Week of January 24, 2016

GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS GIVEN TO BELIEVING SINNERS

One of the great truths of the Bible is the righteous standing believers have in Christ.  By trusting Christ as Savior, the believer receives the righteous position Christ has before His Father in heaven.  Consider these passages of Scripture that describe this truth:  (All passages quoted from the NLT)

Isaiah 61:10 - "I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!  For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.  I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels."

Romans 1:17 - "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight.  This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.  As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'"

Romans 3:22 - "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.  And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are."

Romans 5:1 - "Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us."

2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

Philippians 3:8-9 - "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have discarded everything  else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ, and become one with Him.  I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.  For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith."