A Righteous Identity Brings Righteous Behavior

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It's foolish to take Romans 4:5 out of context and say that it proves that Christians can be saved and still live like the world.  While there's blessed comfort in eternal security but that's not the whole point of eternal security.  Many times, people say they've been "imputed with righteousness" so they can sin all they want or that Christians can go ahead, be saved but never result in any change.  Such a teaching is severely misguided and a lie from the pits of Hell.  In Romans 3:31, we read that Paul says that faith doesn't make the Law void but rather it establishes the Law.

When a person is saved, there's going to be a change.  Before salvation, these men were brought before a holy and righteous God.  They realize that they're miserable, lost sinners and they're fed up with sin but they can't save themselves.  They see they're unholy and God is holy.  They see they're unrighteous and God is righteous.  They see they deserve nothing but Hell.  They see that they are people who really God's imputed righteousness and holiness.  When they're saved the very character of holiness and righteousness is imputed to the believer which works itself out.

Philippians 2:12-13 addresses the issue of working out your salvation and not working on it plus it's God that works in the Christian.  When there's the saved life then there's bound to be good works as a result of salvation.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 shows the very change from unrighteousness to righteousness.  1 Corinthians 6:11 when misquoted by the followers of "Easy Christianity" are just chewing themselves.  Do they even forget the word "sanctified" meaning "set apart"?  How can a person who's sanctified in the Holy Spirit still remain as is?  Ephesians 2:8-10 and Titus 2:11-14 shows that if you're saved then there's bound to be change.  The Christian may not be perfect, may have some compromises as even some good kings made horrible mistakes but never can they live like the rest of the world.

There is the confidence Christians can have in their future in Christ and their lives.  Philippians 1:6 gives the precious guarantee that Christians have begun a good work in Christ are destined to finish it.  As the parable of the sower goes that the good soil hearers (those who have already been conditioned to receive the seed of the Word of God) produce varying degrees of good fruit but they never are perpetually barren.  If a person says, "I have been imputed with Christ's righteousness." but also says, "Now I can sin all I want.", then that person gives out evidence of being a false convert.


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