Wesley's careful navigation of the controversy over 'imputed righteousness' — affirming the doctrine while warning against the antinomian conclusions some drew from it.
Sermon 20 of 44 · 1765 · Jeremiah 23:6
The Lord Our Righteousness
A passage from the sermon
By the righteousness of Christ, we mean, generally, his obedience, passive and active — his obeying the law of God, both in life and in death — by which all who believe are justified before God. To us, this is the foundation of all our hope of acceptance and of glory.
But the righteousness of Christ is no excuse for unholiness in those who profess his name. He who has been justified by faith will be sanctified by the Spirit; and if there be no holiness in heart and life, there is no real faith. The righteousness of Christ is not given that we may continue in sin, but that, being freed from condemnation, we may serve God in newness of life.
The full sermon is in the public domain and freely available from CCEL and other archives.