for different starting and ending points.” There is only one beginning point for Christianity, and that is Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (1^st Corinthians 15:1-8).

The claim that there is different starting points for Christianity other than what is clearly defined in Scripture cannot be sustained by Scripture but is quite obviously a dismissive statement from Mr. Pagitt. Mr. Pagitt’s argument stems from the classical liberal position which makes justification into a feeling rather than a fact. The Bible is clear that justification is a fact based on the actual death and resurrection of Christ. The argument from the Emergent Church fails because it dismisses Christ and the Bible which records the story of Jesus and the foundation upon which Christianity is built upon- Jesus Christ! Paul (Romans 1-3) teaches that man is depraved and cannot on his own be saved. Chapters 4-5 of Romans make it clear that one is not justified on the basis of works but on the merits of Christ. The argument the Emergent Village makes cannot be sustained biblically, theologically or logically because it fails to deal with the actual text of Scripture.

Dr. John Piper responds to Chalke’s claim by saying, “With one cynical stroke of the pen, the triumph of God’s love over God’s wrath in the death of his beloved Son is blasphemed, while other church leaders write glowing blurbs on the flaps of his book. But God is not mocked. His word stands firm and clear and merciful to those who will embrace it.”[7] And if he can learn these theories on the atonement by reading history, cannot he (McLaren) at least attempt to read the Bible and try to discern the extent to which they are taught or sanctioned by Scripture?[8]

Mr. Chalke’s and the Emergent Village’s denial of penal substitution is a denial of Christianity itself. The Bible makes it clear how believers are justified, and as will be shown further, any view that opposes justification by faith, and or penal substitution opposes the Gospel that God gave people through His Word.

Justification by faith is under attack by liberals who make justification into a feeling. Friedrich Schleiermacher is considered to be the “father of liberal theology”. He believed that our Christology begins neither in Christ’s humanity nor his divinity, but rather both his humanity and divinity are derived from the irreducible fact of the believer’s consciousness of salvation. He would say that our understanding of this vital doctrine began with our personal experience. In doing so he placed our understanding of Christ solely on our conscious of redemption through him.[9]

The reducing of the justification to a feeling is the liberal position on justification, which denies the person and work of Christ. Scripture soundly declares that our justification is grounded in who Christ is. Christ came to die for sinners in their place for there sin, and it is through His death, and resurrection that people may hear the Gospel, and be saved. The issue liberal theology has raised regarding justification is not an issue that evangelicals can dismiss or ignore. The rejection of justification by faith is a rejection of what Christ did for sinners. The rejection of the doctrine of penal substitution is a rejection of the Gospel itself. God saves sinners from sin through His death and rejection. Mankind does not deserve to be saved but God who is rich in mercy came in the person of His Son- Jesus Christ to die for sin. From Genesis to Revelation, the Lord is trying to get people to understand how He is holy. Christ came to deal with the problem of sin. The Bible is not silent on the issue of justification but loudly proclaims that Christians have a Christ whose death, and resurrection secured their salvation.

Popular culture dismisses the truthfulness of Christianity through an appeal to fairness. Who exactly defines fairness man or God? Popular culture charges God with being evil for sending sinners to hell but this argument fails at a fundamental level because it fails to deal with reality. The reality is humans sin; a fact that is attested not only in the news everyday, but in criminal courts throughout the world. The truth is that humans are uncomfortable with a Holy God who can Judge them for sin. Postmodernists believe that they are “gods” and are offended when exclusive claims on their lifestyle or beliefs are imposed upon them. The postmodern concept of “truth” fails because it fails to deal with reality, and says that “salvation” is available to all when Christ is the only One who can offer salvation, because He is the One who died for sin, and rose again. The Gospel is still good news worth believing because it alone can give hope to sinners who otherwise would burn in Hell forever. Christ is the only One who can justify because He is the only One who can offer salvation.

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Dave

Here is where you can find me online:

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Jonathan Edwards during the Great Awakening said, “The beginning of the late work of God in this place was so circumstanced, that I could not but look upon it was a remarkable testimony of God’s approbation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, here asserted and vindicated. The following discourse of justification seemed to be remarkably blessed, not only to establish the judgment of many in this truth, but to engaged their hearts in a more earnest pursuit of justification, in that way that had been explained and defended; and at that time, while I was greatly reproached for defending this doctrine in the pulpit, and just upon my suffering a very open abuse for it, God’s work wonderfully brake forth amongst us, and souls began to flock to Christ, as the Savior in whose righteousness alone they hoped to be justified. So that this was the doctrine on which this work in its beginning was founded, as it evidently was in the whole progress of it.”[1] May Edwards declaration be our battle cry as Christians!

Justification in Isaiah

Isaiah 53 is one of the key passages in the Old Testament on the substitutionary atonement of Christ. Within the pages of Isaiah 53, Isaiah predicts the bloody death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Isaiah challenges Israel’s sin and uses the Servant’s (Jesus) obedience. Isaiah 50:8 as Isaiah 53:4-6 will make clear shows how the Servant did not suffer because He was guilty, but because others were guilty. The Old Testament records how man fell into sin through disobedience, and now in the New Testament reveals how through Jesus mankind can be saved. For His innocence, God vindicated Jesus (1 Tim 3:16). Isaiah 52:13-53:12 sets forth the Lord’s Servant as the exalted Sin-Bearer. This section opens up the fourth and final Servant Song, and is frequently used in the New Testament (Acts 8:30-35; 1 Peter 2:22-25), to describe the Messiah (Isa. 42:1-9). Isaiah’s argument is based on how the Holy One of Israel can bless sinful people. All the promises of God will come true for them not because mankind deserves this unmerited favor, but because of the suffering and triumphant Servant who removes their guilt before God through His bloody death.

In order to properly understand Isaiah’s argument in Isaiah 53 it’s important to observe the pronouns “I” in this passage which is typically the Lord, “he” the Servant, and “we” the servants disciples, who themselves need the servant to bear their guilt (Isaiah 53:4-6), which is why the Servant cannot be Israel or the pious within Israel. In Isaiah 53:13-15, the Servant appears repulsive but achieves redemption. In Isaiah 52:13, the word “act wisely” means Jesus succeeded at his task. In John 12:38-41, John brings the vision of Isaiah 6 together with the fourth Servant Song and says that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory; this repeated phrase justifies John’s reading.

Isaiah 52:14-15 records the servant was rejected by many (in his passion, Jesus was beaten into a shockingly inhuman mass of wounded flesh), so he will sprinkle many nations to make them clean. Isaiah 53:1-3 records how the servant lives in rejection. “Us” in Isaiah 53:1 refers to the believing remnant of Israel (John 12:37-38; Rom. 10). The “arm of the Lord” is the power of God in action (Isa. 40:10; 51:9; 62:8) Unbelief in the Servant was natural because He was an obscure, outwardly unimpressive person in a failed culture. His generation was blind (v.8). The rejection spoken of in Isaiah 53:3 refers to how the servant reveals how misguided the human mind is. Jesus was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Jesus experienced sorrow and grief of various sorts throughout his whole life. “Acquainted” can also be rendered knowing. Isaiah 53:4-6 records how the Servant bore the sins of other people; He was himself innocent. This paragraph is the heart of this paragraph. The surely in vs.4 (Isaiah 53) introduces the truth about the Servant’s sufferings. Acting as His people’s substitute, with no support or understanding from them, the Servant took upon Himself the bitter consequences of their sin; grief’s, sorrows (Matthew 8:14-17). The sufferings of the Servant would show the consequences that sin brings to fallen humanity, though He himself would not sin (Isa. 53:9). Jesus would be smitten by God and afflicted. God would be the ultimate source of the sufferings of this faithful servant.

The “but” in Isaiah 53:5 contrasts with “our” incomprehension in v.4b. The Servant’s anguish was “our” fault, not His own. Jesus bore our transgressions’, our iniquities. His sufferings went to the root of all human woe (Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24). Wounded, crushed, chastisement, and stripes in Isaiah emphasize how severely God punished and rejected the servant for the sins of mankind. “All we, everyone” focuses on how the Servant as sinless, was uniquely qualified to bear the sins of others. “Like sheep focuses on their helplessness”. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Lev 16:21-22; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:25).  Isaiah 53:7-7 focuses on how the Servant dies in innocence like a lamb. “Like a lamb” means Jesus was innocent, submissive, and did not complain (John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Peter 2:22-23). “By oppression and judgment” means the Servant was wrongly condemned. “Who considered?” Those who condemned Jesus did not understand what they were doing (Luke 23:34; Acts 3:14-18; 1 Cor. 2:8).

In Isaiah 53:9 they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man. The numerous parallels between the description of the Servant in this verse and the death of Jesus have led Christians through the ages to see this as fulfilled by the events surrounding Jesus death. Although the Servant was condemned as a criminal (“with the wicked”), He was buried in an expensive garden tomb belonging to a rich man. Likewise the servant is presented as someone who was completely innocent, both in deed (having done no violence), and in word (there was no deceit in his mouth). The Servant is thus described as a person of total moral purity, the true substitute for sinners (v.)

Matthew 27:57-60 fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9 Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin who did not consent to the actions against Jesus (Luke 23:50-51). His high standing within the Jewish community gave him access to Pilate. Joseph “asked for the body of Jesus”. Jewish custom dictated that crucified bodies should be taken down before the evening, especially before the Sabbath, which began at sundown on Friday. “New tomb” was a rectangular tomb cut into rock. It was accessed through a low entry room and blocked with a stone that could be rolled back and forth, mainly to protect the body from wild animals. The use of a rich man’s tomb fulfills Isaiah 53:9.

Isaiah 53:10-12 focuses on the servant was crushed but victorious. The “will of the Lord” in Isaiah 53:10 focuses on a divine purpose underlying the human oppression of the servant (Luke 24:26; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). His soul refers to how Jesus suffered not just in his body but in His deepest inner self. “An offering for guilt” means the Servant’s sacrificial death paid for human sin by setting sinners free from their guilt before God (Lev 5:15-16). The Septuagint translated “offering for guilt” as “offering for sin,” which explains why Paul could say that Christ’s death “for our sins” was “in accordance with the Scriptures’” (1 Cor. 15:3). He shall see his offspring refers to those who strayed like sheep (Isa. 53:6) return as children. “He shall prolong His days” means death is not the Servant’s end; He will receive everlasting life. Although the Resurrection is not explicitly taught here, it is the natural inference (1 Cor. 15:4 can speak of the resurrection as being “in accordance with the Scriptures”) “The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” means the Servant becomes the executor of God’s will and plan. “He shall see and be satisfied” focuses on how the outcome of the Servants suffering is not regret but the satisfaction of the obvious accomplishment. “By his knowledge” means His experiential knowledge of grief (v.3). “Many”. By His triumph, which does not secure the salvation of every individual without exception (universalism), spread out beyond the remnant of Israel to “a great multitude that no one could number” (Rev 7:9; Romans 5:15). “To be accounted righteous” (Romans 4:11-12).  “Therefore”. The sacrificial death of the Servant explains his subsequent glory and the eternal blessings of those who believe in Him. “A portion of the spoil”. The imagery is that of a conqueror sharing His victory with his allies. “Numbered with the transgressors.” The Servant is identified with rebels (Luke 22:37). “Makes intercession” The Servant’s priestly work on behalf of those He represents, securing their acceptance before God.

Sources

Edwards Jonathan, Five Discourses In the Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Press, 1974), 620.

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Dave

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30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory.
33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself.”

What is justification? Romans 4:5, “But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.” Martin Luther said, “This doctrine is the head and cornerstone. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends thechurch of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour.” John Calvin said, “Wherever the knowledge of it is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished, religion abolished, the Church destroyed, and the hope of salvation utterly overthrown.”

You can only be made right through being justified since God is the justifier of those who believe in His sacrifice which He wrought for us on the Cross. These men of God above quoted understood well the meaning of justification having revived its meaning during the Protestant Reformation. Where justification is taught souls will be won, and hearts changed in repentance towards Christ. Justification is the ground level doctrine, the very fabric of the Church. After all if Christ doesn’t justify us and atone for our sins, how then can we be made right with God? How can the Blood of Jesus be applied to our sins? This doctrine was so important that Jonathan Edwards said in his five discourse in the Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol 1. (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth press, 1974), 620), “The beginning of the late work of God in this place was so circumstanced, that I could not but look upon it was a remarkable testimony of God’s approbation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, here assereted and vindicated. The following discourse of justification seemed to be remarkably blessed, not only to establish the judgment of many in this truth, but to engaged their hearts in a more earnest pursuit of justification, in that way that had been explained and defended; and at that time, while I was greatly reproached for defending this doctrine in the pulpit, and just upon my suffering a very open abuse for it, God’s work wonderfully brake forth amongst us, and souls began to flock t Christ, as the Savior in whose righteousness alone they hoped to be justified. So that this was the doctrine on which this work in its beginning was founded, as it evidently was in the whole progress of it.”

The importance of justification cannot be overlooked. If we are not made right by the atoning sacrifice of Christ then what are we made right by? Our works? Our deeds? Our zeal? These men of God understood so well the doctrine of justification that not only did they preach it, but once they truly understood it in their hearts there lives were forever changed, oldness of life, replaced with newness of life, the dirty rags replaced with rags of righteousness, the understanding that they were sinners in need of a Savior grew to the point where they not only felt overwhelmed by their sin, but in turn threw the sins they had committed upon the Savior who saved them from that very sin by becoming sin in and of Himself.

John Bunyan in Grace abounding to the Chief of sinners(Hertfordshire, England: Evangelical Press, 1978; original, 1666), 20 said, “I wish the reader to understand that as often as we mention faith alone in this question, we are not thinking of a dead faith, which worketh not by love, but holding faith to be the only cause of justification. It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun is not alone, because it is constantly conjoined with light. Wherefore we do not separate the whole grace of regeneration from faith, but claim the power and faculty of justifying entirely for faith as we ought. I was all this while ignorant of Jesus Christ, and going about to establish my own righteousness, and [would have] perished therein, had not God in mercy showed me more of my state by nature… The bible was precious to me in those days.”

Piper points out, “The point of the word ungodly in Romans 4:5 is this, faith believes in Him who justifies the ungodly. When faith is born in the soul we are still ungodly. Faith will begin to overcome our ungodlinesness. But in the beginning of the Christian life-where justification happens we are all ungodly. Godly works do not began to have a role in our lives till we are justified. We are declared righteousness (whose word comes from dikaiooo meaning declare righteous not make morally righteous. We see this especially in Romans 3:4 where god is justified (dikaiothes) in his words, that is, declared righteous, not made righteous) by faith alone while we are still ungodly. And that is the only way any of us can have hope that God is on our side so that we can now make headway in the right direction against ungodliness. He is for us.”

Luke 13
3Not at all! And you will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God.”

Acts 2
38Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.”

Acts 11
18When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God. They said, "God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of turning from sin and receiving eternal life."

Romans 2
4Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?

Corinthians 7
10For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.

Isaiah 55
6Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins. This is the foundation of justification therein, because in turning away from our sins we are in turn made right and as a result of being made right with God, then we can be in Christ. As we are in Christ, we are not therein dead spiritually speaking, we are made alive through that very sacrifice of Christ who saved us and liberated us from the death that we so aptly deserved and even earned. The building up of this doctrine had sparked the fires of many a faith, but it is also the non-preaching of this doctrine that has left the church stagnant, the fires of evangelism cold, and the lives of many living in sin instead of living in the light, left out in the wind.

Romans 10
9For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

1 Corinthians 12
3So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4
5We don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us.”

Philippians 2
11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Justification teaches us that we must confess Him as sovereign Lord over all aspects of our lives. Intellectual knowledge will not save us (Romans 1:21; 2:17) nor will visible morality (Matthew 19:16-21; 27:27) nor religious involvement (Matthew 25:1-10), nor active ministry (Matthew 7:21-24), nor conviction of sin (Acts 24:25), nor will assurance (Matthew 23) nor will time of decision (Luke 8:13, 14). The only thing that can save us is the righteous act of Christ who died on the Cross for our sins, that is the foundation of Christianity, the only way that knowledge of the head, ethics, or moral knowledge can pierce our hearts, is to therein understand that this doctrine as Luther put it is the cornerstone of the Church. As Calvin said, “Wherein the knowledge of it is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished, religion abolished, the Church destroyed, and the hope of salvation utterly overthrown.” He went on to say, “As all mankind are, in the sight of God, lost sinners, we hold that Christ is their only righteousness, since, by his obedience, he has wiped off our transgressions; by his sacrifice, appeased the divine anger; by his blood, washed away our stains; by his cross, borne our curse; and by his death, made satisfaction for us. We maintain that in this way man is reconciled in Christ to God the Father, by no merit of his own, by no value of works, but by gratuitous mercy. When we embrace Christ by faith, and come, as it were, into communion with him, this we term, after the manner of Scripture the righteousness of faith.” (John Dillenger, John Calvin: Selections from His writings (Scholars Press, 1975), 95.

Bunyan pointed this out well, “One day as I was passing into the field. this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And me thought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God’s right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, morever, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, “The same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. Now did my chains fall of my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons;… now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God.” (John Bunyan, Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners (Hertfordshire, England: Evangelical Press, 1978; original, 1666), 20.

Romans 3
20For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it.

Romans 4
6King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous.”

This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man. We cannot earn our justification in relation to salvation. Justification being made right with God is a gift of free pardon that God extends to all those who will believe in Him. It is like going to the make and making a transaction. You can either deposit the money into the account or withdraw money. In this case God deposited the money into the account and we, those who believe in Christ withdraw that money, in the form of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and Christ deposited that money into the bank through the shedding of His very blood for us on the Cross. If one were to work for justification they wouldn’t get grace, but a wage, not faith, but a shame.

This again would lead us to turn to Romans 4:5, “But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.” The point here is that we are not declared righteous by our work or because of our work. In Romans 6, Paul discussions the nature of sanctification in the believers life, so this is not to discount sanctification but to draw out the point that before sanctification can occur a person must be made right, declared righteous by faith in Christ’s sacrifice. Piper points out, “Justification is a verdict delivered by God in a moment: not guilty, acquitted, accepted, forgiven, righteous! And Paul says it happens to the person who “does not work”! That means it comes by faith alone.”

This doctrine was like a bolt of lighting upon Martin Luther. Martin Luther’s story to salvation is a perfect example of this. He tells this story in the Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther’s Latin writings. This account of the discovery is taken from that Preface, written March 5, 1545, the year before his death. He wrote, “I had indeed been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But up till then it was… a single word in Chapter 1[:17], “In the righteousness of God is revealed,” that had stood in my way. For I hated that word “righteousness of God,” which according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically regarding the formal or active righteousness, as they called it, with which God is righteous and punished the unrighteous sinner.

Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly, murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, “As if, indeed, it is not enough that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the Decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteous wrath!” Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted.

At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of th words, namely, “In the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand [that] the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which [the] merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who works through faith is righteous shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. Here a totally other face of the entire Scriptures showed itself to me… And I extolled my sweetest word with a love as great as the hatred with which I had once before hated the word “righteousness of God.” Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise.”

1 Corinthians 1
2We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere--whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.
30God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.

1 Corinthians 6
11There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away,[1] and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.

2 Corinthians 5
21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us is thus shown and revealed through Luther’s testimony of salvation in finding out the meaning of what justification is, therein lies the problem. It dwells within the righteousness of God.  By this means god is enabled to “be just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Dave