Understanding Your Righteousness in Christ

by gold Adjo - 09:50:00

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the word teaching about righteousness. NIV, Hebrews 5:13

It is imperative that as a believer you grow in understanding righteousness. Your understanding of righteousness will determine your growth in the Lord. How much you experience and receive from the Lord is dependent on this. What then is righteousness? Is your righteousness dependent on your works or what you do? Are you righteous because you have good morals? Are you righteous because you wear the right clothes? Are you righteous because you are good to people?

What is righteousness?

Righteousness by definition is justification with God. This means that you have been made right with God. You are clean, pure and holy! That’s awesome, right? Now, let’s turn to the Bible to answer the question of how you can become righteous.

…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. NKJV; Romans 10:9-10

This scripture points out how you get saved and become righteous. When you believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus in your heart and confess it with your heart, you become saved. Therefore you become righteous when you believe; “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness….” The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to you when you believe in Him. Hence, your righteousness is not dependent on what you do but rather it depends on what you believe.

How did you become a sinner?

Let’s look at how you became a sinner. According to the Bible, you didn’t become a sinner by your own doing. Sin entered into the world and man when Adam disobeyed God. Due to his disobedience, all men were considered as sinners before God.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:12-14; NKJV

The nature or seed of sin became a part of you because you are a descendant of Adam and Eve. Their disobedience had made everyone a sinner. As a result, just as it was not by any act of yours that made you a sinner, it is the same way righteousness is not dependent on good behaviour or good morals.

How do you become righteous?

Righteousness is dependent on your faith in Jesus.

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ro 5:12-21, (NKJV)

Your righteousness is a person, Jesus Christ. He has been made unto you righteousness.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.1Corinthians 1:30; NKJV

Jesus took your place and died for you so that you can become the righteousness of God in Him.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour then you are righteous because His obedience has been imputed to you.

Do you have any questions on righteousness? I'd love to help answer them. Ask your questions in the comment.

In my next post. we will further discuss righteousness. God bless you. Share and tag a friend.