“Thy righteousness is in heaven.” These were the words impressed upon John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, as he walked in a field one day. [1] Here is his reflection upon the thought:

“One day as I was passing into the field…this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, 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 [in front of] him. I also saw, moreover, 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.”

There have historically been two verbs, which have competed for the proper term to describe our justification: imparted and imputed. For the most part, it is safe to say that most Roman Catholics and many Arminian Protestants[2] officially hold to the former, that is impartation, whereas Reformed Protestants hold to imputation. The distinction between these two, though perhaps difficult to grasp, is nonetheless extremely important for our understanding of the gospel, and our assurance of God’s love.

Impartation – The word “impart” means to “give.” Also called “infused” righteousness, imparted righteousness thus declares that Christ’s righteousness is given to, or infused within, the believer such that he or she actually becomes righteous.

Imputation – The word “impute” means “ascribe” or “credit.” Imputed righteousness thus carries the theological weight of being “counted” or “considered” or “reckoned” righteous.

The distinction between impartation and imputation can be illustrated in two sentences:

1. Imparted: “By faith I am righteous.”
2. Imputed: “By faith I am counted righteous.”

Which is correct?

The best place to look in the Scriptures for a theological grasp of the language of justification is Romans 3:28-5:21. Within the first 12 verses of chapter 4 we notice the prevalence of the verb “count.” Eight times in twelve verses Paul uses the Greek word logizomai and applies it to the means of faith by which both Abraham and other believers are justified before God.

What Paul is saying is not that Abraham actually became righteous by faith, but rather that Abraham was considered, counted, or reckoned as righteous, that the righteousness of God was credited to his account, and that therefore Abraham (and those who are like him in faith), was “declared righteous.”

Paul is not writing that we are transformed into people who possess righteousness, but rather that we have been united to Christ and because of our union with Him (the emphasis of Romans 5), we have that which He possesses, that is, righteousness. We are in Christ and thus what is His is credited to our account. Here is how John Piper expresses the difference between the two terms:

“Imputation” is different from “impartation.” God does “impart” to us gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, so that we have them and they are in us growing and they are ours. But all of that gracious impartation through the Spirit is built on an even more firm foundation, namely, imputation – the work of God outside of us: God’s own righteousness, not imparted to us, but imputed to us. Credited to us, as Romans 4:6 and 11 say. Put to our account. Reckoned to be ours.

The distinction between the two understandings of justification is crucial especially for our assurance.

If we believe that we have been made righteous, then any sin which we commit after salvation affects our justification.

We are therefore less just and God once again is obligated by His justice and holiness to punish us (this is at the heart of the Roman Catholic doctrines of penance, indulgences, purgatory, and confession.) If Christ is not our righteousness, but rather we are infused with righteousness, then our standing before God shifts as we progress or regress in our faith. What Bunyan realized in the 17^th century is the same truth which set the Reformation in motion a century earlier and it is the same truth which causes us today to declare that even now and forevermore, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). There is no condemnation for us because we never cease to be united to Him and He never ceases to be righteous. Jesus Christ is currently exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father and thus we declare that which Bunyan knew, “thy righteousness is in heaven.”

Recommended Resources

• Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness – John Piper
• Chapter 36 “Justification (Right Legal Standing Before God)” in Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem

[1] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, Hertfordshire: Evangelical Press 1978: 90-91 (orig. 1666).

[2] John Wesley vacillated but eventually denied imputed righteousness.

In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity

The maxim above is often attributed to great theologians such as Augustine, yet it comes from an otherwise undistinguished German Lutheran theologian named Rupertus Meldenius.  The distinguished early 19th-century church historian Philip Schaff, calls the saying “the watchword of Christian peacemakers” (History of the Christian Church, vol. 7, p. 650). The phrase occurs in a tract on Christian unity written (circa 1627) during the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), a bloody time in European history in which religious tensions played a significant role. The adage found great favor among subsequent writers such as Richard Baxter, the Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, and theologian, and has since been adopted as a motto by the Moravian Church of North America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. It may serve us well as a motto for every church and for every denomination today.

“Propitiation means the turning away of wrath by an offering. In relation to [salvation], propitiation means satisfying the wrath of God by the atoning sacrifice of Christ.” [1]

Jesus removes God’s wrath from us by receiving God’s wrath on Himself.

“The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves:

1. Appeasing the wrath of an offended person
2. Being reconciled to them.

Propitiation is that by which it becomes consistent with God’s character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. Propitiation does not procure God’s love or make God loving; it only renders it consistent for God to exercise his love towards sinners.”[2]

Background

In 1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the “propitiation for our sins.” Here a different Greek word is used, hilasmos. Christ is “the propitiation,” because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations He expiated (atoned for wrongdoing) our guilt, covering it by the vicarious punishment which he endured.

Propitiation vs. Expiation

Propitiation literally means to make favorable and specifically includes the idea of dealing with God’s wrath against sinners. Expiation literally means to make pious and implies either the removal or cleansing of sin.

The idea of propitiation includes that of expiation as its means; but the word “expiation” has no reference to quenching God’s righteous anger. The difference is that the object of expiation is sin, not God. One propitiates a person, and one expiates a problem. Christ’s death was therefore both an expiation and a propitiation. By expiating (removing the problem of) sin God was made propitious (favorable) to us.

ESV Study Bible on Propitiation in Romans 3:25

“Jesus’ blood ‘propitiated’ or satisfied God’s wrath (1:18), so that his holiness was not compromised in forgiving sinners. Some scholars have argued that the word propitiation should be translated expiation (the wiping away of sin), but the word cannot be restricted to the wiping away of sins as it also refers to the satisfaction or appeasement of God’s wrath, turning it to favor (cf. note on John 18:11). God’s righteous anger needed to be appeased before sin could be forgiven, and God in his love sent his Son (who offered himself willingly) to satisfy God’s holy anger against sin. In this way God demonstrated his righteousness, which here refers particularly to his holiness and justice. God’s justice was called into question because in his patience he had overlooked former sins. In other words, how could God as the utterly Holy One tolerate human sin without inflicting full punishment on human beings immediately? Paul’s answer is that God looked forward to the cross of Christ where the full payment for the guilt of sin would be made, where Christ would die in the place of sinners. In the OT, propitiation (or the complete satisfaction of the wrath of God) is symbolically foreshadowed in several incidents: e.g., Ex. 32:11–14; Num. 25:8, 11; Josh. 7:25–26.” [4]

Helpful Passages

• Romans 3:25
• Hebrews 2:17
• 1 John 2:2
• 1 John 4:10

[1] Charles C. Ryrie (1999-01-11). Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth(Kindle Locations 5503-5504). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[2] Easton’s Bible Dictionary, 3^rd edition, 1897 (public domain).

[4] Crossway Bibles (2009-04-09). ESV Study Bible (Kindle Locations 277848-277859). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

For the last year at KHC we talk a lot about being gospel-centered. What exactly does that mean? What does it look like? Here is a brief explanation.

The Gospel

Before we jump into gospel-centeredness we need to be clear about the gospel itself. In the simplest of terms the gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that accomplishes redemption and restoration for all who believe and all of creation. In his life Jesus fulfilled the law and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of sinners who have broken God’s law at every point. In his death Jesus atones for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God and obtaining forgiveness for all who believe. In his resurrection Jesus’ victory over sin and death is the guarantee of our victory over the same in and through him. Jesus’ saving work not only redeems sinners, uniting us to God, but also assures the future restoration of all creation. This is the gospel, the “good news,” that God redeems a fallen world by his grace.

Gospel-Centered: The Big Picture

Therefore, to be gospel-centered means that that the gospel – and Jesus himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message. It means that the gospel is what defines us as Christians, unites us as brothers and sisters, changes us as sinner/saints and sends us as God’s people on mission. When we are gospel-centered the gospel is exalted above every other good thing in our lives and triumphs over every bad thing set against it.

The Gospel-Centered Life

More specifically, the gospel-centered life is a life where a Christian experiences a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects him or her from depending on our own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols. The gospel centered life produces:

Confidence (Heb. 3:14; 4:16) When the gospel is central in our lives we have confidence before God – not because of our achievements, but because of Christ’s atonement. We can approach God knowing that he receives us as his children. We do not allow our sins to anchor us to guilt and despair, but their very presence in our lives compels us to flee again and again to Christ for grace that restores our spirits and gives us strength.

Intimacy (Heb. 7:25; 10:22; James 4:8) When the gospel is central in our lives we have and maintain intimacy with God, not because of our religious performance, but because of Jesus’ priestly ministry. We know that Jesus is our mediator with God the Father and that he has made perfect peace for us through his sacrifice allowing us to draw near to God with the eager expectation of receiving grace, not judgment.

Transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13) When the gospel is central in our lives we experience spiritual transformation, not just moral improvement, and this change does not come about by our willpower, but by the power of the resurrection. Our hope for becoming what God designed and desires for us is not trying harder, but trusting more – relying on his truth and Spirit to sanctify us.

Community (Heb. 3:12, 13; 10:25; 2 Tim 3:16, 17) When the gospel is central in our lives we long for and discover unity with other believers in the local church, not because of any cultural commonality, but because of our common faith and Savior. It is within this covenant community, if the community itself is gospel-centered, that we experience the kind of fellowship that comforts the afflicted, corrects the wayward, strengthens the weak, and encourages the disheartened.

The Gospel-Centered Church

A gospel-centered church is a church that is about Jesus above everything else. That sounds a little obvious, but when we talk about striving to be and maintain gospel-centrality as a church we are recognizing our tendency to focus on many other things (often good and important things) instead of Jesus. There are really only two options for local churches; they will be gospel-centered, or issue driven.

Issue-driven churches can be conservative or liberal, and come from any denominational tribe. A church can get the gospel “right” on paper and still not be gospel-centered in practice.

Some churches are driven by doctrinal purity. In the pursuit of the truth it is not uncommon for a church to be more about their theological heritage than the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. Some churches are driven by numbers. The desire to see as many people as possible trust in Christ can lead to a pragmatism that gives the nod to anything that results in more people in the front door. Some churches are driven by a desire to be culturally relevant, while other churches are focused on how culturally distinct they can remain. In both cases something other than the cross is capturing the attention of the congregation. Some churches are driven by social or spiritual works that, while good, begin to eclipse the point of all good works.

Gospel-centered churches do not forsake these things, but they are not driven by them. They are driven by a love for Jesus and his work on our behalf. Therefore gospel-centered churches are so focused on Jesus and the hope of redemption that they are passionate and articulate about their theology. Their desire to know and make known Jesus demands doctrinal precision and leads them to want and work toward as many people as possible repenting of sin and trusting in Christ. When the gospel is central in a church it leads them out into the world on mission, while preserving their counter-cultural character as the people of God. The gospel-centered church is driven by love (for God and others) and this leads to joyful obedience that points back to God.

In saying this I don’t want to suggest that we at KHC do not struggle with being issue driven. After all, we’ve been described as being a “Martha Church.” That temptation is always present, and it is why we are working hard to develop and maintain gospel-centrality by keeping the gospel always before us in our worship and work.