RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH

Lord, you already see me as justified.

It was for that reason that Jesus died.

You’re daily conforming me to be like him,

and you show me your ways that I may walk in them.

Thank you for giving me faith to believe

that the righteousness of Christ is mine to receive.

“…I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,

but that which is through faith in Christ –

the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

Philippians 3:8b-9

dikaiŏsunē¹³⁴³ – from 1342; equity (of character or act); spec. (Chr.) justification: - righteousness.

dikaiŏs¹³⁴² – from 1349; equitable (in character or act); by impl. innocent, holy (absol. or rel.): - just, meet, right (-eous).

pistis⁴¹⁰² – from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; mor. conviction ( of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstr. constancy in such profession; by extens. The system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

            Any righteousness we have truly comes from God. As Paul points out, our righteousness comes through faith in Christ and even that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). God has prepared good works for us to be involved in before we were even aware of the paths we should take (Ephesians 2:10).  We do nothing to earn our justification or merit the label “righteous”. God works in and through us to do his will.

            That doesn’t mean I can just lie on the sofa and wait for God to move me to righteous living. If I truly rely on Christ for my salvation and believe his word is true, then I will have a desire to know and act upon his word. Just as a bride’s desire is for her husband, as a believer I am the bride of Christ; and my desire will be to know him intimately. As that bride tells her friends about her love and wears his ring, I will tell my friends about the Lord and wear his robe of righteousness. I will not want to bring shame to his name.

            Have you ever noticed that people who have been married a long time begin to look and act like each other? As I learn more about my Lord through the study of his love letters and grow closer to him through prayer and worship, I will exhibit more of his characteristics. His righteousness will shine through my life.

            Father, thank you that although I can never measure up to your standard by my own power, you have provided a way for me to be made righteous through faith in Christ. Help that change in me to be obvious to others to the glory of God. As the old hymn says, “Draw me nearer, nearer precious Lord, to thy precious bleeding side.”