The Lord, through the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of the sinner who repents and does righteousness, said:
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. (Ezek 18:22)
What is interesting is that this is a solid disproof of imputed righteousness. How so? According to this passage, one shall "live" (in the context of the pericope, it is speaking of eschatological or eternal life, not mere moral life) due to their righteousness (צְדָקָה/δικαιοσυνη) they have done (עשׂה/ποιεω); in other words, their justification is not "grounded" on imputed righteousness, contra Reformed theology.
That one's works and righteousness plays a role, not in sanctification only, but justification is further strengthened by the parallel text, speaking of a once-faithful person who then turned to sin:
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
The basis of one's (eschatological) life and (eschatological) death are both due to actions, not an imputed righteousness or lack thereof.
Indeed, Ezek 18 is a difficult passage for Reformed theology, as it also disproves eternal security/perseverance of the saints. Jonathan Edwards, a leading Reformed theologian, even went so far as to claim that God engaged in divine deception during Old Testament times in order to defend Calvinism! Commenting on v. 24, Edwards wrote:
With respect to those texts in Ezekiel—that speak of a righteous man’s falling away from his righteousness-the doctrine of perseverance was not so fully revealed to make them wary . . . (Of the Perseverance of Saints, chapter VII § 20 in The Works of Jonathan Edwards [2 vols.; Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1974], 2:601, emphasis added)
Such should be shocking to those who take exegesis, theology, and truth seriously, and only shows that Reformed theology is anti-biblical. For more, see:
