THE REVELATION OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

What do we mean by righteousness?

The Rightness of God…

Today everything relative. Confusion of subjective and objective truth. Eventually we end doing anything that feels right. God is absolutely right. He is right in…

Right in Character…

The Law (Ex. 20), is an expression, a revelation of his character. Will not tolerate rivals or substitutes. Will not share his glory with others. Jealous God.

Right in Action…

Will not the judge of all the earth do right. He is the ultimate judge, he decides what is right and wrong. Rewards good and punishes evil. In the gospel this rightness is revealed…but how?

Demands Right Living from People…

We need to know this because we have our own standards…Do what is right in our own eyes. But the person who says this is wrong. Avalanche of voices “as long as I don’t harm anyone.” God is perfectly right in character and actions and demands this rightness from his creatures.

Condemns Unrighteousness in People

Inflexible, solid, unchanging. We know exactly where we stand.

Luke 18…to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else…You can never be righteous and despise others. You are automatically contravening the precepts of God. Here is a man totally unrighteous but who does not recognize it. With a bloated opinion of his own righteousness, assumes God should be suitably impressed. This is an awful danger of religious people.

So the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God, demands this righteousness from people and condemns unrighteousness in people.

RECKONING OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

How does God declare unrighteous people righteous? How does God remain righteous and justify unrighteousness. Some people think the only way to get right with God is to live in a certain way. They don’t look too deeply because they will discover they haven’t lived it. God says you will never make it, you are unrighteous…everybody is (Rom 3:9-20).  

Offers Righteousness as a Gift

God moved into history, into space and time and makes righteous those who are unrighteous by offering righteousness as a gift. How?

Through the Work of Jesus Christ…

In Christ God fulfills the requirements of the law, not only in letter but in spirit. He puts us right with himself by making Christ sin for us. He had no unrighteousness in him so God took all the sin of the unrighteous and reckoned it to Christ – then he died on the cross. God then judged sin in Christ. Then having done the right thing – judging unrighteousness, condemning it in Christ, He said: Anybody who will trust himself to the Christ who fulfilled all righteousness and then became sin – will have reckoned to him the righteousness that is Christ’s. A double transaction – Christ’s righteousness for your unrighteousness. (Phil 3:9). Totally undeserved, sheer grace.

By Faith from Beginning to End

First to last. Have to accept this offer in Christ. It is open to all men…there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:23).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

·         Discuss the phrase…“in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed”. How is it revealed? To whom is it revealed?

·         How do most people think they get right with God and why is it so difficult for most to accept the offer of righteousness as a gift?

·         How do you think many people perceive this offer of the gospel? If it is good news why do you think there is such a resistance to it?

·         In light of this knowledge what are the implications for us as Christians?