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WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 26
23 November 2008
The LORD Our Righteousness
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the Worship
Service, 2:00 pm, Nov 23, 08)
Text : Jer 23:1-6
The Lord Jesus still challenges us, “Except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”
(Matt 5:20). The Pharisees tried their best to keep the law with their
extra rules and traditions of men in order to establish their own
righteousness. Sadly, their good works were only external, and the Lord
Jesus rebuked them as hypocrites (Matt 23). Jesus tells a parable about
a Pharisee who trusted in himself that he was righteous and despised
others. He stood and prayed to God, boasting of his good works, while
the tax collector humbly pleaded for mercy, “God be merciful to me a
sinner,” but Jesus says that this tax collector is justified rather
than the Pharisee, “for every one that exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke
18:9-14). Then it is vital for you and me to know that only God is
righteous and then we regard all things but loss to obtain His
righteousness in Jesus Christ by faith alone, “Yea doubtless, and I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith” (Phil 3:8-9). Today, we are learning the name Jehovah-tsidkenu,
which means “The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer 23:6). Then, what
does this name mean to you and me?
No One Is Righteous before
God
Many still trust in their goodness, their
righteousness, or their good works, so they do not humbly seek God’s
righteousness and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how good we
are, before God we are only hopeless sinners and in great need of God’s
grace and mercy for His salvation and righteousness. God’s Word
confirms, “There is none righteous, no, not one… For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:10, 23) and “But we
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away” (Isa 64:6). Knowing that no one is righteous, we
shall not look at ourselves or any human being for salvation, neither
shall we be deceived by any men who may claim that they are holy
representatives of God and that we must come to God through them.
Only God Is Righteous
God’s Word declares that only God is righteous,
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works”
(Ps 145:17) and “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is
merciful” (Ps 116:5). He is the “righteous God” who tries our
hearts (Ps 7:9). He is our “righteous Father” (John 17:25). He is
“the righteous LORD” who loves righteousness (Ps
11:7; cf. Heb 1:9). His righteousness is “very high” (Ps 71:19)
and “endureth for ever” (Ps 111:3). Truly, “Thy righteousness
is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” (Ps
119:142). Knowing that only God is righteous, we shall speak of His
righteousness alone, not ours, “I will go in the strength of the Lord
GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only”
(Ps 71:16).
As God’s judgement is upright and righteous (Ps
119:7, 137) and all His acts are righteous (I Sam 12:7), we shall
neither complain or murmur against Him nor revenge ourselves on anyone,
but commit ourselves to Him and trust in Him in all things, “Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it
is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom
12:19), and “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained”
(Acts 17:31) and “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war” (Rev 19:11).
Righteousness Is a Gift
from God
Because no one is righteous and only God is
righteous, God must give His righteousness to mankind as a gift or else
no one can be saved or stand before God, “For if by one man’s offence
death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ” (Rom 5:17). God has manifested His righteousness
through His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to die
for our sins and rose again for our justification, “But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets… Who (Jesus Christ) was delivered
for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom
3:21; 4:25). We must always thank God and praise Him for giving us His
only begotten Son, who is our righteousness.
The LORD Is Our
Righteousness
May God open our spiritual eyes to see that the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, the living Divine Person, is our perfect
Righteousness before God. Having Him with trust and submission, we have
His righteousness, and without Him, we shall hopelessly perish. Do you
and I appreciate our Lord, love Him, honour Him, count all things but
loss, and maintain our living fellowship with Him in order to have Him
and enjoy His righteousness (Phil 3:8-9)? God’s Word confirms, “In
his days Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer
23:6), and “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption”
(1 Cor 1:30). Our Lord Jesus, who died for our sins, is ever living
to make intercession for us, so no one, even Satan, can accuse us of
anything or condemn us before God, “Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us” (Rom 8:33-34), and “My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1
John 2:1). Praise the LORD!
How to Obtain God’s
Righteousness
Thirst for God’s Righteousness:
Jesus says, “Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt 5:6). To
hunger and thirst after righteousness means having a strong desire for a
right stand before God, a right relationship with God, being acceptable
to God. To be acceptable unto the holy God, we are to acknowledge our
sins and our unrighteousness, then humbly come to the Lord Jesus in
repentance and hide ourselves in His righteousness, “For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21). Thank God for accepting
us in Christ (Eph 1:6; 1 Cor 1:30-31). Do you and I really thirst for
Christ’s righteousness and regard all things but loss?
Seek the LORD and His Righteousness:
It is not enough to thirst for the LORD’s
righteousness. We are to seek Him and His righteousness and this
requires our heart, our zeal, our energy, and our time in our personal
devotion (prayer and Bible study) and in our worship. God’s Word
encourages us, “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which
have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be
ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger” (Zep 2:3), and
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you” (Matt 6:33), and “For the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and
joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17). Seeking the Lord’s righteousness
means seeking to know His will, His work of salvation in Christ, His
Word, and His Truth, through which we know how to be accepted before God
in Christ.
Humbly Receive God’s Righteousness by Faith in Christ
Alone: The Pharisee who prayed to God with
his trust in his righteousness and good works was rejected by the Lord,
but the tax collector who acknowledged his sins and trusted in God’s
mercy was justified, “for every one that exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke
18:9-14). Daniel humbly prayed to God, trusting in God’s mercy alone,
“O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our
desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not
present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for
thy great mercies” (Dan 9:18).
Then the proper attitude to obtain God’s
righteousness is to humble ourselves and to receive it by faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ, like Abraham, “And he believed in the LORD; and he
counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6; cf. Rom 4:3; Gal
3:6). Truly, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from
faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith…
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Rom
1:17; 3:22). Do you and I humbly trust in our Lord Jesus Christ alone
for His righteousness? “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal
2:21).
Be Clothed with God’s Righteousness:
To give us His robe or garment of righteousness, our
Lord Jesus obeyed His Father and kept God’s law to the jot and tittle
(His active obedience) as well as to die on the cross to take away all
our sins and unrighteousness (His passive obedience). Shall we not
wisely take off our filthy and dirty garment of our unrighteousness and
then put on our Lord’s perfect garment of righteousness? “I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he
hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with
the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with
ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isa
61:10; cf. Phil 3:9), and “And to her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:8).
Be Separated: As God is
righteous and He requires us to live in righteousness, we are to
separate ourselves from sins, self, worldliness and wrong doctrines,
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? (2 Cor 6:14).
Be Born Again and Submissive to the Holy Spirit:
We are clothed with the garment of
Christ’s righteousness, but we must show the fruit of righteousness in
our lives. We must be born again and submissive to the Holy Spirit so
that we may live a righteous life, keeping God’s Word even in our
hearts, minds and deeds, “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know
that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him… Little
children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as he is righteous” (1John 2:29; 3:7), and “That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:4). Thank God for the
gracious work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives. Shall we not
wisely submit ourselves to Him, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:9).
Study God’s Word: To
live a righteous life is to live according to God’s will and God’s Word.
We are to study God’s Word with faith and obedience so that we may be
perfect (mature) in Christ, “All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Do you and
I wisely study God’s Word daily? God says, “I the LORD speak
righteousness, I declare things that are right” (Isa 45:19), so we
shall trust in His Word and speak of His Word, “My tongue shall speak
of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness” (Ps
119:172).
Conclusion
Dear friends, the LORD Jesus Christ Himself is our
Righteousness. Do you and I always trust in Him, humbly hide ourselves
in Him and put on His righteousness as God’s armour to stand against the
attacks of Satan (Eph 6:14)? May God graciously help us treasure His
gift of righteousness, seek Him and His righteousness first, submit to
the Holy Spirit, study His Word and live accordingly.
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