Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord. Okay, if you would, if you want
to turn there, I read it last week, but I'm going to read it
every time, but 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 verses 30 and 31. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. As we spoke last week, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. When
we hear the gospel by God's grace towards us, through the word
and by his spirit, Jesus Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. This is not saying that Christ
is not these things until he has made these things unto us.
Jesus Christ has always been these things. He is just made
unto us these things through the preaching of the gospel.
This is to the saving of our soul. We have none of these ourselves. Man's wisdom is brought to nothing
by God's wisdom. His wisdom provided a way for
him to be just and the justifier of a people. That is, God's wisdom
did that. God's wisdom born out in his
purpose being seen and known by man in his word All can read
God's word, it's there for them to see it. This being the wisdom
of God is rejected by man and his wisdom. For by man's wisdom,
they know not God. But Jesus Christ is wisdom and
his wisdom will come to an individual in time, letting them know who
he is and that all his purposes shall stand. This causes them
to begin to fear God. This being the beginning of wisdom,
that is knowing Jesus Christ, this wisdom brings both fear
and assurance. Knowing that he will do all that
he says he will do, it brings the believer comfort and assurance.
Because of his wisdom, we know all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them that are called according
to his purpose. Now next we have what Christ
has made unto us, and that is righteousness. And I want to
stress, Christ is all these things already intrinsically. It is
who he is. He is just made unto us these
things. The us being his people whom
he has revealed these things to by the gospel. those who are
the called according to his purpose, his spirit revealing those things
to us. If he does not, then we are left
to our own wisdom, which will never know God. But by his spirit,
we are revealed this by his gospel. Jesus Christ is made unto us
righteousness. So now let's look at righteousness. Man has a righteousness. We read
in scripture, our Lord says in Matthew 520, he says, for I say
unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven. This righteousness that the scribes
and the Pharisees have is not the righteousness of God. But
it is a righteousness that is a righteousness before men. Christ says your righteousness
must exceed that righteousness. Paul spoke of this when he said
in Philippians 3, 6, as him being a Pharisee, concerning zeal,
persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless. Paul was saying he had the righteousness
of the scribes and the Pharisees. He was one of them. The righteousness
which is in the law is not the righteousness of God. Man as
we are born are righteous in our own eyes. So there is a righteousness
we have unto ourselves. But it is not the righteousness
of God. Here's what that righteousness
looks like in Luke 18 11 we read. The Pharisee stood, and this
is the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. This Pharisee prayed thus with
himself. There was a time when I prayed
thus with myself. thinking I could somehow obtain
a righteousness before God by my own works. I did not think
of it as I was trying to work my own righteousness, but that
is what I was taught. I had to do this or that, or
don't do this or that. I was taught this, but I drank
it up like water. In doing that, I would make myself
acceptable before God. This is what I thought in my
mind. That is the wisdom of man and there is no righteousness
in that. At that time, I was praying to
myself. God was not involved in this.
In the parable, it says the man prayed unto himself. That's what
it says. He weighed his righteousness
about himself to that of other men. Man doing this may look
pretty good compared to others, but not before God. Outwardly,
he may have been right, but he was not honest with himself inwardly. Because it all has to do with
the heart. The scripture tells us what comes
from our heart, just as it did with this man, it does with us. It deceives us into thinking
we can somehow have a God-righteousness, a righteousness that God will
accept. This is a lie of Satan, and if
you continue in that lie, you may be made manifest who your
father is. Satan is the father of lies.
We are told by God what our righteousnesses are to him. Put them all together
and they are the same thing. Our righteousnesses are actually
iniquities before God. And if you would, turn with me
to Isaiah 64. This is very familiar to you,
Isaiah 64. Hopefully I can find it. But
we got enough plenty of time this morning, don't we, Isaiah
64? Isaiah 64 and beginning in verse four. I'm gonna read through
verse eight. Isaiah 64, verse four. For since the beginning of the
world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither
hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he hath prepared for
him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoices,
and worketh righteousness. Those that remember thee in thy
ways, behold, thou art wroth, for we have sinned in those in
continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all
do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away. And there is none that calleth
upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee,
for thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because
of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, thou art our
Father, we are the clay, and thou art our potter, and we all
are the work of thy hand. Verse six, we read there, that
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It goes on to say, our
iniquities. What iniquities? In the context,
our iniquities are our righteousnesses. Those things we think to be righteous
before God are iniquities, and we fade as a leaf, it says. Our
iniquities, our righteousnesses, like the wind, it says, carries
us away far from God. So much so that of our own selves
we will not call on the name of the Lord or lay hold of him.
Because of our iniquities, God has hid his face from us. What
do we read in Romans, Romans 10, 3? For they being ignorant
of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own
righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God. Our problem is we do not know
God's righteousness as we are born in Adam. We will not submit
ourselves to his righteousness as it says there in Romans 10
verse 3. But God be thanked, our iniquities
would not be seen. His people's iniquities, their
righteousnesses will not be seen by God the Father in them because
of what the Son would do. So now we come to the righteousness
of God. Jesus Christ is made unto us
righteousness. By the gospel and his spirit,
we come to know that Jesus Christ is our righteousness. We were
at one time going about to establish our own righteousness. Jesus
Christ, who is his people's righteousness, is made that unto them by him
through the gospel. They come to know him as their
righteousness, in other words. What do we read in Romans 1,
verses 16 through 18? For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it, that is the gospel, is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. To us is revealed the righteousness
of God through this blessed gospel which his people come to love.
This we do as we are enabled by God through faith given us
and also that faith proclaimed to us. This is how we live. This is how we live, it says,
but to say it another way, this is how we breathe among the living.
It is our way of life, in other words. So we see this righteousness
is not a what. It is not a what that we can
somehow work to gain, in other words. This righteousness is
a who. If you want to know what righteousness
is, you should be asking, who is the righteousness of God?
Scripture gives us the answer. As we have read, there is a righteousness
which we must submit to. That righteousness is a who?
Turn with me to Romans 3. Very familiar, Romans 3. Romans chapter 3 and verses 21. And I'm gonna read this and then
I'm gonna go through it again. I'm gonna talk specifically about
some of these things. Romans 3 verse 21. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness
of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe. for there is no difference. For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. Romans verse 21, it says, but
now the righteousness of God. So we are about to hear what
or who the righteousness of God is, but then we have a declaration
of God, and it's a clarification. This says, without the law. But now the righteousness of
God without law. So the righteousness we are about
to hear about is totally apart from the law. It is righteousness
without the law. That is any law including the
Ten Commandments. It goes on to say, is manifested. It's rendered apparent or appears
This is where it appears, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets. The law and the prophets both
give testimony to this righteousness. Even the righteousness, and this
word righteousness is the same Greek word as it is in our text.
Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Here is one of those places where
a little word can make a big difference. It says faith of
Jesus Christ, not faith in Jesus Christ. Of denotes ownership
or possession. And that is just what this is
telling us as it goes on to say in this text, we see the righteousness
of God in the faith which is owned, that is authored, and
perfected by Jesus Christ himself. This is not worked up by us.
It is given to us. And this says, unto all, his
faith is, unto all and upon all, them that believe. You believe
God, it will be by the faith of Christ given to you. This
faith is unto you and upon you. Righteousness is come to you. For there is no difference, it
goes on to say. Verse 23, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Verse 24, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. It is all in what Jesus Christ
did for his people on that tree that allows us to partake of
this righteousness. That is the righteousness of
God without the law. It's seen in the face of Jesus
Christ. verse 25, whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God. It is Christ and his faith which
is the righteousness of God without the law. This faith is given
to his people and faith enables us to believe, but not just believe
anything we want. Faith does not cause us to start
looking at ourselves to figure out what we can or cannot do,
what we should or should not do. Faith enables us to look
to and believe that Jesus Christ is our righteousness before God
without the law, based on who he is and what he has done. It
was the total and complete purpose of the Godhead to do it this
way. His wisdom made it so. So much
so, the whole of the book speaks of Christ. Even the law and the
prophets testify to this. That is, it testifies of the
righteousness of God being Jesus Christ and His faith without
the law. Christ is made unto us. He is
made known unto us to be the righteousness of God without
the law. He is already this and has been
this from eternity, but God enables us to see this glory. It has
been manifested to all, but there are those who cannot see it.
But God bethink that he was pleased to choose a people for his name
to this end. 2 Corinthians 5 21 we read, for
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. He is made unto us these things,
righteousness we are talking about today. And in him we are
made these things. I think we are starting to see
this clearly, that through the gospel, Jesus Christ, the righteous,
is made unto us righteousness. Scripture is clear about us and
our righteousness. Our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags in the sight of God. We, by nature, do not submit
ourselves to the righteousness of God, which is a person But
Jesus Christ being righteous has done for us what we cannot
do for ourselves. He being righteous has taken
on our sin and our sins so that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. It is the faith of Jesus Christ
which is counted for our righteousness. Romans 4 verses 3-5 we read,
For what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. God's word, not my word. Now
to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. But to him that worketh not but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Those who want to work for their
salvation to gain favor before God, their reward is one of debt. That's what scripture says. It
is not my opinion, it is what God declares to us in his word. This debt will never be paid.
So those who work for their salvation will never be righteous before
a thrice holy God. Their work will never be done
or complete. They will still owe a debt before
God. Those who work with their flesh
because of salvation, their reward is of debt. Those who do this
as a way of life are in fact just like those who work or do
this thinking it will gain them salvation. They have not yet
seen grace, but workers to their own destruction. If you are working
for salvation, or as some might say, because of salvation, by
doing this or doing that, your reward is that of debt. Romans
6, 16, we read, know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom you obey, whether
of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. Obedience
is faith. and faith is counted to those
who are His for righteousness. That is, believing Jesus Christ
is righteous. Do we do things that are righteous
in God's sight? Yes, when He works in us to will
and to do of His good pleasure. I never know what those are.
It does us no good to try to figure out what they are. I have
this flesh with me and I can never tell, even standing here
preaching. Some might think that standing
here preaching is done in righteousness, right? I mean, a lot of people
would think that. If someone is preaching the truth and they
have to be doing that in righteousness, that has to be what they think.
That's what some think. But I might preach the truth
right down the line, but have the wrong attitude. Maybe I think
I have come up with these things on my own. I can never trust
this flesh. It will tell me I am something
because I preached the gospel, but I am nothing. It says to
those who worketh not, but not just worketh not, it adds, but
believeth on him. Those who are his believe him
who justifies the ungodly. by His work and being the propitiation
for us, those who believe Him. It is faith that they have been
given that enables them to believe, and it is this faith, which is
possessed by Christ and given to His people, that is counted
for righteousness. It is clear from Scripture that
our righteousness comes from Christ, but let's read another
one, Romans 5, verses 17 and 18. For if by one man's offense
death reign by one, much more they which receive abundance
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ. Therefore as by the offense of
one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the
righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification
of life." by the righteousness of one. And just so we are clear,
this is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who is righteous. Because of his righteousness,
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. And
this says upon all men, and I want to be clear about this, this
all men is a certain number, and we are told this in the previous
verse. they which receive abundance
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one. To
all of these, they which receive abundance of grace, the free
gift came upon all of them. This number is of God's choosing.
If we do works which are not righteous, what good are they? I want to obey God's law but
I cannot and God is clear in his word. Romans 3 20 it says,
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. You go
to serve the law it will do nothing but give you the knowledge of
sin. You will be constantly defeated.
We must heed what God's word says, and if you are trying to
keep God's law, you are saying that what Christ did is not good
enough. You are saying that you can do
something worthy of acceptance before God, and in doing so,
you put Christ to an open chain. Galatians 2.21 says, I do not
frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the
law, then Christ is dead in vain. This does not say, if righteousness
come by the law, before you are saved. It says, if righteousness
come by the law, period, then Christ is dead in vain. He is
dead without a cause is what that word means. Dead for not,
if righteousness come by the law. But righteousness does not
come by the law. It does not in any way. Righteousness
comes by the faith of Jesus Christ. I look to Him for everything. I by nature have no capacity
to even believe Him. He must give a new heart and
that faith with which to believe. Every good gift, every perfect
gift comes from where? The Father of lights. The Father
of illumination. He must give the gifts for us
to believe Him, and it is believing Him we must do. Romans 10.10
says, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So how
do we attain unto righteousness? Believing Jesus Christ did what
He came to do and satisfied the Father on my behalf. Believing
him, I enter into a union with the one who is righteous, therefore
then being clothed in his righteousness. All these things Christ has made
unto us is because he is these things, and being brought into
that union with him, he is all that we look to. We are one with
him. Christ and his church are pictured
union together in marriage. What does it say in Genesis speaking
of Adam and Eve? And this is a picture of Christ
in his church, Genesis 2.23. And Adam said, this is now bone
of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because
she was taken out of man. What Christ did on that tree
was what justified me before God, him raising to life.