God has provided a perfect
divine righteousness for the sinner who believes
what God has revealed in His Word.
The believing sinner stands
before God, not in his own self-righteousness which
in reality is no righteousness, but in the very
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is utterly holy and
without sin because He is God. He is intrinsically
righteous. Jesus always did what was pleasing to the
Father (John 8:29b; 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). No one could
ever prove Him guilty of unrighteousness (Jn.
8:46a). He is the one exception in history; He was
absolutely sinless (Matt. 17:5; Jn. 12:28; 1 Pet.
2:22-23).
Moreover, Jesus is also
perfectly righteous by His obedience to the law of
God. He “fulfilled all righteousness” (Matt.
3:14-15).
Jesus lived a perfect life of
obedience to the Law of God. He dotted every "i" and
crossed every "t." In no manner did He fail to keep
the Jewish law. No other individual has ever
completely and absolutely fulfilled the law.
Not only did Jesus fulfill the
law personally, but because He was deity He could
therefore pay the full penalty demanded by the law
for those who had failed to complete it. He paid the
penalty in full. The law demanded the death penalty
for all who broke it. "The wages of sin is death."
"The soul that sins will surely die." Jesus paid
this penalty not because He had broken it, but as a
substitute for those who had failed. Jesus did not
die for His own sins. He died as our representative
for sin. He took your guilt and mine upon Himself,
and He bore its punishment. The penalty of the law
was measured out upon Him. Jesus fulfilled the law
completely, actively and passively, positively and
negatively. Therefore there is nothing further the
law can demand because He has satisfied all its
demands upon the sinner.
Now this is the very
righteousness of Christ that God gives to sinners
who repent and put their faith in Christ. The
utterly amazing thing is He gives it freely, apart
from any works or merits on our part. Because we are
so sinful, everything we touch is contaminated by
our moral and spiritual depravity. The perfect
righteousness of Christ stands in stark contrast to
our unrighteousness and condemns us. It condemns our
attitudes and actions. We stand utterly condemned by
His holy presence. “There is no one righteous, not
even one; there is no one who understands, no one
who seeks God” (Rom. 3:10). Our own
self-righteousness is worthless and condemns us.
“There is no one who does good, not even one” is
God’s judgment against sinful man.
The good news from God is that
He has provided the righteousness of Jesus Christ as
a gift to the believer. Faith is the channel by
which the sinner receives the righteousness of
Christ. God’s gift is “the righteousness that is by
faith from first to last.” “The righteous person
will live by faith” (Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4).
God imputes the righteousness
of Jesus Christ to the sinner. That is the way He
makes application of the righteousness of Christ to
us. Spurgeon said that it is like putting the
infinite moral capital of the Lord Jesus in our
empty bank account. God takes the riches of heaven’s
storehouse and puts them at our disposal. The way He
makes it available to us is by faith.
What is faith? It is a resting
in Christ and His saving work for us. Faith is not
work. Faith is going to God with open hands and
receiving the righteousness God gives freely.
C. H. Spurgeon wrote in All of
Grace, “Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins
with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for
faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not
an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and
stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation.
Faith is the eye which looks. Faith is the hand
which grasps. Faith is the mouth which feeds upon
Christ.”
It is this simple trusting in
Christ that gives us a right standing in the
presence of a holy and righteous God.
Do you stand in a perfect
relationship with God? Do you have peace in your
heart because you know you are in Christ? Are you
trusting in your self-righteous good works and
religious accomplishments, or in the righteousness
of Christ alone?
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB." "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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