Imputed Righteousness

Wow, what a great week we had!  The Haiti packing party went very well (Thank you Rick and Beth Wehner)!  Till Our Renewal came and led our worship for us that evening as we lifted high the name of Jesus!  Brian Carter did an excellent job with our youth yesterday as he led us as a congregation musically in praising Jesus!  What an excellent week.

God is so good.  On top of the things I just listed, two people from our congregation found out that they DO NOT have cancer!   Just as we go through different seasons of weather, I truly believe we have moved into a season of joy and encouragement.  This is not because of anything good that we have done, rather it is because the Father is good.  We cannot earn the favor of God.  We cannot act righteous enough for God to look at us and be pleased, responding then to our goodness.  Paul writes in Galatians 2:16, “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” 

We are justified by faith in Christ.  The theological term for this is the “imputed righteousness of Christ.”  Paul explains this more thoroughly in Romans 4.  If you are not familiar with this chapter, go ahead and read it in your Bible now. 

Did you see that?  “Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness” (vs. 3).  Abraham has righteousness that comes by faith (vs. 13).  We too are made righteous, not by our works, but by our faith in Christ (vs. 23-25).  When we have faith in Jesus Christ as our savior, redeemer, and justification, we obtain his righteousness.  So when the Father looks at us, he doesn’t see our sinful and soiled unrighteousness, but rather he sees his Son’s (Jesus Christ) perfect righteousness.  Paul describes this another way in Romans 13:11-14 (specifically verse 14) when he says, “clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Our clothes are dirty (our righteousness is not white/clean and is stained by our sin) and we need Christ’s righteousness that comes through faith alone.

That is why it is called the imputed righteousness.  Jesus imputes his righteousness, meaning he ascribes, attributes, accredits his righteousness to us because we have faith in him alone.  The Bible informs us that it is only through faith, not by anything we can do, that Jesus gives us his righteousness.  There is another word that fits so perfectly here.  The word is “grace.”  Nothing we have done or could ever do will earn us salvation and a right standing with the Father.  Only through Jesus’ GRACE are we saved and brought into the Father’s family. 

Here is the question for this week – how does this change or encourage your response to the Father this week?  Who do you need to share this message with this week?