The Gospel Is About the Righteousness of God, Not About Man's Sin

For in (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (Rom 1:17)

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. (Rom 3:21-22)

In the above two passages, Paul tells us that something is revealed in the gospel: The righteousness of God.

God's righteousness is what the gospel is about.  The gospel isn't about the attempts of people to earn or maintain righteousness through the things they do.  It's about the gift of God's very righteousness.  This gift is given freely to all who believe.

As you look in your Bible, you'll see that in between the two passages above, there are sixty-four verses that essentially tell us about the unrighteousness of man.  These verses are not what the gospel is about!  These sixty-four verses, from Romans 1:18 all the way to Romans 3:20, were written to show us the reason the gospel was needed.  That is, they were written to show us the reason the righteousness of God needed to be given to us as a gift, by grace through faith.  Paul writes about how the wrath of God was "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men..."  He lists all kinds of ways in which the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men has been demonstrated.

As all of this continues into Chapter 2, Paul makes the case to his fellow Jews that it's not only the Gentiles (non-Jews) who have missed the mark, but they themselves are also transgressors of the very law of God that they make their boast in!  In other words, Paul points out that we're all in the same boat in regards to "the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," so there's no room for anyone to judge or condemn anyone else!  All (both groups: Jews and Gentiles) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  "For we have previously charged that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." (Romans 3:9).  "There is no one righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10).

The only thing the law of God had done was to reveal sin.  "BUT NOW," Paul writes in Romans 3:21, "the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed... even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe."  The law revealed sin, but could do nothing about it.  The gospel revealed God's righteousness, which we receive as a gift.

Can you see what Paul was doing, by first telling us in Romans 1:17 that the gospel revealed God's righteousness, and then spending quite a bit of time (64 verses) telling us about man's unrighteousness?  Sadly, many in the church have used a portion of those 64 verses to pronounce guilt, judgment and condemnation upon not only unbelievers, but also upon their fellow believers!  But that was never the reason those verses were written.  The reason Paul built this lengthy case for the unrighteousness of man was to show why righteousness could never be earned or attained by our performance.  Only God's perfect righteousness would ever do, and the only way anyone can attain it is to receive it freely as a gift!

No Pointing Fingers (video blog)

This video blog is similar in nature to my blog post from the other day, The Gift of Life. It's essentially the same subject matter, with a few other thoughts thrown in.

As an alternative to the video, I've posted an MP3 of the audio below.



No Pointing Fingers MP3 (1.5MB)
(Click to Play, Right-Click to Download)

GIG 195 - The Purpose of the Law

Last week we asked the question, "Don't we need to commit ourselves to the laws of God?" This week we begin exploring that question by going back and talking briefly about what the gospel is (in short, we talk about God's righteousness that is given to us as a gift, apart from the Law) and we move on from there.

Was the Law given to help us live right and overcome sin? The Bible says that we've been set free from sin and that sin does not have dominion over us! Why? Does God's Law have anything to do with this? What is the Law's purpose? We'll talk about this and more on this week's episode of Growing in Grace.

gigcast.graceroots.org

More on the Exchanged Life

Latest Growing in Grace program is available for download. Our life exchanged for His life. Our sin exchanged for His righteousness. Christ in you, the hope of glory!

gigcast.graceroots.org

When zeal for God is detrimental

Rom 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Phil 3:7-10 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet 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 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...

Zeal for God would seem like such a wonderful thing, wouldn't it? But yet the zeal for God mentioned above was in vain. And not only was it in vain, but it was detrimental to those who had such great zeal, because in this zeal they had a certain form of righteousness, but it was their own righteousness - not God's righteousness.

In their zeal and devotion to God, they were actually kept from God, because they were trusting in their own righteousness and in doing so they fell short of the only righteousness that is acceptable to God - His own righteousness. This righteousness cannot be earned, but can only be received by faith, as a gift.

In this post I've underlined two distinct types of righteousness - Man's righteousness and God's righteousness. One type is an attempt to earn favor with God through self-effort (self-righteousness) and the other is a gift that can only be received by faith. One type is done with great zeal, but nevertheless falls completely short of the only type of righteousness that counts for anything.

The gospel is all about God's righteousness (see Romans 1:16-17) - and how it's freely given to all who believe. It would seem "logical" to the human mind that submitting to God's righteousness would mean trying as hard as we can to attain to it. But yet it's utter foolishness! If a person is trying to attain to righteousness by their own works, they have not submitted to God's righteousness. It can only be received in one way - as a FREE GIFT!

Righteousness apart from law

Rom 3:19-26

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as 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, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God needs a filter to see me as righteous?

A lie that I believed for years is that I was still some filthy, dirty sinner who was fortunate enough to have a God who would look past my sin, because He was looking through the filter of Jesus when He looked at me. But the truth is that He has taken away my sin (something the blood of bulls and goats - i.e. sacrifices other than Jesus) could never do. Through the perfect offering of Jesus, God "has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb 10:14)

Do I still commit acts of sin? Well, my mind and body definitely think and do sinful things. But the person who I am inwardly - a born again spirit, a new creation of God, the core of my existence - is righteous and is indwelled by God Himself. He has joined His Spirit together with my spirit (1 Cor 6:17). The sin that I commit is "no longer I, but sin that dwells in me," that is, in my members (my body). (Rom 7:17, 20). Along with Paul, as a regenerated being (again, in my spirit), I can say that "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." This is something an unregenerated, dirty, rotten sinner simply could never say truthfully.* And so if it is "no longer I who do it," then I can't call myself a sinner. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and God sees me that way, not because Jesus is standing in front of me making me appear righteous to God, but because Jesus is in me and God has in actuality made me righteous (2 Cor 5:21).



*Side note: Someone may want to bring up King David's claims in the Psalms about how he delighted in the law. But I would contend that he was off base in his claims, just as the Apostle Paul admits was true of himself back in his law-abiding Pharisaical days when he was known by his Hebrew name, Saul. David's claims, I would contend, were based on his lack of understanding and revelation about the true purpose and function of the law. David said things such as, "I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart" (Ps 40:8). "The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law" (Ps 119:69-70). "Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have given me life" (Ps 119:92-93).

These claims were perhaps made with a sincere heart, but were far from reality. The law was given to impute sin, and to sentence people with guilt, condemnation and death. There is no law that ever gave life (Gal 3:21). The law never did one single thing to help a person live right. The law never curbed sin. Actually, the opposite is true. The law only caused a revival of sin and it caused sin to abound (see scripture below). Paul had previously thought the same way David had thought, that the law was actually beneficial in his life, but after receiving revelation from Jesus Christ, Paul's understanding was corrected.

"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me." (Rom 7:8-11) The law is holy and just and good... but unregenerated man (man under the law, having not received the life of Christ) is not.

Big Difference 3 - Self righteousness vs. God's righteousness

(Or man's righteousness vs. God's righteousness)

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Rom 10:3-4 NKJV (emphasis mine)

How is it that man seeks to establish his own righteousness (self-righteousness)? By the Law. By his own works. By his own self effort. In seeking to establish his own righteousness by the things he does, he lives a life that is ignorant of God's righteousness! In seeking to establish his own righteousness, he has not submitted to God's righteousness. Is there not a big difference between man's righteousness and God's righteousness?

We cannot live up to God's righteousness by what we do. It's impossible. As James said (and as I pointed out in Big Difference 2), if you keep the whole blessed thing and stumble in just one point, you wind up being guilty of the whole thing because you are a transgressor and transgressors to not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You have fallen short of Jesus' words to "be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48). You can even do all the things that Jesus commanded... and if you stumble in just one point, you have fallen short and you are guilty.

The good news is "the gospel!" In Romans 1:17, Paul is speaking of the gospel (see vs. 16) and he says, "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed..."

The gospel reveals God's righteousness, as opposed to man's righteousness that he tries to establish by what he does. The gospel replaces man's attempts at righteousness with the gift of righteousness.

*For an explanation of this Big Difference series, see the original post.*

What's right with you

This is the third time I've used the title "What's right with you" for a post here on Grace Roots (See the other two: 6/26/06 and 8/24/07. See also a similar post called Convicted of Righteousness).

In my mind I'm brought back to these thoughts quite often because I know that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world seem to deal more with the question, "What's wrong with me?" than with the truth of "What's right with me." Teachers and preachers - even those with great intentions of helping people live better lives - tend to be focused on what's wrong with the people in their congregations and how to "fix" what's wrong. Just as examples, I can't tell you how many "giving" sermons I've heard in my life. Or how many times I've been told to be a better witness for Christ. Or "how to" do this or "steps to take" to do that. Or the five "R's" of relationships. Can I get any witnesses? ;) I've heard countless methods, steps, principles, laws, rules, plans, etc, all with the intention of having the people of the congregation work on these things so they can become more productive Christians. For a while in my walk with Jesus I thought that was the way it's supposed to be. I knew I wasn't performing perfectly for God and I wanted to improve. I wanted to fix what was wrong about me and become more and more acceptable to God.

Of course I came to find out that that way of living the Christian life is foolishness! It seems right in the eyes of man, but it really does only lead to death. I don't mean physical or spiritual death. I mean death of dreams, death of motivation, death of joy... you get the picture. You eventually find that no matter how hard you try, or what steps you take, or what principles you follow... you still always have a long way to go in order to fix what's wrong with you. Or perhaps you have some "victories," but even after your victories you see that there are twenty million other things that are wrong with you that need fixing. And not only that, but those twenty million other things seem magnified like never before. Once you take a look at God's righteousness, and take steps towards trying to live up to it, whether you fail or whether you think you succeed, your own shortcomings begin to appear so much larger than you originally thought of them.

And so I just want to ask you... Do you find yourself somewhere in the two preceding paragraphs? If so, GET OUT, because the two preceding paragraphs are filled with very bad news!!! In fact, I can honestly tell you that I was becoming slightly depressed while writing them and going back and reading them! I considered removing them and coming from a different angle because I just don't want to take the risk of getting myself or anyone else stuck in the mindset that this life in Christ is about fixing what is wrong with us.

My seven year old girl likes to take her time while getting ready for school in the morning. And that's fine. I've learned to wake her up earlier so that she has all the time she needs. But even so, she very often becomes distracted, and every 10 to 15 minutes I need to prompt her to "stay on task." If I don't, we'll be late for school. I smile when I talk to her and I make it a quick reminder, but yet she feels so bad for "getting behind" that she begins to cry and keeps repeating, "sorry daddy, sorry daddy." It makes me so sad to see her feeling so sad and guilty that she's gotten off track, because I'm not angry with her and I don't come across as angry with her! I've had to tell her over and over again that I'm not angry with her. All that I'm doing is making it so she can enjoy taking her time while not dragging her feet. And so what's happened is that I've discovered new ways to talk with her in the morning, which I'll get to in a minute.

But my example here is basically what I mean about preachers and teachers, even with good intentions, focusing on sin and on what's wrong with people. It's of course not just preachers and teachers. It's parents, authority figures, friends, other church people, etc, etc. When we focus on what's "wrong" with us, it generally yields the opposite of what we intend! We hope it will yield changed lives, fruit, righteous living, etc, but in the long run it yields guilt, despondency, fruitlessness, etc.

And of course in a large section of church society, this focus on sin doesn't come out of good intentions. It comes out of self-righteousness, Pharisaical attitudes and a desire to be in control and to keep the people dependent upon their preaching or their so-called "authority." But no matter the motive, a focus on sin will never yield the fruit that a focus on our righteousness in Christ (that we've freely received as a gift) will yield!

Over the course of this school year so far, I've learned some better ways (I think) to talk with my daughter that don't focus on how far behind she is or how late it's getting, but rather that remind her and encourage her in her current "task." For example, if she's supposed to be getting dressed, but she's instead found a Barbie to play with, I tell her something like, "after you get dressed, I'll get you a fresh cup and you can brush your teeth!" She "remembers" that she was getting dressed and she hops right back to it without even giving a thought as to whether or not daddy was angry with her. And all the time, throughout each and every day when I'm near my kids, I'm talking with them and laughing with them and hugging them and kissing them and telling them how much I love them. That's the most important thing. Even if they were to get "off task" and were late to school every day, I can't imagine for a moment that I would ever stop letting them know how much I love them.

Which leads to my next post, which has to do with God's love for us and the righteousness we have received as a gift, and how He encourages us and motivates us based upon love and righteousness rather than through guilt and condemnation.

Reformation

Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day. It's the day people put on masks and costumes and re-form themselves into something they're not! Haha!

But seriously, through what we've come to know as "The Reformation," God did some great things through people such as Martin Luther (and other "reformers" such as Calvin, Wycliffe, Tyndale and many, many others) that began to take Christianity out of the darkness of legalistic and unbiblical religious practices and back into the gospel of grace. Not that things are perfect these days! (I'll get to that below). But the truths that Luther's eyes were opened to (as he studied epistles such as Romans and Galatians) were finally brought out into the public arena, when they had previously been kept hidden by the religious leaders of the day who had agendas other than teaching the true freedom of the gospel of Christ.

I've never studied the Reformation deeply, but I always perk up when I read about it or hear discussions about it, and I'd love to delve into a deeper study of it. Nevertheless, I remain an amateur on this subject and so I simply want to share a couple of things that have stuck out to me during the past couple of days as I listened to Christian radio and read a little bit on the internet.

Terry Rayburn of Grace For Life has an excellent article called "Celebrating Halloween with Abraham, Martin & John." This is actually the transcript for his weekly Grace Walk Internet Radio program. This week's program (as with all his programs) can also be heard via his blog. I think the whole of it is well worth reading (and/or listening to), but if you scroll down to the section on "Martin," there is a paragraph that goes right along with some interesting things that I also heard on the radio yesterday.

"But no matter how he (Martin Luther) worked and strived and prayed and worked and strived and prayed, he had no peace. And the reason was that he understood how righteous and holy God was, and that man’s works can never gain favor from such a perfect and righteous and holy God."

I've always known this to be true about Martin Luther, but the words here pinpoint something specifically that I wish the world - especially those in the Christian church - would wake up to! Luther "understood how righteous and holy God was." There are two basic ways a person can go when he understands the perfect righteousness and holiness of God. Luther started off in one direction, but fortunately ended up going completely the other way. At first, he dedicated his life to try to live up to this righteousness. He struggled, strived, worked, prayed, and he even entered the monastery. But in all of this, he found he just couldn't live up to it and he did not find the peace of God.

Through his struggle, he finally came to understand that his striving and his works could never gain him favor with such a perfect and righteous and holy God. The more he tried, the more he understood just how righteous and holy and perfect God is and how far he fell short of it. Understanding the perfection of God should lead a person to understand that it's impossible for man to live up to it! Fortunately, all of this eventually led Luther to the grace of God.

One other comforting and reassuring thing I heard on the radio yesterday has to do with how God used various "reformers" in ways in which they didn't set out to be used by Him. One radio commentator, who was speaking specifically of Luther, said that he didn't set out to start a mass reformation of the church. In my own words, he didn't set out to change to world as we know it. But through his actions and the actions of the other reformers, the world was changed. The church began to take on another shape. The reformers themselves didn't call themselves the "Reformers" and they were not involved in some huge plot to "reform" the worldwide church. In simple terms, they simply spoke and wrote about what they believed. (Not that they didn't face huge obstacles and opposition). Another radio commentator, who was also talking about how the reformers didn't set out to change the world, put it this way (and I don't recall whether he was talking about Luther or another reformer): "It's as if he stumbled in the dark and grabbed a hold of a rope... and didn't realize there was a bell attached to it!"

May that bell sound loud and clear and for a long, long time to come!