How does God's righteousness get credited to a believer?
By an act of imputation, the moment one believes God, God gives His righteousness to the believer's account; none of the believer's own righteousness is involved. This imputed righteousness is part of the plan of salvation and covers the believer entirely with God's righteousness.
Les explains that God's righteousness is credited to a believer by imputation, not by works or law-keeping. He emphasizes that this imputed righteousness is part of the plan of salvation: the moment we believe God, by an act of imputation, He covered us or gave to our account His righteousness. None of ours, it's all of His. Les then goes to Romans chapter 3, starting at verse 19, where the law speaks to those under the law—the Jew, Israel, Judaism, temple worship—so that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty. This shows that a person cannot be credited with God's righteousness on their own; it is given by God's act of imputation when they believe.
More Questions
When does God impute His righteousness to us?
God imputes His righteousness to the believer at the moment they believe God.