Day 12

God is Righteous

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:21

There is a great divide that separates a holy and perfectly righteous God from His creation. It wasn’t always that way. In the Garden, within the freshness of a new world and at the beginning of time, humanity was in perfect fellowship with God. That relationship was made possible because sin had not yet come into the world. Mankind’s disobedience to God’s one simple rule of “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 3:17) changed everything.

A good way to understand God’s righteousness is by examining the consequences of our disobedience to that one rule. The very definition of righteousness means “acting in accord with divine or moral law.” God the Father is the giver of that divine, moral law. King David in Psalm 145 declares that “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (v17). His righteousness is steady, never changing, and perfect. He is the divine law-maker, but unfortunately, we are the law-breakers.

We have no righteousness of our own. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:20 writes that “there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins”. That great chasm that lies between God’s perfect righteousness and our sin-soiled unrighteousness presents us with a contrast that is both stark and unfathomable.

This brings us to our central text: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ, our Living Hope, has imputed God’s righteousness to us. The Apostle Paul writes in this passage that we actually “become the righteousness of God!” This transformation is an unimaginable gift of grace that we do not deserve.

As Phil Wickham sings in his song, “Living Hope”:

“Who could imagine so great a mercy?

What heart could fathom such boundless grace?

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame”

The perfect righteousness of an Almighty God through Jesus Christ has bridged the great divide. When the Father looks upon His children who have been saved by grace, He sees us as having the very righteousness of God.

“Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free!”

FURTHER REFLECTION: 

• Take a moment to consider how God views you through the lens of Christ’s perfect righteousness. Thank Him for bridging that great divide and restoring you into fellowship with Him.

PRAYER:

Father, You are perfectly righteous and holy, and your faithfulness is beyond measure. Thank you, Jesus, for stepping down from glory and into time to take my sin and my unrighteousness upon Yourself. Your perfect sacrifice and glorious resurrection ensure that You see Your own perfect righteousness whenever You look upon me.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 145:17, Romans 3:20-22, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 64:6

by: Robert Roose