We can live in God’s righteousness and forsake all attempts to be righteous by striving to be good enough.
God desires that we live in righteousness day by day through faith in the finished work of Christ placing no trust in our own goodness. We simply cannot be good enough for God by any means other than Christ. Paul said that he considered his own righteousness rubbish compared to the righteousness of God that comes from God by faith.
(Philippians 3: 7-10) If anybody could have been saved by being good enough, it was Paul. But he preached grace knowing that not one single person could keep the law and earn their way to heaven (Romans 3:20).
Righteousness is a GIFT that we receive by faith not based on any human effort.
For those of us who are trying hard to earn God’s approval. We will never get it!
God declares us righteous because of all the righteous things that Christ has done for us not because of what we have done for God.
Christ’s Perfect Sacrifice cannot be improved. Jesus said from the cross “It is Finished”. We cannot add anything to what Christ has done. What needs to be done has been done.
We have been set free from religion, trusting in Christ to be sufficient for our need for forgiveness and acceptance.
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
How counterintuitive is it that we should be declared righteous and not point to anything that we did to deserve righteousness? That seems illogical and yet, that is what God has chosen to do on our behalf.
He took all of our sin on the cross and placed all of our sin on Christ so that we would be found not guilty. Then He took the righteousness of Christ and placed that goodness in us when we are born again.
His righteousness is given in exchange for our unrighteousness and sin. It takes faith to make that exchange a personal reality.
What is American Christianity as Jack explains further in the video below? Believing that we must perform to get saved or stay saved. But, God says the righteous shall live by faith from first to last – that is true biblical Christianity (Romans 1:17). Every day, every moment, from the time we are saved, we are called to trust Christ until the day we die. Our salvation leads us to do good works. Our good works do not lead to salvation.
We must get this straight to be in a right relationship with God.
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Salvation is all God, zero me. So, does that mean that God does not care about good works? No, the very next verse tells us that we were saved by God to do good works.
Good works follow salvation, they do not lead to salvation. We are saved TO WORK not BY WORK.
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
