Iv. The Place Of Faith
d. Imputed righteousness
In view of the importance of the concept of imputed righteousness for New Testament doctrine we must notice its occurrence in the Old Testament, although it cannot be thought of as a leading Old Testament idea. It is recorded that Abram ‘believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness’ (Gn. 15: 6). Again, Phinehas stood up, ‘and executed judgement: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore’ (Ps. 106 : 30f.). Both men are brought into right relationship with God: they are given the status of being ‘right’ with Him. In the case of Phinehas there is an action that is applauded, but the motive is important, as we see from Numbers 25 : 11 : ‘he was zealous for my sake among them.’ These two examples, and especially that of Abram, are important as showing that men might be reckoned as righteous before God on grounds other than that of having lived meritorious lives.