Being Right
There is such a desire in man to be right. When we feel we are right, we feel good about ourselves. Rules, laws and traditions are established so that one can evaluate his rightness and the rightness of others. Even though the laws and rules may be good, the fact is, no one can keep them all the time. This then creates the need for justifying oneself through subjective interpretations, comparisons with others who keep them even less or even the denial of one’s inability to be right. This form of human justice is based on scales where the good tries to balance out the evil.
The Old Testament tells us that because of the sin of Adam, we, his descendants, have inherited his sinful nature. God gave laws to His people Israel, not that they could become righteous through keeping them, but rather that through their inability to keep them they would recognize their sin. In Romans 3:23, Paul writes: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Man’s solution is to gravitate to a social group that is less able to keep the rules or that have fewer rules, thus creating a context where he can feel better about himself. This really doesn’t work, though, because sin causes death, (Romans 6:23), and the fear of death and eternal judgment brings torment.
God’s solution is to provide righteousness to man in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us, “that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him,” (II Cor. 5:21). Jeremiah prophesied that God would raise up from the lineage of David a Righteous Branch and that through Him salvation would come. Righteousness would be imputed, not earned, for His name is: YHWH-Tsidkenu, “The Lord our Righteousness”, (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Those whom the Lord makes righteous have been justified. Derek Prince defined justification this way: “just as if I had never sinned.” The guilty one has been pardoned and is no longer subject to punishment. We have been given the breastplate of righteousness.
Because we have been made righteous, we are seated with the Lord in heavenly places. We don’t have to strive to get to the top, we are already there. We don’t have to prove to others our worth. All we do is testify to the fact of what Jesus has done for us and that our faith is in His redeeming sacrifice. There is no one who is righteous except the Lord, He is YHWH-Tsidkenu, The Lord Our Righteousness.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Jeremiah 23:5-6; Psalms 11-7; 19:7-14; 119:142; Romans 3:20-23; Eph. 2:6