The righteousness of God

God's positive commitment to mankind is to draw us into everlasting communion with Him. Man lost God's glory and presence for his sin of disobedience, masterminded by Satan, in the garden of Eden. Since, God in diverse ways in the history of mankind, has exercised His choice of drawing sinful man back to fellowship with Him so that he can fulfill his glorious destiny on earth. God told Moses: "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy." -Ex. 33:19.God in His mercy and grace called out the Jew's nation, starting from Abraham, the father of faith; gave them canonical law under the leadership of Moses so that they could serve Him in holiness and righteousness as a showcase to other idolatrous nations who did not know the true God."For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." -Deut 7:6. Under the Old Testament, blood of animals was repeatedly shed to atone for the sin of the Jewish people. The blood only covered the sin committed, it could not remove it. "for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." -Heb 10:4. Righteousness of the law cannot make a sinner perfect because is based on the efforts of imperfect man. You cannot give what you do not have. The Scribes and Pharisees are the strictest observers of the law of Moses. But Jesus said of them that what they said, they did not do (Matt 23:3); that the Jews also did not keep the law that Moses gave to them (John 7:19).Jesus added that the righteousness of his audience must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees if they would enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:20).In essence, the law gives a mere shadow of good things to come. Jesus is the very image of the good things, the righteousness of every one who believes on Him. This is the promise of God (Jer 23:5-6). The law, however, is not against the promise of God, only that it could not give life. Faith in the finished work of Christ liberates from law, for after faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster(law)-Gal 3:25. What God offers every believer now is the righteousness of faith. David called it "imputed righteousness without works". It is God's righteousness, meaning God's right doing in remitting sins through the gospel of Christ. This righteousness of God, apart from the law is revealed in the gospel and witnessed by the Law and the Prophets(Rom 3:21). This means that some saints were made the righteousness of God by faith even under the law.

Author: David Olalekan Arigbede

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: Feb 09, 2021

Number of Pages: 60 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798703121245