The Imputed Righteousness Paradox: How Christ’s Perfect Life Becomes Our Eternal Title
The doctrine of Justification is the pivot upon which salvation turns. While most Christian understanding rests on the forgiveness of sins, the true miracle—and the theological controversy—lies in the mechanism by which a forgiven sinner is declared perfect before a Holy God. This is the mystery of Imputed Righteousness, where Christ’s flawless standing is legally credited to the believer, providing the “wedding garment” required for the Lord’s Return.
1. The Core Paradox: Forgiven, But Not Perfect
The human condition, even post-conversion, presents a fundamental problem:
| Requirement (The Law) | Human Status (The Believer) | The Paradox |
| Penalty: The penalty for failure is death (Romans 6:23). | Forgiven: The penalty is paid by Christ’s blood (Passive Obedience). | The debt is cancelled, but this only makes the account zero. Zero merit does not earn the reward of eternal life. |
| Perfection: God requires perfect adherence to the Law for life (Matthew 5:48). | Imperfect: Daily human existence still falls short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). | Who provides the positive, perfect score? Forgiveness removes the negative, but something must supply the positive to gain the heavenly inheritance. |
The solution to this paradox is the imputation of Christ’s Active Obedience—His lifelong perfection.
2. The Twofold Work of Christ: The Great Exchange
The legal transaction that justifies the believer required Christ to accomplish two distinct, yet inseparable, acts of obedience.
A. Passive Obedience (Paying the Penalty)
This refers to Christ’s obedience in submitting to the curse and punishment of the Law that humanity deserved.
Galatians 3:13 (KJV): “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
- Action: Suffering, crucifixion, and death.
- Result: Removes the Guilt. This is the cancellation of the believer’s sin debt. Christ is legally made “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
B. Active Obedience (Earning the Title)
This refers to Christ’s perfect, lifelong conformity to the Law—His flawless fulfillment of every single commandment, from birth to the Cross.
Matthew 5:17 (KJV): “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
- Action: Perfect living, resisting temptation, and obeying the Father’s will in every thought and deed.
- Result: Secures the Title. This perfection is the positive righteousness required to inherit the Kingdom. Without this merit, even a forgiven person would be rejected, having failed the test of perfection.
3. The Mechanism of Imputation: A Legal Credit
The term Impute (λογιˊζομαι) is an accounting term used by Paul. It means to “credit to an account.” This is the core of the doctrine: God credits Christ’s entire perfection to the believer.
Romans 4:6 (KJV): “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,”
- What is Imputed: The combined merit of Christ’s Passive (penal) and Active (perfect) Obedience.
- The Result: The believer is not merely pardoned; the believer is legally and federally considered as having lived a life of absolute perfection in Christ.
The Return Question: The Wedding Garment of Perfection
This project directly answers the question: “How can the Church, still imperfect, stand before the returning Lord in judgment?”
The answer is the Imputed Righteousness. The final vision of the Church’s destiny at the Lord’s Return is one of absolute purity, symbolized by the finest garment, which is Christ’s own perfection:
Revelation 19:8 (KJV): “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
The “fine linen” is the imputed righteousness, secured by Christ’s complete obedience. The certainty of your justification is the certainty of your place at The Lord’s Return—you will meet Him clothed in His perfection.