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Our Righteousness In Christ
by Lani W. Finley
The death of Jesus
not only made it possible for mankind to be forgiven, but it also bestowed
upon the New Testament Christian another extraordinary gift -
the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is difficult
for Christians to understand and accept this wonderful truth. It is not
easy for the human heart to believe that God could
reckon
(or account) us just as holy and righteous as Jesus Christ.
However, if we fail to believe this vitally important message, then we
have missed the very core and heart of the gospel of God.
The prophet Isaiah
revealed this truth in the scriptures of the Old Testament.
...
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to
be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities (Isa
53:11 RSV).
The key word in this
verse is accounted, or set to one's
account. This simply means that God deposits this
free gift of righteousness into our account based on our
faith in the works of Jesus Christ - not ours. Since every human being has
sinned, this disqualifies them from ever being able to amass a track
record of good works, or obedience to the law, that meets the necessary
requirements for obtaining Godly righteousness.
Some Christians
have mistakenly accepted the belief that they have to earn their own state
of righteousness by personal achievements and obedience to the law.
However, only Jesus earned His righteousness, because He is the only one
who has ever lived a perfect life without committing a single sin. "For he
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor 5:21).
The apostle Paul
cautions Christians not to fall into the deceptive trap of believing that
good works and obedience to the law will gain them righteousness in God's
sight.
Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith (Phil 3:8-9).
What
shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the
flesh, hath found? 2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof to glory; but not before God. 3For what saith the scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (Rom
4:1-5).
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified
in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed
by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which
is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe
(Rom 3:20-22).
The Barnes Notes
offers the following commentary on this subject, which gives additional
insight into the apostle Paul's revealed understanding, that only faith in
Jesus and God's goodness can please God and clothe us with Christ's
righteousness.
[Righteousness which
is of God by faith] Which proceeds from God, or of which he is the great
source and fountain. This may include the following things:
(1) God is the author of pardon-- and this is a
part of the righteousness which the man who is justified has.
(2) God
purposes to treat the justified sinner as if he had not sinned--
and
thus his righteousness is of God.
(3) God
is the source of all the grace that will be imparted to the soul, making
it really holy. In this way, all the righteousness which the Christian
has is "of God." The idea of Paul is, that he now saw that it was far
more desirable to be saved by righteousness obtained from God than by
his own. That obtained from God was perfect, and glorious, and
sufficient; that which he had attempted to work out was defective,
impure, and wholly insufficient to save the soul...
The apostle Paul goes
on to share his heart-felt love for Israel with the church at Rome.
He is deeply grieved for Israel, because they have sought to gain their
own righteousness apart from Jesus, and have set about to gain God's favor
by their personal works.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is, that they might be saved. 2 For I bear them record that
they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believeth (Rom 10:1-4).
Notice that Paul does
not say, "Christ is the end of the law". But rather, that Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness sake. We must
remember that the law is an indispensable part of a Christian's life. It
identifies the principles of love and respect that we are to have toward
God and our fellowman; for "...love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom
13:10). In addition, it gives life to sin when we violate these principles
of love "For sin is the transgression of the law" (1John 3:4). Its
function is very different from that of grace. God's laws of love make us
aware of unloving thoughts and conduct, but can never forgive these
transgressions.
In reality,
it is the laws of God that shows us that we have acted in an unloving
manner toward God and/or our fellow man - and helps us to understand why
we need the grace of God. The law is simply a collection of
the principles of love. It was never intended to save a person, offer them
justification or forgive an unloving act. Therefore, faith in Jesus in the
only law that can offer forgiveness, salvation and embellish us with
His righteousness.
The prophet
Jeremiah also describes the only source of our righteousness in the
following scripture: "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall
dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the
Lord our righteousness" (Jer 23:6). Thousands of years
ago, the Holy Spirit proclaimed the message, that
the Lord
Jesus is our only source of righteousness.
So, just how does
God perform this great miracle in a Christian's life? How is He able to
bestow the righteousness of Jesus Christ upon another person? How does He
see the righteousness of Jesus, when He looks upon His begotten children?
The key to understanding this great blessing is revealed in Paul's
epistles to the churches at Rome and Galatia.
But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof (Rom
13:14).
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on
Christ (Gal 3:27).
The words "put on" are
derived from the single Greek word
enduo. It
literally means to "clothe oneself," as in the sense of
sinking deeply into a garment. When we
put on
Christ, we have clothed ourselves with Jesus and are covered by
His righteousness. Just as we step into a piece of
clothing, we step into the Person of Jesus and are concealed within His
holy garments. Therefore, when God looks upon us, His
eyes are only focused upon Jesus Christ, who has wrapped us within Himself
and clothed us with His righteousness.
Just as an
expecting mother holds an unborn child within her body, Jesus holds us
within Himself. We cannot see the tiny infant inside a mother's body; we
can only see the woman who is carrying the unborn child. Likewise, when we
are in Jesus, God sees the Person of Christ, not the imperfection of the
child within Him. This is how God bestows the righteousness of Christ upon
the members of His Family. Just as the unborn child is dependent upon its
mother for supplying all that is needed for its life, the child of God is
dependent upon Jesus for all the spiritual necessities needed for
justification and acceptance before God. It is essential to remember that
this can only be achieved
in Christ - not outside of Him.
The word
justified appears over thirty times in the New
Testament. The original Greek word dikaioo simply means to be
made righteous. If God said it that many times, He must have
wanted His children to know how much He loves and accepts them,
in Christ. The righteousness that God seeks is not based
upon our ability to live the Christian life without any failures. It is
based upon the righteousness that Christ possesses, because of His sinless
life of perfect obedience.
The Bible tells us
"God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). Therefore,
God
has no favorites and no one person has more righteousness than another
does. There is only one righteousness that exists - and that
is the righteousness of Jesus. Consequently, there cannot be different
degrees of righteousness among the brethren. Although each Believer,
within the body of Christ, has been ordained to perform different services
for God, they can only be clothed with one source and degree of
righteousness - Jesus Christ.
It is difficult for
some to believe that they have received this gift apart from any personal
works. However, a gift that been has paid for - is no longer a
gift. It has been earned. A very wise pastor gives the
following remarks for those who still believe they can achieve a state of
righteousness through human efforts.
We live in a
"do-it-yourself society. Thousands of "do-it-yourself" books have been
written... We take pride in our own works and we build trophy cases and
take pictures to remember our accomplishments. There is a lot to be said
for carrying one's own burdens in society. But, there is no such thing
as carrying one's own salvation. There is no such thing as a
"do-it-yourself" salvation. There will be no boasting in heaven except
boasting of Christ! Empty barrels make the most noise.1
It is essential that
we understand the blessing of
our righteousness in Christ.
Otherwise, we will never grasp the true depths of God's grace, and this
will hinder us from having a deep and personal relationship with Our
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father wants us to
understand that by having the righteousness of Jesus bestowed upon us;
we can stand in His presence, without the sense of sin, guilt,
or inferiority.
What a loving and
merciful Heavenly Father we have, who would allow us to be made the
righteousness of God by clothing us with His Son. God is good - and His
goodness surpasses our ability to comprehend its depths. Only a God of
love could have conceived such a remarkable plan for man's redemption.
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