In my last post on Grace or Works on Friday, we saw that it is only grace in salvation that brings full glory to God. Any thought or action that bring any credit to you robs God of Glory. We don’t deserve His mercy, we can’t earn His mercy, nor can we add in any way to God’s grace. Gace is the sole prerogative of God.
We also saw that no amount of works on our part adds in any way to our righteousness. It not only robs God of His glory, our righteousness can never satisfy God’s justice. Any work we would do only has temporal value and cannot appease God wrath against sin which demands eternal death (Roman 3:23). When we think that somehow God will accept our works, our so-called good intentions, we place more value on them that they are worth. Paul, in Romans, tells us that our works are not counted as favor but rather as a payment, what is due.
Romans 4:4 (ESV) 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Just exactly what are our works worth, especially against an infinitely Holy and Righteous God. Is there anything we can offer Him that will assuage His righteous anger against our sins? The wages of any work we could possibly do is infinitely small in comparison to His offense at our sin.
Lastly, we discovered Friday, that the channel of justification before God was faith.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Romans 3:27-28 (ESV) 27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
It is a faith that rests upon God’s provision, His work in salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, as He vented His wrath (propitiation – Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), on His Son as He paid the price for our sin. For He was the only one worthy and capable of the payment (Revelation 5:1-13). Anything we could offer would certainly fall infinitely short of satisfying God’s wrath for sin.
Righteous is imputed
As I wind up on this topic, I want to bring one more thing to the forefront of our attention concerning grace and works. We will not stand before the throne of God claiming our own righteousness. Those who try will find themselves before the White Throne judgment of Revelation and cast into hell.
Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This White Throne judgment is a judgment of works (vv.12-14) and none escapes, neither “great or small.” These were they who trusted in their own works, and the judgment was fatal (vs.14). Only those who were found in the book of life were spared this nightmare of nightmares. They were those who placed no faith in their works or their own righteousness but rather in the justification and righteousness found in Christ on the cross. (Romans 3:24-26).
Romans 4:3 (ESV) 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:5 (ESV) 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (Romans 4:9,11,13)
This a righteousness that is reckoned to them. It is not their own righteousness but rather the righteousness that is found in Christ.
Romans 4:22-25 (ESV) 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
If we rest in our own righteousness we rest in filthy rags and will suffer the fate of those at the White Throne judgment.
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV) 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
But if we rest in the all-sufficient, finished work of Christ, God reckons or imputes to us Christ’s righteousness, a righteousness that is outside ourselves. Then it is all of Christ, to the Glory of God through Christ. To Him be glory forever and ever (Galatians 1:3-5)!
-Michael Holtzinger
Next Post I will deal with James 2;24
Some resources:
The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-2 By John Piper
Justification by an Imputed Righteousness By John Bunyon