Jesus our Righteousness - Law and Grace part 2

And this will be his name: 'The LORD Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. Jeremiah 23:6

Human beings simply cannot produce the moral power which God’s standards demands– being entirely perfect and immeasurably high and holy. You would do better trying to jump over the walls of Jericho with a high jump pole than to attempt to keep God’s law in your own strength.

The problem as discussed earlier surfaces : we need supernatural help. A savior to give us, sinful human beings a platform, a relationship bridge, a mediation, to be confident to approach God, whilst in the state of our sinfulness. We also need the moral power of a Savior to be formed in our hearts, to raise us up from state of sin and death and become our life, our righteousness (the power to do and act in perfect sound integrity) within us. (Romans 5:10 NASB 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.)

Justification -“being not guilty”, “being declared fully righteous”

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (Romans 4:5)

God’s description in the verse above is said to be “Him who justifies the ungodly”. God delights to give righteousness, especially since His dear Son had paid such a high price in suffering and carrying our sins to the cross, dying, bearing God’s wrath and rising again. To appear in the presence of God as our defense lawyer and our high priest, pleading constantly by His wounds before the face of the Father, "justify them, make them clean, make them Holy, fill them with the Holy Spirit" (Heb4:14-16). The Father desires to give us righteousness, transformation, Spiritual power to do right.

Justification then, means being acquitted in a court of law, being declared not guilty and being declared fully righteous. Righteousness is the opposite of sin, where sin is being in a state of rebellion against God and His ways,  righteousness is to be declared to be in the right, a state of being right with God 'in good relationship standing'. The bible calls this the “gift of righteousness” and exhorts us, encourages us and even warns us, not to employ our human efforts to earn this state of being made right. “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness”. It encourages us strongly only to do one thing – To believe.

Believe what? To believe in the person, of Jesus as described in the Gospels. To put personal trust and dependence on Him alone as your acquittal from God’s court of law. This is not a one time thing. It is a lifelong faith. In Christ alone, my hope is found. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (sins) according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:17. Do you know that God loves mercy, He loves to give grace? He loves to show mercy, He loves to give tender loving kindness and everlasting mercy. In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy (loving-kindness, of great royal love, one translation puts it) (Ps 145:8.)


Micah 7:18, 19 ,20


Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression

for the remnant of his inheritance?


He does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in steadfast love.


He will again have compassion on us;

he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.


You will show faithfulness to Jacob

and steadfast love to Abraham,

as you have sworn to our fathers

from the days of old



Isaiah 55:7 - 9

let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts


Psalms 30:5

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Isaiah 54:8

In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.

Romans 4:7-8
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.


Remember who it is who said this verse quoted above in psalms and again in Romans- David who committed murder and adultery, the very two commandments in God’s law which deserve the penalty of death. What David says is it is blessed to be in a state of right relationship and standing with God- it is blessed to be forgiven! Simply place your trust on this One who died for you in order to remove your sins, carrying them away “as far as the east is from the west.” And on the authority of God’s very own word count yourself as forgiven and saved when you have believed in that Chris, the Son of God whose blood washes away the sins of the world. Simply believe the good news that the Lord’s own blood and sacrifice avails powerfully for you. Simply because like Abraham you believe in God’s forgiveness, and like Abraham because of your reliance your sheer dependance on God (which is faith) and because of this faith are counted righteous! (Rom 4). Remember what we have believed from the beginning - that God so loved the world, in all its sinful state, that He sent His only begotten son, so that whosever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life. He was not sent to condemn the world but to save the world.