Incorporated Righteousness: a Response to Recent Evangelical Discussion concerning the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness in Justification

In the last ten years biblical and theological scholarship has witnessed an increasing amount of interest in the doctrine of justification. This resurgence can be directly attributed to issues emerging from recent ProtestantCatholic dialogue on justification and the exegetical controversies prompted by the New Perspective on Paul. Central to discussion on either front is the topic of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, specifically, whether or not it is true to the biblical data. As expected, this has given way to some heated discussion with salvos of criticism being launched by both sides of the debate. For some authors a denial of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness as the sole grounds of justification amounts to a virtual denial of the gospel itself and an attack on the Reformation. Others, by jettisoning belief in imputed righteousness, perceive themselves as returning to the historical meaning of justification and emancipating the Church from its Lutheranism. In view of this it will be the aim of this essay, in dialogue with the main protagonists, to seek a solution that corresponds with the biblical evidence and may hopefully go some way in bringing both sides of the debate together.