Jesus is our righteousness

If there is anything that I would want you to remember after reading this blogpost then it’s the statement that “Jesus is our righteousness.” For the Jews, righteousness is earned when one is careful to do the commandments of God. Righteousness is achieved through law-keeping.

Deut. 6:25 says, And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

If righteousness is achieved through law-keeping then this becomes problematic for us. All of us have broken God’s law. We all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. (Rom. 3:23) We have not perfectly and fully obeyed the commandments of God. Also, the righteousness that He requires from us is a perfect kind of righteousness. Jesus said in Matt 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We can never enter heaven apart from righteousness. Matt. 5:20 says,  “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The verse means that the righteousness that God requires is not just outward obedience like that of the scribes and Pharisees but also obedience of the heart.

We are imperfect not just outwardly but also inwardly. We are disobedient from the heart. We are sinners at the core. We can never attain the perfect righteousness that God requires. (Rom. 8:7) That is really bad news. But, God in His mercy, grace, and love, provided a way in Jesus Christ for us to have that perfect righteousness. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to not just die for our sins, pay its penalty, and absorb and appease the wrath of God. He also sent Jesus to live the perfect life and earn the righteousness that God demands from us by obeying perfectly the commandments of God. Jesus is fully aware of this. Matt. 3:15 says, “But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.”

God is freely offering the gift of righteousness that Christ earned in behalf of us. Rom. 5:17 says, “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.“

Phil. 3:9 also says “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—” Faith in Christ allows us to obtain this righteousness that comes from God. Faith is the medium upon which we obtain this gift of righteousness.

This righteousness is not our own. It is Jesus’.

This righteousness is not based on how good we are but on how perfect Jesus is.

This is not based on our disobedience but on the perfect obedience of Jesus.

What a comfort it is that we enter the kingdom of God not on our own doing. If it is dependent on us, we can never go there. We will always fall short. We could never measure up.

What a comfort it is that we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ and we stand faultless before the throne of God because of it. This righteousness is credited on our account, imputed to us, given to us, or transferred to us through faith alone in Christ alone. God declares us as righteous by virtue of the imputed righteousness of Christ which we receive through faith alone. God justifies the sinners through faith in Christ in His sight because of the unblemished righteousness of the Lamb who was slain.

May we renounce all self-righteousness. May we give up on ourselves. May we stop trying to earn heaven by doing good works. There’s only way to go there. And, that is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. May we turn from ourselves and turn to Him.

Jesus Christ became all we need. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,”

Jesus became our righteousness.

Jesus is our righteousness.

May we trust in Him alone.

Sovereignty and Surrender

God is sovereign. He governs the universe. He is not just sitting in the heavens and watching us at a distance. Everything that is happening is in accordance to the plan of God. He predetermined all that will happen before it happens. (Isaiah 46:10) He already wrote the days and stories of our lives in His book before it happened. (Psalm 139:16) He carries out His plan and makes sure it is accomplished. All that are happening is just an unfolding of the plan of God from eternity past. He does all that He pleases. (Psalm 115:3) He works all things according to the counsel of His will. (Eph. 1:11) Nothing is outside of God’s control. Everything that is happening is a result of God’s working. He maybe directly or indirectly involved but He is still involved.

Even the hearts of men are in the hand of the Lord and they unknowingly do what He purposed to do. (Proverbs 21:1)

Even the most random things are under the sovereign control of God. He ultimately decides the result. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33)

Even the most unimportant creatures created by God do not die apart from God’s permission. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matt. 10:29)

God could choose to intervene, when He does not, God is in a sense allowing things to happen. He could choose not to but if He permits things to happen then that’s His will. God is sovereign over everything including the human will but He does not violate it. He accomplishes His purposes through it. We have our intentions in our actions but God also has His intentions for allowing our actions. Ultimately, His intentions and purposes stand. Gen. 50:20 says,  “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

This is an essential and comforting truth for people who failed to get what they want, for people whose plans get interrupted, for people whose expectations did not materialize, for people whose anxiety burdens them, for people whose decisions led them to despair, and countless other things that make people burdened. I do not mean to say that we are not responsible for our choices and the consequences of our wrong decisions. What I am trying to mean is, in spite of all of that, if one is a Christian, God will ultimately use all things for our good. (Rom. 8:28) This is why the sovereignty of God is so comforting because God will use everything even worst experiences, bad decisions, and unexpected circumstances for our own good. The good that is referred to in the bible is conformity to Christ. (Rom. 8:29) We maybe just aware of 10 things that are happening to us but God is using 10,000 things to make us more like Him.

That’s why in spite of the heartache, pain, suffering, trial, and failures, it’s best to surrender everything to God because He is sovereign. Surrendering everything under the control of God knowing that He knows what’s best for us is comforting to the soul of the Christian. He does not withhold good things from us because He is also our loving Father who wants what’s best for us. That’s the beauty of surrender, we acknowledge that God is in complete control of our lives and He knows what He is doing. We rest to the fact that His plans are way better than ours because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. We rest to the fact that things not under our control are under His.

We can surrender every worry, burden, and concerns to God because He is a loving Father who cares for us. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

He is our good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1, John 10:11) who guides us in the path of life and joy. (Psalm 16:11)

And He is our Life and our Joy.

Amazing Love

In a world oozing of “I love you’s”, “I” is now the giver and determiner of how love is expressed and “you” is the recipient of that love. Since, the giver and recipient are people. Love might be defined subjectively and not objectively. Oftentimes, expressions of love do not lead to actions of love.

Love could as easily be lost as it is found. Promises are broken. Feelings said are now gone. Efforts are wasted. Hearts are broken.

And we are now ever confused if this is what love truly is. The best way to gain certainty amidst confusion is to go back to the ultimate source of love: God.

God’s love towards His children does not diminish even though we fail Him and break His heart because of our sins. The worst trait, character flaw, chronic sickness, lifetime illness, unappealing quirks, besetting failures, embarrassing experiences, disappointing moments and disgusting sins do not negate the love that God bestowed upon us.

In spite of all of that, His love is relentless. He pursues us and never gives up on us no matter how much we have failed Him, sinned against Him, and broken His heart. It never ceases. It is constant. It does not become any lesser because of failures and sins.

No matter how unlovable we think we are, God will still love us. His essence is love. It’s in His nature to love. He loves us because He is by nature a loving God. It is based on His character and not our performance. It is based on His loving nature and not on our loveliness or lack thereof.

The intensity and immensity of the love of God for His people is deeply appreciated when compared to the mediocrity of the “love” of imperfect people.

People would be disappointed of each failures but God picks us up and makes us stand.

People would be unaccepting of flaws but God chose to love us even though He foresaw all our imperfections.

People might cancel us out because we don’t live up to their standards but God loved us not base on how well we live our lives.

People might give up on us at our worst moments but God will never us and He will choose to stay and be our source of comfort.

People might feel disgusted because of a dishonorable and sinful past but God’s love never changes with every sin we commit.

His amazing love for us is clearly shown when Jesus Christ died for His sinful people at the cross. (Romans 5:8) All the sins that we have committed up until we die was borne by Jesus in His body. (1 Peter 2:24) At the cross, God saw Jesus as the most disgusting human who has ever lived because He took our sins upon Himself. God poured out His wrath against our sins upon Christ and His wrath is satisfied in Christ. (Isaiah 53:5) He took the penalty of our sin and paid our fine with His blood. There is no more condemnation. (Romans 8:1) We are forgiven.

He didn’t only die for the sins of His people, He also lived a perfect life in their behalf to satisfy the perfect standard of God the Father. (Romans 5:19, Matthew 5:48) He perfectly obeyed the law that we always fail to do. His righteousness becomes ours through faith alone.

God’s rage was poured upon Christ because He was clothed in our sin and we are declared in the eyes of God because we are clothed in the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Jesus Christ lived and died for us. That’s how much He loves us. It is not owing to anything we have done to ever earn that love. (Eph. 2:8-9) It is only owing to the fact that He is our loving Shepherd who would gladly lay down His life for His sheep. (John 10:11)

And this amazing love is freely offered to anyone who would receive it by trusting in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. (John 3:16)

And as Timothy Keller has said, “The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that.”