Last
month the kids and I memorized Luke 18:19 “Why do you
call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good –
except God alone.” We were focusing on God’s attribute of being Good.
Only God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) is Good.
We
can’t ever be good but we can accept Christ’s imputed righteousness. Romans
10:4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that
there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
We
aren’t righteous (having perfectly upright moral conduct), but God looks at us
through Christ’s righteousness when we put our trust and belief in what He’s
done.
Romans
10:9-13 9 If you
declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
profess your faith and are saved. 11 As
Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
12 For there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”
Belief
in Jesus as the resurrected Lord is the only way to receive righteousness. Receiving
Jesus’ righteousness means being fully acceptance by God! When I don’t believe
in Christ’s imputed righteousness, I downplay my imperfections, or focus on my
failures, or get overwhelmed in my striving for righteousness. When I believe
in Christ’s imputed righteousness, I humbly go to Him with my failures, accept
His forgiveness and rejoice in my full acceptance by God!
Christ’s
righteousness becomes the basis for our identity.
We
don’t need to prove ourselves! We’ve been accepted!
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