Bible League: Living His Word He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.Did you know that those who are in Christ Jesus are righteous? The Apostle Paul says that we are "the righteousness of God." Some may have a problem accepting this, because they are well aware of the sin that remains in their lives. Nevertheless, from God's perspective they too are righteous. The reason for this is that our acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior effectuated an exchange. He became sin for us, while we became His righteousness. The greatest deal there ever has been or ever will be. Although Jesus led a perfectly righteous life, He paid the penalty for our sin by suffering and dying on the cross. In contrast, we are defiled and depraved, but in Him we are treated as the very righteousness of God. To be righteous means to be blameless before God's moral standards. To be wicked, of course, means the exact opposite. Due to our wickedness, there was no hope of us ever achieving on our own the standing of righteousness before God. The standards are too high and we are too low. The good news is that righteousness is possible for us through our acceptance of what Jesus did on the cross. As a result, one day we will stand before God and He will not see our wickedness, but only Christ's perfection. It is important that we accept this truth. Failure to fully accept it implicitly implies that somehow we must achieve a righteousness of our own. It is also important for our own well-being. Thinking we must somehow live up to a standard we can't live up to is a heavy burden to bear. It is also important for our relationships to others. Expecting others to live up to unachievable standards can lead us into judgmental attitudes toward them. Let the peace and comfort that comes from the acceptance of this biblical teaching sink deep into your soul. Let it define you, for you truly are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 16, 17, 18 Numbers 16 -- Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 17 -- Aaron's Staff Buds NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 18 -- Duties and Offerings for Priests NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 6:33-56 Mark 6 -- Jesus at Nazareth; Sending out the Twelve; John Beheaded; Jesus Feeds Five Thousand, Walks on Water, Heals NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Then I will sing praises to your name foreveras I fulfill my vows each day. Insight David made a vow to praise God each day. David continually praised God through both the good and difficult times of his life. Challenge Do you find something to praise God for each day? As you do, you will find your heart elevated from daily distractions to lasting confidence. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Leviticus 13:13 Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague.Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound. This evening it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so singular a rule. We, too, are lepers, and may read the law of the leper as applicable to ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and in no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then he is clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy; but when sin is seen and felt, it has received its deathblow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are "nothing else but sin," for no confession short of this will be the whole truth; and if the Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment--it will spring spontaneously from our lips. What comfort does the text afford to truly awakened sinners: the very circumstance which so grievously discouraged them is here turned into a sign and symptom of a hopeful state! Stripping comes before clothing; digging out the foundation is the first thing in building--and a thorough sense of sin is one of the earliest works of grace in the heart. O thou poor leprous sinner, utterly destitute of a sound spot, take heart from the text, and come as thou art to Jesus-- "For let our debts be what they may, however great or small, As soon as we have nought to pay, our Lord forgives us all. 'Tis perfect poverty alone that sets the soul at large: While we can call one mite our own, we have no full discharge." Daily Light on the Daily Path Revelation 4:3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.Genesis 9:12,13,16 God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; • I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. • "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 2 Samuel 23:5 "Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, Ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all my desire, Will He not indeed make it grow? Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. Acts 13:32 "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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