Right With God
Jeremiah 33:16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Notice how Jeremiah prophesied by the Holy Spirit, “The Lord our righteousness.” Jeremiah was being given a glimpse into the New Covenant of Christ. It was glorious to him.
The essence of the New Covenant is summed up in the following,
2Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What Jeremiah was given a revelation of, and what the New Covenant brings in answer to that revelation, is vastly different from what Moses spoke.
Deuteronomy 6:25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
Under Moses, Israel could only obtain righteousness by keeping the law perfectly. They never achieved it because none ever kept the law perfectly. Moses made a mistake when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it; it was enough to keep him out of the promised land. Unfortunately, many are still trying to get themselves in a position to receive from God all that He has promised based on their good behavior as opposed to faith.
Romans 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
When a person rejects the righteousness being offered based on faith alone in Christ alone, they reject the only means of being made righteous.
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
The truth is that Jesus is our righteousness now! The ability to have a fantastic relationship with God and be filled with the Holy Spirit does not rest on how much you have your act together. It rests on whether or not you will believe the report of the Lord concerning you in Christ.
Colossians 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
If you believe the gospel as you should, the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit are yours by faith, just as salvation is yours by faith in Jesus. Your relationship with God is ensured based on what Christ Jesus completed on your behalf. It is not about your excellent performance or the lack thereof. It is about His obedience being imputed to you so that you are made into a New Creation by faith in Him and thus a fitting vessel for the Holy Spirit. You have been given everything that pertains to life and godliness in Christ Jesus. It is yours already! But to take full advantage of it, you must first believe it is true.
I encourage you today to take stock of what Jesus has done instead of what you have done. Look to Jesus today, and let His grace and peace fill you!
