How do we know Christ's righteousness makes us acceptable to God?

The righteousness needed to stand in God’s holy presence is not something we can achieve on our own. According to the sermon, everyone who puts their faith in Christ becomes united with Him, sharing in His righteousness. This is the reality of justification: believers are deemed perfectly righteous in God's sight because Christ took on our sins and imparted His righteousness to us. This is articulated in verses like Romans 3:21-22, where Paul explains that the righteousness of God is available through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Thus, if you are in Christ, you stand before God, not in your own merits but clothed in the righteousness of Christ. This imparts a status of being acceptable and beyond condemnation; as Romans 8:1 states, 'there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' Consequently, it is through this union that believers find assurance of their acceptance before God.