Rom 4:3,8 What does the scripture say? Say, "[Abraham believed in God, and that was credited to him for his righteousness." "The wages of those who work are not considered grace, but they are due; But whoever does not work but believes in God, who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Just as David called "blessed are those who are reckoned righteous by God apart from works." He said, "Blessed is the man who has forgiven his transgressions and covered his sins!" Jesus is not counted as sinful, blessed is this man! ”

【Romans 4:19-25】When he was nearly 100 years old, his faith was not weak, even though he thought that his body was dead and that Sarah's fertility had been cut off. and looking to the promises of God, they did not doubt because of unbelief, but were strengthened in their hearts through faith to the glory of God. [And with all his heart believing that what God has promised will be done.] Therefore it is reckoned to him for righteousness]. The phrase "reckoned to others" was not written for him alone, but also for those of us who will be reckoned righteous, that is, those of us who believe that God raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Jesus was delivered to men for our transgressions; The resurrection is for our justification.

【Luke 18:10-14】," said, "Two men went up into the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector." The Pharisees stood and prayed to themselves, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men who extort or commit adultery, nor like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of everything I get. The tax collector stood afar off, not daring to lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breasts and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner!' I say to you, "This man is reckoned righteous more than the other when he goes home." For whoever exalts himself will be humbled; He who has low self-esteem will be exalted. ”

【1John 3:9】Whoever is born of God does not sin, because the seed of God remains in him; He cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 【Isa 5:20】 Woe to you! Those who call evil good, good evil, darkness for light, light for darkness, bitter for sweetness, and sweet for bitterness!

【Heb8:12】I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more. ”

【1John 2:6】If anyone says that he abides in the Lord, let him himself walk as the Lord walks.

【Heb12:14】...... No one can see the Lord unless they are holy.

【1John 3:7】Sons, do not be tempted. He who does what is righteous is righteous, just as the Lord is righteous.

【Rom1:17】For the righteousness of God is manifested in this gospel; This righteousness is of faith, and of faith. As it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." ”

【Heb3:14】If we endure to the end the faith that we had at the beginning, we are partakers of Christ.

-------------------------------------------------

The point of Reckoning is to emphasize that this is the grace of the Lord, not the wages of our work—as the Bible says: Blessed are those who are reckoned righteous by God outside of their works. The works here refer to the works of earning salvation by one's own merits or efforts, and if that is the case, we who have received more of the Lord's favor have something to boast about—behold, I am holier than you, and more gifted than you, for I am better than you are. But Paul is making it clear here that we have nothing to boast about before God, and that we are all those who have been justified by God's grace freely. There is nothing to boast about! How can you use what you don't have? Is it the method of meritorious service? No, it is by the way of faith. So we have established that a man is justified by faith, not by the works of the law. It should be noted that the reason for justification here is because of faith in the Lord, not because of obeying the law, but it does not mean that there is no need to obey the law after believing in the Lord, just as the patient is not healed because of the health standards, but because of the doctor's treatment, but it does not mean that the doctor does not need to follow the health standards after the doctor treats him, because the purpose of the treatment is to make the patient meet the health standard...... So, we must understand that keeping health standards is a sign of healing, not the cause of healing, just as keeping the law is a sign of grace, but not a cause of grace......

"Reckoning as righteousness" does not mean that he has not yet met God's standards, but because he believes in Jesus, even if he has met the standards, it is like a person who says, "I believe in Jesus, so I can not care about sinning, because the Lord has counted me righteous...... On the contrary, God never counts evil as good, and He says, Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, and darkness for light, and light for darkness, bitter for sweetness, and sweet for bitterness! Therefore the Lord justifies us by making us righteous through faith, just as it is written, "He who does what is righteous is righteous, just as the Lord is righteous, and if anyone says that he is in Christ, let him do as the Lord walks...... Just as the repentant tax collector is enlightened and changed by the Holy Spirit because of his faith, and this man is credited righteousness when he returns home than the Pharisee who boasts by his works, and this righteousness is obtained as a result of faith, not by his own merits, so God counts us as righteous if we have such faith......

"Reckoned righteous" means that the original sins are no longer remembered by the Lord, and they are forgiven by faith in Jesus, so it is called "justification by faith", but since they are justified by faith, they become one spirit with the Lord and become the image of the Lord, which is manifested from the inside, and is willing to follow the Lord and do what He has done... If you ask, can you be saved if you are counted righteous by the Lord, I don't think anyone will say that you will not be saved, but if you are not holy and not righteous, can you be saved, obviously not, so those who are counted righteous by the Lord are righteous... In addition, being counted righteous by the Lord is not a starting point in the sense of time, but a continuous state of faith in Jesus, because this righteousness is by faith to the point of faith, and by faith the righteous will live...

"Reckoned righteous" is that you have not been condemned according to your past sins, but have been forgiven by faith and your debts of sin, and you have stood among the righteous by faith... So, [this reckoning is emphasizing that justification is earned by faith in Jesus, not by one's own works], so we have nothing to boast about in this reckoning... But true faith leads to true obedience, which is manifested in the works of righteousness, for he who does what is righteous is the righteous, just as the Lord is righteous... So, being counted righteous does not mean that he is still a sinner and that he is not counted as a sinner by believing in him, but that [by faith] the Lord has changed our lives, and the old things have passed away and become new! There are many Sunday brethren who tend to be saved from sin, that is, although I am still a weak sinner, but the Lord has forgiven me, I am not a sinner, and the Lord has covered our sins with His precious blood...... In fact, [the covering here means smearing and washing], and the righteousness of the Lord is only a fig leaf for us, a kind of outward covering, covering, and covering, but on the inside we are still a sinner... Therefore, "we are justified by faith" is a criterion and a requirement, and if we believe in Christ but do not do righteousness by Him, such faith cannot be counted as righteous... Justification by faith is what the brothers on Sunday often call such faith, which is only the approval of the mind and the determination of the mind, although they also say that they will bear the fruit of the Spirit, but it is in essence a cheap gospel, that is, we do not have to be justified (or do righteousness) by the Lord, because we are "reckoned righteous" by the Lord (justified by the Lord in sin) by faith...

【Mt 10:22】And you will be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end will be saved.

【Mark 16:16】He who believes and is baptized will be saved; and he that believeth not will be condemned.

【Heb5:9】And having been perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

【1Pet2:2】And you shall love the pure milk of the Spirit, as a newborn child desires milk, that by it you may grow up until you are saved.

【1Thess5:8】But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, covering our breasts with faith and love, and putting on our helmets the hope of salvation.

【Rom8:24】We are saved by hope; But the hope which is seen is not hope, and who wants what he sees?

【Heb3:13-14】Counsel one another daily, while this day is still there, lest any of you be deceived by sin and harden his heart. If we endure the faith we had in the beginning, we are partakers in Christ.

【1John 3:9】Whoever is born of God does not sin, for the word of God remains in him; He cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

--------------------------------------------

Salvation is an enduring hope that depends on the promise of the faithful Lord that you will be saved by faith and baptized. As we have often said, the Lord's checks work just as well as cash, because He never writes blank checks. We usually say that I am saved because we believe in Him...... Therefore, what is true faith is particularly important, because it is directly related to whether or not we are ultimately saved...... Therefore, the discussion of what is justified by faith, what is reckoned righteous, and what is justified is much more important than the discussion of predestination, the Trinity, the God-man duality of Jesus, etc., because any subtle misinterpretation of these concepts will directly affect whether we are saved or not, because it determines the motive and direction of our actions...... Therefore, these truths are the core of the Bible, they are related to our lives, and they are also worthy of our repeated reflection, reflection and discussion......

From the above scriptures, we can see that the person who drinks the milk of the spirit is not saved, as some brothers say, but his life is still very weak, in fact, such a person is not saved, but only a person who is moving towards salvation, just as we read God's word every day and draw in the nourishment of it, so that Christ fills us, so that Christ is formed in us, so that we are full of the stature of the fullness of Christ...... Therefore, the pursuit of the Lord's Word, the desire to live more like God, is only a process of regeneration, and when we fully believe in the Lord, the old self will cease to exist, and we will be filled with the Spirit of the Lord, which is truly born again and saved......

For example, some people say that we were originally street children and were adopted by the king as sons, although we still have all kinds of problems in street children, but our identity has changed, we are the king's sons, so in spite of these problems, our identity is still the king's sons, and whether or not we eventually become like sons, we will inherit his inheritance...... In this story alone, such an explanation makes sense, but it does not fully correspond to the relevant teachings of the Bible. It is true that the Bible also says, "He chastenth what the Lord loves, and scourges all the sons whom he accepts," but the Bible also says that "whoever is chastised again and again stiffens his neck, and in an instant he will be corrupted beyond cure." Therefore fools who despise the discipline of their fathers will be corrupted, for he who rejects discipline despises his own life; So, the sonhood enables us to receive the father's discipline, but if we reject it, the father will let us go, and we will lose the son's position in a kind of indulgence and follow another "father...... As Jesus said, "You are from your father the devil, and you prefer to do the evil desires of your father." He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not keep the truth, because he had no truth in him; He lies of his own accord, for he is a liar and the father of liars.

【Rom8:15】You have not received the heart of a slave, but you are afraid; It is the heart of the Son that we cry out, "Abba, Father! ”

【Galatians 4:6】And since you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, "Abba, Father! ”

【Rom8:23】And not only that, but even we, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan in our own hearts, waiting for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies.

【Galatians 4:5】To redeem those who are under the law, that we may receive the adoption of sons.

【Eph1:5】And because of his love for us, he predestined us to be sons through Jesus Christ, according to what pleased with his own will--------------------------------------------------------

When the Spirit of the Son of God comes into us and calls Abba Father, we obey Him, and when we continue to follow the Spirit of the Spirit and not the flesh, we receive the adoption of sons. In fact, the Son is the Christ, but it is only when we continue to hide in Christ that we receive the claim of Son. Therefore, when we do not trust Christ, we lose this title, so that the acquisition of the title is the result of being in Christ, not that since I have been given the status of a son, I have the security of an inheritance, even if I am far from Christ, the title of a son is not lost, and such a thinker really does not understand the doctrine of justification by faith......

["Justification" and "Righteousness"]

Rom 4:3,8 What does the scripture say? Say, "[Abraham believed in God, and that was credited to him for his righteousness." "The wages of those who work are not considered grace, but they are due; But whoever does not work but believes in God, who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Just as David called "blessed are those who are reckoned righteous by God apart from works." He said, "Blessed is the man who has forgiven his transgressions and covered his sins!" Jesus is not counted as sinful, blessed is this man! ”

【Ps 24:5】He will be blessed by the Lord, and he will be justified by the God who saves him.

【Rom6:15,18】What then? Can we sin under grace and not under the law? Never! Do you not know that you offer yourselves as slaves, and to whom you obey you will be slaves? or a slave to sin, unto death; or to be obedient slaves, to righteousness. Thank God! For though you were slaves to sin, you are now obedient in your heart to the pattern of the doctrine which has been preached to you. Having been set free from your sins, you have become slaves to righteousness.

---------------------------------

What is the difference between justification and justification, some brothers say that justification is only a change in status, a sign of salvation, but it has not yet been victorious, and it still needs a process of sanctification, but it is already saved. Righteousness is the completion of a qualitative transformation in the Lord, a holy, overcoming, sanctified Christian, which is only about reward, not about salvation......

Actually, "Justification" is addressed to those who want to rely on their own deeds and rely on meritorious deeds, which means that your justification is God's grace, which is counted righteous by faith, not earned by your own work. And "righteousness" means that being "justified" means being forgiven and accepted by the Lord, but being justified does not mean that you can sin at will, but that you should trust the Lord in everything and be a slave to the Lord's will, so that [righteousness] can be said to be the essence and connotation of "justification", and it is a footnote to "justification......

The relationship between justification and justification is a bit like the relationship between Romans and James:

To the Jews who wanted to be saved by their works, Paul said, "We are justified by faith, not by works, not by meritorious deeds."

In response to the cheap-capitalist gospel that emerged among the early believers, James said that faith is dead without works, but that faith and works go hand in hand.

Understanding the relationship between justification and righteousness, we will understand that salvation and sanctification, salvation and victory are fundamentally the same thing, and that there is no such thing as unsanctified salvation, nor salvation without victory, but that all who are saved are sanctified and victorious, and the Lord will reward us according to the talents He has given us......

---------------------------------------------

【Rev11:18】When the nations are angry, your wrath is coming, and the time is coming to judge the dead; Thy servants, all the prophets, and all the saints, and all those who fear thy name, shall receive a reward, even the great and the small; The time has come for you to corrupt those who have corrupted the world. ”