1. OT sacrifices imperfect, not complete value( Heb. 5:8-9 ).

2. Sacrifice of Jesus, worth more than all mankind( John 3:16 ).

3. But God's will must be followed( Heb. 10:5-18 ). Suppose Jesus had sinned. Whose sins would he have died for? His own!( 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24 ).

1. "From this it is also evident that we are justified before God solely by the intercession of Christ's righteousness. This equivalent to saying that man is not righteous in himself but because the righteousness of Christ is communicated to him by imputation."

"You see that righteousness is not in us, but in Christ, that we possess it only because we are partakers in Christ... The only fulfillment he alludes to is that which we obtain through imputation."

"To declare that by him alone we accounted righteous, what else is this but to lodge our righteousness in Christ's obedience, because the obedience of Christ is reckoned to us as if it were our own." ( John Calvin, THE INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, vol. 20, p. 350 ).

2. "Those whom God effectively calleth he also freely justifieth; not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience, to them as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and sacrifice of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God." THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. ( Gordon Clark, WHAT DO PRESBYTERIANS BELIEVE? p. 120 ).

3. "Christ not only bore our penalty on the cross, but in his life he perfectly obeyed his Father. It is the personal righteousness of Christ's sinless obedience that is put to our account, on the basis of which are declared not guilty." ( Gordon Clark ).

4. Baptist Encyclopedia: "Christ imputes or reckons his righteousness to every one of them, and it becomes their own just as really as if they had wrought it our for themselves. His perfect earthly obedience... he place to the credit of each member of his elect family. He give the righteousness he acquired to every saint. He has obeyed... for all trusting disciples, and he gives them this divine righteousness. Paul, the great apostle declares that his righteousness justifies without any of our own works. Christ's obedience is as much ours as they are his."

5. Albert Barnes: "When righteousness of Christ is said to be imputed to us, the meaning is that God so places it to our account, that in the eyes of the law we are held righteous and, therefore, treated accordingly." "That the righteousness of Christ is imputed to man and that the obedience of Christ becomes man's, thus it is not necessary for man to render full gospel obedience in order to be saved."

1. "Calvin was right in doctrine, wrong in terminology"( Wayne McDaniel ).

2. "I will stand in judgment only with the righteousness of Jesus."

3. "Because of his obedience, those who are in him can be saved although they never do achieve perfect obedience themselves. They are saved not because they obey perfectly, but because they believe on Jesus"( GG 2/12/'70, Ed Fudge ).

1. John Walvoord: "It is reckoned to the believer at the moment of faith and becomes his forever by judicial declaration of God. The righteousness thus imputed meets completely the demands of a righteous God and is the sole basis for our acceptance with God."

2. Gordon Clark: "But it is otherwise with Biblical justification, for if favor with God depended on our future conduct, eventual salvation would be based on our works - clearly contrary to Scriptures - and we could never have assurance of success. When our position depends of Christ's merits instead of our own, we have no need to fear."

1. God overlooks sins of weakness - Hitting thumb, cussing, being killed. But aren't all sins of the flesh sins of weakness. What about fornication? ( Eph. 5: 5 ) What about Ananias and Sapphira?

2. God overlooks sins of ignorance, i.e. instruments, institutions, tongues.

3. Some have said we can on that basis fellowship even the First Christian Church.

4. "I will make nothing a test of fellowship which the Lord had not made a condition of Salvation." Ed Fudge, Carl Ketcherside. In their literature, only baptism and the Lord's supper were areas where they would be firm.

1. In our text faith is reckoned for righteousness( James 2:21-23 ).

2. It places conditions upon forgiveness( vs. 7; Psa. 32:5 ).

1. What does this verse mean? Blood is an atonement, for in the shedding of blood life is given and the price is paid.

2. Not a balanced ledger, but a clean one.

1. For the alien( Acts 2 :38 ).

2. For the erring child( Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9 ).

3. Both must walk in the light( 1 John 1:6-7 ). Is instrumental music light or dark? institutions? charismatic gifts?