Imparted righteousness
Encyclopedia
Imparted righteousness, in Methodist
theology
, is that gracious
gift of God given at the moment of the new birth which enables a Christian disciple
to strive for holiness
and sanctification
. John Wesley
believed that imparted righteousness
worked in tandem with imputed righteousness
. Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus
credited to the Christian, enabling the Christian to be justified
; imparted righteousness is what God does in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit
after justification, working in the Christian to enable and empower the process of sanctification (and, in Wesleyan thought, Christian perfection
).
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine !
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Clothed in righteousness divine. Ephesians 6:14 [TNIV] says "Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...."
them. Believers thereby become "partakers of the divine nature" (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). It is this principle of righteousness imparted to men in regeneration which is ever in conflict with the old Adamic nature. Protestants, however, maintain the distinction between the "imputed righteousness" of Christ which is the basis for justification
and the "imparted righteousness" which is the basis for subsequent sanctification
.
It is somewhat problematic for some Christians (notably Calvinists) to call the doctrine "imparted righteousness," for that which is imparted is a righteous principle into man's nature, not righteousness per se. Care must be taken in using the term imparted righteousness because it is sometimes confused with and sometimes intentionally used to refer to the Roman Catholic doctrine of infused righteousness
, which in Catholicism is the basis for justification.
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, is that gracious
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
gift of God given at the moment of the new birth which enables a Christian disciple
Disciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
to strive for holiness
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
and sanctification
Sanctification
Sanctity is an ancient concept widespread among religions, a property of a thing or person sacred or set apart within the religion, from totem poles through temple vessels to days of the week, to a human believer who achieves this state. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity,...
. John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
believed that imparted righteousness
Righteousness
Righteousness is an important theological concept in Zoroastrianism, Hinduism , Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
worked in tandem with imputed righteousness
Imputed righteousness
Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology that proposes that the "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to [believers] — that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of this "alien"...
. Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
credited to the Christian, enabling the Christian to be justified
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
; imparted righteousness is what God does in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
after justification, working in the Christian to enable and empower the process of sanctification (and, in Wesleyan thought, Christian perfection
Christian perfection
Christian perfection, also known as perfect love; heart purity; the baptism of the Holy Spirit; the fullness of the blessing; Christian holiness; the second blessing; and entire sanctification, is a Christian doctrine which holds that the heart of the regenerant Christian may attain a state of...
).
Scriptural support
- Jeremiah 31:33-34 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”" (ESVEnglish Standard VersionThe English Standard Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible. It is a revision of the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version...
) - 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (ESVEnglish Standard VersionThe English Standard Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible. It is a revision of the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version...
)
John Wesley
- Sermon #4: "Scriptural Christianity"
- Sermon #14: "The Repentance of Believers"
- Sermon #17: "The Circumcision of the Heart"
- Sermon #20: "The Lord Our Righteousness"
- Sermon #45: "The New Birth"
Hymnody & other sources
Charles Wesley believed in imparted righteousness. This comes through in the Wesleyean hymnody such as his famous hymn "And can it be". The last verse reads:No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine !
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Clothed in righteousness divine. Ephesians 6:14 [TNIV] says "Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...."
Protestant distinctive in imparted righteousness
Preachers and theologians from various Protestant traditions (not only Wesleyan) use the term "imparted righteousness" to identify the righteous principle imparted by God to believers when He regeneratesRegeneration (theology)
Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the Ordo salutis , is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings Christians to new life from a previous state of subjection to the decay of death...
them. Believers thereby become "partakers of the divine nature" (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). It is this principle of righteousness imparted to men in regeneration which is ever in conflict with the old Adamic nature. Protestants, however, maintain the distinction between the "imputed righteousness" of Christ which is the basis for justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
and the "imparted righteousness" which is the basis for subsequent sanctification
Sanctification
Sanctity is an ancient concept widespread among religions, a property of a thing or person sacred or set apart within the religion, from totem poles through temple vessels to days of the week, to a human believer who achieves this state. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity,...
.
It is somewhat problematic for some Christians (notably Calvinists) to call the doctrine "imparted righteousness," for that which is imparted is a righteous principle into man's nature, not righteousness per se. Care must be taken in using the term imparted righteousness because it is sometimes confused with and sometimes intentionally used to refer to the Roman Catholic doctrine of infused righteousness
Infused righteousness
Infused righteousness forms the basis for the doctrine of justification in the Roman Catholic Church and it rooted in the theology of Thomas Aquinas...
, which in Catholicism is the basis for justification.
External links
- John Wesley's Doctrine of Justification by Charles Brockwell...includes a concise discussion of imparted righteousness
- Encountering God by Andrew PurvesAndrew PurvesAndrew Purves is a Christian theologian in the Reformed tradition through the Church of Scotland . He holds the Chair in Reformed Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary....
and Charles Partee, Chapter 9: "The Struggle for Saintliness" (ISBN 0-664-22242-0)...opposed to the idea of imparted righteousness - Voice of the Pastor Study Series