The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 3:8-9,
Righteousness is the quality of a good standing before God's court. Those who have a "right" standing with him, who are approved by God, who are embraced by God and gain entrance into his family are said to be "righteous". The unrighteous are those who do not have a good standing before God and face his judgment.
I'm not sure everyone is on board with the critical importance of this issue. Facing God's wrath is horrific. I don't know how many times I have heard someone say they didn't believe that our God of love would be merciless in his judgment of those who don't have a good standing with him. This would be the same God who wiped all mankind from earth, save one family, in the days of Noah. This is the same God who had Jerusalem devastated by the Roman army in horrific fashion in 70 A.D. when they failed to acknowledge God's Son when he came. This is the same God who said in Psalm 50:22, "Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you..."
It is this right standing with God that is our only shelter from his wrath. When we speak of being "saved" as Christians, it is primarily from God's wrath we are being saved. Righteousness is the only "currency" that secures our safety and well-being. As we read in Proverbs, "Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4.
In a paradoxical way, righteousness can only be obtained from the One who requires it. From Biblical days mankind has always thought he could obtain a right standing with God if he were only "good enough". The do-gooders still abound today promoting a notion that Paul spent most of his apostolic writings refuting: if we could just be good enough we could earn a good standing with God. "If I don't kill anyone, steal their money or their wife, then I am better than a lot of bad folks and I'll be 'in'". Nothing could be further from the truth. If that were so, Jesus would not have had to come and die a miserable death on that cross to pay for our sins.
All mankind is headed toward God's judgment and the only ones who will escape his wrath will be those who embrace him in faith. As Paul says, "the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith". In another place he says, "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." Romans 3:28. And, in Romans 1:16-17 we read, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"
How is it that our only escape from God's wrath is through a right standing only he provides us? He only wants those who want him. He has chosen those who will chose him. It is from the other major aspect of God's nature, his love, that he sent his Son to die a horrific death for us on that cross. Jesus Christ did it to satisfy the demands of his Father's justice for sins we have committed, and his payment of those sins are credited to us if we but embrace him in faith, "To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12.
I don't know about you, but I never cease to be amazed and impacted by this every time I mull it over. No wonder it is called the "Good News"!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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