Are you righteous? I mean, what exactly is righteous or righteousness? It seems like an outdated, Christianese type of word. But it’s an important word. Most dictionaries define righteous behavior as being morally right or justifiable, free from sin or guilt.
So, the answer to that first question, ”Are you righteous?” is “No!” None of us are. According to Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one,” because all of us have sinned (see Romans 3:23). All humans sin. If we stood before the throne of God to be judged on our own, we would be found guilty and sent to serve an eternal sentence. Unless…
He made an unfair exchange for us because He loves us; He gave us his righteousness, and we gave Him our sins.
… unless someone stood up on our behalf and decided to take our place and our punishment. They would stand before the judge as the guilty one who sinned, and we would go free as one who was morally right, justifiable, free from sin or guilt.
But where could we find such a person who would claim our sin as their own and allow us to claim their righteousness as our own?
Thankfully, God Himself has provided that person for us.
The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about God becoming man and being our righteousness long ago when he said:
“‘Look, the days are coming’ — this is the Lord’s declaration —
‘when I will raise up [Jesus] a Righteous Branch for David…
In his days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is the name he will be called:
The Lord Is Our Righteousness [Jehovah Tsidkenu]’”
(Jeremiah 23:5–6, emphasis added).
The Bible goes on to say that our sins (iniquities in Christianese) will fall on Jesus, that He will save us, and that He will take the punishment (be pierced) for our wrongdoings (check out Isaiah 53, Matthew 1:21, and 1 Peter 1:18—19). Jesus did all of this when He decided to die for us on the cross; He willingly submitted to death to justify us and carry our sins away. In essence, He made an unfair exchange for us because He loves us; He gave us his righteousness, and we gave Him our sins.
In Christianese, we call this grace this undeserved gift of righteousness. It allows us to stand before the throne of God justified rather than guilty. And it allows us to be in harmony, reconciled with Him–the ultimate judge.
As Christians, it is our job to share this wonderful news of how the Lord is Our Righteousness.
“In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. [So,] we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made [Jesus] the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).
Today, take a moment to thank God for being your righteousness, Jehovah Tsidkenu.
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2 Comments
Hallelujah, praise the Lord!!!
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more!
Romans 3:21-26 ESV
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- [22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.