Imparted righteousness, in

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, is that

gracious Gracious was a British progressive rock band that existed from 1967 to 1971 and released three studio albums: ''Gracious!'' (1970, Vertigo/Capitol), ''This Is...'' (1972, Philips), and ''Echo'' (1996). History Singer Paul 'Sandy' Davis and gu ...

gift of God given at the moment of the new birth which enables a Christian disciple to strive for holiness and

sanctification Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

believed that imparted righteousness worked in tandem with imputed righteousness. ''Imputed righteousness'' is the righteousness of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

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 In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

''after'' justification, working in the Christian to enable and empower the process of sanctification (and, in Wesleyan thought,

Christian perfection Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

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.”" (''

ESV The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published crit ...

'') * 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." (''

'')

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 and other sources

Charles Wesley believed in imparted righteousness. This comes through in the Wesleyan hymnody such as his famous hymn "

And can it be "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?" is a Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley in 1738 to celebrate his conversion, which he regarded as having taken place on 21 May of that year. The hymn celebrates personal salvation through the death and ...

". 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 NIVsays "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 regenerates 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

. 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 forms the basis for the doctrine of justification in the Roman Catholic Church and is rooted in the theology of Thomas Aquinas. The doctrine states that through keeping the commands of Christ, regular confession and penan ...

,'' which in Catholicism is the basis for justification.

The "NPP" case against both Imputed and Imparted Righteousness

This section is a precis of N. T. Wright's work in "What Saint Paul Really Said". N. T. Wright, ''What Saint Paul really said'' Eerdmans, 1997. N. T. Wright, who is one of the best-known advocates of the

New Perspective on Paul The "New Perspective on Paul" is a movement within the field of biblical studies concerned with the understanding of the writings of the Apostle Paul. The "new perspective" was started with liberal scholar E. P. Sanders' 1977 work ''Pau ...

, explains that although the "righteousness of God" and "righteousness from God" have been confused and conflated in the past, they are distinct concepts. He relates the court-room metaphor, pointing out that there are three parties in the Hebrew court - two parties in disagreement and one judge (there is no "Prosecuting Attorney"). The judge decides the outcome of the dispute between the parties, declaring one to be correct and the other incorrect. The one who is declared "correct" in court is called "righteous" in the matter that was judged. The "righteousness of God", referring to God's (the judge's) faithfulness to the covenant relationship, ''can be neither imputed nor imparted to anybody'' but refers only to His role as judge. "Righteousness from God" is roughly equivalent to "vindication", meaning that God is pronouncing that particular party to be correct/vindicated/righteous/acquitted in their dispute with the other party. The dispute in question in Christian theology is between those of faith (in God's promises: the covenant, the Messiah), and "the wicked", meaning everybody opposed to those of faith. Paul was positing that the people of such faith are vindicated when Messiah returns, being declared "righteous" (or in other words, vindicated for their stance), which is exactly the meaning of the Biblical term "justified" in N. T. Wright's view. This means that we do not "receive" the righteousness of God (or as often expressed, "of Jesus") as in the classical Evangelical vernacular, nor is it "infused" as stated in the classical Roman Catholic vernacular. The "righteousness of God" remains His alone, and our "righteousness from God" means that we are found to be "of" the people of God. Paul's argument is that it has always been so, but what has changed is that the Messiah, in

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, has now appeared. An important verse to note is 2 Cor 5:21, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (ESV), which has traditionally been interpreted to mean that the Christian has, in some way, become righteous (by impartation or imputation), in exchange for Jesus' sinlessness. In fact, N. T. Wright says, Paul is speaking here ''of the apostles'', and pointing out that ''in their role as apostles'', their activity is effectively God's righteousness (covenant faithfulness) in action ("we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" - vv 20-21). This meaning is natural when taken in context from verse 11 through 21.

References

Citations

Sources

John Wesley's Doctrine of Justification
by Charles Brockwell...includes a concise discussion of imparted righteousness * ''Encountering God'' by

Andrew Purves Andrew Purves (born 1946) is a Scottish theologian in the Reformed tradition through the Church of Scotland (and later, the Presbyterian Church .html" ;"title="SA/nowiki>">SA/nowiki>). He holds the Chair in Reformed Theology at Pittsburgh Theol ...

and Charles Partee, Chapter 9: "The Struggle for Saintliness" ()...opposed to the idea of imparted righteousness

Voice of the Pastor Study Series {{refend Methodism Salvation in Protestantism Christian terminology da:Tilvejebragt Retfærdighed