How to read your bible part 2
Wayne Duncan
John Piper:
"I have found my mind and heart moving towards Luther's estimation of the doctrine of justification, and particularly the imputation of Christ's righteousness as the precious foundation of our full acceptance and everlasting inheritance of life and joy."
(Counted Righteous in Christ, Crossway pg 13)
Martin Luther
"[Justification] is the chief article of Christian doctrine. To him who understands how great its usefulness and majesty are, everything else will seem slight and turn to nothing. What is an angel from heaven? What are all creatures in comparison with the article of Justification? For if we know this article, we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it we dwell in the densest darkness"
John Piper
"Good counseling builds the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) into the head and heart of sinful wounded people. At the centre of it (the "whole counsel of God") is Christ our righteousness"
Understanding righteousness is so central to our precious faith that without a true revelation of the gift of righteousness, that Christ gives to us freely through faith, Christianity cannot be lived with "everlasting inheritance of life and joy".
Were doing a series on reading your bible. In order to know how to read your bible, you have to have the correct filter system in place. We have to "correctly divide the word of truth".
So were going to look at the out line for reading the bible correctly, and then look at some helpful definitions.
How to read the bible…3 questions, 3 filters.
Question 1
Who was it written to.
First you establish the context.
Question 2
What does it say to them?
Establish Content.
Question 3
How is it relevant to me?
Covenant.
The three filters are here under how is it relevant to me?
Filter 1
How is this scripture relevant to me through the filter of Christ's free gift of righteousness through faith.
Filter 2
How is this scripture relevant to me in the new covenant?
Filter 3
How is this scripture relevant to me through the birth, life(obedience), death (finished work of the cross), resurrection and return of Jesus.
Putting scripture through this filter will protect error, and put the scripture in pure light.
Now I know this sounds a bit technical, so for now, all you need to get is this…
Read the scripture through the filter of "Christ our righteousness".
Christ our Righteousness
What is righteousness?
The simple definition is "right standing with God"
Websters Dictionary:
The state of being right with God; justification; the work of Christ, which is the ground of justification.
Here in this definition we see that being righteous is a state. It's a permanent state of right standing with God.
We see that it is through the work of Christ, which meant that it is not through our work.
We see that it is the ground of justification. Justification is "just as if I'd never sinned". It's the removal of all sins past, present and future. It's the truth that God no longer counts our sins against us. It's our pardon and perfection.
How to obtain righteousness?
So how do we get right standing with God?
How do we enter this permanent state of being right with God, so he can treat us as justified?
We cannot create righteousness.
We need to understand that in order to be righteous; one would have to be perfectly righteous. You would have to perfectly obey every single law, and command ever written. Gods standard for righteousness is perfect obediance. Unfortunately no-one could do that, fortunately Jesus, did.
Jesus now offers that righteousness he earned to us, as our righteousness.
Righteousness comes to us therefore as a gift, without works, without the law, and through the life of Jesus.
Free gift of righteousness
Romans 5:17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Here we see righteousness is a free gift.
Not by works
Romans 4:4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
God cannot be manipulated into giving us righteousness; the reason is that we could never do enough to deserve righteousness. The standard to receive it is perfection, and as we know none of us are perfect.
So we cannot work for righteousness, as if to earn it like a wage, or through works of the law or obedience.
Ephesians 2:8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We cannot boast in our righteousness coz it comes to us through Jesus. It's not our own works that produce righteousness. It's the other way around; righteousness will produce good fruit in us. But this is of God and to his glory…that no-one can boast. This boasting is self righteousness.
The works of the Christian are to believe in Jesus.
John 6:28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
Righteousness apart from the law
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
Romans 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification(Or righteousness) were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Very clear, righteousness apart from the law.
Justification apart from the law.
If it were through the law, Christ died for nothing.
Please friends settle this in your heart. There is still lots of stinking thinking in Christian circles today. Trying to be righteous and holy by keeping the law. Lots of weird stuff comes in here.
Mixing law and grace, please interpret the bible through, the law is fulfilled, I'm no longer under law but grace. If not you'll quickly be confused, soon be under condemnation and performance, soon be removed from Christ, and soon come under a curse. For that's what Galatians says. It warns that those who go back to the law, are separating themselves from Christ and coming under a curse. If you battle with being under the law, do a study of Galatians and let God set you free!
From God, not of ourselves
Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
True, effective righteousness come from God. We cannot produce it. It's from God, and is actually the very righteousness of God.
2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
How do you get righteousness?
Very simple by faith in Jesus.
Simply believe that Jesus lived a perfect life on your behalf. Take His free gift of righteousness, and it is yours. It's by faith and faith alone.
Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith -
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,(Or beginning and ending in faith) as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith
It's simple friends. Jesus lived the perfect life. He was perfectly obedient. In the great exchange of the cross, he got what he did not deserve, and we got what we did not deserve.
He got the wrath, punishment, judgment and separation from God.
We got forgiveness of sins, wholeness and righteousness. When we believe in his perfect sacrifice by faith, we receive it all.
Much deception has crept into Christian theology, and belief, and tradition, by loosing sight of "Christ our righteousness".
If you read the bible and think, "I have to do this, of do that" in order to be righteousness, or right with God. Your incorrectly dividing the word of truth. In the new covenant God no longer deals with us that way. Our righteousness is a free gift through faith.
So what about works, the law, commandments? Well they all have a place, but that place is not to produce righteousness.
The law showed us no-one could be righteous.
Then Jesus did everything perfectly on our behalf, now he gives that righteousness to us. It's by His obedience on our behalf. There is no other way to receive righteousness.
Now that we are righteous, we will produce the fruit of the commandments and works. Righteousness is the root that produces fruit. No root no fruit, only self righteousness. We will produce fruit because of the righteousness in us. Were radically changed into a new creation at salvation and its impossible for "good works" and "commandments" to not manifest in and through us. We are filled with the Holy Spirit! It's impossible to be filled with God, and not "do good works".
Righteousness is the root that produces the fruit.
So righteousness is our inheritance through the cross.
We are in right standing with God, all our sins forgiven forever, through Jesus sacrifice on our behalf, not by the law, not by works, not by performance, but by christs perfect performance on my behalf.
When God looks at you, he sees Jesus perfect obedience and performance. He sees you through Jesus blood, he sees you as perfect, faultless and perfectly righteous.
You can not become more righteous that you are right now, coz you've been made perfectly righteous. Jesus was perfect…simply believe.
…Thank you Jesus.
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