For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Romans 1:17
True Religion
According to Google, there are an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 distinct religions in the world. On the surface, they can all seem quite different from each other. When it comes down to it, though, all of them, with one exception, depend to some degree on the person to do the right things at the right time. All these thousands of religions can be lumped together under the category of ‘works righteousness.’ Do the right stuff. Say the right things. Avoid the really bad things. Work your way towards perfection. Keep after it, and eventually you will get where you need to be.
Our religion is different. Biblical Christianity says that we cannot possibly do enough to be saved. Our works are not good enough because the standard is perfection. God’s standard for heaven is to be perfect. To be righteous. And this is not a future standard. It is what God requires of us today and every day. Our righteousness does not and cannot save us because it is not a perfect righteousness. In fact, it never will be.
Thankfully, someone else does have perfect righteousness. The Bible says that righteousness comes from God, not from us. There is one person who lived a perfectly righteous life for us. God provided righteousness for us through Jesus. He came to this world to do what we could never do. He came to earn our righteousness. He came and lived a perfect life in our place. Through faith in Jesus, we are saved. This is Christianity in a nutshell. We are saved through faith in our perfect Savior who lived and died in our place.
So, is your righteousness going to save you, or is Christ’s righteousness going to save you? You can only pick one. Put your trust in your Savior, who was perfect for you.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you are my righteousness. Thank you for being perfect in my place. Help me to place all my trust and confidence in you and what you have done for me. Amen.
