“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1 (NIV)
Do you read verses about God blessing the righteous and think, “Am I righteous?” Or maybe worse, you say to yourself, “I am not righteous, so this blessing must not be for me.”
I have done that so many times. After reading verses like Psalm 5:12, “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield,” I would start to think how I was not righteous. So I must not be not under God’s shield, love, or protection.
What exactly is righteousness? To me, it encompasses all that is good, right, holy, pure, noble, and just. God is all of those things, but am I?
All of these questions about my own righteousness went away when I read the beginning chapters of Romans, and I learned about righteousness through faith, God’s grace, and the blood of Jesus.
RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Romans 3:22)
Righteousness is given to you by your faith in Jesus Christ. It is not based on what you can do or what you’ve done. All the things we can do for good are nothing compared to God’s righteousness. Our boasting should be in our great faith, not in our great works.
Abraham was considered righteous before he even did anything. It was his faith that allowed him to be upright with God.
RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH GOD’S GRACE
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)
God created the law to show us our sin. But no matter how much sin is living in us, God’s grace is greater than that!
Grace is receiving a gift you don’t deserve. When you work, you’ve earned something, such as a paycheck or a reward. God’s grace is a gift you have not earned; he does not owe it to you. All the striving and check lists are useless.
There’s a song called Wonderful Grace of Jesus, and after reading about God’s grace in Romans 5, I couldn’t even sing the words: “Broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame.” His grace is for you to open up and receive, not for you to be constantly reaching and grasping and holding on to with clenched fists.
RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH CHRIST
“Consequently, just as one trespass [Adam’s sin in the garden] resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act [Jesus dying on the cross] resulted in justification and life for all people.” Romans 5:18
Justification means to be made into a right relationship. Sin separates us from God, so our justification makes us right (or righteous) with God. The death and resurrection of Jesus allow us to be made righteous.
Like a parent, I’m sure God does not enjoy handing out consequences. But He is a just God, an impartial judge, and there has to be some payment for our sins. And that payment was Jesus. His blood covers our sins and God can look at us with rose-colored glasses (or blood-stained glasses).
Abraham hoped against hope that even in his old age he would indeed have offspring, because God told him he would. We can hope against hope, no matter what our feelings or thoughts tell us, that Jesus did die for us and our sins are covered by his blood. The payment has already been made and we are justified and made righteous through the resurrection of Christ (Romans 4:25).
FREEDOM FROM SIN
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:18)
There are new baby birds flying all around my backyard this morning. It is the cutest thing to see. They are so excited to be free. They are wildly swooping and diving and coming dangerously close to poles and other obstacles. And I can’t help but feeling like they are rejoicing. Rejoicing because now they can be free and live the way God intended them to live – not trapped in their nests.
Understanding that I am righteous, because of Jesus, because of God’s grace, and because of my faith, allows me to live free. I’m not as wild and excited as these baby birds, but maybe I should be.
Photo by Katerina Kerdi on Unsplash
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