Accounted for Righteousness, Transformed for Holiness (Wed. July 3)

 Accounted for Righteousness, Transformed for Holiness  (Wed. July 3)

The word of the day is "imputed." How can we put the meaning of our salvation into words? God's mercy is infinite, and His work of salvation is beyond human comprehension. Today, in our reading of Romans 4:13-25, by the Holy Spirit, Paul declares what the Lord has done for our salvation. He writes that Abraham's faith was "accounted to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead…" (OSB vs. 22-24).

Justification Entails a New Relationship With God

Today, we will study the words Paul uses to describe how we become righteous before God. We will find that our justification is not merely external but a character change in a new covenant relationship with God.

In our reading, Paul continues to assert that Abraham is the prime example of "righteousness by faith."  He states that Abraham became the "father of faith" because his unwavering faith in God's promise was "accounted" as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, Romans 4:22).

Understanding What Is Unknown by What Is Known

We usually take the word usage in our Bibles for granted and assume that our understanding of the terms is sufficient. But we should be cautious about the words used to describe our salvation in Christ. They are metaphors that compare what we know to what we do not know, putting what we do not understand in terms of word pictures that we do comprehend.

"Imputed" and "Justified" Are Latin Translations of the Greek

The Orthodox Study Bible uses the translation of the New King James Version. This translation uses "imputed" and "justified" to describe the gift of righteousness given to us by faith. However, these terms do not come from the Greek New Testament text. They are derived from a Latin translation. In the Reformation era, the humanist Erasmus published a new Latin version of the Bible. In that edition, he rendered the critical passage, "Abraham's faith was imputed (imputatum) unto him for justice (iustitiam)."

The Protestant Reformers interpreted these words as metaphors that pictured the work of Christ in terms of a law court. Thus, they taught that before the divine judgment seat, all humans are sinful and deserve the just punishment for their affront to God's holiness. Then, the Reformers proposed that though humans deserve God's wrath, the Almighty does not charge (that is, impute) guilt to those who have faith in Christ. The Protestants taught that instead of charging believers with the guilt of original sin, the Almighty declares those who put their faith in Christ "not guilty." Therefore, for the sake of the sufferings and death of Christ, God declares His verdict:  those who believe in Christ are "just" even though they are and remain sinful.

The Basic Divide

Here, we come to the fundamental divide between many forms of Protestantism and Orthodoxy. Both traditions believe that our standing before God (our "righteousness") depends on God's grace given in Jesus Christ. However, the question is, what does that divine grace received by faith actually do? The words we use determine our fundamental understanding. Does it merely declare those who believe to be righteous? Or does it make them righteous?

Is "justification" external or internal? The Orthodox Study Bible notes that when God "accounts" us to be righteous, he does not simply pronounce a courtroom verdict as the words "justify" and "impute" suggest. He "makes" righteous, and that "making" begins the process of internal change in our character. 

The Law Was To Lead Us to Christ

In his blog, Fr. Steven Samick wrote in "Justification and the Works of the Law, "But the Law of Moses was never about earning your way to Heaven, either. All the good things that the Jews those who were Jews did and all the evil that those who were Jews refrained from was not about getting enough points to get them into Heaven. It was about training themselves for righteousness. What Paul is saying is that that training does not actually make you righteous. The Law of Moses was good, to be sure, but its point all along was to lead us to crucifixion with Christ so that we could die with Christ and then so we could live in Christ. It was just the roadmap. It was not the destination. The justification associated with the Law of Moses was not delivered by that Law. Rather, the Law delivered people to Christ, Who is the One Who gives justification, Who makes men righteous." (Father Andrew Stephen Damick, "Justification.").

For Reflection

The Orthodox Study Bible explains that when believers are accounted righteous, "God's righteousness is actually given to mankind by grace" (OSB comment on Romans 4:11, 12). But this gift is not a one-time event. Being "saved" is not a past event that happened at a certain time and place. The Orthodox Study Bible states, "This righteousness transforms the whole person, internally and externally" (OSB comment on Romans 4:11,12). Salvation is past, present, and future. It is a process in which the grace of the Holy Spirit restores us to the image of God in which we were made.

The Faith That Justifies Enters into a Relationship

In summary, the faith that God counts for justification is not merely a belief in one's acquittal in Godo's Court of Law. It is a living, growing, and transforming relationship with God, the Holy Trinity (see the OSB comment on Romans 3:6). The more we grow in grace, the more Christ lives in us, and we live in Him. And the more we are renewed in our relationship with Christ, the more we participate in our sanctification. We become holy by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

Works Cited

Father Stephen Damick, "Justification and the Works of the Law" https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/asd/2014/11/05/justification-works-law/