Are you excited about righteousness?

One of the basic truths of the Christian life was blurred to me when I started my journey with Jesus decades ago. And yet, that basic truth is one of the fundamentals, and we need to discover it personally in order to experience it fully. I am talking about righteousness.

If we miss the reality of Christ’s righteousness in us we don’t really enjoy the new life benefits, but instead we struggle with issues that have already been dealt with by the death and resurrection of Christ. I am talking about negative feelings of shame, condemnation, low self-esteem, rejection, to mention a few – and we don’t need to struggle with these.

Look at Romans 5:15 – 21 … But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

“The free gift” means “the grace of God.” There is absolutely nothing that we can present to God as a merit in order to receive His grace. A gift must be free – if it costs even a cent, it’s no longer a gift.

And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came after many offenses resulted in justification.

Adam, as a paragon of humankind, brought condemnation through his trespass, but the free gift of God (His grace) brought justification through Christ for all who believe. Believe in what? In Jesus Christ!

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned…much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Instead of inheriting death through Adam we inherited “the gift of righteousness” through Christ. We reign in life through Him when we receive “abundance of grace”. And we received abundance of grace when we received Jesus Christ. It is as simple as that!

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Law of Moses came to increase the awareness of the trespass by defining sin. And where sin increased, God’s grace surpassed it and increased all the more! Yes, sin did reign, bringing us to death, but grace reigns through righteousness of Christ, causing us to enjoy the God kind of life.

My friend, we are not beggars, seeking for God’s grace. The depth of that revelation opens up a whole new world to us. We are free to live, to love, and to reach higher goals in life because we understand that God is not holding back anything, due to any unworthiness in us but everything that we receive from God is by grace. Righteousness is by grace. That’s something to be excited about!