The Rightness Of God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
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There
are many theological words which most people — even most Christian
people — do not under-stand. Among these is the Bible word
“righteousness”. Actually, though, this word is very simple and we ought
to understand about God’s righteousness even before we learn of His
love.
Righteousness is simply an old word for rightness. When we say that God is righteous, we simply mean that what He does is always right; that He will not and cannot do anything that is not right. This is why Paul declares in Romans 1:16, 17:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…FOR THEREIN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS [rightness] OF GOD REVEALED…”
We are proud to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God because it emphasizes God’s rightness.
The gospel does not tell us that God will overlook our sins or wink at
them and smuggle us into heaven. It doesn’t tell us that He will forgive
us if we are sorry enough or do enough good deeds to counterbalance our
sins. By no means.
The “gospel of the grace of God” is based on His rightness.
It is the wonderful message that “Christ died for our sins”, that He
paid for them Himself so that He might justly offer us forgiveness and
declare us righteous.
Romans
3:26 puts it beautifully. There the apostle declares that since our
sins were paid for by Christ at Calvary, God can now “be just — and the
Justifier of him who believes in Jesus”.
For
centuries religious people have said to each other: “We must be truly
sorry for our sins and do all the good we can and surely God will
forgive and accept us”. But this is not the gospel. The gospel gives us
more solid ground to plant our feet upon. It says to every man, woman
and child: “Your sins were PAID FOR by Christ at Calvary. Trust in Him
and you will be saved”. This is gospel [good news] indeed, for it is
based on the just payment of the penalty for sin.
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
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