Luther's confusion on man's freewill

One annoying thing about Protestants who revered the 16th century Reformation is that they mindlessly quote the Reformers. One good example is the meme on free will.

By the time it appeared on my newsfeed it is already loved and liked 37 times, and shared 10 times, with not a single comment. They love quoting men; their sola scriptura is just a religious shibboleth.

I left these two comments:

1. God's free will does not permit Him to lie, to lie is against His character; God's free will is limited by the law of His own character and attributes.

2. Man has free will but his free will is limited by and subjected to the law of his sinful nature; his true and full freewill has never, and will never will him to any spiritual good. It is a serious error to deny man's free will just because his free will is limited by his sinful nature.

The man has true and full free will; without it, there is no basis for the moral government of God over him.

Because man has true and full free will, he is justly without excuse and righteously condemned for all his freewill and sinful acts.

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I was thinking, since a man is so messed up with such basic things as baptism and Lord's Supper, why do men still incessantly quote him?

Even his "sola fide" is either completely off, or his teaching has been twisted and perverted by his followers into serious falsehood.

"My goal is to offend everyone..." - John Mad-Arthur

The meme on Dr MacArthur is taken from the Protestant Reformation page; by the time I took a screenshot, it has been "liked", "loved" and "awed" 138 times and shared 70 times. When I left my comment (is pasted below), it was deleted by the admin. and I was banned from commenting.
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The gospel itself is already offensive enough, why add your stinking offence? WHY? Apostle Paul commanded, "Giving no offence in any thing."

The gospel speaks:

- of God's electing love for His people: the gospel truth of election offenses so many, even many of God's children),

- of Christ dying to save His people exclusively: the gospel truth of particular redemption is so odious to so many, including so many of God's children),

- of the Holy Spirit freely and sovereignly applying that salvation to each elect personally while they were dead in trespasses and sin, without the gospel ministry: this gospel truth is SO HATED by BOTH the Calvinist and Arminian gospel regenerationists; without faith: this gospel truth is so hated by many believers who have been told the lie that it is through their believing that they are saved. That is why so many so-called Christians are offended when they are told the gospel truth that their faith is a fruit and effect of the salvation already freely bestowed and not an instrument they exercised to obtain salvation; their faith is an evidence of salvation, just as breath is evidence of life.

All these are the free and gracious saving activities of the Triune God, without any aid or cooperation of man. Man's activities and cooperation are possible, and relevant only AFTER the salvation HAS BEEN freely bestowed to one dead in trespasses and sins. Aren't these self-evident truths? Yet these are so offensive to both natural men and as well as many of God's children. 

Salvation by grace alone, when faithfully and truthfully preached is already very offensive to natural man, and even to God's children too who have not been or REFUSED to be soundly converted.

Why need to be redundantly offensive? That's complete foolishness, and Mr. McArthur seems to glory in such folly.

Let's listen to the Apostle Paul:

2Cor 6

3 ¶Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned.

I'll imitate the Apostle Paul; let others follow their revered popular preachers.

There are VAST differences between the popular reformed folks and the Apostle Paul in so many areas. The gospel itself is already offensive enough, why add redundant offence? WHY?

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Someone commented:

"A brilliant mind yes but not brilliant enough to understand his own stupidity."

Similar Sound, Opposite Sense

Sounds so similar, but completely opposite sense!
The reason why any are justified is not because they have faith;

but the reason why they have faith is because they are justified."

Similar sound, Opposite sense

A grand and plain statement about the just - those justified by God, freely by His grace when they were in their native condemned state - has been grotesquely twisted into a proposal how the unjustified can be justified by God, through their faith. The latter is popularly known as the "sola fide" of the Protestant Reformation.

Romans 3:24 KJV — Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Justification before God is:

- FREELY by His grace

- THROUGH the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.

WHERE in the whole of Holy Scriptures is the popular concept of "sola fide" found? The "sola fide" popularised by the followers of the protestant reformation plainly repudiates the Scriptures even though they shout "sola scriptura" ever so loudly.

The popular retort from the reformed folks, when shown the above, is this, "... but faith is the gift of God!"

Let's see. Assuming that be true, then they are saying that:

- the gift of faith is given to one who is not justified, i.e. still under condemnation, and the unjustified then utilize that gift in order to be justified before God.

- the gift of faith is given to one who is still dead in trespasses and sins (a man unjustified by God is still a man without the righteousness of Christ, thus still under the condemnation of sin and death), and the one still dead in trespasses and sins will utilize the gift of faith in order to be justified before God.
- See what further mess is produced; error leading to more error.
- The gift in Eph 2:8 is NOT faith; it is the eternal salvation and this is bestowed freely by God's grace, necessarily so because those dead in trespasses and sins are incapable of meeting any condition; such CAN'T exercise faith.
- For an exposition on Eph 2:8-9, take a look here: https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/01/saved-by-grace-through-faith-whose.html

There is a Scriptural "faith alone." It is how the just (i.e. those already freely justified by God through the redemption of Jesus Christ) can be blessed to experience the blessedness of their justified state, even through faith in Christ Jesus. This is solely and wholly because their free grace justification by God is THROUGH the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Apostle Paul demonstrated and illustrated and evidenced and vindicated this truth with the glorious example of Abraham. It is simply by faith, without any keeping and observing any ceremonial laws of the old covenant.

The popular Protestant Reformation "sola fide" is a perversion of the Scriptural "faith alone."

Roman 4

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

(What was Abraham's experience?)

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

To refute the Jewish believers who wanted to impose the old covenant ceremonial laws upon the Gentile believers, Apostle Paul demonstrated that Abraham (already freely justified by God way back in Genesis 11) experienced the blessedness of righteousness through faith in the promised Seed (Genesis 15:1-6); it was NOT through the works of keeping the ceremonial laws.

May the Lord open your eyes to see the truth of faith alone, and save you from the popular lie of "sola fide."

Since "sola fide" has been asserted and touted by many Reformed folks as the article of the standing or falling of the church, then by this standard, most churches are fallen churches because of their addiction to sola fide. 

It was the LORD God who laid my sins on Christ

Original meme is taken from this post on Protestant Reformation
https://www.facebook.com/ReformedEvangelical/photos/a.2086688088018697/2149966205024218/?type=3&theater

I DIDN'T lay my sins on Jesus. That's a fable.

The LORD God DID THAT, by His grace and mercy, freely and sovereignly, when Christ died on the cross. That's grace; yes grace alone, withOUT me doing the laying of my sins on Christ. (You see, man's works always keep creeping in so subtlely, undermining and contaminating grace. That is typical of EVEN the Reformed people who shout "grace alone" ever so loudly - oh that deformed inclination.)

Isa 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

You and I were not around to lay our sins on Christ. To say otherwise is just a plain delusion and a lie. Even if we had been around, we would be dead in trespasses and sins, with no possibility of us doing the laying of our sins to Christ.

Based solely upon the LORD having laid on Christ our sins, we were freely justified, regenerated, adopted and indwelt with the Spirit of adoption. Then we are brought to faith in Christ through the gospel ministry.

AFTER the Lord had saved me, I did and continue to cast my burden and care upon Christ, for He cares for me. 1Pet 5:7.

The DONE, and the DO of Christ's Religion, Christ-ianity

The meme is taken from this post on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ReformedEvangelical/photos/a.2146920555328783/2146921358662036/

Some thoughts on the Protestant and Reformed's idea of the DONE vs the DO conveyed in the meme.

Few things about the meme:

1. The Great Confusion of the DONE and the DO

VERY few do understand the DONE even though many scream and shriek "DONE, all by grace alone" ever so loudly. They betray their confusion through their denial of the DONE by their addition of many DO parts. They insist that they are monergistic; in reality, they are synergistic. 

They say it is a DONE thing, and then insist that it is not DONE until their DO parts are included. At best, they give lip service only; at worst, they are deceitful and misleading.

2. The DONE part
Actually, the truth is there are both the DONE and the DO, in that number and distinct order. That which is DONE is the eternal salvation:

- PURPOSED (i.e. DONE) by God in eternity for all the elect,

- ACCOMPLISHED (i.e. DONE) by Christ on the cross for all the same elect,

- APPLIED (DONE) to each elect personally by the Holy Spirit at the effectual calling; calling each elect out of his native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ, at God's appointed and approved time.

- The DONE by the activities of the Triune God makes a man perfectly fit for eternal glory; nothing more is required; It is DONE. 
- Christ saved to the uttermost. It is FINISHED. There is no place for man's DO in his eternal salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God. 

- In this manner, it is indeed DONE, as DONE as DONE can be; leaving no more room for the DOs of any blood, flesh, or man (John 1:13).

- DONE, all DONE, freely and sovereignly by the activities of the Triune God alone. This is DONE without any DO of man. This is by GRACE ALONE; it excludes all activities of man.
- This is monergism, pure and simple, without the admixture human role whatsoever. 

But so many who - claimed to be monergists - mouth and spout the DONE insist that it is not DONE until they DO their part. The Reformed folks are the worst and most culpable offenders.  There is the absolute necessity of their DOs of preaching, of understanding, of believing, of perseverance, etc, withOUT which the Divine DONE is not DONE! What impudence!

- But it is the Divine DONE that makes these human DOs possible, and relevant. The DONE and the DO mustn't be confounded.

3. There is the DO part.

- The DO part has to do with the temporal salvation of those that are DONE by God. With the DONE part wholly and solely by the divine activities, there are the DO parts.

- There is the Divine sovereignty in the DONE part, and there is the human responsibility in the DO part; the human responsibility of those whom the divine sovereignty has DONE the work of eternal salvation.

- The DONE part and the DO parts must be carefully distinguished; they must not be confounded, otherwise, it leads to endless inconsistencies and errors.

- This is where both the Misinformed, the Deformed, and the Reformed are all messed up big time!!!

4. The DO parts are many and diverse, for example...

2Tim 4

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The glorious truth of what has been divinely DONE needs to be proclaimed to those that have been DONE by the Triune God, so that they may be made wise unto their eternal salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God, and be called to DO DO DO - to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Titus 2

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
- Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts are great DOs that call for intense struggle; living soberly, righteously and godly are the necessary DOs of those whom God has DONE and made fit for eternal glory. 

Phl 2:12

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

- Working out their own salvation by those whom God has DONE is the DO of Christ's religion. 

John 6

28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
- Believing in the one whom God has sent is the work to be DOne by those in whom God has DONE the work of eternal salvation. 

Both the DONE and the DO parts are of Christ's Religion, and the two must be distinguished and rightly divided to avoid confusion and inconsistencies and contradictions.

The DONE is solely by the free and sovereign activities of the Triune God in the eternal salvation of the elect; the DO is by those whom the Triune God have DONE, they DO for their spiritual wellbeing and usefulness in this brief life before they are ushered into their eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus. 

Christ's religion is BOTH the DONE and the DO, and they must be precisely distinguished. May the good Lord grant the reader understanding. Amen. 

"The just shall live by faith" has been grotesquely twisted and perverted

A massive theological blunder with Gen 15:6;
A grotesque twisting and perversion with Rom 1:17

"The just shall live by faith."

It's Jan 15 today; so you would have read Gen 15 today if you are an a-chapter-a-day Bible reader! Surely you noted verse 6 which is referenced in the NT on numerous occasions.

6¶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Vast multitudes, including the Reformed folks, insist that it was at this point that Abraham was justified by God, and through his faith.

A few thoughts on this idea.

1. This popular idea necessarily implies that prior to this incident, Abraham was not yet justified by God.

- A man is either justified by God or he is still in his native state of condemnation and death. There is no middle ground that I have heard of.

- When you were reading through Gen 11-14, what kind of a man do you see in Abram? Do you see a man still in his native state of condemnation and death; or do you see a man whom God has called out of his native state of condemnation and death to that state of  justification and life? What did you see?

- Romans 5:18 "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

- A man is either in his native state of condemnation and death or he has been called out of that state unto justification of life. There is no intermediate state between the two. It is solely by divine grace that a man is transferred from his native state into the state of grace and salvation.

2. Pay attention to the verse following, verse 7:

"And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it."

- When the LORD brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees many years before, did God leave him in his native state of condemnation and death, or had God already effectually called him out of his native state of condemnation of death to that state of justification and life?

- Just what kind of a man do you see Abram in Gen 11-14? A man already justified by God, freely by His grace, and regenerated, and adopted, given the Spirit of adoption?

- How do you explain the faith of Abram in obeying God and leaving Ur of the Chaldees? How do you explain his obedience, acts of worship, and the building altars and offering sacrifices?

- Hebrews 11:8 KJV — "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

3. Gen 15:6 KJV - "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

- A simple question, what did the LORD  account to Abram in this passage? To what does the pronoun 'it' refer?

- Please be reminded that in the justification of a condemned man, the condemned man's faith is not in the equation; why? Very simply, the condemned man is incapable of such faith.

- In the justification of the condemned man, the LORD God freely accounts (applies) the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the condemned man personally. 

- Romans 3:24 KJV — "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." It is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; IT IS NOT through the faith of the unjustified condemned man. You are not too blind to see this plain obvious truth, are you? 

- To what does the pronoun 'it' refer to? It is a theological gymnastics to imagine it to be the righteousness of Christ! It is a monumental theological disaster to do so. 
- Have a look at this article - A Massive Theological Blunder by the Reformed Folks: https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2011/12/massive-theological-blunder-by-reformed.html

- Abram believed and his believing in the promised seed is accounted to him for righteousness, i.e. his faith was blessed to him to experience the blessedness of his righteousness, even his justified righteous state. That was his wonderful experience.

4. Gen 15:6 is not about how a condemned man is justified by God. That the fiction and fable spawned and popularised by the Protestant Reformation. It was not the Scriptures' teaching.

- Gen 15:6 is about how a justified man - freely by the grace of God alone, Rom 3:24 - experience the blessedness of his justified state; it is NOT through observing any ceremonial laws like circumcision, but simply believing in the promised seed.

-  Romans 4:1 KJV "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?" What was the experience of Abraham, asked the Apostle Paul? Did he experience that blessedness through observing some ceremonial laws? 

- Apostle Paul marshaled Abram to refute the error of the Jewish believers who insisted that the justified Gentile believers must observe the ceremonial laws.

5. Gen 15:6 is the basis for the famous "the just shall live by faith."

- But this simple statement of fact about the just, i.e. it declares something about the just, the just shall live by faith.

- But this simple declaration about the just has BEEN GROTESQUELY TWISTED AND PERVERTED, by even the smart elitist Reformed folks to say what the unjustified condemned must do in order to be justified.

- They have to twist plain and simple declaration about the justified to suit their subtle and beloved and cherished lie of sola fide!

- "The just shall live by faith" has been distorted and deformed to mean "the condemned shall be justified by faith alone" - all to conform with the reformed idea of "sola fide."

- Apostle Paul appealed to Gen 15:6 to demonstrate that how a justified man experienced the blessedness of his justified state, simply through faith, THAT IS, the just shall live by faith.

May the Lord open your eyes to see these things, and make you wise unto your salvation by the free grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Don't be numbered among those whom Apostle Paul described as: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2Tim 3:7.

Hocus Pocus on Double Imputation

I saw these two posts on The Protestant Reformation Facebook page, here https://www.facebook.com/ReformedEvangelical/. The page is administered by some Reformed Baptists. 

Both posts speak about double imputation. It seems the author is either quite confused about the biblical doctrine of double imputation, or he knows not what he is talking about. You be the judge.

I was trying to engage the administrator to alert him to the matter, but there was no response. Then ten days later, the same strange statement is made again - "we give Christ our sin."

Read for yourself.

In summary, WE GIVE Christ our sin...

https://www.facebook.com/129469000407292/posts/2126508580703314/

(This has been deleted)

 sing

"And that's why double imputation is very important if not essential. We have the imputed righteousness of Christ. So Christ loved God perfectly with His heart, soul, mind and loved His neighbour. God's wrath was poured out on Him instead of us. So what Christ did for us was given to us, and what we failed to do was given to Christ on the cross and drank the cup which was the wrath of God."

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The doctrine of imputation is indeed at the heart of the gospel; no imputation, no gospel; no imputation, no salvation.

May I ask,

- when was Christ's righteousness imputed to us, i.e. when was what Christ did for us given to us?

- when were our sins imputed to Christ, i.e. when was what we failed to do given to Christ?

Is the double imputation - of Christ's righteousness imputed to us and our sins to Christ - chronologically simultaneous, or do they occur at a separate time?

Thank you.

sing
"In summary, we give Christ our sin, and was treated as guilty although He was innocent. And Christ gives us His robes of righteousness although we were guilty but treated as though innocent, so we are declared righteous or justified by faith alone because of Christ alone. THIS IS the HEART of the Gospel."

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When do we give Christ our sin? What do we do to give Christ our sins?

You are saying that the guilty and unjustified sinners, through faith alone that they exercised, are declared righteous.

Please tell, how could the guilty and unjustified sinners exercise faith in order to be justified?

You are putting the cart before the horse!

The Scriptures declare, "the just shall live by faith."

It is the JUST, the justified ones - freely by the grace of God based solely upon the righteousness of Christ - that shall live by faith. Only those whom God has freely justified by His grace are capable of believing. Faith is a fruit and effect of the justified state; this is putting faith in its proper biblical place.

Old School Baptists believed this:

"The reason why any are justified is not because they have faith; but the reason why they have faith is because they are justified."

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Complete silence from the Administrator. 

Then 10 days later, this post with the statement on double imputation again, "we give Christ our sin..."

WE GIVE Christ our sin...

https://www.facebook.com/ReformedEvangelical/photos/a.2038656756155164/2141479162539589/

sing
"We give Christ our sin..."

May I ask again, "When do we give Christ our sin? What do we do to give Christ our sins? Thanks.

This meme accompanied the post to illustrate double imputation.

The quote does not deal with double imputation; it deals with the double substitution of Christ for His people: He lived the life that His people are impotent to live, and died the death they deserved. 

The active obedience of Christ, i.e. His sinless life of perfect obedience to all the laws of God secured the righteousness needed for the justification of His people; this is the righteousness of God's own provision. 

Rom 3:

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. [note: 'by faith of Christ...'
The righteousness of Christ is the ground of our justification; Christ's righteousness was IMPUTED BY GOD to all represented by Christ when Christ died and rose - when you and I were NOT EVEN BORN. 

The passive obedience of Christ in His substitutionary and atoning death bore away the just and righteous wrath of God due to our sins, thus securing our complete and perfect forgiveness.

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No response the last I checked.

Let me leave some notes on double imputation.

i. The sin of Adam was imputed to all represented by him, i.e., the whole human race, at his fall. This imputation was solely by the sovereign act of God alone; those imputed with the sin of Adam did not yet exist and played no role whatsoever. Adam was their representative head; this was solely by the good pleasure and sovereign purpose of God.

Rom 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

The imputation of Adam's sin to all represented by him is NOT part of the double imputation. However, the same principle of federal headship operates in the double imputation.

Rom 5:19 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

The imputed sin of Adam comes into operation/effect at the moment of conception of each one represented by him. A man is conceived in sin and born in sin because of that imputation of the original sin. What was legal is now applied personally; what is applied personally soon makes its manifestation in actual acts of sins.

ii. The double imputation speaks of the free and sovereign act of God in the imputation of Christ's righteousness to all represented by Him and the imputation to Christ of all the sins of all those represented by Christ. 

iii. This double imputation of Christ's righteousness to His people and all the sins of His people to Him is solely by the free and sovereign act of God, independent of any part or role or activities of man. Man's faith is EXCLUDED. Man's activity is EXCLUDED. 

"We give Christ our sin" is poorly worded at best and a pure error at worst; no, you DIDN'T give your sin to Christ; it is God who freely and sovereignly IMPUTED it to Christ; you did NOTHING; you did not yet exist when God executed this glorious work of imputing your sins to Christ at the cross. If you are silly and stupid (i.e. lacking common sense) enough to deny that your sins were imputed to Christ when He died at the cross, then I wish you, "good luck." Find someone to take care of your sins. (Sarcasm may sometimes work with obtuse folks.) 

"We give Christ our sin"  is woolly at best; fatal at worst! Why? You will do a lousy job of it; you will fail to give ALL your sins to Christ; you will end up leaving out too many sins in your closets, basement and attic.
God alone could and did a complete job. 

Christ was offered for sins ONCE, yes ONLY ONCE. If your sins were not imputed by God to Christ at the cross, you have denied yourself the only opportunity for your sins to be dealt with.

iv. This double imputation took place at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the cross, all the sins of all Christ's people were imputed to Him and He suffered the full and complete wrath of God and made full atonement for all the sins of all His people. "IT IS FINISHED," declared He. 

2Cor 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

v. This double imputation took place SIMULTANEOUSLY, at the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Rom 4:25 "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
- No, don't be so stupid and obtuse. It does not happen at your act of believing! Stop believing that lie of the devil.
- Where do you ever read that Christ's righteousness is imputed to you when you believe?

I know you are going to quote Gen 15:6 "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." 

- What was counted to him? Christ's righteousness? 

- What was counted to him for righteousness? Beware of soundbyte!

And Rom 4:3 "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
- What was counted to him, Christ's righteousness?
- What was counted to him for righteousness? Beware of soundbyte!

vi. That double imputation takes vital effect at the effectual calling out of the native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.

- What was legal is now applied personally. What was LEGALLY IMPUTED is now PERSONALLY APPLIED. 

This subject is elaborated on here in this article. 
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2012/01/even-so-and-its-implications-romans-518.html

May the Lord grant you understanding, and set you free from FABLES. 

2Tim 4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Pristine Grace

God's eternal purpose to save His elect is perfectly matched
 by His several free and sovereign activities alone, 

perfectly balanced on the Choice Cornerstone.
No activities of man are involved, NONE, ZILCH.
Man's activities are essential only in their temporal salvation.

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10213023994770038

Pristine Grace

Romans 2

11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Having the law does not advantage anyone; not having the law does not disadvantage anyone. Why? There is no respect of persons with God. The wages of sin is death, whether it is committed without the law, or with the law. Period. Whether one is born in the Bible belt or the Rust belt, or in the land of Liberty or behind the Iron or Bamboo Curtains, in London or in Timbuktu, there is no respect of persons with God when it comes to eternal salvation.

It is the doers of the law that shall be justified, vindicated, not any outward privileges or advantages.

But how do sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, in their native state of enmity and rebellion against God, become doers of the law?

It is SOLELY and WHOLLY by the free and sovereign activity of God alone effectually calling them out of their native state of sin and condemnation and death, to that of righteousness, justification, and eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Such effectually called out men fear God and work righteousness, even though they are still completely ignorant of the gospel of their salvation by God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ. The gospel ministry is ordained for such whom God has called (ALWAYS EFFICACIOUS in getting them out of their native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Christ Jesus) so that they are informed of the free grace salvation and be brought to faith in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour.

The gospel will make them wise unto their salvation, instruct them the truth concerning their salvation in Jesus Christ, freely bestowed upon them by the free and sovereign grace of God - "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:12-13.

This is pristine grace - the point of Apostle Paul in this passage.

Peruse this article on Grace Alone, a.k.a. Pristine Grace.
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2013/08/is-it-freely-by-his-grace-alone-or-is.html