Sola Fide

Sola Fide.

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Justification by faith alone.

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Galatians 3:6, Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 

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Romans 4:3, 5, 22-25, For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. . . . But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. . . . Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. . . . And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

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The gift of FAITH <-- connects you --> to God's Word of Promise (of imputed righteousness)

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In this book, see pages 63-64 for a clarifying analogy.

Aphoristic Commentary: Romans 5:19 & Psalm 111:1-3

Romans 5:19,  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Imputed Righteousness = "By the obedience of one [Jesus Christ] shall many be made righteous."

Psalm 111:1-3, Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

The doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness is praise-worthy and comforting: a Christian knows their righteousness is Christ's righteousness imputed to them, and, since Christ is Lord, that righteousness will endure for ever. Praise-worthy and comforting, indeed.

Christ: Our Righteousness

From John Calvin's Institutes: Our righteousness is in Christ, and it is "imputed to us as if it were our own."

You see that our righteousness is not in ourselves, but in Christ; that the only way in which we become possessed of it is by being made partakers with Christ, since with him we possess all riches. There is nothing repugnant to this in what he elsewhere says: “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” (Rom. 8:3, 4). Here the only fulfillment to which he refers is that which we obtain by imputation. Our Lord Jesus Christ communicates his righteousness to us, and so by some wondrous ways in so far as pertains to the justice of Gods transfuses its power into us. That this was the Apostle’s view is abundantly clear from another sentiment which he had expressed a little before: “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous,” (Rom. 5:19). To declare that we are deemed righteous, solely because the obedience of Christ is imputed to us as if it were our own, is just to place our righteousness in the obedience of Christ. 

Put on Christ

"[W]e are repeatedly told to "put on Christ" or to "clothe" ourselves with Christ. This is the costume of our new character. Instead of the fig leaves that, as children of Adam and Eve, we used to cover up our shame, God has provided the sacrificial clothing of Jesus Christ and his perfect righteousness, foreshadowed when he clothed Adam and Eve" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 56).

Free PDF: Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper

The following testimonial can be found on the back jacket of John Piper's Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness? (Crossway Books, 2002).

This is certainly the most solid defense of the imputed righteousness of Christ since the work of John Murray fifty years ago. I'm delighted that Dr. Piper has established that important doctrine, not as a mere article from the confessional tradition, but on the solid foundation of God's Word. -- John M. Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

Quite the endorsement, that. Know what's even better? John Piper's book is available for free in PDF form through Desiring God Ministries. Enjoy!

Christ: Unto Us Righteousness and Sanctification

"He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people, has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonouring our blessed Lord, and making Him only a half Saviour. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people's souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them. He is, thus, not only their "righteousness," but their "sanctification" (1 Cor. 1:30)" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 16).

Justification - Eye of More than One Storm

In Counted Righteous in Christ (going forward CRC) John Piper says, "The doctrine of justification is the eye of more than one storm" (42). In associated footnote Piper expounds,

Three of the major storms, worthy of attention but not treated here, include (1) ecumenical dialogues on Evangelical and Catholic doctrine; (2) the so-called "New Perspective" on Paul and the law; and (3) the relationship of faith and obedience, specifically the conflation of faith and works of faith as the instrument of justification. . . . In my view, a detailed defense still needs to be done on the historic Protestant view of the relationship between faith and obedience, so that the two are not conflated in the instrument of justification, as many in the biblical-theological circles are doing these days. (See note 35 of Chapter Three of this book.) Perhaps, if the Lord should grant time and energy, I will take up this subject in another short book.

John Piper is attempting to provide a historic Protestant response to men like Robert H. Gundry -- who is merely a representative of "many in the biblical-theological circles" (mentioned above). It is Gundry who argued in a series of Books and Culture issues in 2001 (here and here) that "the doctrine that Christ's righteousness is imputed to believing sinners needs to be abandoned." "That doctrine of imputation is not even biblical. Still less is it essential to the Gospel" (CRC, 44).

Piper continues to elaborate on this recent surge. He says,

But there is even more to the challenge. Not only does Gundry regard as unbiblical any positive imputation of divine righteousness to believers, he also says that our faith itself is our righteousness, because God counts it to be such. [Piper begins quoting Gundry] "Since faith as distinct from works is credited as righteousness, the righteousness of faith is a righteousness that by God's reckoning consists of faith even though faith is not itself a work" [emphasis added by Piper]. But this "righteousness"--this faith--is not imputed to us, but really is our righteousness in that we respond to God in faith (by grace) and God counts our faith to be what it is--righteousness (CRC, 46).

John Piper in an attempt to be fair and charitable elaborates on Gundry's position in associated footnote. He says,

This should not be taken to mean that Gundry believes that faith is, in and of itself, righteousness by its nature. In personal correspondence (02-04-02, quoted with permission), Gundry writes: ". . . I myself would rather say that God counts faith as righteousness even though it isn't righteousness in the sense of a performed work. Just as God regards believers as righteous even though they're sinners, he also regards their faith as righteousness even though it's opposite a work of moral rectitude."

In Chapter Three John Piper provides the necessary biblical exegesis to show that "Gundry's arguments do not overthrow the traditional Protestant understanding of Scripture that finds in justification the imputation of divine righteousness and a clear and necessary distinction between this act and God's subsequent and necessary work of sanctification" (CRC, 80).