RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITHContemporary Views

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Jones—Complete dependence on the word of God only (that’s faith) to do what God has promised to do for us (that’s righteousness)

Waggoner—The righteousness of God is his law; the doers of the law shall be justified (Rom. 2:13), but there are none righteous (Rom. 3:10) and by the deeds of the law is no man justified (Rom 3:20). The answer is in Luke 18:13, 14. The merciful Lord is our righteousness (justification).

The same spirit that drew us to repentance, also draws us to a righteous life; the just shall live by faith (Heb. 10:38)

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Righteousness by faith . . .

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1924 SS quarterly “The Christian Life” (Andreasen)

1961 SS quarterly “Righteousness by Faith (C. J. Ritchie)

1974 (1-1) SS quarterly “Christ Our Righteousness” (Bruno Steinwig)

1974 (5–16) R&H Special Issue on Righteousness by Faith

1976 Palmdale, CA, meeting of teachers, editors, and administrators for a concise statement on righteousness by faith—R&H May 27, 1976

1978 SS quarterly “The Path of Faith” (Gordon Hyde)

1978 (series of 3 articles), 1988 (special issue), 2007 (article by George Rice) Ministry

2010 Adventist Theological Society symposium on righteousness by faith

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M. L. ANDREASEN

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“By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Rom. 5: 19. Christ kept the law, and thereby demonstrated that it was possible for man to obey God. But His life was more than merely a demonstration of the possibility of keeping the law.” (Andreasen, “The Christian

Life,” Lesson 2, pp. 5, 6)

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“After having lived a life of obedience, He offers the righteousness of that life to anyone

who will receive it (Rom. 4: 24);

“that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Cor. 4: 10), and that thus “we might be made the righteousness of

God in Him” (2 Cor. 5: 21).” (Ibid.)

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ELLEN G. WHITE

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The law requires righteousness,—a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the

claims of God’s holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the

life of men. (DA 762)

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Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More

than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine

character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the

law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can “be just, and the justifier of him which

believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. (Ibid.)

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IN STEPS TO CHRIST, WE READ:

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“But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and

temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He

offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him,

and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are

accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not

sinned” (SC 62.2).

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“More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your

heart by faith” (Ibid.).

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“You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to

Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good

pleasure. So you may say, “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. So Jesus said to His disciples, “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Matthew 10:20. Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit and do the

same good works—works of righteousness, obedience.” (SC 62.3)

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“So we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast. We have no ground for self-exaltation. Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us.” (SC 63.1)

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“When we speak of faith, there is a distinction that should be borne in mind.

There is a kind of belief that is wholly distinct from faith. The existence and power of God, the truth of His word, are facts that

even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says that “the devils also

believe, and tremble”; but this is not faith. James 2:19.” (Ibid.)

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“Where there is not only a belief in God’s word, but a submission of the

will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon

Him, there is faith—faith that works by love and purifies the soul.” (Ibid.)

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“Through this faith the heart is renewed in the image of God. And the heart that in its

unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, now delights in its holy precepts, exclaiming with the psalmist, ‘O

how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day.’ Psalm 119:97. And the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, ‘who walk not after the flesh, but

after the Spirit.’ Romans 8:1.” (SC 63.2)

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“RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH IN CHRIST”C. J. RITCHIE

1961

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“To justify a sinner means three things: (a) that the penalty for his sins be fully met; (b) that he be treated as though he had not

sinned; (c) that his nature be so changed that a new life principle

now operates within him, enabling him to go on to perfect a

righteous character.” (Ritchie)

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“ When the righteousness of Christ is ‘imputed’ to us in justification, it means that ‘Christ imputes to us His sinless

character, and presents us to the Father in His own purity.’—EGW, RH, July 12,

1892.” (Ritchie, p. 20)

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Through faith in his name, he imputes unto us his righteousness, and it becomes a living principle in our life. The apostle shows unto us what is the privilege of

the Christian. He says, “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... that he would grant you,

according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ

may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth

knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Christ imputes to us his sinless character, and

presents us to the Father in his own purity. (RH 7–12–1892)

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The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted.

The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven. (RH

June 4, 1895, par. 7)

Through faith in his name, he imputes unto us his righteousness, and it

becomes a living principle in our life. (RH 7–12–1892)

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R&H SPECIAL ISSUE1974

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George Vandeman—Meet the Master—righteousness by faith is more than a doctrine; it is a relationship

Don Neufield—RBF—Is It Biblical?

C. E. Bradford—How Sinners Become Saints

Kenneth Wood—Jesus Made It Plain in Parables

C. Mervyn Maxwell—Christ and Minneapolis 1888

Jonathan Butler—Dare a Person Say “I Am Saved”?

Herbert E. Douglas—Why God Is Urgent—And Yet Waits

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PALMDALE MEETING1976

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Palmdale MeetingApril 23–30, 1976

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The study group, appointed by the General Conference and the Australasian Division was composed of Raoul Dederen, N. R. Dower, W. Duncan Eva, Desmond Ford, R. R. Frame, W. J. Hackett, Gordon M. Hyde, A. S. Jorgensen, C. D. Judd, Hans K. LaRondelle, L. C. Naden, Don F. Neufeld, Robert W. Olson, Robert H. Parr, Robert H. Pierson, A. P. Salom, C. R. Stanley, S. M. Uttley, and Kenneth H. Wood.

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Consensus Statement

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First three statements were Christ was the union of deity and humanity, Christ experienced the total range of temptation, and he overcame only with those provisions available to us.

4. That Christ lived in perfect obedience to God’s commandments and was sinless.

5. That by His life and atoning death, Christ made it possible for sinners to be justified by faith and therefore accounted righteous in God’s sight.

6. That through faith in Christ's redemptive act, not only a person's standing before God may be changed, but his character also, as he grows in grace and gains victory over hereditary as well as cultivated tendencies to evil. This experience of justification and sanctification continues until glorification.

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Shall we not, then, close ranks in renewed bonds of unity, reconsecrating ourselves and our talents to the saving

commission rather than becoming involved in a theological controversy while souls are perishing? (RH 5–27–1976)

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MINISTRY MAGAZINE1978

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Ministry—SpanglerJustification is the wedding garment. We need to wear it constantly. Justification is not only an erasure that erases the mistakes of the past.

“. . . I must emphasize is that we need the continual covering of justification... For some years I thought that justification came into action . . . to care for past sins and then reappeared periodically to forgive those sins committed after a person had accepted Christ. Justification in my mind seemed to be Christ’s eraser, which, at the moment one accepted Him, He used to erase the mistakes of the past. Then He lifted it and held it in reserve until another mistake was made that required Him to use the eraser again.” (Spangler, “Ask the Editor,” Ministry, August 1978)

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A closer study of the Word revealed that Christ’s righteousness is compared to a robe,

not an eraser! This robe must cover me constantly. This is by no means to say that my confessed sins are merely hidden under the

robe, and not erased. It is to say, rather, that my sinful nature dare not be uncovered or

exposed for a single second. I am in constant need of His justifying righteousness.

Justification is not designed merely to cover us intermittently, when needed, as we sin . . . (Ibid.)

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In the Saviour’s parable of the marriage feast, the man without the wedding garment was cast out. (See Matt. 22:10, 14.) This is the same garment

referred to in Revelation 3:18, where Christ urges Laodiceans “to buy of me . . . white raiment, that

thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.”

Note carefully, the robe is to be worn continually, else we will be in the shameful state of nakedness. This robe must become a part of our daily apparel.

(Ibid.)

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. . . the erroneous impression given that the more a person advances in the sanctified life,

the less justification he needs. This error stems from understanding justification as a necessary element that comes into play only for past sins.

Of course, it is true that forgiveness for any specific sinful action is ever forgiveness for a

past action. But my understanding of the nature of man and of sin is that sin is both an outward

deviation from the will of God and His righteousness, and an inner condition of

alienation and rebellion against God. Sin is both inward and outward. (Spangler, “Ask the Editor,”

Ministry, October 1978)

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Zechariah 3:1–5

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. . . the taking away of the filthy garments is the same as causing the iniquity to pass

from the person. And so we find that when Christ covers us with the robe of His own righteousness, He does not furnish a cloak

for sin but takes the sin away. And this shows that the forgiveness of sins is something more than a mere form,

something more than a mere entry in the books of record in heaven, to the effect that

the sin has been canceled. (EJW)

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The forgiveness of sins is a reality; it is something tangible, something that vitally affects the individual. It actually clears him from guilt, and if he is cleared from guilt, is justified, made righteous, he has certainly undergone a radical change. He is, indeed,

another person, for he obtained this righteousness for the remission of sins, in Christ. It was obtained only by putting on

Christ.

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But “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” 2 Cor. 5:17. And so the full and free forgiveness of sins carries with it that

wonderful and miraculous change known as the new birth, for a man cannot become a new creature except by a new birth. This is the same as having a new, or a clean, heart.

(EJW, CHR 65.3)

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2010 ADVENTIST THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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Paul’s concept of justification by faith

Forensic and transformational aspects of righteousness by faith

Desmond Ford and righteousness by faith

Legal universal justification

Human perfection

Justification in the gospels

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Isaiah 30:21

John 15:26

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