Alien Righteousness

So we have a blog called Mars Hill Examiner talking about alien righteousness.  This may not be what you think it is.  Alien righteousness is actually terminology coined by Martin Luther (1483-1546), the father of the Protestant Reformation.  Luther was a German monk within the Roman Catholic Church struggling with how to attain a right standing with God.  

The Roman Catholic Church taught that God gave you grace by which he imparted righteousness to you.  Grace in the Catholic view was an aid or help for a person.  One was given a righteousness of his own and had to try to maintain it in order to have right standing with God.  But Martin Luther knew he was a sinner and that his own righteousness  could not satisfy God's perfect standard of righteousness.  Finally after studying Romans 1:17 and seeing it in context Luther had a breakthrough.  He said he felt as if he had been altogether born again.  

(Romans 1:17) "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith." (ESV) 

The first part of the verse says "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed."  Luther had always interpreted "the righteousness of God" to refer to a characteristic of God, namely his justice.  Luther felt that he was condemned by the law and by the gospel.  But after his breakthrough he rightly understood it as a righteousness from God.  It is a gift God gives to us.  The righteousness of Christ is imputed or credited to us.  It is not a righteousness of our own but an alien righteousness, a righteousness from outside of ourselves.  The perfect righteousness of Christ is credited to us and by it we are declared righteous.  From beginning to end it is by faith.  This righteousness is received by faith alone.  

Christ takes our sins on himself and gives us his perfect righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).  Luther referred to this as the joyful exchange.  

The Roman Catholic Church saw sin as a weakness or sickness while Martin Luther saw it as rebellion against God, we are dead not sick.  The Catholic Church saw grace as an aid or help for a person to achieve salvation.  Luther saw grace as God's unmerited favor toward us.  We contribute nothing to our salvation.  In the Catholic view salvation is by grace plus works. In the view of Martin Luther salvation is by grace alone.  In the Roman Catholic view it is God and man working together to achieve salvation.  In this view there can be no assurance of salvation.  In Luther's view salvation is the work of God alone, it is the finished work of Christ alone.  

It is not by our own righteousness (the Catholic view) that we are justified but by an alien righteousness (Luther's view).  It is by the righteousness of Christ that we have right standing with God.  This alien righteousness is received by faith alone.  This is the Biblical doctrine known as justification by faith alone.  The official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church says that if anyone holds that he is justified by faith alone let him be anathema (that is condemned).  

Unfortunately many modern evangelicals are closer to the Catholic position than they are to the classic Protestant position.  We should be thankful that Martin Luther rediscovered the Biblical teaching of justification by faith alone.  Modern evangelicals could learn a lot from Martin Luther.  Evangelicalism could use a good dose of Reformation theology.