“CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”
ROMANS 10:1-4
1. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
PHILIPPIANS 3:8-10
8. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9. and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10. that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
INTRODUCTION:
What comes to mind when I say the word Righteousness?
The dictionary defines it this way: “Conforming to a standard of right and justice; virtuous. The act of being morally right”
(Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary, Volume 2, N-Z, p. 574).
But how does God define righteousness? The matter of righteousness is what this Bible is all about. It is what Calvary and the Cross are all about. It is what the Church and Christian religion are all about. What is Righteousness?
According to God’s Word, righteousness is bringing people by to God’s
standard of righteousness. The Chinese character for "righteousness"
is most interesting. It is composed of two separate characters - one
standing for a lamb, the other for me. When "lamb" is placed directly
above "me," a new character - "righteousness" is formed. This is a
helpful picture of the grace of God. Between me, the sinner, and God,
the Holy One, there is interposed by faith the Lamb of God. By virtue
of his sacrifice he has received me on the ground of faith, and I have
become righteous in his sight.
How are we brought up to God’s standard of righteousness? By faith
in His Son, Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22. even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25. whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26. to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:7-9
7. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9. and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
That knowing Christ and be found in HIM was what mattered: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” The only way you or I may enter Heaven is through the
righteousness of Christ. What does it profit us to gain all this life has to offer and have not the righteousness of Christ put to our account?
NOTHING! Our Lord Jesus asked in
Mark 8:36-37—
36. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
37. "Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
When we speak of the “Righteousness of Christ” we mean that none of
us are what God wants us to be; that we are sinners.
Isaiah 64:6
6. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Tells us, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the
wind, have taken us away.” We are unable to lift ourselves up to
God’s standard. The Bible tells us that Christ has taken our place,
and when we receive Christ by faith, God accepts us on the merit of
Christ’s righteousness not ours.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
If I look through a piece of red glass, everything is red. If we look through a piece of blue glass, everything is blue. If we look through a piece of yellow glass, everything is yellow, and so on. When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God looks at us through the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees us in all the white holiness of His Son. Our sins are imputed to the account of Christ and his righteousness to our account.
CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS is a glorious truth. But please note IT IS:
(1) REQUIRED OF SINNERS
ROMANS 10:1-4—
1. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
A. THE REQUIREMENT. God is Holy and He requires that we be holy also. In
Leviticus 19:2
2. "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: `You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
I Peter 1:15-16—
15. but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16. because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy.’’
The only way we can “Be ye holy, am I am holy,” as God demands
is for us to have the Righteousness of Christ. Someone has said, “God
never alters the robe of righteousness to fit man; He changes the man to
fit the robe.” Once we receive Christ as our Savior, we are made anew.
And daily, as we follow the leadership of God’s Spirit and the commands of God’s Word, we become more of what God would have us to be!
ILLUSTRATION:
Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote: “Our God is a demanding God,
an exigent God. His very nature demands of Him that He
demand of us more than we can ever supply. The requirement
of His righteousness is a righteousness equal to His own. He
could never accept human righteousness as a compromising
payment. Perfection demands perfection; that is why salvation
must be by grace, and why works are not sufficient. The glory
of grace is that our God is not only a demanding God, He is a
supplying God. Never has He required anything of us that He
has not furnished us as a gift of His sovereign grace. His
demand of righteousness has been fully met by that which was
manifested for us in Christ. In a devotional book The Canon of
Winchester says, ‘The demands of holiness are so great that the
resources to meet them are simply not to be found within the
competence of our human nature.’ Who is sufficient, then, to
meet the daily demands of God? Once more it must be seen
that what God requires, He provides. The Christian life comes
on the installment buying plan. There is a down payment of
righteousness and a daily installment of holiness, one required
for entrance into eternal life and the other for enjoying fellow-
ship and blessings. God will not accept human righteousness
for salvation any more than an automobile salesman will
accept counterfeit money as a down payment on a new model
car. Nor can He accept the average goodness of average
Christians as the basis for showering us with the special,
abundant blessings which He must reserve for those who bring
Him that which He requires. Just as God provided Christ as
the down payment, so He has provided Christ as the continuing
payment of holiness. The second must be appropriated by faith
even as the first. ‘He is made unto us….righteousness,
sanctification...’ (1 Cor. 1:30). The Holy Spirit brings
righteousness when He bears new life in us at the new birth,
and He applies righteousness to us every hour of our life. The
provision is fully made, and thus are the demands of holiness
met” (1).
God requires for sinners to enter Heaven they have the Righteousness of
Christ put to their account. But notice also…
B. THE REASON.
Isaiah 64:6
6. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
John Wesley said, “The very best of us all are no better than the uncleanest things”
(John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes)
That’s the best we can do apart from the righteousness
of Christ! We are filthy, unrighteous, unholy apart from Christ! But
when we receive Christ as our Savior, His Righteousness becomes our
righteousness. And we are accepted by God for this cause.
ILLUSTRATION:
Charles Spurgeon said, “Saints are so righteous in Jesus
Christ that they are more righteous than Adam was before
he fell, for he had but a creature righteousness, and they have
the righteousness of the Creator. He had a righteousness
which he lost, but believers have righteousness which they can
lose, an everlasting righteousness” (2).
Either Christ becomes your righteousness or you remain in yours sins,
and pay for them yourself in the eternal flames of hell. The choice is
your and yours alone!
The Righteousness of Christ IS REQUIRED OF SINNERS, but also it is…
(2) REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES
ROMANS 10:3-4—
3. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
*Where is this required righteousness found? It is revealed in the Word of God! It is:
A. REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Adam and Eve after the Fall were covered of their nakedness by God who slew a lamb as their covering. This lamb slain was merely a picture, a foretaste of the perfect, righteous, holy Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of all mankind.
1 Peter 1:18-19
18. knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19. but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Abel was accepted by God because he came with a blood sacrifice, and
Cain was rejected because his was not of blood. Isaac was to be killed
as a sacrifice by his father Abraham but the ram caught in the thicket
took his place. The Israelites on the Passover while in Egyptian
bondage were told to apply the blood to the doorposts so they could
escape the judgment of God. They were covered by the blood! All of the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the righteous, Holy Lamb of God who was slain for our sins.
Isaiah 53 foretells the coming of God’s
Righteous Lamb Would be slain for the sins of man.
ILLUSTRATION:
A young converted Jewess, daughter of a New York rabbi,
tells this story:
My father taught me to read the Bible in Hebrew when a young
child. We began at Genesis. When we came to Isaiah he
skipped the fifty-third chapter. I asked him why. He said it was
not necessary for Jews to read that chapter. I became more
curious. I asked him who it was for, and he said Christians. I
asked him what the Christian Bible was doing in our Bible. He
became very angry and told me to keep quiet. He said again it
was not necessary to read it. I wondered why God would put
unnecessary things in the Bible. I copied the fifty-third chapter
on paper and carried it in my stocking for two years until I
came to America--the free country. I looked at it at night and
every chance I could without being seen. I took better care of
that paper than people do of money. Through reading this
wonderful chapter I was led to accept Christ as my Saviour. I
was walking in New York one day and heard a lady reading this
chapter. She explained that it referred to Jesus Christ. It
satisfied me completely. --Sunday School Times
The Old Testament reveals that to be accepted by God and have one’s
sins covered one had to have the blood. Thus faith in the blood became
their righteousness. What about in the New Testament?
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IS:
B. REVEALED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
John preached it. In
John 1:29
29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Warren Wiersbe wrote: “John’s announcement is the answer to Isaac’s
question, ‘where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ (Gen. 22:7). The
Passover lamb in Ex. 12 and the sacrificial lamb in Isaiah 53 point to
Christ. There were many lambs slain in Old Testament history, but
Christ is the Lamb of God, the unique one. The blood of lambs slain in
tabernacle or temple merely covered sin (Heb. 10:1-4), but Christ’s
blood takes away sin. The lambs offered in the Old Testament days
were for Israel alone, but Christ died for the sins of the whole world” (3).
Jesus, Himself, said He was the only way (John 14:6). Without him
there would be no Way revealed; no divine and saving truth, no
immortal life (The People’s New Testament Commentary). The Apostles preached this truth.
Acts 4:12—
12. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’’
Matthew Henry said, “The name of Jesus is given to men of every age and nation, as that whereby alone believers are saved from the wrath to come” (4).
Paul wrote of Israel in
Romans 10:3—
3. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
Israel was saying in essence, “There must be another way.” But Christ is the ONLY WAY! Because as v4 tells us,
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believeth.” The meaning is that the whole law pointed to Christ, and his
righteousness. They were its object. Yet the Jews clung to the law, and
refused to believe upon Christ, in whom the law met its fulfillment. As
long as the Jews remained in unbelief, they were cut off from Christ. He
who believes submits to God’s plan of righteousness (The People’s New
Testament Commentary). There is no righteousness apart from Christ!
C. REVEALED AS THE ONLY WAY!
Proverbs 16:25 says,
25. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Jesus Christ is God’s only Way to righteousness. It is:
1. Not By Works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us,
8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Oliver B. Greene in his Commentary on Ephesians wrote: “In Ephesians 2:8-10 we have the origin and outcome of salvation…by grace, through faith, ye are saved…it is the gift of God, not ourselves. We have the certainty of salvation:
‘Ye ARE saved!’ We have the fact clearly set forth that salvation IS God’s gift…man has nothing to do with redemption. All you or I can do to become the recipient of salvation is to hear the Gospel, and receive Jesus through faith brought to our heart by hearing the Gospel. It is all of God, beloved. I have been preaching the Gospel for many years, and the hardest thing on this earth for me to get across to people is the Bible fact that man cannot save himself—nor can man help God save him. Salvation is totally and entirely of God” (5).
Who could have possibly had more and better works than did the
Pharisees? Yet, Jesus said ours must be greater than theirs!
In Matthew 5:20
20. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
2. Not By Religion. Our Lord said in
Matthew 7:21-23—
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23. "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
"Most people in America have just enough religion to keep them from getting the real thing. They have just enough to inoculate them against God!"-
Billy Graham S.B.C. 1982
The Righteousness of Christ IS: REQUIRED FOR SINNERS, REVEALED IN THE
SCRIPTURES and…
(3) RECEIVED BY THE SPIRIT
JOHN 3:5-8; JOHN 16:7-11
*Notice with me:
A. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WOOING. The word Woo means “To entreat earnestly. To invite to seek” (Funk & Wagnalls Standard DeskDictionary. Volume 2, N-Z. p. 789).
It is the Holy Spirit Who prepares the heart to receive Christ. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “You cannot produce a spiritual birth with physical means. The new birth can only be produced by spiritual means. What are these means? The Spirit of God (John 3:6 and 6:63), and the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18). A person is born again when the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to produce faith and impart the new nature when the person believes. The Spirit usually uses a believer to give the Word to another person, but only the Spirit can impart life” (6).
ILLUSTRATION:
Charles Spurgeon said, “Unless the Holy Ghost blesses the
Word, we who preach the gospel are of all men most miserable,
for we have attempted a task that is impossible. We have
entered into a sphere where nothing but the supernatural will
ever avail. If the Holy Spirit does not renew the hearts of our
hearers, we cannot do it. If the Holy Ghost does not regenerate
them, we cannot. If He does not send the truth home in their
souls, we might as well speak into the ear of a corpse” (7).
We have some examples of the “wooing” of the Spirit:
• Those who heard Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:37—“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
• Lydia. Acts 16:14—“And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”
• Felix. Acts 24:25—“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
B. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in
1 Thessalonians 1:5-6—
5. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
The Word is ineffective without the Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit changes people when they believe the Good News. When we tell others about Christ, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and convince them that they need salvation. His power changes them—not our cleverness or persuasion. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, our words are meaningless. The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of sin but also assures them of the truth of the gospel (8).
ILLUSTRATION:
Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight. -- A.W. Tozer, Born After Midnight. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 5.
C. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORK.
The New Birth is the work of the Holy Spirit. When the Word has been heard, the heart prepared; the Holy Spirit then grants both repentance and faith (Ephesians 2:8).
ILLUSTRATION:
"By the testimony of the Spirit, I mean, an inward impression
on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God immediately and
directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that
Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given Himself for me; that all
my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God ...
He so works upon the soul by His immediate influence, and by
a strong, though inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind
and troubled waves subside, and there is a sweet calm; the
heart resting as in the arms of Jesus, and the sinner being
clearly satisfied that God is reconciled, that all his ’iniquities
are forgiven, and his sins covered’." John Wesley, Works V,
124-125.
It is by grace we become recipients of Christ’s righteousness
(Ephesians 2:8).
(4) RESULTS IN CHANGED LIVES
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17—
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
ILLUSTRATION:
When a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly it becomes a
totally new creature. A metamorphose takes place. "Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new
has come! (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV) – Unknown
*When Christ’s Righteousness becomes our righteousness things will
change. What are some of these changes? WE:
A. CHANGE MASTERS—FROM SATAN TO GOD.
Paul said in Romans 6:17—
17. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
ILLUSTRATION:
In certain skilled crafts, an apprentice trains under a “master,” who trains, shapes, and molds his apprentice in the finer points of his craft. As spiritual people, we choose a master and pattern ourselves after him. Without Jesus, we would have no choice—we would have to apprentice ourselves to sin, and the results would be guilt, suffering, and
separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, however, we can choose God as our master (9).
B. CHANGE ROADS—FROM THE BROAD WAY TO THE NARROW WAY.
Our Lord Jesus said in
Matthew 7:13-14—
13. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
All without Christ are on the broad way that leads to destruction! But thank God when we receive Christ we change roads!
C. CHANGE ASSOCIATIONS—FROM THE WORLD TO THE CHURCH.
When a person receives Christ and His righteousness his associations
change. This world no longer loves him, nor befriends him. In
John 15:18-19 the Lord tells us,
18. "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
ILLUSTRATION:
A man said to D. L. Moody, "Now that I am converted, have I
got to give up the world?" Mr. Moody answered, "No, you do
not have to give up the world; if you have a good ringing
testimony for the Son of God, the world will give you up pretty
quick; they will not want you around."
Hugh McIntosh said, “A genuine Christian ought to be as
distinguishable among his fellows as a civilized man among savages”
(10). Why? We change associations!
D. CHANGE DESTINIES—FROM HELL TO HEAVEN.
Let me assure you this morning that the person who is trusting in their own righteousness to get them to Heaven instead to having Christ’s
righteousness applied to their life will spend eternity in hell! God
accepts only Christ’s righteousness for entrance into Heaven. As
Titus 3:5-6 tells us,
5. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6. whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
IN CONCLUSION:
Are you ready to make the change? Are you tired in trying to be
good enough, live good enough, and act good enough to go to
Heaven? To go to Heaven when you leave this life, you must have
the righteousness of Christ applied to your life! That is the only
thing which will merit you a home in Heaven.
Christ Our Righteousness is REQUIRED OF SINNERS, REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES, RECEIVED BY THE SPIRIT, and RESULTS IN CHANGED LIVES. Is Christ’s Righteousness your righteousness?
