Look Away from Yourself

[Music] you must be counted perfect before you can make the first baby step in becoming good that's awesome and it happens by faith what must happen to us before we can even begin becoming good in this episode of light and Truth John Piper turns to Romans 422 to2 to examine the essential declaration that precedes all growth in righteousness the sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on October 17th 1999 gracious Father in Heaven I ask for your help now as we undertake to open this great doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of God

in Christ by faith it is a great sweet powerful strong historic lifegiving truth and I long for it to be understood and believed and cherished and savored and that's the work of your spirit Lord to take my sentences of exposition and make them kindling for a fire of Faith so come I pray and put your match to these words I ask in Jesus name amen one more question on chapter 4 it comes from chapter 422 the words therefore it was credited to him as righteousness the the it refers to Faith and the hymn refers to

Abraham and so it is therefore Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness so faith is counted as righteousness for Abraham now we've seen that three times already verse three Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness verse 5 at the end of the verse his faith is credited as righteousness verse nine at the end of the verse Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness and now we see it again in verse 22 therefore it was credited to him as righteousness the question is what does that mean does it mean that faith is our

righteousness or is at least a significant component of it which God observes sees for what it is and credits as what it is to our account so that our performance of faith is the ground or a significant part of the ground of our justification another way to ask it would be does it mean that justification being set right with God costs $5 million and you can only come up with 1 million called faith and God looks at this and being the merciful god that he is says good enough I will count the 1 million that

you have now paid through through the performance of this Faith as your righteousness and I'll contribute whatever I have to to finish it off but you are now accepted forgiven righteous before me because I credit your faith as the righteousness that I demand is that what it means when it says faith was credited to Abraham as righteous or is justification something very very different not God's seeing a righteousness in us that we have done that he may have helped us do but rather could it be that Faith being reckoned as righteousness means that there is

an alien righteousness namely God's righteousness in Christ which is credited to our account through faith and that these words he credits Faith as righteousness are meant to carry that meaning not the meaning that the faith is the righteousness that we provide as the basis of our justification that's the question now let me tell you why before I answer it I'm spending a whole sermon on this question number one reason I think there are four this phrase faith is credited as righteousness is very liable to misunderstanding it sounds like it means I took a $30 check

to the bank at Norwest and I signed the back and I gave it to them and they credited my check to my account it's my check I earned the money I gave it to them they credit it to my account I do faith God sees the faith God credits the faith to my account that's a pretty natural way to understand this phrase I don't think it means that and if it doesn't mean that it's going to take some looking to see why and we need to see why it matters here's a second reason why I

linger over this Paul spins a whole chapter in the 16th chapter greatest book in the world on this quote from Genesis 15:6 that's what the chapter is the chapter is an exposition or an unfolding of that word and its implications for Abraham and for us that's what chapter 4 is the whole chapter is dealing with justification by faith alone apart from works and he uses this phrase as his key text from Genesis 15 6 so I get the impression don't you that this is big I mean a whole chapter on this one phrase and you

I don't know where you are this morning you I don't know whether you're sitting there saying words words words they don't have any significance to me at all just words words words what what's the big deal you may be there I hope you won't be by the time we're finished or you may feel that this is big and I just want to say this is huge does your legal standing right now before the judge of the universe as innocent accepted acquitted not guilty does that legal standing before God rest on a righteousness in you or

a righteousness in Christ that's a big question that's a huge question here are two things that hang on it one is the fullness of the glory of God's grace gra if your righteousness or your standing before God rests on a righteousness in you the fullness of the glory of God's grace is diminished and if you are resting on a righteousness that is in you even if God gave it to you then the peace that God means for you to enjoy is diminished those two things are at stake the glory of God's grace and the Peace

of your own soul the very next verse that we're going to come to in chapter 5 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace the glory of God is at stake in its fullness the Peace of your own soul is at stake in its fullness and a huge difference in Paul's mind exists between whether there's a righteousness in you that warrants your justification or a righteousness out outside of you in Christ that warrants your justification now you you may say I don't get the difference and it doesn't mean anything I don't compute with that

at all well that's why I'm preaching this sermon because if that means little to you right now that difference you really need to listen because something very great in your life is at stake that's my second reason for lingering over over it Paul spends so much time on it it must be important third reason why I linger over this question I'm a pastor charged to preach the word of God and according to Ephesians chapter 4 verse 14 this should be my goal in this congregation in order that they might no longer be children tossed here

and there by waves and carried about by every wind of Doctrine wind of Doctrine wind of Doctrine leaves left over from the beautiful wedding yesterday leaves blowing all over my yard these days you can't see my sidewalk it's just covered with yellow leaves it's beautiful the wind blows this way they go this way the wind blows that way they go that way but the tree doesn't go anywhere just stands there wind blows against it why it's got roots that go down under 11th Avenue round sewer pipes probably under the sidewalk and it just stands there

when the wind blows it trembles a little bit and it doesn't fall over and it doesn't go this way and it doesn't go that way the image Paul has in his mind here is that plus waves so the the leaves fall on the on the water and the wind blows and the leaves go this way and the wind blows and the leaves go that way and I could change the metaphor here I love this image Paul wants you to be dolphins not leaves floating on the surface I once asked in this church where all the

children were here nobody wants to be a jellyfish do you little girl said I do and I said no you don't because jellyfish they just blow with the tide Dolphins they go where they want to go so dolphins and trees are strong leaves and jellyfish are weak and I'm a pastor and my job is to make trees and dolphins not leaves and jellyfish and winds are blowing all over the face of America and Winds of Doctrine come and Winds of Doctrine go and I want you to be strong I don't want you to blow over

I want you to know the doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of God in Christ through faith apart from works of the law now there's a big theological sentence the imputation I want you to know that word and I want you to know the reality behind it it comes from the verb impute and you know this word don't impute to me bad motives we say we mean don't take something that's not mine and make me wear it I didn't have that motive when I said that don't impute to me bad motives so we know

the word impute and how it works now here we're talking about the imputation of a righteousness that belongs to another that I did not perform and it is imputed to me through faith apart from works of the law now that's a Doctrine a teaching of Romans 4 that I want you to have it is a glorious lifegiving truth I don't want you to be blown over by anything that comes along to rob it from you there's a difference between impu utation and impartation impart impute God does an imparting work oh yes and it is great

by the power of the Holy Spirit he comes into our lives and he begins to impart to us the fruit of the Holy Spirit we call it or Holiness or other names are given to it and little by little we are brought into Conformity to the image of Jesus Christ that's a glorious thing but it isn't the gospel this work of God by which he imparts to us gradually Holiness and love and joy and peace and patience and goodness and kindness and meekness and faithfulness and self-control is grounded or built upon or founded on something

deeper and more fundamental and more glorious and that is imputation so if you have the two ideas of impartation of Graces and gifts into your life and imputation of Christ's righteousness to you get the order right because if you don't you will miss out on the fullness of your peace with God and you may miss out on God entirely the imparting work of God's spirit is built upon the impure uting work of the Father the righteousness of Christ is made over to us by imputation so that he can begin to impart to us Graces and

Gifts you must be reckoned perfect before you can make Headway in becoming good you must be counted [Music] perfect before you can make the first baby step in becoming good that's awesome and it happens by faith uniting you with Jesus Christ who wrought out a perfect righteousness for us so that in the twinkling of an eye in the First Act of saving Mustard Seed like faith God imputes to us the fullness of the righteousness of Jesus Christ so that we are complete in him and now may make little steps of progress in becoming like him

in this world so my reason number number three for why I linger over this question is that Ephesians tells me to help you become trees and dolphins rather than leaves and jellyfish and the only way you will escape being blown around by Winds of Doctrine is to have your roots sunk down in biblical truth like this here's my fourth reason for why I'm lingering over this in the experience of God's people throughout the centuries this teaching this truth this doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of God in Christ through faith for you apart from

Works has been a great deliverance from bondage for many Saints why should Bethlehem be denied this when I was thinking about why should I preach on this another Sunday to try to get this right here's the thought that came to my mind why should Bethlehem be denied this I don't care what pragmatists say about how you're supposed to preach today why should we be denied a truth that tens of thousands of 17th and 18th century Christians were strengthened by to the stake why should you be denied to know this to love this to cherish this

to live in this to live and die by this why should you be denied because we're told today that pragmatism Reigns nobody can listen to 30-minute sermons you got to do Secret sensitive stuff theology 101 nobody can get these things anyway so let's all be leaves and Jellyfish I don't believe it and if you choose to go to sleep halfway through the sermon that's your problem because I'm going to do my best to keep feel Away by whatever means I can so that you will Embrace a truth that will send your roots down deep so

that when the winds blow you will not blow over especially at the Judgment Day in History this Doctrine has rescued generation after generation from bondage let me give you one illustration from the life of John bunan who wrote Pilgrim's Progress 300 years ago or so bunan was in his 20s he was tormented with conscience and lack of assurance and did not know God in a saving way though he knew facts and one day it all changed I want to read you what he wrote in a sweet little book called Grace abounding for the chief of

Sinners here's what he said one day as I was passing into the field this sentence fell upon my soul thy righteousness is in heaven and me thought I saw with the Eyes of My Soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand there I say was my righteousness so that wherever I was or whatever I was doing God could not say of me he lacks my righteousness for that was just there in front of him I also saw moreover that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better nor yet my bad frame

of heart that made my righteousness worse for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself the same yesterday today and forever now did my chains fall off my legs I was loosed from my afflictions and irons my Temptations also fled away so that from that time those Dreadful scriptures of God left off to to trouble me now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and the love of God let me put it like this here's what I'm after here's why I'm lingering over this one of these days for many of you I'm going to stand beside

you in the hospital in the hour of your death or maybe Sam will like he did this morning at 4:00 or one of the others or a friend but I'm going to be there for some of you and I want to have so preached and so lived and so ministered and so taught that I can lean over your bed and get out next to your ear as the respirator there and say in your ear remember Christ is your righteousness remember Christ is your righteousness remember Christ is your righteousness weak Faith doesn't make Christ get less

righteous strong faith doesn't make Christ get more righteous look to Christ Rest In Christ and I want you at that moment to understand me I don't want there to have to be any long expositions you can't do Exposition at those moments there has to be either a welling up of stored truth that we've lived and loved or panic and so I long to so have preached and so have lived and so have taught that when I say Christ is your righteousness everything in you will be saying yes even if you can't say yes yes yes

I remember Romans 4 it took a long time on it I remember it was glorious and right now the Holy Spirit comes he has dying Graces for us folks he does he does he has dying Graces for us he will come and he will take out of your memory and He will draw up out of your heart the sweet things and pastoral counseling at those moments is simply to touch those precious things so that they are quickened by the Holy Spirit and made alive for the sake of the Peace of your soul as you get

ready to meet King Jesus [Music] this is light and Truth god- centered preaching to help you see Christ clearly and treasure him truly I'm your host Dan kru thank you for listening on our next episode John Piper continues our 13-part series faith that justifies with a sermon titled what faith is not I hope you'll join us for more resources visit desiringgod.org