Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness

Posted by Joe Thorn - 02/01/07


Brian Vickers is Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and the author of last year’s Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness, a book tackling the hot topic of imputation published by Crossway. This is not a book for those who simply want the “right” answer spoon fed to them. The issue is too important to treat superficially. In the Introduction Brian writes,

The discussion strikes at the heart of what it means to be right with God. Core biblical themes like forgiveness, sacrifice and union with Christ are woven into the doctrine of imputation. There is more at stake than merely continuing a debate. What is the connection between Adam and the human race? How did Christ fulfill the role of the second or new Adam? How can the “ungodly” stand before a righteous God? Is faith itself, or the object of faith, the foundation for righteousness? These are but a few of the questions related to the topic of imputation. At the center of of the debate of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is the interpretation of key Pauline texts.
(pp. 15, 16 )

And that is the goal of the book; to examine Pauline texts that have been historically linked to the subject of imputation.

Chapter One lays out a history of the doctrine of imputation by focusing on the key texts in the debate and their interpretation throughout the centuries. This allows us to see the various emphases in the perspectives of both the classic and current theologians. It proves to be a very helpful chapter, not only in seeing where particular theologians are coming from, but also in understanding that “There are ‘views’ of imputation, not a general concept of imputation.” This means in the discussion about imputation some are often using the same word with a different meaning, while others avoid the word altogether when discussing the biblical passages and interacting with the ideas.

Chapters Two, Three and Four are Brian’s treatment of the key texts themselves. I found them to be fair, satisfying and enlightening.

Chapter Five is a synthesis of these key texts. Brian writes, “Read individually none of the three texts analyzed above presents the whole story of how a person may be right with God. When read together, however, these texts give a fuller perspective on God’s gift of salvation through Christ.” His synthesis is convincing and leads to the conclusion that “the righteousness that counts before God and is by faith can be nothing other than the Christ’s righteousness.” Though his conclusion may be scoffed at as “traditional” by some, it really does come across that the conclusion is derived from the evidence, and not a desire to protect tradition.

Chapter six is a helpful recap and conclusion in which he asserts that the only hope for sinners is “Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

By this I mean that Christ’s fulfilling of all righteousness - his obedience to the Father’s will and command in his role as the Second Adam, his sacrificial death, and his resurrection that vindicates the cross and ushers in a new eschatalogical era - becomes ours by faith in union with him. It is on this basis that a believer is reckoned righteous.
(p. 237)

I strongly encourage all pastors to read Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness, and would expect that seminary students will be required to read it in when covering soteriology. The book is small, but is very rich and requires thoughtful reading. For those who want a quicker read and something easier to digest on the same subject pick up John Piper’s Counted Righteous in Christ.

5 Comments

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  1. Thanks for the post, Joe. You did a nice job summarizing the book. But how does Vicker’s book differ from Piper’s? Outside of easier to read and more accessible, what would I gain from this book that I already haven’t from Piper’s?

    I’ve had my eye on this book ever since Steve mentioned he was reading it. But I wasn’t sure it would be much different than what I already own. Maybe you can shed some more light on this.

    Comment by Scott Eaton — January 2, 2007 #

  2. Thanks Joe. I picked it up this semester but haven’t got to it yet. I did read Seifrid’s new one and Gaffin’s new one which are from a little different perspective but are very refreshing.

    Comment by blake white — January 2, 2007 #

  3. Very nice Joe. I recently picked up the audio of Vickers’ faculty lecture on this dissertation and learned a great deal from his exegesis of the key texts. This book was timely written and aptly done.

    [a side note] I am really encouraged to find pastors like you Joe reading books like this. It is most unfortunate that more pastors know the Prayer of Jabez and the Purpose Driven Life more than books of this quality. May God instill greater intellectual fervor and theological competency in pastoral ministry, and may your example no longer be the exception but the norm.

    Comment by Timmy Brister — January 2, 2007 #

  4. Scott, Piper’s book is simpler and more pastoral. Vickers’ book is more academic/scholarly and includes a lot of history. Both are very good but I would give them to different people.

    Blake, yeah I think one of the mistakes that is made is in the desire to protect the Gospel some have wound up being less than fair with all of the biblical texts involved in the discussion. I think Brian does a great job here.

    Timmy, is that audio available for download? One of the things that I have always appreciated about Brian (I knew him when he was getting his PhD), and many other Professors at Southern like Drs. Nettles, Schreiner, Stein, Wellum, etc. is incredible scholarship and real humility. That is a great example for all of us.

    Comment by Joe Thorn — January 2, 2007 #

  5. Joe, unfortunately it is not available on the SBTS audio resource page, so I had to put in a request for it in the media services office. The reason I purchased it was in response to a post I did on what I considered to be the top 15 theological issues of the day. The doctrine of justification and other subsequent doctrines (such as imputation) is a topic I want to study more this year. The NPP, imputation, and justification controversies are areas where I am deficient in, so I am hoping to be more competent in discussing the matters in the future.

    Indeed, the profs I have come to know (Nettles, Plummer, Wellum, Wright, Parker, Scott, Sills, and others) have all been very helpful and exemplary in both their scholarship and their spiritual lives. I have not had the opportunity of meeting Vickers yet, but everyone I know who has had him in class rave about his teaching–both in and out of the class.

    Comment by Timmy Brister — January 2, 2007 #

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