Protestant view of being declared righteous

[alh5184]

I understand that the general protestant view is that we are declared righteous by God when we are justified and that we are not actually made righteous. However, once we reach heaven do they believe at that point that God makes us righteous or that we are still only declared righteous in heaven?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SyCarl]

It depends on what you mean by actually made righteous. We are given us a new spirit that allows us to pursue righteousness. In that sense we are made righteous. However, since we can still sin, we are not made perfectly righteous. I do not think anyone can claim to be perfectly righteous if such as King David can declare:

A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
(Psalms 143:1-2 NASB)

Many Protestants will say that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. I don’t necessarily believe that is necessary. It would be enough if God declares us righteous, not based on what we presently are, but on what we will become if we persevere until the end. From this it should be clear that I don’t accept once saved always saved.

 

[TriuneUnity]

Many Protestants will say that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. I don’t necessarily believe that is necessary. It would be enough if God declares us righteous, not based on what we presently are, but on what we will become if we persevere until the end. From this it should be clear that I don’t accept once saved always saved.

I think one of the problems of focusing on the imputation issue too much is that it simply becomes fodder for apologetics arguments instead of eliciting the response of praise it is designed to.

Having said that it is still important because God’s declaration of us as righteous must be based on something. He cannot arbitrarily declare us righteous because He is just. The righteousness could not be our future righteousness in heaven because the only reason we will go to heaven is because we have been declared righteous, know what I mean? We must already have been declared righteous otherwise we will never go to heaven.

I don’t believe in once saved always saved either, because we are linked to Christ’s redeeming work by faith. If we lose faith, we are no longer linked to Christ, therefore, our justification is no longer in Christ, but reverts back to our own righteousness.

 

[SyCarl]

I think one of the problems of focusing on the imputation issue too much is that it simply becomes fodder for apologetics arguments instead of eliciting the response of praise it is designed to.

Personally I think too much time is spent trying to understand and explain everything relates to salvation. It should be enough to accept God has a plan and that He is so infinitely above us, that it is unwarranted pride
that makes us argue about fine points of doctrine. We do so because we feel we have a right and ability to know what God does. We should just accept what he does without needing to explain exactly how it is done.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

First when one is born again, they are a new creature, circumsized in the spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Deuteronomy 10:16

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

Deuteronomy 30:6

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Jeremiah 4:4

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.

Romans 2:28-29 (New International Version)

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Ezekiel 11:19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 18:31
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?

Then there is imputed or positional “salvation” ( for lack of better word ) God the Father sees us through Jesus. Another way of saying this we are under his covering, a covering of blood.

Psalm 32:2
Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Romans 4:6
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Romans 4:8
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Romans 4:11
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Romans 4:22
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Romans 4:23
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

Romans 4:24
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Romans 5:13
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Note: our position “in Christ”

Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Ephesians 1:10
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Ephesians 1:20
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 2:6
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 3:6
That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

The final cleansing you are asking about is symbolized by the white robes that we recieve in heaven, likely before the judgement.

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Revelation 6:11
Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Revelation 7:9
The Great Multitude in White Robes ] After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:13
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

Revelation 7:15
And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

The purification is from being washed in HIS blood,

Revelation 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Revelation 7:14
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Some will see this cleansing occuring conconcurently with the Resurrection when mortal puts on immortal.

I Cor 15:53

1 Corinthians 15:53 (King James Version)

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Based on the mischarterizartion of “eternal security” that I have seen on these boards, I would not believe in it myself.

You should get some good books from some top notch “calvinist – augustine-ists” to read.

Basically, both sides agree that we must finish the race set before us. Calvin - Augustine saw ths as occuring through the power, strength of Jesus himself. Armininist tend to see it as self will, or walking under our own power vs obedience.

The calvinist will say, we must finish the race, and in God’s strength we will.

When the Arministist views things strickly from a free will stand point.

I find Calvinist - Arminisian books fun to read, esp when they engage in biblical gymastics to get out of a text.

Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews
Edited by Herbert W. Bateman IV

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Colossians 2:11 (New International Version)

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,

 

[Angainor]

I understand that the general protestant view is that we are declared righteous by God when we are justified and that we are not actually made righteous. However, once we reach heaven do they believe at that point that God makes us righteous or that we are still only declared righteous in heaven?

Thanks in advance.

That is a very astute question. I believe Paul answered in the affirmative.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you…And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:10-11,23
We will be given redeemed natures at the resurrection.