“For by grace you have been saved through Faith; and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” – Ephesians 2:8-9
LIGHT FOR NOW: Righteousness is not a reward given to believers for their good deeds.
The Bible being a book of evidence has proven that there is no righteousness for a believer by keeping the law. No man can be made righteous by obeying the Ten Commandments of Moses. For further clarification, let’s consider the meaning of righteousness. The word righteousness spelt in Greek “dikaiosune” means equity or justification. This has to do with the trait or quality of being just or right. Galatians 2:21 says “If righteousness comes by law, Christ died in vain”. Also, Galatians 3:21(ESV) says “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law”. On the cross, the sinless Christ, who knew no sin, was made sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:21). From the passages above, it is visible that righteousness is not a human attainment or reward for right doing. This means that, no man can earn it, purchase it or merit it by good religious behaviour. Righteousness is God’s free, unreserved gift to a believer and the only place a believer can find righteousness is in Jesus Christ. Of great importance is the truth that righteousness is available for any sinner who will by faith receive the grace of God and His son Jesus. Justification by faith is to him that worketh not. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul shows the place for good works, following salvation without works.
Note the plain statements in Romans 3:28 and Romans 3:24, that because of the perfect redemptive work of the perfect Christ, the believing sinner is justified without the deeds of the law, without a cause, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). In the Old Testament, the people had to perform perfectly to be righteous before God. The harder they tried to do right according to the Law of Moses, the more they sinned and felt guilty and condemned about it. When Jesus came, He freed us from this requirement, Glory! Having faith in what He did through His death and resurrection, instead of what we do, replaces guilt with peace and joy. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The realization that we’re made righteous by what Jesus did, not by what we do, frees us from the requirements of constantly laboring to be found acceptable. It is not by how well your skirt sweeps the floor, neither does it have anything to do with how well your head-tie covers your ears; rather it has everything to do with Christ’s one-time sacrifice on the cross and our believe through faith in him. The concept of receiving salvation by faith is something with which the world and many Christians struggle, but a sign of spiritual maturity is a greater understanding of this. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:12, 13, NKJV). Any Christian or believer who still struggles with believing that righteousness is God’s free gift to us is still a babe and must present himself to be taught. Accepting God’s free gift liberates us from the bondage that the rest of the world is struggling with. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: Don’t struggle with your nature of righteousness.
CONFESSION: Lord, I thank you for your free gift of righteousness upon my soul, in Jesus Name, Amen.
QUOTE: Your daily confession of sin doesn’t take away sin but your belief in Christ.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: ROMANS CHAPTER 10; EVENING: EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 