Christ, by dying, satisfied God on behalf and in place of sinners, just as if they had themselves died in their own person. Christ, by dying and obeying the Father, acquired righteousness, not merely a personal righteousness but that of a surety. For he is the righteous one who fully paid the penalties owed for sin and fulfilled the law of God by obeying. And he paid them not for himself but for others, and he obeyed the Father both for himself and for us. And the righteousness of a surety and a guarantor belongs to those for whom the bail and surety are met.
It is expressly stated in the Scriptures that Christ became our righteousness by dying for us and obeying the Father. He became a victim for us, was made a curse and a sacrifice for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:25; 5:6-7, 10; John I5:I3; 509) 1 Peter 3:I8; Isa. 53:12). But it is nowhere written that Christ died and obeyed the Father so that our good works, done with the help of grace, would satisfy the law’s righteousness and be considered our own righteousness before the dreadful judge’s tribunal. In other words, it is nowhere written that Christ’s act in justifying, redeeming, and saving means Christ, by his own merits, made us our own justifiers, redeemers, and saviors. For then the power of Christ’s merits would be his communicating to our works the meritorious power of justification, remission of sins, and eternal life. Nowhere in all Scripture is this found to be a fruit of Christ’s death.
Samuel Rutherford, The Works of Samuel Rutherford: Arminianism: A Systematic and Theological Response, ed. Chad Van Dixhoorn, trans. David C. Noe (Reformation Heritage Books, 226), 1:556–57.
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Inwoo Lee
Inwoo Lee (BA, UCSD) earned his MA (Historical Theology) in 2020 from Westminster Seminary California and is author of “Righteous Before God: William Perkins’ Doctrine of Justification in Elizabethan England” (MA Thesis, Westminster Seminary California, 2020). He lives in the Great Seoul area, in South Korea with his wife Holly.
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