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Yesterday I received a copy of John Piper's new book, The Future of Justification.
Is it important to write a 225-page book on the doctrine of justification? In his acknowledgments, Piper notes why it really is:
From the moment we believed until the last day of eternity God is 100 percent for us on this basis alone — the sin-bearing punishment of Christ, and the righteousness-providing obedience of Christ.
Which is another way of saying, "Christ is our life."
At the Gospel Coalition earlier this year, Phil Ryken gave an excellent defense of the importance of imputed righteousness. Both the text of his message and the audio are available.
"I am not accepted on my own merit, but I am fully accepted in Christ and that is the basis of my acceptance before God — [I am] as fully accepted as God's own beloved Son. Only perfect righteousness can bring assurance in the aftermath of sin and in the face of death."
And only Christ provides that righteousness. In a church culture that is finding the death of Christ and imputed righteousness increasingly distasteful, this is an important message to help us defend the truth of Christ's substitutionary work.
Greg Bahnsen articulates clearly and well the fundamental differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. We are not one with Catholics; they do believe a different gospel; and we must not (for the sake of their eternal destiny) suppose that we believe the same work of Christ.
Listen to "The Road to Rome: Was the Reformation Right?"
