Rethinking Imputed Righteousness: A Biblical Challenge to a Popular Doctrine. Part 1.

Rethinking Imputed Righteousness: A Biblical Challenge to a Popular Doctrine. Part 1.

One of the most widely held assumptions in Western Christianity, particularly within Protestant traditions, is the idea of imputed righteousness—that Christ's perfect moral record is credited to believers as though it were their own. This concept, championed during the Reformation, remains central to many theological frameworks. But is this doctrine truly biblical?

What is Imputed Righteousness?

In classic Protestant theology, imputed righteousness teaches that Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sins but also lived a perfect life in our place. His righteousness is then legally transferred or “imputed” to us, so that when God looks at a believer, He sees not our own record, but Christ's. At first glance, this can sound comforting. But upon closer inspection, it raises serious theological and biblical problems.

1. Righteousness Is Relational and Covenant-Based, Not a Legal Fiction

Biblically, righteousness is not primarily a legal status—it is a relational and covenantal concept. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, a person is “righteous” not because they meet some abstract legal standard, but because they are faithful within the covenant.

Abraham was called righteous because of his faith (Genesis 15:6), not because God credited someone else's moral perfection to him. His righteousness was counted, not transferred. The Hebrew idea behind this is covenant loyalty, not courtroom bookkeeping.

When Paul draws on Abraham’s story in Romans 4, he isn’t inventing a new legal theology. He is arguing that faith, not Torah observance, marks out the covenant people. Righteousness, then, is about right-standing in relationship to God’s promises—not receiving someone else’s record.

2. Jesus Never Taught Imputation

Despite its prominence in theology books, the concept of imputed righteousness is conspicuously absent in Jesus’ teachings. He speaks of forgiveness, mercy, inner transformation, and becoming children of God. But He never tells His disciples that His righteousness will be credited to them. Instead, Jesus calls His followers to be righteous (Matthew 5:20), to bear fruit, and to live out the values of the kingdom. The idea that they can stand righteous before God solely because of His performance undercuts the entire call to discipleship and transformation.

3. The New Testament Emphasizes Participation, Not Substitution

Paul’s language in the New Testament frequently speaks of union with Christ—“in Christ,” “with Christ,” “crucified with Christ,” etc. This points to a participatory model, not merely a legal one. Believers are transformed by sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection, not simply by having His record applied to them. Romans 6 is particularly clear: Paul argues that believers have died with Christ and are raised to walk in newness of life. This is about actual change, not forensic cover-up. If righteousness were simply a matter of imputation, why would Paul spend so much time urging believers to pursue holiness?

4. Imputation Undermines True Transformation

One of the unintended consequences of the imputed righteousness framework is that it can foster a kind of spiritual complacency. If God sees me as perfectly righteous regardless of how I live, then why strive for real holiness? This reduces sanctification to an optional extra rather than the natural fruit of faith. But Scripture consistently teaches that salvation is meant to produce real, observable change. Righteousness, in the biblical sense, is the outworking of faith through love (Galatians 5:6), not a legal fiction maintained by divine accounting.

5. The Judgment Passages Contradict the Imputation Framework

Throughout the New Testament, judgment is consistently portrayed as based on deeds—not on whether one has a righteousness account in heaven. Romans 2, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20, and many of Jesus' own parables all affirm that our works matter. If God is truly just, then the final judgment must reflect who we have become, not simply who we are declared to be on paper.

Conclusion

The imputed righteousness doctrine, while aiming to elevate Christ, ironically diminishes the transforming power of the gospel. It turns the vibrant, relational journey of faith into a transactional ledger. In doing so, it disconnects righteousness from real-life obedience, covenantal loyalty, and the call to become conformed to Christ.

The better biblical vision is this: through faith and union with Christ, we are empowered to become truly righteous people—not just declared righteous, but made righteous. This is not about earning salvation, but about experiencing transformation by the Spirit.

God doesn’t just want to look at us and see Jesus—He wants to make us like Jesus. And that is far more beautiful than anything we can think of.