The imputation of Christ's righteousness to His people, as the immediate ground of their pardon and acceptance with God, may be proved, deductively, from the character in which He acted, as their representative; and from the vicarious nature of the work which He undertook to accomplish. Buchanan, p. 328.

But if it can be clearly proved from Scripture, that the Mediatorial work of Christ was undertaken and executed for the purpose, not of relaxing the Law, but of fulfilling it, on behalf of His people; and if it can be further shown that their Justification is directly connected with the efficacy of His work for that end, then any objection that is raised against the doctrine of His imputed righteousness, cannot be founded on the mere idea of imputation, - - - for that is really involved in every other doctrine which ascribes any efficacy to His work in connection with our Justification, - - - but must rest entirely on the proof of this precise point, - - - that, while the work of Christ was directly imputed to the effect of relaxing the divine Law, and relieving us from the requirement of perfect obedience, it is not directly imputed for our Justification, but becomes available with reference to this end only mediately, - - - through our own personal righteousness, or through our sincere, but imperfect, obedience. On any view that can be taken of the relation which subsists between Christ's work and our Justification, a direct imputation of His merit, at one point or another, must be admitted by all who ascribe any efficacy to it whatever; for it is necessarily involved in the representative character which He sustained, and the vicarious nature of His undertaking: it must come in, without the intervention of any other righteousness, at the point where the Law is supposed to be relaxed in consequence of what He did and suffered; or, if the Law was never relaxed, then at the point where the Law was fulfilled, and where Christ Himself became the 'end of the Law for righteousness to every one who believeth' Romans 10:4. That there may be such a direct imputation of Christ's righteousness as is not founded, either in whole or in part, on any change in the moral character of believers, although it is inseparably connected with it, is evident from the fact, that our sins were really, and in the full sense of the term, imputed to Christ, while the imputation was not even accompanied with the infusion of personal sin, and could not, therefore, be founded upon it. Buchanan, pp. 331-332

Romans 10:3-4

3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.

St. Augustine in his Commentary On the Spirit and the Letter, when dealing with Pelagius, wrote the following which helps to go over this passage and the surrounding context

For the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith, Romans 9:30 - - - by obtaining it of God, not by assuming it of themselves. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. And why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works Romans 9:31-32 - - - in other words, working it out as it were by themselves, not believing that it is God who works within them. For it is God which works in us both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. Philippians 2:13 And hereby they stumbled at the stumbling-stone. Romans 9:32 For what he said, not by faith, but as it were by works, Romans 9:32 he most clearly explained in the following words: They, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Romans 10:3-4 Then are we still in doubt what are those works of the law by which a man is not justified, if he believes them to be his own works, as it were, without the help and gift of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ?

as the apostle says, Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Romans 9:31 He did not say, Which followed after their own traditions, framing them and relying on them. This then is the sole distinction, that the very precept, You shall not covet, Exodus 20:17 and God's other good and holy commandments, they attributed to themselves; whereas, that man may keep them, God must work in him through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Romans 10:4 That is to say, every one who is incorporated into Him and made a member of His body, is able, by His giving the increase within, to work righteousness. It is of such a man's works that Christ Himself has said, Without me you can do nothing. John 15:5. St. Augustine On the Spirit and the Letter, Chapter 50, Nicene & Poste Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Book 5, p. 105.

Now, one thing lacking in the Buchanan/'Reformed' concept of righteousness is the concept of being an adopted child of God. We are children of God and that is why He makes a distinction in sins. He disciplines us for his holiness, and that holiness is distinctly tied into one's righteousness before God. Any child can run away, disinherit themselves with disobedient actions. Indeed, there is a relaxation of the law, but that is because we are in a Father/Son relationship, not because of an alien righteousness being imputed. Paul had written about being adopted children of God, but our obedience is necessary to maintain that relationship with the Father:

Romans 8:15-17

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The following Hebrews passage goes in more depth on this issue:

Hebrews 12:5-17

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? --" My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fail to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" spring up and cause trouble, and by it the many become defiled; 16 that no one be immoral or irreligious like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

One other thing that Buchanan mentioned that was false was he said in justification is not tied in with an interior change or transformation. Again, I disproved that assessment with Scripture in Proposition XVII, first part. I showed from Scripture that justification was caused by the transformation of the individual. Paul specifically showed that in Titus 3:5-7, 1 Cor. 6:11, Rom. 5:19 and Romans 6:7. Buchanan repeating things does not make him right.

Buchanan concludes here:

In the case of believers, the imputation of righteousness is invariably contemporaneous with the infusion of holiness; but that this infused and inherent personal holiness is not the ground of that imputation, is proved conclusively by the fact that we are called, like Abraham, to 'believe in Him who justifieth the ungodly,', Rom. 4:5, and 'who imputeth righteousness without works' Rom. 4:6, Buchanan p. 332.

Romans 4:5-8

5 And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6 So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin."

David is rejoicing here, (as in Psalm 51) that God is here forgiving him for his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and slaying of Uriah the Hittite. The time of the events that he is getting forgiveness for is 2 Samuel 11-12.

An important question that concerns us, is this the time of David's one and only justification, as Buchanan must hold? On the contrary, David since his youth called on the Lord to defeat Goliath. He was not unregenerate then. In 1 Samuel 13:14, years before 2 Sam. 11-12 and Psalm 32, David is called a "man after God's own heart" a distinction given to no other man in the bible. The Psalms prior to Psalm 32 were also written well before the events of 2 Sam. 11-12, which were the occasion for Psalm 32. This shows indeed that David was a true child of God before the events of Psalm 32. Otherwise, we would have Psalms written before Psalm 32 by an unregenerate pagan with no real relationship with God.

Although David earlier in his life was a true child of God, he did something to make himself ungodly. He committed major sins with Bathsheba and Uriah to make him become ungodly (2 Sam. 11-12). That is how he was ungodly coming into Psalm 32. How was he forgiven? By sincere repentance given in the grace of God as so heartfelt put that repentance in Psalms 32 and 51. He did not earn his way back through law. In this state of mortal sin, he responds to Gods' grace, is rejustified, and put back in God's grace. However, it is not David earning his way back into God's grace, not as an employee from an employer. It is a Father-Son relationship. Paul shows that works do not earn his grace back, but his justification is won back by repentance, the point of Rom. 4:5-8. Paul's sees David's acknowledgement and confession of his sin, a total reliance and recognition of God' benificience, grace and mercy, reflecting the Catholic position. He is here credited as righteousness. The fact of David's earlier Godly life, with the fact that he put himself outside of God's grace, and the fact that his repentance led him to justification shows several things fatal to the Calvinist understanding of justification put forth by Buchanan:

1) The language used here is not meant to imply a forensic view of a one-time justification. David already was a believer well before this point in time.

2) David, although he was quite clearly a believer who loved God with all his heart, fell out of God's grace by mortal sin. That is why he needs to be forgiven to be put back in God's grace. David's grace-driven repentance puts him back into God's favor.

3) The crediting of righteousness is not based on an acceptance of an alien righteousness. His repentance was needed to get back into God's righteousness. When one is in this state, then one has a Father-Son relationship at the heart of justification. Then, under the auspices of grace, out of love, the Son responds with works of love that is necessary for ultimate justification (Rom. 2:6-13, 6, 8:1-17, Gal. 6:2-9) and one becomes a doer of the law in a state of God's grace.

One other quote from that article helps to further debunk Buchanan:

We see that in the very verse that Paul quotes from, it says that in the one Lord does not impute iniquity, David's spirit has no deceit!! Thus, David has an inner quality, spiritual essence, of righteousness. Hardly David ontologically staying ungodly. God now looks at David through his eyes of grace. He has went from godly (the life he lived earlier as a man after God's own heart) to ungodly (his mortal sins separated him from God and made David ungodly), back to the state of godly (and remaining in his grace via his obedience), when he repents through God's grace. David has an inner changed nature.

This look at David absolutely destroys any idea of imputation, and exposes the misuse of Romans 4:5-6, as a continual misuse and misunderstanding of Romans 4.

When one is justified, one is made righteous. Holiness is the means of justification, as shown in Hebrews 12:14. Justification is the transformation, as we've seen is when one is 'made' righteous, Rom. 5:19. Washing and renewal we have seen is so that one can be justified as shown in Titus 3:5-7, 1 Cor. 6:11. Again the other passage says that our works on our own, is useless, as St. Augustine noted. However, once in His grace, we can then work out our salvation only with his grace, power, and with his good pleasure, Philippians 2:12-13.

The righteousness of Christ, considered as the merit of His Mediatorial work, is, not partially, but entirely imputed; and is effectual for the complete Justification of all who believe in His name. Some have contended for a partial, in opposition to a plenary, imputation of His merits. They have acknowledged His sufferings and death as the immediate ground of a sinner's pardon, but have objected to His active obedience being imputed to the believer as his title to acceptance with God, and the inheritance of eternal life. But 'Christ is not divided,' nor is His righteousness capable of being separated into parts, so as that one part should be imputed, while the other is not imputed; Buchanan, pp. 332-333.

Now of course Christ's obedience is central to our justification. However, His obedience makes it so we can become obedient. The 'Reformer' idea that his obedience means that we don't have to obey in reference to our justification is a mistaken and unbiblical premise given by Buchanan.

Hebrews 5:8-9

8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him .

Buchanan quotes from 1 Cor. 1:13 where Christ is divided, in reference to the Church being united in Christ, and against divisions. It has absolutely nothing to do with righteousness, let alone alien righteousness being imputed.

It will be found impossible to separate His atoning death from His holy obedience, so as to admit of the one being imputed without the other; for His death was the crowning act of His obedience- - - 'He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross', Phil. 2:8. And if the obedience which was involved in His enduring the cross' may be imputed to us, why may not every other act of His obedience, by which 'He magnified the law, and made it honourable?' It will also be found impossible to defend the imputation of His passive obedience, and to reject that of His whole righteousness, without exposing those who make the attempt to an unanswerable retort from the opponents of both. Indeed, most of the objections which have been urged against the doctrine of imputed righteousness, by those who admit a vicarious satisfaction for sin, have been derived from Popish or Socinian sources, and bear a striking resemblance to those which Bellarmine and Crellius employed in a former age. Buchanan, pp. 333-334.

Philippians 2:8-16:

8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Buchanan next goes on to say that the Protestant concept of imputed righteousness is not a legal fiction:

The imputation of sin and righteousness is not, in any bad sense of the expression, a 'legal fiction,' as it has been offensively called; nor is it a theory, invented by man, but a fact, revealed by God. Instead of disproving the doctrine by a dispassionate appeal to Scripture, some recent writers have attempted to discredit it; and have characterized it sometimes as 'a fiction,' and sometimes as 'a theory.' This is a short and easy method of controversy, fitted to excite prejudice, while it dispenses with proof. But intelligent men, who know how often whatever is true and good among men has been caricatured and traduced by affixing to it some offensive epithet, will require something more than an assertion to convince them, that the faith of the Christian Church has rested from the beginning on nothing more solid than a fanciful figment, or an ingenious speculation. Buchanan, p. 334.

Despite Buchanan's protestations, at least I have used Scripture to disprove imputation of an alien righteousness as a permanent and irreversible ground of justification. Buchanan himself referred to Paul, in Romans 5:12-19. Adam's sin caused sin to enter the world. We have a sin nature. This is found also in Ephesians 2:1, we were dead in trespasses and sin. So, our nature was damaged by the fall, we were not merely 'declared' sinful we were ontologically sinful. As Paul notes, Christ came to undo this. Jesus Himself said in John 8:31-36, because we have sin on our soul, He came to free us from that bondage, not merely declare it. How do we get out of this bondage to sin? Let us go back to the full passage that focuses on justification in Romans 5.

Romans 5:15-19:

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

if we have reason to believe, as we have endeavoured to prove, that He has promulgated a scheme of Redeeming Mercy, and this, too, in a covenant form, through the second Adam as the representative of His people,- - -imposing on Him the fulfilment of its conditions, and securing to them the benefits of His work on their behalf,- - -then this constitution also may, or rather must, be productive of results, in which they as well as He will be found to participate; and yet these results, so far from being mere 'legal fictions,' are substantial blessings of the highest and most permanent kind;- - -the pardon of sin,- - -the restoration of God's favour,- - -the renewal of His image,- - -the assurance of His love,- - -the privilege of adoption,- - -and the gift of eternal life,- - -all these are brought upon us under the operation of that scheme, and every one of them is as real, as it is desirable. When we are brought face to face with such realities as these, it is vain to talk of 'legal fictions,' whether under the Law or under the Gospel; for while condemnation, on the one hand, and justification, on the other, are strictly forensic or judicial acts, and must necessarily have some relation to the Law and Justice of God,- - -and while the representative character both of the first and second Adam, and the consequent imputation of their guilt and righteousness to those whom they respectively represented, can only be ascribed to the sovereign will and appointment of God,- - -yet the results are in their own nature real and true, and not, in any sense, fictitious or imaginary. Buchanan pp. 336-337.

Buchanan in his concluding sentence again refers to the first and second Adam, Christ is the New Adam. As already mentioned, justification's definition in Rom. 5:15-19, is being made righteous. If one sins, and makes oneself unholy, one is no longer in a righteous status. So through God's grace only enables one to work out one's salvation with fear and trembling, but it is a process. One must endure to the end to inherit the kingdom of heaven, Phil 2:12-16. That endurance, through God's grace is not merely a result, but a cause of final justification.

Buchanan concludes the following with a summary judgment on what is the conclusion of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to one's account:

What is the doctrine of the Incarnation, but the statement of a fact respecting the union of the divine and human natures in the person of our Lord? And, in like manner, what is the doctrine of Imputation, whether of sin or of righteousness, but the statement of a fact respecting the relation in which we stand to the first and second Adam, and the consequences which result to us from the disobedience of the one, and the obedience of the other? No doubt, when these facts are revealed, and become the subjects of human thought, they may occasion much speculation, and speculation may give birth to many theories, which are all the more likely to be wild and visionary when speculation is unrestrained by faith; but let the Facts themselves be believed on the testimony of the Revealer, let them be duly realised in their full scriptural meaning, and in their application to our own souls,- - -and we may safely discard every theory about them which is the mere invention of men, and adhere only to the truth as it has been taught by God. Buchanan, p. 338.

I have looked at the full chapter, proposition by proposition by a 'Classic Reformed' apologist, James Buchanan, whose book I was referred to by a modern apologist James White. I have looked at 5 propositions proposed by Buchanan. This whole reason is the 'immediate and only' ground of justification. The is the whole foundation of the 'Reformation'.

In Proposition XVI, Buchanan referred to the need for this alien righteousness. Buchanan referred to the 'righteousness of God' as somehow implying the alien righteousness was necessary. He referred to Romans 3:20-22, and Philippians 3:8 as showing that a human righteousness will not attain justification. Law has nothing to do with justification because man cannot keep the law. I showed that those passages show that yes, a human righteousness apart from the power of God, avails nothing before God. However, these passages do not do away with all law in reference to justification, and Phil 3 in fact showed that it points to the endurance necessary to actually achieve that justification. No passages he quoted referred to alien righteousness. I showed through Romans 2:4-13, 25:29, 8:2-4, 13:8-10 that through the law of the Spirit, we can keep the law, only empowered through God's grace. He also implied Romans 5 pointed to the need for an alien righteousness, whereas I showed that Paul wrote that in justification, one is actually made righteous, Rom 5:19, and we are 'justified' or free from sin, Rom. 6:7.

In Proposition XVII, Buchanan made three assertions. First, using 2 Cor. 5:21 and 1 Peter 2:24, he said pointed to a perfect righteousness being applied to one's account and Jesus was counted as a sinner. I showed that the context of those passages showed that it didn't and pointed to infused righteousness, which must be maintained by cooperation with God's grace. Jesus' purpose was not covering us over but to make us free from sin. Second, Buchanan attempted to say that justification by imputation is applied externally, and not infused, I showed passages such as Romans 5:19, Titus 3:5-7, and 1 Cor 6:11, shows that it is by infusion, and the passages that he brought forth do not point to external imputation only. Third, he attempted again to show that justification was not tied into a moral change. I showed that Scripture shows that there is a moral change.

In Proposition XVIII, Buchanan attempted to use Romans 10:4 to say that Christ perfectly fulfilled the law so we do not have to, and our own righteousness can not fulfil the law. St. Augustine looked at the context to show that with God, we keep the law only by God's grace and power. I showed, with God's empowering grace, and being a son of a gracious Father ,we can fulfill the law of the Spirit, Rom. 8:2-4. We can also be disinherited with disobedient actions. Buchanan pointed to Paul's citation of Roman 4:5-7 as somehow pointing to imputation, and I showed that the passage shows that justification is transformative and that it is a process and one can be righteous through God's grace, as exemplified by David's life. As noted, that passage actually destroys the idea of a one-time imputation of an alien righteousness.

In Proposition XIX, Buchanan asserts Christ's obedience was all that was necessary to be justified, I showed that Christ's obedience made it so through grace we can obey unto justification, Heb. 5:9. Buchanan also pointed to Phil. 2:8 which shows Christ's obedience was foundational to our salvation. Of course true, but the context showed that believers must work out one's salvation with fear and trembling and maintain holiness unto the day of salvation, Phil. 2:8-16.

In Proposition XX, Buchanan asserted that the Protestant idea is not a 'legal fiction' because the imputation is real. Christ's perfect righteousness is truly, and irreversibly applied to a believer's account. As it is real, and the adoption of sons are permanent, it is irreversibly true. However, I showed that the premise is false. God cannot coexist with sin and declare sin not sin, and pretend that someone has a perfect righteousness when that person does not. But through God's grace he can transform a sinner to a truly righteous person. But believers have the responsibility of pursuing holiness without which no one can see the Lord, Heb. 12:14.

I showed in this examination that the idea of imputation of an alien righteousness is not a truly biblical concept and all the Scriptures that Buchanan used do not even hint at his conclusions. The major passages that he used, we looked at in depth and showed the exact opposite from his conclusions. Why did Jesus come? An external imputation only? No, as Jesus himself said he came to set us free from the bondage to sin, John 8:31-36. He gives us the grace to keep the commandments and we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit. In justification we are made righteous, Rom. 5:19.

In this long chapter not one time did Buchanan mention Jesus' words. That in and of itself shows that this teaching is false. However, even staying with Paul's own language we see the purpose of Jesus' death:

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, 12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

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