Man's righteousness is of God.
Whatever there is in man of goodness, virtue, sound or right feeling, high aspiration, spiritual strength, comes to him from the Almighty, from whence descends "every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17). Original righteousness was from God (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:31). When man fell, and "corrupted his way," recovery was impossible, unless God both devised a method by which it should be possible, and also superintended the working of his own method, and at each step made it effectual. The righteousness of the servants of God is a double righteousness, imputed and infused; but both come equally from the perfectly "righteous Servant" (Isaiah 53:11), who alone "justifies many."
I. IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OF GOD. Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of God; for it is the righteousness of Christ, who is God. Christ is made to us" wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The righteousness which is properly his, and which is a perfect righteousness, is, through our mystic union with him, imputed to us, as if it were ours, and so becomes ours, and justifies us. It is also "of God," since it is imputed to us by God. God the Father condescends to look upon us as so bound up in his Son that he passes on to us the merits of his Son, and, as it were, makes them ours.
II. INFUSED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OF GOD. Infused righteousness is the work of the Holy Spirit, who "sanctifies us, and all the elect people of God." It admits of infinite degrees, and in this life is always imperfect. The true Christian is always making progress in it, adding grace to grace, going on from strength to strength, perfecting holiness in the tear of God. But every step is made by God's help. Without him man can do nothing. Every virtue that we have is also a grace—a grace from the Divine point of view, a virtue from the human; with struggle and effort acquired by man, yet given to him by God. Imputed righteousness is that which justifies us; infused righteousness is that which sanctifies us. The one is a gift to us; the other is a gift in us. But both alike are the gift of God (see Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:15-19; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 5:22, Galatians 5:23; Ephesians 5:9, etc.).
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON