“…Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
There is a righteousness which is without the Law; that’s the righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. That’s the righteousness that has been credited to your account as a child of God. It excludes works. In other words, it’s not based on the works of the Law or your good actions. It’s not based on how good and nice you’ve been but on faith. It has nothing to do with what you did, or what you didn’t do, rather, it’s the result of what Christ has done.
Sadly, some Christians are still trying to be righteous—struggling and trying hard to be what they already are. The Bible says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Notice it didn’t say “being justified by the law, but by faith. In other words, you’re already righteous, so don’t struggle to be what you already are. You’ve been made righteous without the Law.
No wonder the Bible says “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39), meaning that all who believe in Jesus have been accounted righteous and declared not guilty, not by their own work, but by the faith of Christ. That which couldn’t be achieved by our keeping the law with its ordinances has now been perfected by the faith of Christ. There’re people who believe they’ve merited God’s favour because they don’t do anything wrong. The righteousness which is by faith doesn’t rely on good works but on faith in the God that justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5).
This righteousness—without the Law—is what justified Rahab, the prostitute. Under the Law of Moses, she didn’t stand any chance, but, she believed in the God that justifies the ungodly, and embraced the righteousness of God.
You may you have done many wrong things in your life. Perhaps you’ve lied, cheated, done a lot of terrible stuff and made a lot of mistakes. Well, you don’t need to cry or wallow in self-condemnation. Stop brooding over all the wrong things you’ve done! Instead, think about His grace, love and goodness. Think about the gift of righteousness that He’s freely made available to you. Think about the fact that He is the God that justifies the ungodly. Believe in Him, and in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus that turns sinners to saints.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I thank you today for your grace, mercy, love and infinite kindness. Thank you for the gift of righteousness which you’ve lavishly bestowed upon us. I embrace today the righteousness which is by faith, through which you’ve justified me from all things by which I couldn’t be justified by the Law Moses. Amen.
Further Study: Romans 3:20-24: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. [21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested…
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
