Philippians 3:9
“and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comesfrom God on the basis of faith.”
This is the good news, that we are made righteous through faith in Christ. Not having a righteousness of my own. The reason it’s good news, because we can’t be righteous on own. That’s the message of the Old Testament. When Adam and Eve sinned, God slew an animal to provide them clothes. That’s the first hint that God had to cover them and blood had to be shed. Later, Moses would establish the sacrificial system to make more formal and more clear that a covering was necessary and blood had to be shed.
Jesus sacrifice established the new covenant. His single sacrifice was good for all time for those that would believe and follow Him. Our culture rejects Jesus. It relies on sincerity and mercy to save us. It also grades on a curve. Most think they are better than the average, so “God surely won’t send me to hell”. That’s not how it works.
Jesus shared a sobering truth in Matthew 7:13,14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” That tells me the majority won’t go to heaven. That’s difficult to know. It should motivate us to share the gospel and pray for those who we come in contact with.
We need to share the news of todays verse. That righteousness cannot be attained on our own, it’s the gift of God. It’s free. We just have to follow Him.
While it’s free we do need to stop sinning and make Jesus our Lord. We do surrender some autonomy. John 8:34 says, ‘Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”‘ While we have to give up sin, He frees us from it’s power. We are no longer slaves. So it’s a positive to make Him our lord.
The “giving up control” is a deal breaker for many. I understand that. There have been many times when obedience was difficult. But the choice of staying in Christ and obeying was far better than abandoning Him. I’ve experienced the goodness of God and don’t want to leave it.
By accepting Christ’s righteousness we are reconciled with God. I had no idea what that would mean. First off, we were created to walk in union with Him. That was spoiled in the Garden. So, we are all born with original sin, we are separated from God. So we are not functioning as we were meant to. I can use a drill to hammer something, but it’ll break. So also our purpose was to walk with God. Without Him, we are incomplete. There’s anxiety and a lack of peace.
When we are reconciled with God, all that returns. We gain His peace, there is a rest. That’s just the beginning. There is far more. He loves us, we are enveloped in that love. He guides us and blesses our lives. And on and on and on. We have been adopted by a wealthy, benevolent one who has plenty of time to focus on us. That’s everyone’s ache, to be seen and the focus of one who loves us. All that comes when we receive His righteousness.
Thank You, Lord, for Your righteousness and all that comes with it. A life we could never imagine. Thank You, Lord. Help us to share that good news.