RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH
“As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.
The topic discussed by Paul in his epistle to the Romans is “righteousness by faith!” In the first
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three chapters of this wonderful epistle, justification by faith is emphasized. In Romans 2:13 Paul shows
that justification by faith has its root in obedience: “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the
doers of the law shall be justified!”
In the third chapter he reveals that there is none who, of himself, unaided by the Holy Spirit, is
seeking this justification. Our condition in sin is shown to be deplorable. Because of this, any mere
correction of our lives is insufficient and unavailing. Therefore, the righteousness of God which is without
the law, but which is witnessed to by the law, is brought to view. This righteousness which is by faith in
Jesus Christ is unto an and upon all who believe.
Paul then proceeds to show that ministry, at this time, of this righteousness by Jesus, through His
own blood, proves that God is both just in His dealings with sinners, and is the justifier of all them that
believe. He also makes clear that a man, upon repentance and faith in Christ, pleading the Savior’s blood
for the remission of his sins, and before he has wrought a single act of obedience to the law, is justified by
his faith. He is justified because the law witnesses to the life of obedience which he by faith has presented,
even the obedient life of Christ, which was sacrificed for his sins. But we must not fail to observe that in all
this, justification comes through the blood, not by the mere cry of the penitent for justification, but by the
ministry of the righteousness of Him whom God has set forth to declare His righteousness as ours for the
remission of our Sins that are past. Thus is the service of our great High Priest brought to view in this work
of justification by faith. “We who was delivered for our offenses” has been “raised again for our
justification.” Romans 4:25.
At this point we should notice a seeming contradiction between Romans 2:13 and Romans 3:20.
Paul in the first of these two passages declares that the doers of the law shall be justified. In the latter he
tells us that by the deeds of the law there shall “no flesh be justified in His Sight!” As we examine these
two scriptures, this seeming contradiction disappears. Observe that in the first instance Paul does not tell
the means by which the doers of the law shall be justified. In the second he distinctly declares that
disobedient man is not justified by his own deeds, even though the law approves many of them. Notice
should be taken of the word “therefore” in Romans 3:20. That word as used in this chapter indicates that
because of the condition of all men, a condition of disobedience described in verses 9-19, there shall no
flesh he justified in His sight by the deeds of the law. It is entirely because of our condition of disobedience
that we cannot be justified by our own good deeds.
But while we are following Paul’s argument in chapter 3, we must not lose the force of his
statement in chapter 2: “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be
justified!” That statement is basic to a correct understanding of Christ’s work in our behalf. We must
present a life that is blameless before we can be justified in the sight of God. But the unsaved man has no
such life to present, except as He offers Christ’s perfect life in place of his own. Since it is already
concluded that we are all under sin, we therefore must have the righteousness of Christ’s perfect obedience.
When this is imputed to us, we are judged to be doers of the law, and are justified as doers. It is because of
the importance of this truth that Paul argues at such length, first to show that man, because of his
disobedience, cannot be justified by his own works, and next to reveal that when his disobedience is taken
away, and Christ’s obedient life has been accepted, man, because of Christ’s obedience, can be justified by
faith in the atoning blood of Christ, having received righteousness through the ministry of that blood in his
behalf before God by our High Priest.
Having made this clear to our minds, Paul then proceeds to set forth the truth that the foundation
for the justification of our sinful lives is the blood of the atonement; that the condition on which this
justification is wrought is by faith, by which the grace of God operates. That this justification is dependent
upon the bestowal of Christ’s righteousness, which is brought to us by Christ’s declaring His righteousness
to be ours; that it was in this way that Abraham received righteousness; and that it is in this way, too, that
we receive righteousness and are made obedient. This righteousness is a gift. We cannot earn it. We cannot
claim it by any natural right that we have, but, thank God, we can accept it in all its blessed fullness by faith
in the atoning blood of Jesus.
There is absolutely no doubt that the blood of the atonement is the means by which faith secures
justification. But in chapter 5 Paul proceeds to show still more clearly what it is that has given the blood of
the atonement its justifying power.
In verse 18 we are shown that by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to
condemnation, and also that by the righteousness of One, the gift of righteousness (the free gift) came upon
all men unto justification of life. And in verse 19 we are taken to the heart of the matter, and shown in what
it is that our justification has its root: “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
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obedience of One shall many be made righteous.”
Two personalities are here brought to view, Adam and Christ. The one by his disobedience made
many sinners, the other by His obedience makes many righteous. Thus it is by our relationship to Adam
that we have been made sinners, and it is by our relationship to Christ that we are made righteous. Our
connection with one brought us disobedience; our connection with the other brings us obedience.
Observe here that it was through disobedience imputed to us that we were made sinners. It is by
righteousness Imputed to us that we are made righteous. It was Adam’s disobedience that brought sin; it is
Christ’s obedience that brings righteousness.
As the seed of Adam, we are by nature the children of disobedience. The one requirement that God
had made of Adam was obedience. That was and still is the only way by which man can glorify his Creator.
In the same way that Levi paid tithes to. Melchisedeci being in the loins of Abraham (Hebrews 7:9,10), so
we were in Adam when he became disobedient. Had we been born before Adam disobeyed, we would not
have been children of disobedience through him, for Adam then had an obedient nature, and we could not
have inherited from him a disobedient nature. But since his fall, Adam had only a disobedient nature to pass
on to us. Consequently we have been born, children of disobedience. Thus we became disobedient in Adam
by inheriting his disobedient nature. (See Ephesians 22.) Since that nature was already under sentence of
death, death passed upon us. This is clearly the teaching of Paul in Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, in whom [margin] all
have sinned.”
Thus, as by nature we became the children of disobedience, so by nature we also became the
children of wrath. Ephesians 2:1. This is what is comprehended in the little word “as” in Romans 5:19: “As
by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners!’ This, too, is what is meant by Paul’s words, “In
Adam all die.” 1 Corinthians 15:22.
Having taught us that death has come to all men through Adam, Paul closes this fifth chapter with
the beautiful truth, “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21.
Of Christ it was prophesied: “I delight to do Thy will, 0 My God: yea, Thy law is within My
heart!” Psalm 40:8. Of Him it is recorded: “I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath
sent Me!” John 5:30. His own testimony was: “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will but the
will of Him that sent Me!” John 6:38. After He had surrendered His life, it was written of Him that He “did
no sin.” So Christ lived His whole life in loving obedience to His Father’s will.
In this wonderful life of obedience, we find the root of our redemption. Accepting Him and thus
being united to Him, the way is opened for us to be accepted of God in Him. His nature is a sinless nature
because of His obedience. By our union with Him we are made partakers of His divine nature. It is to bring
this about that the promises of God in Christ Jesus have been given to us:
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world.” 2 Peter 1:4.
When by faith we become partakers of His sinless nature, we are declared righteous through the
imparting of His righteousness to us. Thus, from being children of wrath we become the sons of God. This
is the new birth, and this the Savior has outlined as an experience necessary to our entering the kingdom.
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God!” John 3:1 Nicodemus, to whom the
Savior unfolded this great truth, thought that He was requiring a second birth of the flesh. But Jesus made it
clear that since birth by the flesh had made us children of disobedience, another such birth would not
change our natures. If by birth we are to be made obedient, then that birth must be of the Spirit. So He said,
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit!’ Verse 6. Nicodemus
was puzzled, and exclaimed, “How can these things be?” Then it was that Jesus unfolded to the mind of
Nicodemus the gracious work of the atonement by which this would b e accomplished. Then it was that He
uttered that wonderful and very much quoted verse of Scripture: “God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!” John 3:16.
Thus He revealed that His own work for us was based in the love of God for us, and thus it was
that He made known that He was in the world to bring all this about. And let it never be forgotten that the
righteousness which we receive in the new birth, is received only by virtue of our being accepted in Christ.
“He bath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Thus, as by Adam we were made sinners, so by Christ we are made righteous.
Christ’s obedience involved His bearing our disobedience, and His death in atonement for the guilt of our
disobedience was an act of obedience to His Father’s will. It is by His obedience that the blood of the
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atonement is made effectual in delivering us from sin, from sin’s power, from death the penalty for sin, and
finally from sin’s presence. Had our Redeemer been disobedient even in one thing, His blood would have
had no redeeming value. But thank God, He did, only those things that pleased His Father.
“Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan the enemy of
God and man would have triumphed.” The Desire of Ages,” p. 761.
By His obedient life, then, Christ has made His sacrifice and His priesthood effectual in the great
deliverance which the Father has purposed in Him. By this deliverance the power of disobedience, the
power that controlled our old life in Adam, has been broken, and the obedience of Christ has become the
new power in us, the power by which the new life which we have received in the new birth is controlled.
Thus it also is that a new ruler ship of our lives has been brought about through the atoning work of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In view of Christ’s atoning work, Paul admonishes us “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. But yield yourselves unto God!” Romans 6:12, 13. This.
be explains in verse 1-6, is nothing more or less than obedience. “Know you not.” he says, “that to whom
you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness?” Yielding ourselves to obedience makes it possible for God to make real
in us all that He has promised in the new covenant and under its power. Really, as we read the promises of
the new covenant, they sum themselves up in this: that God will take away our disobedience, will make us
obedient, and will give us grace and power so to live that sin shall not again have dominion over us.
When God made man, He gave him dominion over all the earth and over all life upon it. “God
said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth!” Genesis 1:26.
Having made Adam and Eve, God blessed them both, and “said unto them. Have dominion!”
Verse 28.
All this was changed when man in disobedience transferred his allegiance to another master.
Obeying Satan, he became the servant of Satan. He yielded himself to obey sin, and became the servant of
sin, By this a great change was wrought, not only in him, but also in his relationships. From having
dominion over the earth and all life upon it, he himself was brought under the dominion of sin. From being
ruler, he became a slave. Thus his dominion passed from him, and his seed were barn slaves, children of
disobedience, children of wrath.
But Christ, the second Adam, has taken the case for humanity precisely where the first Adam lost
his dominion, and for us has recovered that which was lost. His life of obedience in the flesh qualified Him
to pay in full the penalty for our guilt; and with His own precious blood He has ransomed us from the
slavery of sin. From the day that Adam disobeyed the voice of God, the human race have not been their
own. They became the bond slaves of Satan, having sold themselves for naught Now, in a new way, we are
still not our own, “for you are bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:20. We have not, however, thereby
exchanged forms of bondage, but as freed men we are possessed of a new power through the willingness of
our minds, and have received this new power in One who, made like unto His brethren, has become the
second head of our race.
“‘Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,
from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1: 18, 19.
It is in view of the fact that we have thus been ransomed that Peter appeals for obedient living on
our part, “being born again.” Verse 23. It is because of this fact that Jesus is spoken of in the New
Testament as having a right to reign over His people. This right is His because to Him “the first dominion”
has come. Micah 4:8. He has wrested it from the hand of him who, through deception, took it away from
man. He has healed the broken-hearted, He has delivered the captives, He has brought sight to the blind,
and He has set at liberty them that are bruised. Oh, what a pitiable thing it is that we deny this gracious
work of our Lord, and fail to “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,” and are
“entangled again with the yoke of bondage” 1 Galatians 5:1.
But we have not yet reached the limits to which liberty in Christ is designed to take us. Paul’s
appeal in view of the victorious freedom which we have in Christ is: “Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12. He has already pointed out that
Christ has both died to sin and is alive unto God, and because He lives, means hath no more dominion over
Him.” He also has pointed out that because of what Christ has done for us, sin shall not any more have ruler
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ship over us. His purpose is not merely to cancel sin’s power in us, but much more than that; His gracious
work in our behalf is purposed to give us ruler ship. Observe how Paul states this wonderful truth: “If by
one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift
of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ!” Romans 5:17. Paul means this, that all that Christ
does in atoning for our sins is for the purpose of making us obedient. The life of obedience is a life of ruler
ship.
In all this, then, it is clear that the Bible teaches that obedience is better than sacrifice. That the
obedience of Christ has made effectual for us His act in bearing our sins; that it also has made effectual His
death in paying the penalty for our guilt. That it makes effectual, too, His priestly ministry in our behalf, by
which ministry our justification and son ship are secured through the blood of the Sacrifice. That it makes
effectual His deliverance of us, by which deliverance sin’s power over us is broken; and that it makes
possible His great salvation, by which the existence of sin shall be forever eradicated.
It was to take away our disobedience and to make us obedient that Christ lived, labored, died, rose
again, and ascended up on high. It is for this that He is now interceding at the right hand of the Father in
heaven. It is to make men obedient that the gospel is being proclaimed. It is to make us obedient that the
Bible has been given us. “All scripture,” says Paul, “is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction!” For what purpose? “That the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17. But while all this is so in very deed,
we can be obedient only as Christ, our great High Priest, by His abounding grace and by the blood of the
covenant, ministers to us His own obedience, and our faith appropriates His obedient life.