RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD?

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in establishing and maintaining our relationship with God is the concept of righteousness. Furthermore, it also inhibits us from doing anything productive in His Kingdom!

I remember so often when I first started out in Ministry that as soon as I'd begin to preach, to pray for someone or minister in the gifts of The Spirit I would immediately hear " Who do you think you are? You are a miserable sinner and God will certainly be able to find someone more deserving to flow with His Spirit than you!" All of a sudden the sins I had committed recently would begin to rise up in my remembrance and they would commence to distract me from the Kingdom tasks at hand.

As "Able Ministers of the New Covenant" (2 Corinthinans 3:6) God has established a place where we can go and be filled with the answers to the needs of anyone we encounter in our circle of influence. Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Isn't it exciting and breathtaking to know that God has created a special place for us to go and receive "grace" (the Divine Ability of God) not only for ourselves but also for those we are to serve.

Here at the Throne of Grace we can obtain Mercy (The Divine desire of God that deeply desires to remove the source of distress in our lives) and the Divine ability of God to remove that distress. Now here's where the problem of righteousness comes in. Inately we know this simple truth contained in Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." Everytime we begin to approach the Throne of Grace, this fact seems to pop in our heads and captures our thought processes. Somehow when these thoughts take over, our boldness to approach the Throne dissapears! And we stand in the outer courts hoping to catch some crumbs of God's Mercy.

If we investigate the verses that preceed Hebrews 4:16, we discover that the Bible says that "we have a great high priest, who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God... For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15 This also confirms our Scripture for today in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that because He knew no sin and because we are "in Him" (Our position because we believe in Him) therefore we are the Righteousness of God!

Speak this fact out loud right now and everytime you are attacked with the lies of the devil to "Remember the sins you have committed and the bad things you have done!"

I am the Righteousness of God!

Now allow me to blow your mind with the facts concerning this statement! Here's what it means...

You have the ability, right now, to stand in the Presence of God as though sin has never touched your life!

This my Christian Brother or Sister is what the Righteousness of God means to you! Some are snorting right now..."Well, I don't know about that!" Let me back it up with Scripture! Psalm 103:12 states "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions(sins) from us." No matter how far east youn travel, you can nevere reach the west! Jeremiah 31:34 "...I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." When you stand at the Judgement Throne of God, He will not even remember one sin you have committed due to the Mercies of the Shed Blood of Jesus. Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Hebrews 10:17 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

So the very next time you are approaching the Throne of Grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, and that accusatory voice begins to whine, you begin to shout the truth of God's Word! "I am the Righteousness of God!" Right now I stand here as though sin has never touched my life. I don't care what you think you know or what I remember from my past; what matters is how God views my life. I am the righteousness of God in Christ! He does not remember my sins!

Maybe today you're not even thinking about ministering on behalf of God, and you're just struggling to even lift up your head or to hear from God because you believe that you're not worthy. If the truth were based on what we've done, you'd be correct. However the truth declares that its based soley on what He has done and accomplished!

Micah 7:19 "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

It's liberating to know that we have become the Righteousness of God. Now walk in that Freedom!

You are not a miserable sinner saved by grace! That is a lie! You are the Righteousness of God!