When you hear the word or think
about the subject of righteousness, what do you think? What comes to mind? When you
think of righteousness, what do you think about? What comes
to mind? Our friends who've driven down
from Wisconsin, raised in circumstances in religious legality, so that
even though you know better, probably the first thing that
comes to mind is what you are to do, how you are to behave. When you
hear the word or read it or think of righteousness, what do you
think? Turn to Romans chapter 3, verse
21. My subject is the righteousness
of God. I remind you that Paul in this
epistle, when he speaks of righteousness, specifically of the righteousness
of God, he is not talking about God's character. He is not talking
about God's attribute. He's not even talking about God's
requirement. He's talking about God's work.
He's talking about the performance of righteousness. by that man
who is God, Jesus Christ, our Lord, the righteousness of God
for us and the righteousness of God, which every sinner is
made in Jesus Christ, who believes on the Son of God. The righteousness
of God is the performance of God for his people in the person
of his dear son by the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ unto
death as our surety and our substitute. By our obedience unto God unto
death in the person of our surety and our substitute. In fact,
everywhere in the word of God Everywhere in the Word of God
where this phrase is used, the righteousness of God, that's
what it refers to. Everywhere in this book. When
you read the phrase, the righteousness of God, it is talking about that
which Jesus Christ accomplished as our substitute. And God bestows
upon us in him by his mighty free grace, making us the righteousness
of God in him, even as he made his son to be sin for us, that
he might that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Romans chapter 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 Now, let me show
you that throughout the scriptures, this phrase, the righteousness
of God, is talking about God's work of righteousness for us.
This has been Paul's subject all along, beginning back in
chapter 1 of Romans. Romans chapter 1, verse 16. After
giving his general salutation and brief word of instruction,
Paul says in verse 16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God under salvation to everyone that believeth,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, in the
gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. By the preaching
of the gospel, in the word of the gospel, the righteousness
of God is revealed from faith to faith. That is revealed by
God through the words of his servant, Preaching in faith the
word of the gospel to your faith for the just shall live by faith
in Chapter 3 Paul is still dealing with this subject the righteousness
of God Many would say well the way you preach about righteousness
being the free gift of God and salvation by God's free grace
Why that opens the floodgates to sin that leads to licentiousness
all answers in verse 5 If our unrighteousness commend the righteousness
of God, if our unrighteousness commends this work of God, what
shall we say? Is God unrighteous who takes
vengeance? Paul says, I speak as a man.
I'm talking to you like a fool because you're talking like a
fool. Then in our text, he deals with the same subject. Turn to
Romans chapter 9, Romans 9, verse 30. What shall we then say? That
the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have
attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of
faith. Paul is writing to the Romans.
There were some in Nero's household. There had never been a more wicked
ruler in the universe than that man Nero. I mean, he was a vile
wretch. But there were some servants
of God who were servants in Nero's house. Gentiles who never dreamed
of obeying the commandments of the law. Gentiles to whom the
commandments had never been given. Gentiles who never dreamed of
practicing circumcision. Who never dreamed of worshiping
at a Jewish altar. They didn't have any thoughts
concerning those things, but they have attained to righteousness. You and I, Gentiles, we have
the righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel,
religious folks, which followed after the law of righteousness,
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore,
why didn't they arrive at it? Why didn't they get it? Why didn't
they achieve it? Because they sought it not by
faith, But as it were, by the works of the law, by doing law
works themselves, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. Christ
Jesus is a foundation stone. He's that foundation laid in
Zion. And those who build on this foundation
shall never be put to shame. They shall never be ashamed.
They shall never make haste. They shall never be confounded.
They shall never be confused. They shall never be put to confusion.
But that one who is the foundation on which we live, the foundation
on which we are built, he's a stumbling stone to everyone who refuses
to be saved by free grace. Everyone who insists on making
himself righteous Christ is a stumbling stone over which they trip up
and go to hell. They don't For they stumbled
at that stumbling stone verse 33 as it is written behold I
lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed brethren My heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved For
I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge We live in this generation of
religious people there's religion everywhere churches everywhere
Driving out to that little place out in Bardwell drove about oh
about 35 miles every night to our out services from Paducah.
I couldn't count all the Baptist churches we went by, one building
after the other. Baptist churches, conservative
folks, all of them preaching some kind of righteousness and
some kind of religious stuff. We live in a religious world. We got, I think I counted one
time, 40-some Baptist churches in this county. That's amazing.
There's four or something Baptist churches in this county. All
of them preaching some kind of religious stuff. We live in a religious
age. You turn on your television now, 24 hours a day, you can
watch religious nonsense, religious tomfoolery. Turn on your radio,
24 hours a day, you can hear religious tomfoolery. Religious
stuff. And my heart's desire for this
generation is that they might be safe. They do have a zeal
of God, but they don't know God from a goat. is not zeal according
to knowledge, had no idea who God is, who Christ is, what he
accomplished, or even why he came into this world. They being
ignorant of God's righteousness, ignorant of God's righteousness,
the righteousness of God, and going about to establish their
own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God. They refuse to submit to. to bow to, to believe on, to
rest in the righteousness of God performed for sinners to
which they contribute nothing. That's the problem. That's the
problem. Some of you here are yet without
life and faith in Christ. Here's the reason. You still
want to do something. You still want to do something.
You still think you can do something. Now, don't push Christ aside
altogether. Oh, no, we'd never do that. But
surely, surely God expects me to do something. Surely, surely
there's something I can do. That just stands for reason.
That stands for insanity, not for reason. They, being ignorant
of God's righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness. Christ is the finishing, the
termination, the completion, the fulfillment of the law for
righteousness. Let's skip over a couple of terms.
First Peter, our second Peter chapter one, second Peter chapter
one. Simon Peter a servant of it and
an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ This righteousness of God is the righteousness
of God, even the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge
of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. Partakers of the very nature
of him who is the righteousness of God, Jehovah Sidkenu, the
Lord our righteousness. Now I repeat, The righteousness
of God is God's work of righteousness by which we are saved. It is
of sin and of righteousness that the apostle has been talking
in these first three chapters of Romans. Throughout these chapters,
he establishes one thing. You and I are sinners. All the sons and daughters of
Adam are sinners. wherever they're found, at any
age, in any place, in any circumstance. Every son, every daughter of
Adam is a sinner. A sinner utterly incapable of
doing righteousness. You cannot do righteousness. What you call righteousness is
just filthy rags. Just filthy rags. The light of
creation, nature and conscience, he tells us in the first chapter,
can never produce righteousness. Circumcision and the ordinances
of the law can never produce righteousness, he tells us in
the second chapter. Those carnal ordinances were
only ceremonial rites showing that righteousness, cleanness
is needed, never given to produce it. The commandments of the law,
the Ten Commandments, can never produce righteousness. You can't
legislate it. You can't legislate it. We try
to legislate laws that are anything but righteousness. And our Congress
will pass laws, Senate pass them, President sign them, and we have
laws. Laws requiring that you treat everybody equal. It requires you to treat everybody...
I've got news for you. There is not a human being living
who treats everybody equal. There's no such animal walking
on this earth. No. You can't legislate morality,
and you can't legislate godliness, and you can't legislate righteousness.
Even the commandments of God, the ten commandments, never produced
one speck of righteousness. No, no, righteousness can't be
produced by law. Religious privileges and religious
duties can never produce righteousness. But blessed be God, there is
a righteousness which meets the needs of our unrighteousness. It is the righteousness of God
found in Jesus Christ and in him alone. That righteousness
which gives us righteousness on the footing of Christ himself. Righteousness with which we can
stand with boldness in the presence of the thrice holy God with neither
shame nor fear. This is the righteousness Paul
calls the righteousness of God. This is what's spoken of in our
text. Let me tell you seven things about it, and I'll be very brief,
but I pray that every one of these seven statements will strike
your heart and give you understanding in the gospel of God's grace.
First, this righteousness, the righteousness of God, is a divine
righteousness, not merely a human righteousness. The righteousness
Adam had in the garden was merely a human righteousness. It was
merely the righteousness of a creature, merely the righteousness of a
man. But this is divine righteousness. Being divine righteousness, being
the righteousness of God, it is an infinite compensation for
that which Adam lost in the garden. When we receive the righteousness
of God in the new birth, we are made partakers, as we read earlier,
of the divine nature. It's having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. By a glorious exchange
of grace, sinners by nature are made the very righteousness of
God by free grace. This righteousness is imputed
to us in free justification. That is, when God gives a sinner
faith in Christ, when God Seals you seals to you all the blessings
of his grace in the circumcision of your heart when God Seals
to you all his goodness and mercy in the new birth when God by
his Holy Spirit makes you know that you're his Giving you faith
in Christ. He imputes to your conscience
perfect righteousness when the Spirit of God comes he convinces
chosen sinners at the time of their calling and sin because
you believe not on the Son of God and of righteousness of Righteousness
because I go to my father He convinces you of sin because
you believe not on the Son of God. Yeah, you knew you were
sinner before I knew The first time I remember telling a lie,
I knew it was a lie and I knew wrong. I The first time I took
something that didn't belong to me, I would watch my shoe
to be sure nobody paid, wasn't looking. I knew it was wrong.
I knew I'd broken the commandments. I knew I'd broken God's law stamped
on my heart from creation. Everybody knows sin like that.
But only one born of God understands. Only one born of God understands
that the issue of his sin is his enmity to God's darling son. Only one born of God understands
the issue between man and God is not that you stole a watermelon
out of a watermelon patch. The issue between man and God
is your hatred of God's Son of sin because they believe not
on me. And you'll never know that until you believe him. You'll
never know that until you're born of God. And he convinces
you of righteousness. Convinces you that now Now, sinner,
though I am, I can lift my heart to God in heaven with no dread
and no fear and no terror and full assurance of faith because
I am now the righteousness of God in Christ. And this righteousness
is that which is imparted to us in the new birth, imparted
to us. I know folks get all bent out
of shape. I don't know why on earth. Well,
I do too, but I won't talk about that. Can't have imparted righteousness.
You didn't have it before, did you? Christ wasn't in you before,
was he? If he's in you now and he wasn't
in you before, somebody put him in you. It's called imparted
righteousness. Christ in you, the hope of glory. You must not only have a righteous
record, you must be made righteous before God or you cannot receive
the reward of everlasting life. The Lord Jesus was made sin. And when he was made sin, he
was punished as the sinner. And we're made righteous and
being made righteous shall be rewarded as the righteous one
With his spotless garment sold. I am as holy as god's own son
Near so very near to god nearer. I cannot be for in the person
of his son. I'm as near as he Dear so very
dear to god Dearer, I cannot be for in the person of his son. I am as dear as he First, this
righteousness of God is a divine righteousness. Second, let me
hurriedly say it is a human righteousness. It's the righteousness of a man.
It was man who sinned. It's man who's fallen. It's man
who's depraved. It's man who's condemned. It's
man who's under the sentence of the curse. It's man who's
sentenced to death by the law. It's man who must die for man
has sinned. Man therefore must obey. Our man can never be rewarded
with life. Man must fulfill righteousness
or he can never enter into glory. Only those who have done no evil,
who've never lifted up their hands to vanity, who've never
sworn deceitfully, only those in whom there is no guile shall
enter into heaven's glory. No one else. That's the word
of God, is it not? Is that not what God says in
his word? It's as plain as the nose on your face. Well, preacher,
If that's the case, then a man's got to be perfect. You got it. Got to be as good as God. That's
it. Got to be the very righteousness
of God. And Jesus Christ, the God man,
took on him our humanity and obeyed his father's will and
his father's law and his father's word in every detail. to the full age of humanity. But he didn't do it for himself.
He didn't know anything. He didn't have anything required
of him. He came here to bring in everlasting righteousness
by his obedience unto death. The scripture doesn't say by
his obedience in death, though it certainly means that. But
by his obedience unto death. Why people come up with these
notions, I don't know. Somebody said the life of Christ is unimportant. Let me tell you something, Skip
Gladfelter. The obedience of Christ as he came into his mother's
womb, saying, Lo, I come to do thy will. Oh, my God. And as
he came forth from his mother's womb, doing the will of God.
And as he walked on this earth and said to his mom and dad,
you know, I must be about my father's business. The obedience
of Christ unto death is as necessary for your everlasting salvation
as his sacrifice at Calvary is. You must have righteousness to
give God, obedience to give God, and in Christ, we obeyed God. I've been saying this over and
over again. I was preparing this message
this week, and I thought, how am I going to say this in some
way to make it fresh to you? Oh, God, make it fresh to your
son. When Christ walked on this earth,
I walked on this earth in him. When Christ said, lo, I come
to do thy will, oh my God. Don Fortner said, lo, I come
to do thy will, oh my God. When Christ said, I have finished
the work thou gavest me to do, Don Fortner said, I finished
the work thou gavest me to do. I was one with him. One with
Him from eternity. One with Him when He lived. One
with Him when He died. One with Him when He took His
seat in glory. One with Him now. One with Him
forever. Do you understand that, children
of God? We obeyed God unto death in His Son. Righteousness brought
in by His obedience unto death. Turn the page to Romans chapter
5. Romans 5. This righteousness of God was
not accomplished by our Savior's sufferings alone, but by his
doings as well. Romans 5 verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man, sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. Now you notice there's a parenthetical
mark beginning at verse 13. Find the other parenthetical
mark at verse 17. Pick out the parentheses. Just
set it aside for a minute. I don't mean this meaningless.
I mean, the sentence goes on in verse 18. The thought goes
on in verse 18. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. Verse 18. Therefore, therefore,
since that's how we got in the mess we're in, this is how we
get out. Since that's how we got lost, this is how we get
saved. Since that's how we were damned, this is how we live.
Since that's how we were made unrighteous, this is how we're
made righteous. 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 under justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. What our Savior did when he walked
on this earth in obedience to God was to magnify the law and
make it honorable. What we did while we walked on
this earth in him in obedience to God was to magnify the law
and make it honorable. The righteousness of God is our
blessed Savior's infinite and infinitely meritorious compensation
to Jehovah for our unrighteousness and sin. Now third, look at verse
21. The righteousness of God is righteousness
at hand. The righteousness of God is righteousness
at hand. I just saw David Peterson pick
up his hand and move it. The righteousness of God is as
near as that hand. As near as that hand. It's righteousness
at hand. For it is righteousness without
the law. And when Paul says it is righteousness
without the law, he is not in any way implying that it is righteousness
contrary to the law. or that it is righteousness that
violates the law, or that it is righteousness that sets aside
the law. Oh no, I've already shown you this plainly. This
righteousness is the only righteousness by which the law is fulfilled.
But what he is saying is that it is righteousness accomplished
without you and I contributing anything. Righteousness accomplished
without us doing a thing. Righteousness accomplished with
no contribution on our part, no obedience on our part personally
and individually. The obedience was all together
in our surety and in our substitute. The righteousness of God doesn't
send us to the law to be justified, but to Christ. It doesn't send
us to Mount Sinai, but to Mount Calvary. The righteousness of
God, if it required something from us, would not be called
the righteousness of God, but the righteousness of man. It
wouldn't glorify God, but glorify man. That's the reason that the
religion of the age, this age, same religion that Cain had just
outside the garden. Same religion ahead in the days
of Nimrod and Babel same religion ahead in the days of idolatry
throughout the history of Israel Same religion found all over
the Gentile world throughout the ages hadn't changed any had
changed it. It's righteousness of man and it exalts man and
glorifies man and makes man proud of himself makes me think oh
Now I am good after all Makes man think, now I can do things
other folks haven't done. I know God enabled me to do it,
but I did it. I know God helped me, but it's
my work. Oh, no, we're not talking about righteousness. Man, you
don't have any. We're talking about the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of God is that which is heaped upon us without
our works. The righteousness of God doesn't
say, do this and you shall live. It says look and live. It doesn't
say do, it says done. Be it known unto you therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. I want you to turn to the book
of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 30. Got looking over this message
early this morning and I I thought I've got to include this Deuteronomy
chapter 30 In no sense at no time Does the
law say do something and or does the gospel say do something and
you shall be saved? In no sense does the righteousness
of God give us the idea that righteousness is I can almost
get it. Oh, just a little more effort.
I can reach it. No, no Righteousness is at hand It's at hand now here
what God commands Deuteronomy 30 Read we'll read this whole
chapter. I want you read it all It shall
come to pass when all these things have come upon thee the blessing
and the curse you can read about in chapters 28 29 and which I
have set before thee, that thou shalt call them to mind among
the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shall return unto the Lord
thy God." God said, I'm going to drive you into the nations
of the world. He drove the physical seed of
Israel into nations, but it's talking about more than just
that physical nation. It's talking about the whole Israel of God.
I want to drive you into the nations of the world. And then
I'm going to call you out of nations of the world. Thou shalt
return unto the Lord thy God, verse two, and shalt obey his
voice according to all that I command thee this day. When I call you
and you return to me, you're going to obey everything I have
commanded you this day. Go back and read it. Go back
and read it and then lift your hand. Anybody come back tonight
and report to me if anybody here has fulfilled anything written
in those previous two chapters You could you report to me show
me how you've done it and I'll sit down there listen to you
talk. Oh No, but he says so said in the day you come back to me
You're going to obey what I've commanded you this day thou and
thy children that is everyone who's born of my spirit Everyone
who comes back to me with all thine heart and with all thy
soul that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity and have
compassion upon thee and return and gather thee from all the
nations where the Lord thy God has scattered thee. If any of
thine be driven out into the uttermost parts of heaven, from
thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence
will he fetch thee. Isn't that wonderful? Wherever
they are, God's going to fetch them. And the Lord thy God will
bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou
shalt possess it. And he will do to thee good and
multiply thee above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will circumcise
thine heart and the heart of thy seed. He'll send you his
spirit. He'll seal all his blessings
to you in covenant mercy. He'll circumcise your heart,
the heart of all your seed. so that he'll cause you to love
the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that
thou mayest live. He's gonna make you a new creature.
He's gonna put a new man in you, a new nature in you, not the
old heart of flesh, but a new nature, a heart of life. He'll
put in you the spirit of God that make you partakers of the
divine nature. And the Lord thy God will put
all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which
persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey
the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments, which I
command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will make
thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of
thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit
of thy land, for good. For the Lord will again rejoice
over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers. If thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to keep his commandments
and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and
if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with
all thy soul. Now watch verse 11. For this
commandment which I command thee this day is not hidden from thee,
neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that thou
shouldest say who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it
unto us that we may hear it and do it. Neither is it beyond the
sea that thou should say who shall go over the sea for us
and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it. But the
word is very nigh unto thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that
thou mayest see it or that thou mayest do it. See, now watch
what it says. See I've set before thee this
day life and good and death and evil and I command thee this
day to love the Lord thy God to walk in his ways to keep his
commandments and his statutes and his judgments that thou mayest
live and Multiply and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the
land whether thou goes to possess it All you got to do to live
is walk before me, keep my judgments, my statutes, love me with all
your heart, soul, mind, and being, love your neighbor as yourself.
That's all you got to do. But he said the words near you.
It's close at hand. Read on. Read on. Verse 17. But
if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but
be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them, I denounce
unto you this day, that you shall surely perish, and that you shall
not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over
Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record
this day against you, that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life. Oh! Choose life. Choose life. Why will you choose death? Choose
life, that both thou and thy seed may live. that thou mayest
love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and
that thou mayest cleave unto him. For he is thy life, and
the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land
which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, to give it to him. Now what on earth is all this
about? Well, let's turn to Romans chapter
10. Romans chapter 10. I want you to read the commentary.
The interpretation which God the Holy Ghost gives to Deuteronomy
30. The Apostle Paul writing by divine
inspiration here tells us exactly what God meant back in Deuteronomy
chapter 30. Romans 10 verse 5. He said, Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Now
here's the explanation. For Moses describeth the righteousness
which is of the law. Deuteronomy 30, we just read
it. that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise,
say not in thine heart who shall ascend to heaven, that is to
bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the
deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what
saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we
preach. that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. What a word! How on earth can
Rex Bartley love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and being,
and obey every command of God all the time perfectly? Believe
on the Son of God. Believe on the Son of God, choose
life and live. Now, hold fast this sweet truth,
the righteousness of God by which we are saved is righteousness
at hand without the law, without our doing, righteousness simply
received by faith in Christ. Fourth, God, the Holy Ghost tells
us that now The righteousness of God without the law is manifested. Manifested. What's that mean?
Manifested. It's no longer a mystery. It's
not veiled under a cloud. It's not hidden under types and
shadows. It's manifested. It's manifested. Manifested. Last night I had some computer
trouble when I got home, didn't have any internet access. Sometimes
wires get jiggled, messing around. So I got my flashlight, got down
under the desk. Six weeks, seven weeks ago, I
had to take this stopwatch apart, put a battery in it, and I lost
a screw. And I looked for that screw and
looked for that screw and looked for that tiny little old thing.
I got down, crawled around on the floor and felt around on
my hands and just, I looked and looked and looked, finally was
frustrated and put it together without the screw. So it's got
a screw missing in the back. Found it last night. I turned the light on right where
it was laying. Well, there's that screw. There's that screw. And I picked it up, laid it on
the desk, put it in the watch tomorrow. How'd you find it? It was manifested. That's how
I found it. Suddenly, it was right in front
of my eyes with a light glaring on it. You couldn't miss it.
Sparkling in the dark. You couldn't miss it. Tiny as
it was, you couldn't miss it. This is what he's saying. This
righteousness of God is shining like a bright light in the heavens,
shining with such brilliance that there's no other star in
the sky like the bright and morning star, the star Bethlehem guiding
sinners to God. This light, this righteousness
is manifested. And those who walk in the light
of this bright day star walk in light and not in darkness. They don't stumble around. They
don't stumble around. They walk in the day as children
of the day, walk in the light as children of the light, walking
in the light of perfect righteousness manifested. What's he mean manifested? So clear, so obvious, so unmistakable
is the revelation of God concerning salvation in, by, and through
and with Jesus Christ alone, without any contribution on the
part of any man, that the wonder is anybody misses it. That's
the wonder. The wonder is that anybody misses
it. The wonder is not that folks
believe it, but that folks don't. The wonder is not that folks
understand it. The wonder is they don't. How
come? How come? Because when you read
the Word of God, this is how you read it. And you read in it whatever you've
been taught, whatever you think is right, and you come back.
So that's what the Word of God teaches. And when you hear the
preaching of the gospel, this is how you hear it. You stick
your fingers in your ears. Yeah, I want to hear that. I
want to hear that. No, I'm not going to hear that. So that your
unbelief is willful unbelief. Yes, it's your responsibility.
But preacher, you know only God can give a man faith. I think
I know that. I think I do know that. And I
know unbelief is your responsibility. I know unbelief, all unbelief
is willful unbelief. You've heard the righteousness
of God. You've seen it right here in the book this morning.
You've seen it. There's only one reason you don't have it.
Because you choose death instead of life. You choose your way
over God's way. You say, God, get out of my way. I'll do things my way and you're
going to like it. God says, I bring on you then.
Every curse I've spoken. Every curse I've spoken. Here's
the fifth thing. This righteousness of God is
righteousness witnessed by the law and the prophets. everything
in the book Everything in the book says righteousness is something
accomplished outside you It's so it's something you can't do
everything in the book you won't be clean you got to come to God's
labor You won't be forgiven. You got to bring God's sacrifice.
You got to come to God's altar You want to have atonement? You
got to get into the Holy of Holies where God is and make atonement
with blood that God provides. Well, Brother Don, I can't do
that. I'm not allowed to go in. There's
a thick veil hanging over there. Senators aren't allowed to go
in. Only the high priest can go in there. Yeah, but every
son of Abraham goes in with that high priest. And now the veil
has been ripped in two from top to bottom. And we who are the
sons of Abraham Go in to the holy of holies and approach God
on the throne of his glory and do so with joy and gladness because
Christ is made of God and to us righteousness is righteousness
is the right righteousness that Adam and Eve wore in those skins
God made for him in the garden. This is the righteousness Abel
had when he offered a sacrifice better than Cain. when he offered
a lamb of the flock unto the Lord. This is the righteousness
that Enoch had when he received testimony that he was righteous.
He received testimony from God that he's righteous. This is
the righteousness Noah had when he found grace in the eyes of
the Lord. This is the righteousness Abraham had when he worshiped
God and he woke up and saw the vultures tearing apart the sacrifice
and he drove them away. This is my only acceptance with
God. I'll let nothing take it away.
This is the righteousness Job spoke of when he said, I will
maintain my righteousness. I will hold to my righteousness. This is the righteousness Isaiah
had when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and the angel came
and purged his lips with a cold from off the altar saying your
iniquity is gone, your sins forgiven, your transgressions are put away.
This is no new righteousness which we preach. This is no new
foundation of which we speak, but the old one, the well-proved
one. It's been abundantly sufficient
for ages past, and it's abundantly sufficient for ages to come.
This righteousness, sixth, is by faith. Even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, now watch this,
unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. Righteousness, the righteousness
of God was accomplished by the faith of Jesus Christ, by his
faithful obedience to God as our mediator. Our faith in Christ
does nothing to contribute anything to righteousness. Understand
that. It's received by faith, not performed
by faith. It's embraced by faith, not accomplished
by faith. It's experienced by faith, not
done by faith. The righteousness was done by
Christ. He is the Lord our righteousness. It is Christ who died for us,
Christ who rose again for us, Christ who sits in heaven for
us, Christ who is our righteousness. Faith simply receives this righteousness. And receiving the righteousness
of God in Christ, choosing life in Christ, that righteousness
is ours. Made to be ours in the sweet
experience of grace. You ever been locked up? In jail? Locked up? I have. And first occasion, I wasn't
but 15 years old. I was a big boy, but I was scared
senseless. I was scared since I didn't know
what was happening. I driving a car, didn't have a driver's
license in my car, but I'd have a driver's license. Wrecked it.
Me and another bunch of boys and skip in school County, 35,
40 miles south of Winston-Salem. And the sheriff came and caught
us, took every one of us to jail, every one of us. And There I
was. There I was. I didn't have any
idea what was going to happen. We plowed through a fellow's
cornfield. I mean, just destroyed his crop. Just destroyed his
crop. What on earth is going to happen now? What's going to
happen now? And then I walked out of that jail and went
home. Oh, the air never was so light.
Light never was so bright. Openness never was so open. Liberty never was so free. I'd
been locked up and now I'm free! I was locked up in darkness under
the prison of God's justice condemned in my heart and conscience until
God came in marvelous grace and revealed Christ in me and believing
the Son of God free. I'm free. Free before God. Free with access
to God. Free to go in and out as I please
and find pastor as the Lord's sheep. Free before God. Don't even bring any shackles
around here. I'll melt them down. No, no, no. Oh, no. I won't have
anything to do with that anymore. I'm free. Free. One more thing. This righteousness is for the
unrighteous. The righteousness of God is for
sinners who have no righteousness of their own. It 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. Let me tell you the most foolish
statement in the world. The most foolish statement in
the world. And I hear it a lot. I hear it
a lot. But brother Don, I'm just too
great a sinner to be saved. You're still out in that house.
They haven't locked you away yet. I'm too, you don't know
what I am. Oh, I know the righteousness
of God is for sinners who have no righteousness. And I know
there's no difference. No difference between sinners. No difference between sinners
in the church house and sinners in the whorehouse. No difference.
No difference between sinners sitting in the pew and sinners
sitting in prison. No difference. No difference.
For all have sinned and flat missed the glory of God. If that's the case, maybe this righteousness is for
me. Take a drink. Yep, it's for me. Choose life
and live and go home the righteousness of God. Go home the righteousness of
God in Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.