Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness?

by John Piper

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2002

Overview

Are Christians merely forgiven, or do they possess the righteousness of Christ? Recently the time-honored understanding of the doctrine of justification has come under attack. Many question how—or if—we receive the full righteousness of Christ. Martin Luther said that if we understand justification “we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness.” And now, in this new and important book, John Piper accepts Luther’s challenge. He points out that we need to see ourselves as having been recipients of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and therefore enjoy full acceptance with God and the everlasting inheritance of life and joy. Piper writes as both a pastor and a scholar. His pastor’s heart is shown in his zeal for the welfare of the church. His careful scholarship is evident in each explanation and undergirds each conclusion.

Praise for the Print Edition

Does Christ’s lifelong record of perfect obedience to God get ‘credited’ to your account when you trust in Christ and are ‘justified’ by God? This has been the historic Protestant understanding of the ‘imputation of Christ’s righteousness,’ but John Piper warns that we are in danger of losing this doctrine today because of attacks by scholars within the evangelical camp. In response, Piper shows, in careful treatment of passage after passage, that the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to believers is clearly the teaching of the Bible, and if we abandon this doctrine we will also lose justification by faith alone. I am thankful to God for John Piper’s defense of this crucial doctrine.

—Wayne Grudem Research Professor of Theology and Bible Phoenix Seminary

The Gospel must be defended in every generation. Today, as in the sixteenth century, the central issue is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. John Piper clearly and powerfully proves this is the view of the Bible and not merely of orthodox Protestant theology. The church must say ‘No!’ to those who declare that imputation is passé. If imputation is passé, then so is the Gospel.

—R. C. Sproul

Wait!! You can get a better deal by purchasing this resource in the John Piper Collection.

Product Details

• Title: Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness?
• Author: John Piper
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 140

About John Piper

John Piper has been the Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1980. He is a widely respected theologian and bestselling author. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Piper attended Wheaton College where he majored in literature and minored in philosophy. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he studied under Dr. Daniel Fuller. Piper received his Doctorate in Theology from the University of Munich and taught biblical studies for six years at Bethel College. His preaching and teaching is featured daily on the radio program, Desiring God.

Contents

Top Highlights

“By imputation I am referring to the act in which God counts sinners to be righteousness through their faith in Christ on the basis of Christ’s perfect ‘blood and righteousness,’¹ specifically the righteousness that Christ accomplished by his perfect obedience in life and death.” (Pages 40–41)

“Justification in Paul’s mind is God’s imputing righteousness to us ‘by faith’⁵ rather than faith being treated as righteousness within us.” (Page 58)

“This is different from the traditional Protestant view that sees faith as the instrument that unites us to Christ in whom an alien righteousness, not our own, is imputed to us.” (Pages 46–47)

“Paul speaks immediately in terms of something external (a wage) being credited to our account, rather than something internal (faith) being treated as righteousness.” (Page 56)

“So God’s imputation, in Gundry’s view, is not crediting an external, divine righteousness to Abraham, but counting something that he has, namely faith, to be his righteousness.” (Page 56)

Product Details

• Title: Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness?
• Author: John Piper
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2002
• Logos Release Date: 2007
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Justification (Christian theology) › Biblical teaching; Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• Resource ID: LLS:COUNTDRGHTS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T07:13:23Z

About John Piper

John Piper (b. 1946) is a widely respected theologian and bestselling author who serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. Piper resides in the Minneapolis area with his wife of 51 years, and has five children and 14 grandchildren.

Piper attended Wheaton College where he majored in literature and minored in philosophy. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he studied under Dr. Daniel Fuller. Piper received his Doctorate in Theology from the University of Munich and taught biblical studies for six years at Bethel College.

In 1994, Piper founded Desiring God Ministries, which provides Piper’s sermons, articles, and information on titles he has authored. One of his bestsellers, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, prompted the name of the ministry.

Several of Piper’s books have been Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Christian book award winners including What Jesus Demands from the World, Pierced by the Word, and God’s Passion for His Glory. The Crossway John Piper Collection (39 vols.) includes 39 titles from Piper, including Love Your Enemies and A Hunger for God. His preaching ministry of more than 30 years is available in the John Piper Sermon Archive (1980–2014).

Hear how Piper uses Logos for his Bible Study.