We gain several promises when we accept the gift of salvation. One of those promises is righteousness. This daily devotional looks at how righteousness comes from reconciliation and adoption.
Nuggets
- Righteousness comes from Christ.
- The plan of salvation is all about reconciliation.
- God loves us so much that He wants us to be His children.
Devotions in the Promises of Salvation series
The Promise of the Righteousness of God
Salvation means that we have to trust in God to provide us with that salvation. Once God has forgiven us, He promises to give us righteousness.
Let's Put It into Context
God gives us promises of forgiveness.
- God promises to provide us forgiveness of our sins when we sincerely ask that of Him.
- God forgave us from the start and kept providing for us
- But that means we have to believe that God will forgive us when we ask.
- We have to take our faith and do something with it.
- We not only live our lives as God wants us to, but we are also the people He wants us to be.
- When we have the faith that God has forgiven us and provided us with salvation, we can trust that God has carried through with his promises – one being eternal life.
We Are Promised Righteousness
“More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ — the righteousness from God based on faith” (Phil. 3: 8-9 CSB)
Righteousness comes from Christ. Spurgeon wrote, “…you are not only pardoned, that is, washed and made clean, but you are robed in garments such as no man could ever weave.”
Resource
This isn’t righteousness of the law. It isn’t righteousness of the do’s and don’ts.
It is righteousness of faith. It starts with believing Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
So, how do we get this righteousness? Boston wrote, “Righteousness is the result of obedience to the law.”
Resource
Scratching you head on that one? We just said it wasn’t the law, and now we are saying it is the law.
Well, yes and no. It is the same law. That didn’t change.
It is just a different fulfiller.
It isn’t us doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts. We would never be able to do that. Besides, if we could, that would fall in the works category.
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9 CSB).
The only way we can become righteous is believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins.
But it doesn’t stop there. We need to work on doing the do’s and don’ts.
No, we won’t be perfect in keeping them. When we break a law or commandment — when we sin — we need to ask God to forgive and try to do better.
How could Jesus fulfill the laws and we can’t? He perfectly kept the laws where we couldn’t.
This wasn’t a halfhearted keeping. Jesus wasn’t just doing the best that He could.
This was an active keeping. It was a conscious choice.
It all comes down to faith. Boston wrote, righteousness “… is received and becomes ours by faith, as faith unites us to Christ. Upon this union follows a communion with Christ in His righteousness.”
Resource
Righteousness alone will satisfy God’s wrath. “In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness” (Jer. 23: 6 CSB). Isn’t it appropriate that righteousness is the only thing that God will except because it comes from Him.
When we think about keeping the law, we think it will be a burden. Instead, it should bring us joy.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Look at Paul. He counted everything lost. We look at this as a bad thing, but it isn’t. Things of this world no longer brought him joy because he had some thing better.
Think about it this way. We should have been condemned for our sin. But we aren’t. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8: 1 ESV).
Instead, we have the benefits of salvation. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1: 7 ESV).
It is only through the plan of salvation that we can attain this righteousness. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8: 3-4 ESV).
We Are Promised Reconciliation
“For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him” (Eph. 1: 4 CSB)
The plan of salvation is all about reconciliation. It is about getting back to the walking in the garden in the cool of the evening to visit (Gen. 3: 8).
God chose us — even when we were still sinners. He wanted to bring us back to living in accordance with His Will.
The ultimate goal is for us to get back to being blameless. Blameless means without sin. The only way we can do that is to ABCD and get to Heaven.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Barry reminded us that this isn’t a quick fix. It is a total fix. There is not even a slight indication that we were ever sinful.
Resource
Isn’t that humbling when we think about it? God didn’t have to save us. He wants to save us. He wants to save everyone.
Unfortunately, there are those who will never believe. That is, they won’t believe until it’s too late. That is sad.
We Are Promised Adoption
“He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Eph. 1: 5 CSB)
We’ve talked about a couple of the topics in this verse a couple of times each. We’ve talked predestination and adoption. Adoption is the gift of acceptance into God’s family when Jesus redeems us and changed to be spiritually alive like God.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
Glossary
I love how Burns described adoption. He said it is “the act of grace by which God takes the children of the wicked one out of the world, and makes them the sons and daughters of His spiritual family.
Resource
I see several promises wrapped up in that. We have the promise of newness. We get new names, new character, and new values.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
We are promised access to the Heavenly Father. The original sin squashed that access. Jesus’ death restored it.
Glossary
Our focus has changed. We no longer focus on this world because we have the promise of a new world — Heaven.
Burns noted that the internal signs of adoption were “peace of mind, comfort of heart, [and] spiritual joy.”
Resource
There are some requirements that go along with adoption. We need to follow God’s laws and commandments. We have to imitate God.
Bowes made some really good points, too.
• God adopted us even though He already had a Son.
• God adopted us even though we didn’t deserve it.
• God adopted us even though we were dead.
• God adopted us even though there were many of us who needed adopting.
Resource
God loves us so much that He wants us to be His children. There are requirements we must meet to become His children. But He wants to promise us much.
Making the Connections
We have many promises for which to be thankful. We don’t deserve these promises. We aren’t entitled to them.
God wants to give them to us because He loves us.
Yes, they do come with requirements. We have to agree to terms of the covenant.
Glossary
How Do We Apply This?
- Watch our thoughts about sin
- Don’t minimize forgiveness
- Follow God’s laws and commandments
- Work to imitate Him.
Resource
Righteousness comes when we are reconciled to God, adopted into His family, and strive to become more like Him.
Gracious Heavenly Father. We praise Your name. You are righteous and holy — everything we are not. Yet even while we are in our sin, You want us to be restored to You. Lord, we admit we are separated from You, we believe Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and we confess You as Sovereign God. We submit ourselves to You and will live in a way that we grow to be holy and righteous like You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.