How exactly is a Christian considered righteous in the sight of God? Are we solely declared righteous, or, are we in reality made righteous? Catholics and Protestants have been in disagreement on this doctrine for hundreds of years and many Christians continue to be baffled about the idea of a sinner being righteous before God in this life.
The question can be asked: how do Jesus Christ’s merits of redemption get applied to the Christian in this life? Is a Christian merely declared righteous by God for the sake of Jesus Christ, having His righteousness cover him or her, and that righteousness being imputed forensically while the Christian still remains unchanged and unrighteous interiorly? Or, does God, in reality, make you righteous, using the merits of Jesus Christ to transform your very inward being into His perfect image? The former question is based upon what most Protestants hold to as their doctrine of Imputation, while the latter is what Catholicism confesses to being revealed, that of infused righteousness. Let us look at Scripture to examine what God does to the Christian in this life.
First of all, it is important to understand that when God says something, He does it! ”In [God], saying and doing are one and the same thing” (Rev. Louis Bouyer). It is entirely impossible for God to declare something without doing what He declares. This can most clearly be seen when God created everything in the heavens and in the earth; this simultaneous ‘saying and doing’ is illustrated in nearly every particular day of creation: “And God said…And it was so”. For instance, we read in the first chapter of Genesis:
“And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.” – Genesis 1:9
“ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.” – Genesis 1:11
When God’s Word creates, He not only declares (“And God said”), but He also does it(“And it was so”), hence the creative act. This “And God said…And it was so” formula was recorded five times in the first creation account. Also, it should be remembered that when God creates something, it is inherently good in nature (cf. Gen. 1)!
It wasn’t until God’s creation of Adam and Eve and through their own willful disobedience where God’s creation became “not good”, not by nature but by the pain, curse, and death Adam and Eve willed into existence with the aid of the Devil, tainting and staining creation. In a certain sense, one could say that Adam and Eve ruined the goodness of God’s creation through their own merit; everything remaining good intrinsically, but the fruit of that goodness being cursed as a direct result of their loveless act. The very image of God they were created in was distorted and their pure likeness of God lost. How would God remedy and undo what man did to His good creation?
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” – Isaiah 65:17
Man would also sigh and long for a new creation of his hardened heart:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” – Psalm 51:10
It is very interesting that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would use the word “create” in desiring a new and clean heart. In the strict and proper sense, God did not create man out of nothing but rather formed him from the dust and breathed natural and sanctifying life into him (cf. Gen. 2:7). Likewise, when David longed for God to create in him a clean heart, he was imploring almighty God to re-form that which was already created yet hardened by sin; just as God formed man’s heart from matter and gave him life by the breath of His Holy Spirit in the original creation, He would also re-form man’s heart from the matter of the Body and Blood of His Son and “renew” a right spirit within him by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the new creation.
God heeded David’s yearning, and really all mankind’s yearning, by promising him a new heart and a new spirit:
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” – Ezekiel 36:26
Again, God’s creative act is one of concurrent word and deed. It is impossible for God to lie (cf. Heb. 6:18), meaning He cannot say one thing and do another that is contrary, especially in the divine act of creating. It is only man and through a perverse will that one thing can be said while in reality something else is done, or doing nothing at all, i.e. bearing false testimony. God permitted Eve to lie to the serpent (cf. Gen. 3:3) and thus bring about the curse of creation, only for almighty God to create man anew, manifesting an even stronger love than in the original creation of man.
Now, it is most objectively agreed upon that every single human being, when conceived, is conceived in a state of original sin, being implicated in Adam’s disobedience (cf. Psalm 51:5; Rom. 5:12). It was through Adam’s sin that each and every one of us was made a sinner:
“For as by the one man’s [Adam] disobedience the many were made sinners.” – Romans 5:19
How would God redeem and recreate those who were made sinners? Through a mere declaration? The second half of Romans 5:19 reads (take special note of the emphasis):
“[S]o by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:19
Did you notice the emphasized word ‘made’?! It was and is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s mission to make us righteous! Not to merely declare us righteous, but in reality to make us righteous in God’s sight, therefore declaring a new creation. Take note of the following emphasized word in this verse:
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’.” – Revelation 21:5
Did you notice the word ‘making’? Jesus Christ did not say that He was only declaring all things new, but ‘making all things new’! And, finally in regards to anyone who is in Christ:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Please note the emphasized phrase: ‘new creation’! The verse does not read a new declaration, but a new creation! Remember, what God declares, God does, hence “And it was so”. God promised to create everything new; the heavens, the earth, and especially man by creating and giving them a new and pure heart! Just as God created everything through His One Eternal Word, He would likewise create it anew through His Word by giving that Word to us through the Incarnation and universal Redemption.
It should also be remembered that all of Jesus Christ’s words were accompanied by deeds; as the Eternal Word of God made flesh, what He declared, He did! “Be made clean. And the leprosy left him immediately” (Luke 5:13)
The novel doctrine on Imputation (declaring without creating/recreating) entirely compromises the mystery of the Incarnation and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. If all God does is merely declare us righteous instead of actually making us righteous, then the only Son of God needn’t come down from Heaven, take on human flesh, and suffer the most inscrutable and indescribable longanimity to die and rise again for mankind. No, all He would need to do is stay put in His glory in Heaven and declare all Christians righteous in His sight. There would also be no meaning to send the Holy Spirit to sanctify us. Moreover, this idea of declaring without making is absolutely foreign to God’s nature and creative power. Not only that, but God would be lying, declaring something that is not true, namely declaring a Christian righteous while in reality he or she remains unrighteous. When God said, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness”, did He not also do what He said? What makes you think He would not do the exact same thing when He recreates man, restoring us to His image and likeness, creating and giving man a new and clean heart within?
“I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” – Isaiah 46:11
So, is the Christian made righteous or declared righteous in the sight of God? The Christian is declared righteous because the Christian is made righteous! What God declares, God does!
Part II, click below: