Featured FOUR REASONS PROFESSOR WRIGHT IS WRONG ON JUSTIFICATION

The law cannot teach us about sin without at the very same time teaching us about righteousness. Don't put words in my mouth which I never said. I never said the law "justifies" sinners and the righteous don't need justification. The Law defines good and evil. God is the one who justifies us (not the law) and He justifies us on the basis of Christ's satisfaction of the law. The law must be satisfied or else God relinquishes the right to be recognized as God.

Wrong! Romans 3:21 demands the righteousness of God is revealed THROUGH and BY the Law and the prophets but in addition to that, it is revealed APART from the law in the Person of Christ.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Not the words above. "but NOW" is the righteousness of God manifest without the law referring to the incarnation (v. 22). However, before the "now" the righteousnes of God was manifest by the law.

God is faithful to forgive us based on the righteousness and death provided by Christ, which was the covenant obligation of the second Person of the Godhead. The term "righteousness" is a MORAL term especially when connected to "faithfulness" as "faithful" refers to ACTIONS of moral value that are either "righteous" or "unrighteous."

The crux of your view is your failure to understand that a fig tree brings forth figs not walnuts and only a MORAL heart can produce MORAL values of right (righteousness) and wrong (unrighteousness). God's heart is a MORAL heart as "righteousness" is a MORAL value. Righteousness of heart is not ATTAINED by righteous works (thoughts, words, deeds) but is what produces righteous thoughts, words and deeds. God IS righteous because His heart IS righteous and therefore faithfulness is the product of a righteous heart and is the manifestation of righteous thoughts, words and deeds.

You have a cart before horse mentality when it comes to this subject. You think that if someone actually does the works of the law that makes them righteous when all it does it demonstrate they are righteous. Christ performed the law in our stead but his performance did not MAKE him righteous nor did it ATTAIN righteousness before God but it DEMONSTRATED he IS righteous and the standard of the law declared it to be such but NEVER OBTAINED IT.

 

Your request demonstrates you still don't understand my position. The imputed righteousness of Christ is not attained or obtained by the works of the law. He IS righteous before he left heaven. He IS righteous as a babe in the womb. He IS righteous before he uttered a word or made an action. He IS righteous BY VIRTUE OF HIS MORAL NATURE. The Law simply VERIFIED and DECLARED what he IS by nature. It is that righteousness ALREADY ATTAINED BY NATURE which SATISFIED the laws demands AGAINST US that God justified us through imputation by faith.

 

I deleted some words that simply vented my frustration. Sorry about that. I will try to do better.

 

It seems that Jon is attempting to confine the law within a covenant framework where it serves not as a judicial standard that must be satisfied in order for sinners to be justified before God and was satisfied completely by Christ in behalf of His people for justification but rather is to be understood as a revelation of God as a faithful covenant keeping God to forgive and save all who are under the covenant head of Christ.

 

Is God holy? Is the law holy? Is God righteous? Is the law righteous? Is God good? is the law good? Is God just? Is the law just? Is God spiritual? Is the law spiritual? Should we delight in God? Should we delight in the Law of God? Why? Because the law reveals the righteousness of God. Romans 3:21 repudiates your claims just as Romans 7:12 repudiates them. The law does indeed reveal the rightoeusness of God as the law can be summarized in one word "LOVE" and is God LOVE?

Now, is "holy" a moral value? Is "righteousness" a moral value? Is "good" a moral value? Is "just" a moral value? Is "love" a moral value? If so, then God's righteousness is a Moral righteousness and if that righteousness is a revelation of HIS HEART then his heart is a MORAL HEART.