Fides 18 N2 - Revista do Centro Presbiteriano Andrew Jumper

FIDES REFORMATA XVIIi, Nº 2 (2013): 99-115
Original Righteousness
Ralph F. Boersema *
abstract
Understanding Christian justification starts with Adam’s righteousness
at creation, righteousness that was integral to the image of God. He was not
called to attain righteousness through performance of works, but to preserve the
right-standing he received as a gift at creation. Had he not sinned, his obedience
would have maintained and testified to this righteousness. The Bible does not
teach a distinction between innocence and righteousness. For Adam, righteousness
was not a commodity to be produced in order to earn right-standing or
eternal life. Right-standing was his from the beginning, even though it could
be lost through unfaithfulness to the Lord. Entitlement to eternal life was his
through sonship and would become his, by sight, when man’s work on earth
was completed and the mandate to fill the earth and subdue it was fulfilled.
The probation was not a means of attaining justification. Adam was counted as
righteous from the beginning. Instead, the probation was intended to serve as a
means for spiritual growth, as happened in Jesus’ life. To correctly understand
justification the right order must be observed. One must be righteous before
he can perform righteousness and not the other way around. Adam’s original
righteous obedience was not that of works without faith. In true righteousness,
faith and works are joined. When the New Testament contrasts faith and works,
* The author was born in 1949 in the Netherlands and immigrated to Canada with his family in
1951. He obtained his M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary, in Philadelphia.
He was ordained by the Canadian Reformed Church in 1973 and served as a missionary in Brazil for
21 years (1979-2000). His doctoral studies at the University of South Africa were interrupted due to a
serious illness in his eyes. Currently he lives in Bristol, Virginia, and is the president of the International
Reformed Theological College. He has authored several articles and the book Not of Works: Norman
Shepherd and His Critics, NextStep Resources (2012). This article is a chapter in the book: SANDLIN,
P. Andrew; BARACH, John (Eds.). Obedient Faith: A Festschrift for Norman Shepherd. Mount Hermon,
California: Kerygma Press, 2012.
99