How are we made righteous?

God declares it so.
We reckon it so.

HankD

 

Romans 3
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath 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;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 6
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

 

Its contextual.

We like Abraham are declared righteous when we believe God.
Reckoning ourselves dead to sin we are alive to the righteousness of God.

I know its complex.

HankD

 

NAS Genesis 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

 

OK I'm done - ad hominem "your false theology".

It's not worth it to me to bruise our relationship as brothers in Christ.
I'm at fault for pushing the nit picking although the underlying Hebrew (לֹּו צְדָקָֽה׃ - lo tsedekah) grammar supports my view of the passage.

HankD

 

OK I see your point.

HankD

 

If I recall, the Hebrew is more of a term used in accounting more then legal, as if an accountant is balancing the books.

There is no “It” in the Hebrew text, but more fundamentally the passage would read something like “believed the Lord righteousness.”

All the added English “clarifies” the intent and direction, so, putting the “clarifity” back, the verse basically states “believing the Lord is righteousness.”

To make some “it,” which was added by the English writers, the focus may attempt to present emphasis that would be weak at best.

Therefore, the proper understanding is God marked the accounting ledger as “righteous” based upon belief.

Which is consistent with what you posted.

As always, I appeal to others when I delve into the original languages to correct any rendering that is inappropriate and not consistent with the Scripture.

 

This is true.

“Pay no attention” to anyone who would discredit any Scripture.

 

The issue to be considered is this: when Abraham was declared (it was credited to him, was it not?) righteous because of his faith, it is a temporal issue.

When he will be declared righteous through the Offering of Christ, it is still imputed. This is an eternal issue.

So to use this text and equate it to the focus of your point, which is basically men are "made" righteous rather than declared righteous, is like equating the sacrifices of the Law with that of Christ.

In order:

1. Because Abraham was justified, and declared righteous based on his temporal life, not eternally redeemed through the Blood of Christ.

2. I view the circumcision of Christ to represent, again, a distinction made between the physical and the spiritual. The circumcision of the Old Testament was physical, the circumcision of the New Covenant spiritual. We are "circumcised" by Christ which relates to our relationship with Him and the New Covenant. The question is like asking "why are we born again?" It is a result of the Reconciliation which comes about for us, just as new birth is, and is effected by the eternal indwelling of God. I view new birth as literal, "spiritual circumcision" as a figure of speech which shows the changed heart effected by salvation in Christ.

3. whoa, ease up there. lol

Again, we must consider what is actually taking place for Abraham when he is said to be declared righteous, or in other words, righteousness which is not his own is credited to his behalf.

Old Testament Saints were justified. That does not equate to being eternally redeemed, for as you say...

But even when we are "made righteous," or in other words, our standing before God changes from condemned (and under the penalty of sin) to righteous, it is still a crediting to us of what Christ is and did.

We are not "made righteous" from a practical standpoint. We still sin after being made righteous, and no matter how far our Progressive Sanctification goes, we will never truly warrant being ascribed as having the righteousness of Christ.


God bless.

 

One of the aspects of being righteous is being "In Him."

2 Corinthians 5:

He made Him who knew no sin, sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
​

Philippians 3:

...9and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,...
​

There is no amount of "our" faith (belief) in which one builds up that can be "credited" as being righteous.

Rather, such righteousness comes from God on the basis of belief as being found "In Him"

Because Abram believed (was found "In Him), then the account was credited, and that credit is signified as "righteousness."

Abram did not attain righteousness of some human appeal or effort made of his own strength, rather upon the belief "In Him" in which God then applied as righteousness.

From where then does such belief come?

Paul breaks it all down in Romans 10:

3For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.​

So, then why is belief evidenced in all folks? Belief is not delivered because of a lack of heeding God's Word. Subjecting to God's word is heeding, and obeying. Not attempting to be self-righteous, but understanding that the righteousness comes from God.

Abram had belief, because he heard and heeded God's word. Just as Paul states in Romans 10:

17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
​

And in another place it is written:

22But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.​