Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig.

Today, the Doctrine of Christ, Part 12.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonable faith.org.

We've been thinking about various New Testament motifs for the atonement wrought by Jesus. We've looked at the motif of sacrifice,

of the suffering servant of the Lord, and now we want to wrap up our consideration this morning

of divine justice. According to Paul, God's righteousness is given to all who believe in Jesus.

In Romans chapter 4, Paul goes on to explain that this gift is accorded by means of what he calls reckoning

in the sense in which a merchant would settle his account.

Now, although it's sometimes said that justification involves merely an acquittal, a verdict of not

guilty, and not a positive ascription of righteousness to us.

Nothing in the text, I think, warrants diluting the righteousness of God, which is

reckoned to us.

The righteousness of God, as we have seen, is a rich property, not just the bare absence of guilt. Look at Philippians chapter

three again, verses three to six. Philippians chapter three and verses three to six.

Reading from verse four, if any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh,

I have more, circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,

a Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. Paul says he was blameless with respect to righteousness under the law.

But then he goes on to say, but whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything

as loss because of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake,

I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse in order that I may gain

Christ and be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own based on law, but that

which is through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Here I think it's evident that the

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