May 26, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Righteousness Credited by God

Righteousness Credited by God

Isaiah 53:10-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

What does the Lord make, “his life” (verse 10)?

 

Where will “the will of the Lord” prosper (verse 10)?

When will He “see the light of life and be satisfied” (verse 11)?

What will He “bear” ( verse 11)?

Where will He have “a portion” (verse 12)?

Who will He be “numbered with” (verse 12)?

Who did He make “intercession for” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to number someone as a transgressor or credit them as righteous?

Luke 22:35-38 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷ It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸ The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”

“That’s enough!” he replied.

What did the disciples at the Last Supper say they lacked when Jesus sent them out “without purse, bag or sandals” (verse 35)?

How are they to get a sword if they don’t have one (verse 36)?

Who did Jesus say He had to be numbered (logizomni) with (verse 37)?

What did Jesus say “is reaching its fulfillment” (verse 37)?

How many swords did the disciples say they had (verse 38)?

How did Jesus respond to the number of swords (verse 38)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to number someone as a transgressor or credit them as righteous?

In your opinion, what does Jesus in Luke 22:35-38 referring to Isaiah 53:10-12 “must be fulfilled in me” tell you about his understanding of what was going to happen?

Romans 4:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
⁸ Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

How does Paul describe Abraham (verse 1)?

When would Abraham have “something to boast about” (verse 2)?

Where would Abraham not be able to boast (verse 2)?

When was it “credited (logizomai) to him as righteousness” (verse 3)?

What are wages “to the one who works” (verse 4)?

To whom is faith “credited as righteousness” (verse 5)?

Who does David say “the same thing” about (verse 6)?

How does David describe those “whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered up” (verse 7)?

Who else does David say is blessed (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to number someone as a transgressor or credit them as righteous?

In your opinion, how does numbering the servant among the transgressors in order to “make intercession for the transgressors” in Isaiah 53:10-12 allow God to credit righteousness to those who trust him in Romans 4:1-7?

In your opinion, how does Jesus proclaiming He must be “numbered” (logizomai) “with the transgressors” in Luke 22:35-38 help us understand why Paul teaches in Romans 4:1-7 righteousness cannot be earned like wages but is “credited” (logizomai) to the ungodly who have faith? 

James 2:20-26 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

How does James describe the person who wants “evidence that faith without deeds is useless” (verse 20)?

When was “our father Abraham considered righteous” (verse 21)?

What two things “were working together” (verse 22)?

How was Abraham’s faith changed (verse 22)?

What was “credited” (logizomai) to Abraham when he “believed God” (verse 23)?

When is a person considered righteous (verse 24)?

What “alone” is not enough for a person to be considered righteous (verse 24)?

When was “Rahab the prostitute” considered righteous (verse 25)?

What is “the body without the spirit” (verse 26)?

What is “faith without deeds” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s ability to number someone as a transgressor or credit them as righteous?

In your opinion, do both Abraham, who we might consider a good person, and also Rahab, who we would not consider a good person, both declared by James 2:20-26 to be righteous in need of the transforming act of the servant (Jesus) in Isaiah 53:10-12 being “numbered with the transgressors”?

In your opinion, how might Jesus letting the disciples know in Luke 22:35-38 that after He is “numbered with the transgressors” their circumstances will be different than before be a way for Him to prepare them for adding actions to their faith, as James 2:20-26 indicates is necessary?

In your opinion, how do you reconcile Romans 4:1-7 saying that God “credits righteousness apart from works” with James 2:20-26 that says that “faith without deeds is dead”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Romans and James help us understand about the link between the suffering servant being “numbered with the transgressors” and those who believe being “credited as righteous”?

In your opinion, how can we make sure our faith is alive?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)