RIGHTEOUS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS

Philippians 3:8-9 says, "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith." For a long time, Paul had been relying on his good works for God to accept him. He became a religious leader, a Pharisee, to serve God. He defended the Law of God against any teaching that would discredit it, including the Christians who believed that it was not through the Law of God that a person could be saved, but through faith alone in Christ Jesus. Paul began to persecute the church harshly. He put many Christians in jail and approved the killing of Stephen because of the gospel (Acts 7). However, his life changed when our Lord Jesus revealed Himself to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Since then, he found the truth and believed in Jesus, and followed Him. 

He immediately left his religious position, prestige, and ambitions for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ. He left the religion that he once defended and was willing to die for because he found the righteousness of Christ. Paul became righteous before God, not through obeying or defending the Law of God, but by faith alone in Christ Jesus. The moment we believe in the Lord Jesus, we receive the righteousness of Christ. As a result, when we stand before God, He sees the righteousness of Christ in us. Trying to be accepted by God with our good works does not work. Paul followed the Law of God as best as he could, but failed. Our journey with God begins in our faith in our Lord Jesus, then after that, the Spirit of God will work in our hearts and minds to change us and help us to do good works.

Let us completely trust our Lord Jesus for our righteousness. We do good works because we are already righteous before God. We follow and obey God because we are already righteous in Him.

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) How can I be righteous before God? Can my good works be enough for God to accept me? What must I do for God to accept me?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, I acknowledge that I am righteous before you because of my faith in my Lord Jesus. Thank you for teaching me this morning that you can never accept me based on my good works, but by my faith alone in my Lord Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for making me righteous. I pray that I will live out your righteousness in everything that I do today. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.