Demonstration of Righteousness

At a recent Tuesday night Bible study, some men were wondering if a solar eclipse was the cause of the sun being darkened during the crucifixion of Christ. I doubt that, since solar eclipses don't last for three hours under natural circumstances. I had a thought that maybe it was the great cloud of heavenly witnesses that blocked the sunlight that day, gathered to see this demonstration of God's righteousness.

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬-26 ‭NIV‬‬

This phrase “demonstrate His righteousness” cannot be overstated. The cross was like a billboard that advertised the power of Rome to all who would rebel. But this cross of Christ advertises God’s ultimate act of righteousness, crossed by the ultimate unrighteous act of mankind.

Because God alone is righteous and the death of His only son completely unjust, all our sins are counted as against Him. David wrote Psalm 51 in repentance for his sin with Bathsheba against her husband Uriah, but he confesses that this sin was against God alone...

”Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The guilt and penalty for all sin ever committed has been stored up and laid upon Christ. As a result, all our sin-debt has been transferred to His account and He alone - who was raised to the right hand of God - has the power to forgive. This is the concept of redemption, in which our debt to the just law of God was paid by the blood of the spotless lamb of God.

But the righteousness of God does not end at the cross. If that were the case, God would have been justified to bring an end to mankind at that very moment. God’s righteousness is much more than judgment and vengeance. The resurrection and enthronement of Christ demonstrates the other aspect of God’s righteousness, His sacrificial mercy and love.

”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!“

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But there is one more thing to say about this phrase “demonstrate His righteousness”. The cross of Christ stood one day in history, but the demonstration of God’s righteousness goes on through the life of Christ in every believer. It is up to us as the body of Christ, and individually as His disciples, to demonstrate His righteousness by our testimony. It is the cross of Christ that brought us into the presence of God, and the intercession of our resurrected Lord that gives us life and hope for eternity.

”And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Heavenly Father, let our lives testify of your righteousness, your love and mercy. Let the message of the cross and the empty tomb go forth today and every day in my life I pray, in the name of Jesus my Savior. Amen!

The Author and Finisher of Faith

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud
 of witnesses surrounding us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance
 and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance
 the race that is set before us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured
such hostility by sinners against Himself,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
[Hebrews 12:1-3 NASB95]

I recently memorized these verses of Hebrews and have been considering Jesus...
"so that I will not grow weary and lose heart.”

But my dilemma is this...How can I run with endurance the race that is set before me? Do I have that kind of faith?

This morning the answer came...Jesus writes the law of faith on my heart, and He will finish it according to His will, not mine! I can rest on this promise:

For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 

[Romans 9:15-16 NASB95]

It does not depend on my will or on my willingness to run, nor does it depend on my speed or endurance. God will accomplish His perfect will in me - in His time and according to His purpose.

All I have to do is continually open my heart to His penmanship!

The Foundation of God's Throne

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

Psalms 89:14

There is a chapter in the New Testament that completely changed my understanding of the Bible. I first encountered these verses as I was memorizing Romans in my first year of college.

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

Romans 3:5-6

The third chapter of Romans presents God's perfect righteousness in human terms as a prerequisite for Him to execute judgment. Without God's righteous judgment all creation would be lost to the domain of darkness.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

Romans 3:21-26

The backdrop of the gospel is that God is righteous, and His righteousness requires judgment and condemnation of evil. This righteousness in God's terms is much more than judgment and condemnation. The perfect righteousness of God is His self-sacrificing unconditional love, which extends mercy and forgiveness in response to an unjust and ungrateful world.

Jesus said that God's Law is based on two commandments, both involving sacrificial love.

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 

Matthew 22:37-40

God's righteousness means that He is always faithful and true; His faithfulness is the expression of His perfect love and mercy.

The Bible records promises that God made to great men of faith like Noah, Abraham and David. The promise to Abraham shows how people can become part of his family, not by flesh (birthright) or by keeping the Law of Moses, but by faith in God. This promise remains certain today for all who believe and confess their faith, because God is faithful. The Law of Moses did not nullify this promise (Romans 4:13-15), nor does Faith nullify God's Law (Romans 3:31), nor does Faith nullify the requirement for perfect righteousness to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Psalm  24:3-4).

The apostle Paul spends several chapters explaining this apparent conflict of Law and Faith in his epistle to the Romans. The conflict is resolved by a promise that took precedence over the Law of Moses and the nation of Israel. This promise was given to David when he was king, in which God promised to establish his Son as the ruler of an eternal kingdom that would be for all people of all nations, who are born not of flesh but of spirit, because of His own blood that is poured out on the altar of God to atone for all sin of all time.

If you are following this (and this may be hard to really grasp at first), you will begin to understand how fundamentally important it is for the Body of Christ to proclaim and demonstrate God's righteousness. This is why Paul said in his epistle to the Corinthians "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes." This is why Paul said to the Galatians "may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." We remind ourselves and the world that God so loved us that He sacrificed His Son for us, so that our sins could be forgiven and washed away. 

This is the righteous, faithful, merciful and self-sacrificial God of the Bible, the one true God that we serve by receiving the Spirit of His Son into our heart. Because Jesus our Messiah is seated at the right hand of God we are empowered to put on His robe of righteousness and enter boldly into the throne room of God.

Understanding the foundational nature of God's righteousness has helped me understand many truths of the Bible, such as the meaning and purpose of creation, the nature of spiritual warfare, the foundation of a righteous government, and many questions non-believers pose in rejecting the Bible. I hope to share these truths in related posts, so if you're interested please subscribe to my blog or bookmark this page. Many blessings to you!

Depth Perception: Two Views of the Cross

This is the the time of year when Jews and Christians remember their deliverance from slavery, which for followers of Jesus means freedom from sin which enslaves all mankind.

I was studying the crucifixion accounts and noticed an apparent contradiction. The verses in Luke 23 give a moving account of two criminals who are crucified with Christ, one on his left and one on his right. One of them is insulting Jesus like the Jewish leaders and the Roman soldiers overseeing his execution. To them, and even to the disciples of Christ this appears to be the end of Jesus’ life and the end of a Messianic delusion.

The other criminal has a different attitude. He sees the righteous and unjust suffering of Christ and comes to his defense, even to the point of Spirit-inspired faith in Jesus. This man in the depth of his suffering understands something that has evaded Jewish scholars and even those who followed him for years, that his kingdom is not earthly but heavenly. Deep calls unto deep, and this man truly understands as no one else at the time, the deep deep love of Jesus. True repentance is never too late and never rejected by God, and Christ gives the promise of a home with him in his eternal kingdom.

Now here is where I gained my own depth perception. The crucixion accounts in Matthew and Mark simply say that both criminals were hurling insults at Christ, condemning him as a false Messiah. After prayerful consideration I realized that this was not a contradiction at all, but a powerful story of conviction and repentance. Two criminals went to Golgotha with Christ; two criminals saw him crucified even as they were hung on their own crosses. Both followed the crowd as they insulted the sacrificial Lamb of God. But as he hung there dying, one criminal saw the righteousness of God, his justice and mercy on public display for all time, even as it crossed the ultimate injustice of man. One criminal contemplated his own sinfulness and his fast approaching encounter with eternity, and allowed Christ into his heart.

Those are indeed the two roads we all must choose between when we encounter Christ. Accept or reject him - where those roads cross is the decision point that determines our eternal destiny. If you find someone at that crossroads remind them that it’s never too late to follow the One who bore our sin.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NASB‬‬