The Article on Which the Church Stands or Falls

As we have stood firm against those who are demanding that we compromise and say nothing about the History Channel’s Mishandling of the Bible in it’s miniseries, I have been somewhat surprised about one thing, but not about another. The volume of the outcry against this stance surprised me, but the incredible theological shallowness of those doing the attacking against our stance did not. It was very similar to the volume and type of attack that I went through when I reblogged a post from a friend about some false teaching being promoted by Beth Moore a few years ago. The outcry was intense and large, but the depth of theological knowledge and reason within those doing the attacking was sparse indeed. It was all based within fleshly outrage that is evident within those whose idol has been toppled over. Now, with that in in focus I had intended to repost my study Judge Not!, which I wrote about 7 years ago. However, that is a 16 part Bible study which I had intended to publish back in the day, but a friend in the Christian marketing/publishing industry suggested that I simply post it and let as many people read it as possible. He posted it on his web site and several others have as well. I wanted so much to suggest to those accusing of us of judging falsely to go read that post, but I doubt if they were really listening.

Instead of focusing on that study I would like to continue with pursuing what is theologically correct and what we must hold fast to and never compromise even unto death. As I contemplated this today I received an email from Ligonier Ministries about their current No Compromise: 2013 National Conference. The message below is from R.C. Sproul. 

Justification By An Imputed Righteousness

My brethren, there is a default spiritual condition in all of us that is deplorable. Many professing believers, while extolling the great work of God’s grace on their behalf to save them or they would be among those doomed to an eternity in hell, actually hold to a position that is based entirely within the scope of self-righteousness. These “believers” seek to be justified before God in and of themselves. They may not declare it verbally, but by their own acts it is obvious that they view their “sanctification” and their religiosity as that which is justifying them before God. This is nothing new as the Word of God makes clear even going back to Cain who slew Able because his own “religious works” were not acceptable to God while righteous Able was justified before God because of an imputed righteousness that Cain knew nothing about. In 21st Century Christianity this is still going on. The tragedy is that a huge contributor to this problem is a dreadful lack of the teaching of the deep things of God in our churches. This results in so many Christians being ignorant of the basics of Theology (the knowledge of God).

John Bunyan was an incredible Bible teacher in 17th Century England. I have read his Pilgrim’s Progress at least 6 times in the last 10 years. However, his autobiographical book Grace Abounding To the Chief of Sinners is also a must read. In any case, John Bunyan understood more than most Christians that genuine Christians are so because of God’s grace alone. He also understood that God had every right to take away as well as give, all by grace, to prepare believers for service in whatever capacity was required for the Kingdom. Since this was so, how could our Justification be based on our own efforts, abilities and deeds? In the following essay, Justification By An Imputed Righteousness or No Way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ, he deliberately exegetes Sacred Scripture to clearly teach these truths to God’s elect. – Mike Ratliff

Our Redemption in Christ

by Mike Ratliff

21 Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, 22 δικαιοσύνη δὲ θεοῦ διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολή, 23 πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ 24 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· 25 ὃν προέθετο ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον διὰ [τῆς] πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν πάρεσιν τῶν προγεγονότων ἁμαρτημάτων 26 ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ. (Romans 3:21-26 NA27)

²¹But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being attested to by the Law and the Prophets, ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all those who believe for there is no distinction. ²³ For all sinned and come short of the glory of God. ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed as a propitiations through faith in his blood for a display of his righteousness because of the passing by of the previous sins ²⁶ because of the forbearance of God for the display of his righteousness in the present time for him to be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 a personal translation from the NA27 Greek text)

I listened to part of President Obama’s 2^nd Inaugural speech and I want to reiterate to all of you reading this with discernment that we should not be surprised when leaders who are not Christians do and say unchristian things. I wrote about this over a year ago in a post I called Evil Personified.  We live in an evil world in a dark time in which the visible church has become dominated by those attempting to redefine the Gospel to make it more palatable to the post-modernism while at the same time blatantly ignoring what God’s Word clearly teaches about what is evil and what he judges and what genuine Christians are really to be about. On the other hand, God has always kept a remnant within the visible church, which is the True Church, and it has remained faithful. This post and what we are teaching here is meant for those Christians. In fact, I suggest that what we are about to study will “offend” many of those who call themselves Christians, but who are really just attempting to be religious while sanctifying what they do in the flesh. 

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

by Mike Ratliff

11 Διὸ μνημονεύετε ὅτι ποτὲ ὑμεῖς τὰ ἔθνη ἐν σαρκί, οἱ λεγόμενοι ἀκροβυστία ὑπὸ τῆς λεγομένης περιτομῆς ἐν σαρκὶ χειροποιήτου, 12 ὅτι ἦτε τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ χωρὶς Χριστοῦ, ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς πολιτείας τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ξένοι τῶν διαθηκῶν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες καὶ ἄθεοι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. 13 νυνὶ δὲ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ὑμεῖς οἵ ποτε ὄντες μακρὰν ἐγενήθητε ἐγγὺς ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ. 14 Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἓν καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ, 15 τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν καταργήσας, ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον ποιῶν εἰρήνην 16 καὶ ἀποκαταλλάξῃ τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι τῷ θεῷ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἀποκτείνας τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν αὐτῷ. (Ephesians 2:11-16 NA27)

¹¹ Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, the ones being called “Uncircumcision” by the ones being called “Circumcision,” done in the flesh by hand– ¹² that you were at that time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers of the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones once being far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  ¹⁴ For he, the one having made the two one and having broken in his flesh the partition of the middle wall of hostility is our peace. ¹⁵ In so doing he annulled the law of the commandments in ordinances that he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile the two in one body to God through the cross having killed the hostility by it. (Ephesians 2:11-16 a personal translation of the NA27 Greek text)

We have been looking at our Justification, which is of course, by grace alone through faith alone apart from works. This truth cannot be challenged by anyone who is devoted to Sola Scriptura and abides to true exegetical standards of Biblical exposition. There are, of course, those who want to add things to this such as “Church Tradition” and “works” et cetera. When I have had face-offs with some of these people they cannot hold their ground unless they first can try to dilute Sola Scriptura in some way. However, I digress. Many others and I have become convinced that the visible church in the West has come under the judgment of God. That is why truth is watered down within and rare. That is why God has taken away solid leadership within it. Look what happened with the Louie Giglio fiasco with President Obama’s Inaugural. I am old enough to remember when the leaders in the Church in this country would never have considered even being a part of such an evil event, but when Giglio was disinvited because he had once preached a Biblically true sermon about how homosexuality is a sin and God is calling all sinners to repentance, what did he do? He gave a half-hearted “apology” and crept away with his tail between his legs. Where was the spirit-filled righteous indignation over such an evil event that is celebrating such a thing as homosexuality as being a celebrated civil right from within the leadership of the visible church? 

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

by Mike Ratliff

21 Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, 22 δικαιοσύνη δὲ θεοῦ διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολή, 23 πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ 24 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· 25 ὃν προέθετο ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον διὰ [τῆς] πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν πάρεσιν τῶν προγεγονότων ἁμαρτημάτων 26 ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ. (Romans 3:21-26 NA27)

²¹But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being attested to by the Law and the Prophets, ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all those who believe for there is no distinction. ²³ For all sinned and come short of the glory of God. ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed as a propitiations through faith in his blood for a display of his righteousness because of the passing by of the previous sins ²⁶ because of the forbearance of God for the display of his righteousness in the present time for him to be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 a personal translation from the NA27 Greek text)

Those who trained me in Biblical exegesis made sure to emphasize those “changes in the flow” of the text that is meant to summarize previous points or to go to new point based upon a previous argument with a solid “therefore” for instance. In this case Paul begins Romans 3:21 with “Νυνὶ δὲ”, which could be translated as “in fact,” but here we are using “But now” because Paul is making a change in the flow of his arguments. In the previous verses of Chapter 4 he refers to God’s righteous judgment and justice being rightly deserved because “All have sinned…” and how the Law cannot justify anyone, but through it can only come the knowledge of sin. Here Paul begins his proclamation of the Good News that there is justification available to believers apart from Law, but there is only one way and it is completely apart from works. 

God’s Purpose for the Church Part 4

by Mike Ratliff

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints and believers in Christ Jesus who are in Ephesus.  ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and  our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-2 Possessing the Treasure New Testament v1)

What I am about to say is indicative of the doctrinally confused times in which we now live. I have written posts that teach nothing more than the doctrine of Justification by faith and have received criticism from more commenters than I care to count and several confused questions concerning not our Justification, but our Sanctification. Here are two examples. One was from a Roman Catholic priest who wanted me to stop teaching people about the sufficiency of God’s Grace at our Justification because, according to the traditions and teachings of the RCC, that grace is not sufficient and with each sin, Christians must attend Mass and confession, et cetera and even then that did not entirely pay the entire penalty for that sin in the eyes of God and so Purgatory awaits all true believers. Sigh… The other example was a very short angry comment that contained a link. The comment stated, “Calvin, John MacArthur, James White, John Piper are wrong” then there was link to a post on another site that was a very confused teaching about the fact that no one can enter into the presence of God carrying any sin so even though each believer is “saved” when they believe, it is conditional on their walking in repentance and keeping the law, et cetera. Those who are not able to reach this level of perfection lose their salvation. Sigh… My brethren, We are sinners and our salvation is a miracle because not one of us do one thing to deserve or earn. 

Only One Gospel Part 6

by Mike Ratliff

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB)

This morning, as I worshiped at our church, we had what some call “The Lord’s Supper” and others “Communion.” No matter which name is used, I rejoiced as I took the bread and the cup and meditated on what my Lord Jesus went through to become my propitiation, to become separate from God the Father, one who knew no sin to be sin on behalf of those he came to save so that they might become the righteousness of God in him. The reason the joy was so intense for those who “get” the magnitude of this is that they also know that not one of those could ever have become reconciled to God the Father by any action or deed or by attempting to keep the Law. No, there was no other way other than a sinless sacrifice paying their penalty for them and that is exactly what our Lord Jesus did.

Only One Gospel Part 5

by Mike Ratliff

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NASB)

Justification by Grace alone through Faith alone is a core or central doctrine to true or Orthodox Christianity. This justification is God’s declaration (as we he did with Abraham) of righteousness based upon believers believing and obeying God by turning to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as they receive the Spirit as they hear the proclamation of the gospel. Now, compare what I just summarized there with what goes on in most “culturally relevant churches” in our time. You know, those churches that are focused on following the person on the stage, but in fact, it is really about self-glorification. That is why people go to those “churches.” They go to hear how good of a person they really are and what the “secret” is of unlocking their potential so that God will give them everything they could ever want because, hey, they are worth it! Sigh, sorry, but that is not even close to being biblical Christianity. It’s some other religion.

Only One Gospel Part 4

by Mike Ratliff

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. (Romans 6:1-9 NASB)

The Christians with whom I have the most “disagreement” are those who are confused about our Justification and Sanctification. I have noticed that most of the articles and videos online that claim to prove R.C. Sproul, Dr. James White or John MacArthur wrong and that their gospel is not biblical while those producing those articles and videos have the real gospel are all of the same bent. They are all infected with the same lack of faith that the Judiazers had in the sufficiency of saving grace made available through the Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. They all, like the Roman Catholics and the Judiazers Paul was dealing with in his epistle to the Galatians insisted that, yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but there has to be something added to it called works.

Glory Only in the Cross

by Mike Ratliff

1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NASB)

Martin Luther is considered the “Lighting rod of the Protestant Reformation.” It was through his battle with the Roman Catholic Church that the doctrine of salvation through Justification by Grace through Faith alone was recovered and from that, many Christian martyrs went to their deaths refusing to compromise their faith by denying the truth of knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified based not upon the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. So much of the pressure being brought to bear upon Christians in our time is to not be so precise in our theology, but be more willing to “compromise” along doctrinal grounds for the sake of “unity.” The “mega-church” model is based precisely upon never offending anyone, but being non-threatening and willing to be all things to all people in order to attract everyone, but to what?

The Sermon on the Mount Part 21

by Mike Ratliff

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For 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; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. (James 1:22-24 NASB)

How important is obeying the words of Christ? This is, of course, the essence of Lordship. Jesus Christ is Lord. That is not just a title nor is it something we say to revere him. No, He is Lord over all. He is one in essence with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in the Hypostatic Union of the Holy Trinity. God is Sovereign and because of his role in the Hypostatic Union, his submission in humbling himself to become a man, the Messiah, his obedience to the Father’s will in all of this as well as keeping the Law perfectly, he also, at the perfect time ordained by the Father, laid down his life as the propititiation for those he came to save.

Justified Without Charge

by Mike Ratliff

23 πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ 24 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· 25 ὃν προέθετο ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον διὰ [τῆς] πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν πάρεσιν τῶν προγεγονότων ἁμαρτημάτων 26 ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ. (Romans 3:23-26 NA27)

²³ for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption of Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God displayed as a propitiation by his blood received through faith. This was in order to display his righteousness because in his divine forbearance, he passed over previously occurred sins. ²⁶ This was to display his righteousness in the present time, for him to be just and the justifier of the one having faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1) 

As I got ready to “attend Church” this morning with my wife, I spent some time in prayer as the coffee brewed. I write down what I pray as this helps me focus. There is nothing legalistic in this. There is nothing mystical about it. This just helps me pray. It is also gives me a record of what I pray, which is pretty cool when God answers one of those requests. Part of my prayer this morning was. “…I pray for your glory in and through me this day. I pray for your kingdom to come into fulfillment soon. I pray for you to be glorified in my worship of you this day in church and in my walk and service. Use me as you will. I pray for wisdom and discernment…” There was more of course, but as the worship service began, there was something different. We noticed that we were going to have Communion today because the “Elements” were on the Communion Table. Also, there was a Cello on the stage. When the pastor, Rick Holland, spoke, he said that we would be led in worship by part of the Christian Worship band “Enfield.” The leader and his wife were in town for a wedding. It turned out that the Cellist was the bride. In any case, the music was all Christ glorifying and incredibly edifying. By the time we took communion, I had tears rolling down my face. Did God answer my prayer? Who can worship God like that? It is only those who are justified without charge, the ones justified freely by his grace through the redemption of Christ Jesus.

Born Again to a Living Hope and Called to be Holy

by Mike Ratliff

6 ἐν ᾧ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὀλίγον ἄρτι εἰ δέον [ἐστὶν] λυπηθέντες ἐν ποικίλοις πειρασμοῖς, 7 ἵνα τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως πολυτιμότερον χρυσίου τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου διὰ πυρὸς δὲ δοκιμαζομένου, εὑρεθῇ εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· (1 Peter 1:6,7 NA27)

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, for a little while now, if it is necessary, having been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the tested genuineness of you faith—infinitely more valuable than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6.7 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

A few weeks ago we looked at the doctrine of the imputation and what that means to the believer and what implications it has on both how we handle the gospel and how we live this Christian life. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I did have to deal with several objections both in the comment sections and offline to these precious doctrines. I was puzzled by this at first. Why would anyone want to deny that both Christ’s Righteousness and his active obedience is imputed to the believer at their justification? Then I remembered why I started that series. It was to answer something Rick Warren had said in a Tweet implying that the doctrine of imputation created passive Christians and God wanted us to be active and cooperative with him, et cetera. In last night’s post, I pointed you to a broadcast of the White Horse Inn about the discussion of The New Covenant. It was during that discussion that one of the commentators quoted John Wesley in reference to the doctrine of imputation saying, “The doctrine of imputation saws off the leg of holiness…” I hope I got that right. In any case, I am bringing this up in this post because I am convinced that it is men like Rick Warren and those who follow him are revealing their Pelagian roots by insisting that people must “work” in order to be right with God and that the doctrine of imputation is something made up by the Reformers like Calvin.

Justification Applied

by Mike Ratliff

Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Romans 5:1 NA27)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1)

In this post we will look at Romans 4:13-5:1 which is the application of the theology that Paul presents in Romans 3:20-31, which could be summarized with the statement, “By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law come knowledge of sin, but the righteousness of God is manifest through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” I must interject something my brethren. I am so grateful to God for raising up the ministries of men like Dr. Michael Horton and Dr. James White who are both determined to define gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ biblically and in no uncertain terms that we truly in Christ know what we believe and why we believe it. Also, that we know it so well that we can defend it against all attempts by our enemy and his people to corrupt it and distract us from obeying it. God uses the teachings of these men and others to teach me the truths you read here. Of course, the reason they are the truth is that they are bound to the Word of God. 

The Active Obedience of Christ – No Hope Without It!

On September 8th I posted Is the Christian’s Hope in Christ’s Active Obedience or Their Own Works in response to something Rick Warren had said in a Tweet against the doctrine of Imputation. The intent of that article was not to do an in-depth presentation of the doctrine of the Imputation of Christ’s righteousness at the time of new believer’s justification, but to contrast what the Bible clearly teaches about it with what Rick Warren said. I have been requested to give more of my understanding of the Reformation doctrines that are closely associated with Justification, especially in Imputation of Christ’s active obedience and why it is essential. As I researched this, I ran across an  article I had read about five years ago over at RefomationTheology.com.

Is the Christian’s Hope in Christ’s Active Obedience or Their Own Works

by Mike Ratliff

ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί. (Romans 5:19 NA27)

For as through the disobedience of one man, many were man sinners, so also through one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 Possessing the Treasure New Testament V1) 

John Gresham Machen (July 28, 1881 – January 1, 1937), on the day before he died, wrote a note to his friend John Murray saying, “I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ; no hope without it.” A study of Machen’s other writings make it clear that for him “the active obedience of Christ” refers to Christ’s perfect obedience to the Father during his time on earth which is imputed to all believers who trust in him for salvation. This is the righteousness the Father sees when he looks upon those in “the Body” rather than as we are in this temporal state of being declared righteous, but having to live in this in-between state of being sanctified. The Christian’s hope in their stand before the Father is not in how well they do in this process of sanctification, but rather in the finished work of Christ and his perfect obedience which has been imputed to their account. On the other hand, many so-called Christian leaders who are drenched in pragmatism and whose “gospel” is totally “man-centered” reject this as being “passive” as per Rick Warren’s Tweet on September 6th.

@RickWarren

Rick Warren

Imputation is 1sided but fellowship with Christ is 2sided.Koinonia means PARTICIPATION! God want your passion,not passivity

6 Sep via web

Here is the link to the “Tweet” above.