Many of our readers will remember the days when the standard coin of the realm was

the golden sovereign. It would not have been a serious matter if one had accidentally

dropped a sovereign into the fire, for the resulting piece of gold would still have been

worth 20s.. We should not have used logizomai eis when speaking of this coin. We

should not have said: "This golden sovereign is reckoned for 20s. worth", for it actually

was worth 20s., whatever happened to it. It is quite different with the present paper

money. To-day we have a L1 note. Its purchasing value is exactly the same as would be

that of a golden sovereign. If two people went into a shop and each purchased L1 worth

of goods, both parcels would be of precisely the same value, whether paid for with a

paper note or a golden sovereign. It would be very unwise, however, to conclude that the

L1 note was actually of the same value as the gold. Some have found this to be true to

their cost. We have heard of one poor woman who accidentally screwed up a L1 note

with waster paper and threw it into the fire: sadly enough its intrinsic worth was soon

discovered to be only that of waste paper. It produced no more heat, it left no more

valuable ash; it was only "reckoned for" one pound. We must not, on the other hand,

think that the value of the L1 note is fictional. Behind that valueless piece of paper lie all

the resources and power of the British Empire.  So with faith.  Faith itself is not

righteousness, but faith is reckoned for righteousness. The real righteousness is found in

the Lord. The true merit is found in the "faith of Christ", and because of His faith, my

faith may be reckoned for righteousness. Did His faith and righteousness not exist, my

faith would have no value, just as the paper money has no value when a country or

government collapses.

We remember in August, 1914, meeting a man on the continent, who, though

possessed of L5 notes, was nevertheless penniless, simply because the outbreak of war

had rendered all paper money valueless for the time being. Had the same man possessed

golden sovereigns, he would have found no difficulty in getting them accepted. We

would not, however, by this somewhat clumsy illustration give a wrong impression.

There is no room for the slightest doubt as to the reality of that righteousness that gives to

faith its value.

The word "for" in "counted for" is, strictly speaking, "unto". Just as in 1: 16 the

power of God is said to be "unto salvation", and in 10: 10, man, with the heart "believeth

unto righteousness", so this "righteousness of God" is "by faith of Jesus Christ unto all

. . . . . that believe". It is no fiction; it is a very blessed fact. Righteousness is actually

imputed, but faith is imputed for or unto righteousness.

We have departed a little from our usual method, and spent a longer time upon this

illustration than space will generally permit, but we felt that the distinction was important

enough to warrant it. Faith is precious, it is blessed, it is the one thing necessary to please

God. At the same time let us not magnify it into a procuring cause, or a meritorious

work. There, in the great Bank of Heaven, is the genuine gold of perfect righteousness,

wrought by another on our behalf, that alone makes our faith of any value.

With this introduction we may approach the teaching of Rom. 4: