You must be counted perfect before you can make the first baby step in becoming good.

That's awesome.

And it happens by faith.

What must happen to us before we can even begin becoming good? In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper turns

to Romans 4, 22 to 25, to examine the essential declaration that precedes all growth in righteousness.

The sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on October 17, 1999. The Great Gracious Father in Heaven I ask for your help now as we undertake to open this great doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of God in Christ by faith.

It is a great, sweet, powerful,

strong historic life--giving truth.

And I long for it to be understood and believed

and cherished. understood and believed, cherished and savored.

That's the work of your spirit, Lord, to take my sentences of exposition and make them kindling for a fire of faith. So come I pray and put your match to these words I ask in Jesus name. Amen.

One more question on chapter four. It comes from chapter 4, 22, the words, therefore it was credited to him as righteousness.

The it refers to faith and the him refers to Abraham.

And so it is therefore faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

So faith is counted as righteousness for Abraham. Now we've seen that three times already

verse three three, Abraham,

Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Verse five, at the end of the verse,

his faith is credited as righteousness.

Verse 9 at the end of the verse.

Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness and now we see it again in

verse 22 therefore it was credited to him as righteousness. The question is what does that mean? Does it mean that

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