The Righteousness of God — Romans 1

0:00 Good morning. So good to be with you today here and the honor of speaking. And before we speak, if we just pray. Our gracious god and heavenly father, we thank you. We have in our hands the word of god, the word of the living god which lives and endures forever.

0:19 We ask our blessings upon the word as we read it and spoken from. We ask for thy help. And if I said, I'll be with us throughout this day. And in name of Jesus name. I wanna speak today on a subject that's precious to all of us, so nothing is new here.

0:47 I'm sure we're all familiar with that, but I had encountered with some person recently, and I heard from someone also near and made me think of that seriously. They held as actually as the reformers did, and they did, which was not right, really, that Christ kept the law kept the law perfect and passed that onto us. And that is our way to heaven. He kept the law and passed it out to us. And I was shocked.

1:34 Of course, I had few words to mention, to speak about that. So I thought if you will bear up bear up with me a little bit, I am going to speak today on the righteousness of God. The righteousness righteousness is mentioned in the New Testament 92 times. In the epistle to the Romans alone, it's mentioned 36 times. And the righteousness of God, as appears many places, which is one of the attributes of God.

2:07 He is the righteous one. That's his attribute. He's one of his attributes. And which maintains his consistency with what is fitting for that righteousness. And the opposite, of course, is judge, which is sin.

2:26 So the righteousness of God, we have to bear with... You have to bear with me. We wanna go into the scriptures now. We're not gonna speak of hearsay. And I'd like to read you before I go a little note here.

2:44 And anyone that's interested in detail to speak just on the righteousness of God, you'll have about 16 pages by William Kelly and just about the same by John Nelson Darby. So if you wanna read more about it and detail it and the answer to that... And here's what the note speaks about. The doctrine of imputation of the legal obedience of Christ. That is Christ kept the law.

3:16 You know? The imputation of what he kept is of the legal obedience of Christ to sinners as their righteousness and as the only title to eternal life. He said, this is not the gospel. He said, now I do not agree with much that remain unclear to the reformers. Cons...

3:42 Like, consubstantiation, That is, they held that the doctrine of consubstantiation is that the bread and the wine remains bread and wine. Doesn't change into the body of Christ. But, mysteriously, some of the material of the body and blood of Christ will be in the in the in the in there... Nowhere, like, mysteriously also, but not physically. And I believe also at the at the time of consecration by the by the by the the authority in the church, why that, you see, will be a...

4:28 Will will have a special blessing to the recipient. And that's... And so... And he spoke about consubstantiation, and that... And the other one is Christ completing his work in hell.

4:58 And the other one, he said, baptismal regeneration. That is, they say, the baptism of infants will clear the infants from the original sin. Plasphemy, isn't it, today? But it was not clear to them. I'm not knocking them down.

5:20 God... I thank God for them every day that Luther's teaching about the salvation. It's not by works, salvation by faith, and I'm not going to that. But but these are things they they... Some still hold.

5:38 So then he said, baptismal regeneration, they all clearly held the putting away of original sin by infant baptism. For the reformers, I bless God unfeignedly, he said, but they are not in no way my rule of faith or a rule of faith for me. To the law and to the testimony, I must have the word of God. And that's what we're gonna have. Now I read that because it's very important that we understand some some of the things that they're still also beside the righteousness of God.

6:15 To think that Christ kept the law, and do you mean the law, if was kept, was higher righteousness than what we have now? I'm gonna read you in Romans one sixteen and seventeen. It's always go to the place where it's defined and it's explained thoroughly. He said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. For therein, therein in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed.

6:53 In the gospel, it's the righteousness of God revealed from faith or on the principle of faith to faith, to the believing. But it's on the principle of faith, not works. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. Who is the just? Just or righteous?

7:11 The word is the same. Just or righteous. Who has righteousness? And he lives by faith, doesn't he? Not by works.

7:19 A believer, what does a believer have? Peter tells us, blessed be God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for you in heaven, who are kept by the power of God through faith. That's the keeper. Unto salvation ready to be revealed. And then he said to the end, he's speaking about faith for the rest of the chapter.

8:01 He said, Whom have not seen? I love in whom, though now you see him not, yet in believing he has rejoiced with joy unspeakable, full of glory by believing. Follow the word faith and believing in one Peter. And anyway, but the fact here remains that the righteousness of God is revealed to every believer that believes through the gospel. How is it revealed?

8:32 Remember what we read? It says, God made him to be sin for us. Who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. If you don't have the righteousness of God, that is the characters that God gave you through the death of Christ. He bore your sins, and that reason was so God can that you might become the righteousness of God in him.

8:59 I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Aren't we all in Christ 29 times in Ephesians, the word in Christ, in whom, in him? We have it there. We are in Christ, blessed with every spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but then it says that now we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ.

9:22 In Christ. That's what we are, the body of Christ. We have his righteousness. And I say like the hymn writer said, reach my blessed savior first. Take him from God's esteem.

9:35 He said, take him from God's esteem. And he said, if you don't see his... If his... Me as... And and him as a righteous, he said, take him from God's esteem.

9:51 Prove Jesus bears one spot of sin, then he said. Then tell me I'm unclean. Because if he is clean, he is clean, we will that where it specifically tells us the definition of the righteousness of God in the Bible. I am blessed to have been saved by grace, and upon believing in Christ, I have received the righteousness of God. That's true faith.

10:35 And the righteousness of God, the believer has righteousness of God. And the manifestation of this righteousness of God is very plain. If you go to Romans three twenty and twenty three, I'll read it. You don't have to go there. Therefore, he said, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.

10:57 It doesn't say if you broke the law. It doesn't say if you kept the law. He said, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is what? The knowledge of sin.

11:13 The opposite of righteousness, the knowledge of sin. And then he says, but now. Not before. If you go to Isaiah 46 and read verse 13, and you go to Isaiah 56 and read verse one, he said, my salvation is ready to believe. It's written about, but it has not yet come until this time.

11:40 He said, but now the righteousness of God without... The word without the law. The word means apart. And not only that, it's chorus numo, wholly apart, as Mr. Darby explained it in Bible.

11:58 It's wholly apart. It has nothing to do with the law. The righteousness of God, he said, the righteousness of God apart from the law, wholly apart from the law, he said, is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophet. I gave you a couple of places where you find the prophecy about its coming. Yeah, ready to be revealed and so on.

12:23 It says in witness, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ. Again, we see faith. The righteousness is of God by faith in Jesus Christ. That's where the righteousness is. My faith in Christ not only made me a son of God, not only made me heir of God, a joint heir with our Lord Jesus, Not only it gave me eternal life that I shall never...

12:50 But it gave me standing like him. The righteousness of God. That's mine. That's yours, every believer. I'm not talking about how we do here.

13:06 I'm talking about the eternal and the position that we have in Christ. That is not changeable. That is not changeable. We are closed with the righteousness of God. And now now it appears.

13:19 It says, now the righteousness of God apart from the lies is manifested. No longer have to worry about that. Witnessed by the law and prophet, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ. How often do we have to read the same? Which is by faith.

13:42 It says, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto man. What righteousness is he talking about? God's righteousness. Because when you believe, you have God's righteousness.

14:05 He said here, even the righteousness of God is just by faith in Christ Jesus unto all and upon all them that believe. There's no distinction here, all, Jew and Gentile. Why? For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. They've got no righteousness.

14:24 What does the New Testament say and what does the Old Testament say? It says, there is none righteous, no, not one. Not one. Now Isaiah 64, it says, what does it say, our righteousness as filthy rags. Your righteousness is as filthy rags.

14:45 There's nothing there. That's nothing there. Our righteousness. And therefore, if we were going to be in heaven, we've got to have that righteousness, be clothed with that righteousness of God. Spiritually, we are seated in Christ.

14:59 Could you be seated in Christ if you're dependent upon your own righteousness? No. It do not. But he made us, we shall be like him. Is it so that I shall be like thy son?

15:13 Is this the grace for which he for me has won? Father of glory, thought beyond all thought, in glory to his own blessed likeness brought. We're going to be like him. We shall be like him, where we shall see him as he is. What a blessedness.

15:31 If we haven't got the righteousness of God, we're not going to get there. But thank God every believer has it. And look in the Old Testament. Abraham believed God. He was mentioned three times as a friend of God.

15:47 Do you think his works got him there and got him approved? He said, Abraham, that's the father, believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. His faith brought that righteousness. And what happened? Look at the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.

16:06 All these men of faith. Tell me about one of them, that he's there because of his work. By faith. That is in there. The chapter is the word by.

16:16 The power of faith. Look what happened. Look at the great list. By faith, they inquired a righteousness that was going to be given to them. They were counted righteous because the following verse we're going to read about what happened to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all those people.

17:02 I'm reading from the New King James now. And this is Romans three twenty four and twenty eight. It says he had been justified freely by his grace. You know, justification is not only by blood, by grace. If there was no grace, you know, would you have the blood?

17:20 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Now, whom God set forth as a propitiation. Whom God has set forth as mercy seat. That's what the word is here. The word is a mercy seat.

17:40 That's the word used for the mercy seat. So here, God has his son as a mercy seat, he said, through his blood through faith. To demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance God has passed over or passed by or over the sins that were previously committed. Those are the Old Testament, he said. To demonstrate or to declare, I think the new Old King James say, to declare, demonstrate at the present time His righteousness.

18:20 Where was the fairness of God passing? Oh, no. God had his son as a mercy seat. All those offerings in the Old Testament, they were types and shadows. The substance was the son.

18:34 He was the one that gave himself by one offering. He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, and we have been sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. This is the one. He had his son in mind, and he said his righteousness at the present time, he's revealing that. At the present time, his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him who hath faith in Jesus.

19:01 God passed by. The word where it says remission, since that is not correct at all. There's no remission of that. It's passed by the sins of the Old Testament saints. And they were saved because God has his son in there.

19:16 They were gonna be counted in that that offering in a future time. Where is boasting, he said then, is excluded? By what law? Works? No.

19:27 But by the law of faith. There's several laws here. I'm not going to go over them. Here's the law of faith. A principle acting through faith, believing.

19:38 He says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I believe something to be exactly real and even though I don't see it. Faith. Said, through faith in Jesus, what is boasting? He said, thy works no but by law, law thy law of faith.

20:05 Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by the faith apart from the deeds of the law. Now said the deeds of the law. Doesn't matter how good they are. Whether Christ did them or he didn't, but he didn't come to do. He fulfilled the law and made it honorable.

20:24 There's no question about that. But as a person, he was holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. He can do but that. But you see, then if he kept the law, listen, why did he have to die? If he kept the law and can pass it to you when you got righteousness, why did he have to die?

21:04 That is to the to to the seed came. Romans ten and three and four, speaking of the Jews, you gotta read also all verses in chapter nine before you come to this because I can't put all that in the time allotted to me. It says, for they that is a Jews, being ignorant of God's righteousness. God's righteousness plays a part in the New Testament. They were ignorant of it, and they were rulefully ignorant, really, if you read that.

21:38 And going about to establish their own righteousness. You know? People tell you I'm doing the best I can. I'm trying to get to heaven. I give to the poor.

21:46 I give to the... I hope this thing will work. Wow. That's what the Jews did. They were going to establish their own righteousness.

21:56 But what does... Did God say? He said to them, there's none righteous, no, not one. That's a quotation in the New Testament from the Old Testament. He said, from the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it.

22:11 But he compared the whole nation as a body, full of sores and sick from head to toe spiritually. No. They're going to establish something that they're already guilty of. That is they broke every... The commandments.

22:29 Says establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Well, how do you know? Because they didn't believe in Christ, did they? The Lord said, except you believe I am he, you shall die in your sins. And if you die in your sins, where I go, you can't come.

22:47 That's John eight. He's talking to the... He was talking to the Jewish people, he said. And then he said, righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.

23:03 We have something here. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. And we're going to read a few verses down about the law, if there was a law that produces righteousness. Timothy and I think I mentioned that before the latter part before we have time now. We don't have time for that.

23:34 So there is no righteousness that can be obtained by any law under heaven. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. That's the law of Moses or any other law. And Christ was made sin for us, so we can become right... The righteousness of God in him.

23:52 I'm in Christ, and I'm the righteousness of God in him. Reach... Like I said, reach my blessed savior first. Take him from God's esteem. Prove Jesus bears one spot of sin, then tell me I'm unclean.

24:05 Tell me I'm unclean. Then we go, look at Paul. Look at his... The history of Paul. Look.

24:11 I'm sure we all read. We love to hear... Read about Paul in in in the righteousness of God that he speaks about Philippians three eight and nine. Here's what he said. He said, yeah, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord.

24:34 He said, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but dunk. And then he said, for that I may win Christ or have Christ as my gain. And then he said, and be found in him in Christ, not having my own righteousness which is of the law. You see what he said? But that which is which is through the faith in Christ, righteousness which is of God by faith.

25:03 He said everything in the past is not the bad things necessarily. He left Judaism. He broke down the wall of Judaism, and he came to Christ, he said. And he was aiming for that prize in that word. Not gonna speak on that, but it's nice.

25:21 He said he's not. Remember, Christ is everything. He wanted to be found in him, not having his own righteousness, which comes from the law. But he says, but the righteous, but through faith. Yeah, but but that which is through faith in of Christ, the righteousness which is of god by faith.

25:43 Don't ever, brethren and sisters, wonder about and have the devil tell you, I wonder if you're saved or not. You're not going to heaven by how good you're gonna do from the time you get saved. You'll get reward or lack of reward for that. You're going to heaven because you have the righteousness of God. You possess that by faith in Christ.

26:07 And don't ever let the devil say, it's not given you temporarily, and you have to keep it. We were kept by the power of God through faith. Remember what Peter said? We're not kept, but we have the obligation to live Christ, to show Christ, to let others know we are Christ. So he could have had his old righteousness here and plus the new one.

26:39 He said the old one doesn't do any good. He said, but I can't have but lost. Once you have Christ, he was into the law of the righteousness. You have Christ. You have the righteousness of god.

26:49 That's what Paul was doing. You look at all the sufferings he endured for the cross, for the gospel, for the lord Jesus Christ. Look at all the beating he had and all the insult and all the... You think he was dependent on that to keep him for heaven? No.

27:04 No. No. No. He already has the power... The righteousness of god, possess it forever.

27:12 Never will be taken away from him. And that's why he's telling you that. Now the believer, you say he has the righteousness of God. Of course you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to read what we're reading here.

27:27 Galatians two twenty and twenty one was of course mentioned already. I am crucified with Christ, yet I live, he said. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I will never live in the flesh in this body, I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. It doesn't end there.

27:51 Saying that, he said, I do not frustrate. That word is set aside. I do not set aside the grace of God, he said. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ died in vain. I died with Christ, didn't I?

28:25 It doesn't matter whether they tell me he kept it for them, because it tells me it does not. It's outside of it completely. It's the righteousness of God by faith in Christ. And then we got the Christ is our righteousness. Christ liveth in me.

28:44 No. He's listening. Is the law then against the promises of God? That's Galatians three twenty one. God forbid.

28:52 For if there had been a law given, if there had been a law given, which would have given life, verily, it would have been by the law. Secondly, if there was a law, whether the law of Moses, law of anything, could have given life, then righteous should have been by that place. Didn't give life, did it? Nothing. Life in Christ?

29:21 Yes. Then we end Galatians five, four and five. It says Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law. You have nothing in Christ. You're out of it completely.

29:35 He said, ye are fallen or you you have fallen. That's what the... I have a notation here in in the in the... From the... You have fallen from grace because salvation...

29:49 Faith comes and it's on the bundles of among... On the grace of God. But if you have... That's what the apostasy is. You see?

29:59 They turn away from that. And so he said, hey. Christ is meaningless to you. You might say, hey. Everybody is I talked to several people.

30:08 Oh, I believe in Christ. Well, you ask them a few more questions, you find out they don't believe in Christ. They're still trying to earn their way to heaven, and they haven't got any any idea about the righteousness of God or faith in Christ. That saves. They have other things.

30:28 Then one Corinthians one thirty. Here's what it says. But of him, of God, but of him are ye in Christ who of God is made unto us. Look, you are in Christ Jesus, but of him, that is of God. Ye are are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God, Christ that is, of God, is made unto us, he is made unto us.

30:58 Listen to those four. This is something you have to write it in a piece of paper and put it in your pocket here. Here's what it says. He's become unto us what is my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification, and my redemption. My wisdom, my righteousness, and sanctification, redemption.

31:20 All four are attributed to me or given to me by Christ. He is my righteousness. He is my redemption. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins. According to the riches of his grace.

31:39 And now here it says here, of God are ye in Christ Jesus who Christ Jesus of him that is of God. Are ye in Christ Jesus? Christ Jesus who of God, it says, is made unto us, should be become unto us. We have other translations. Become unto us wisdom.

32:01 That's the wisdom that's from above. Righteousness. That's the righteousness of God. He is my righteousness. He has become my righteousness.

32:12 Can any law supersede the righteousness that Christ is for me? He is my righteousness. That's the righteousness of God. Christ is all. And tell you something else.

32:28 If there's something else more superior in righteousness to Christ, whether it's Moses or any of the others or prophets, I'll listen to you. I wouldn't even I wouldn't even let anybody speak to me about righteousness superior to Christ personally. Christ liveth in me. That's my righteousness. Isn't it?

33:02 I think I'm going to finish on time. That is mentioned clearly in two Corinthians three, eight, and nine. I'm gonna read those, but you read that chapter carefully. It speaks about brings the marvelous law that they had, and it had its glory. But then we have the new covenant that exceeds in glory.

33:34 Here's what it reads. How shall not the ministration of the spirit? Because ours is the spirit. You are not in the flesh. You are in the spirit.

33:44 And the spirit of God. This is this is what we have now. Your seal was its own spirit. It says, how shall not the ministration of the spirit? That's the spirit of god.

33:58 Be be rather glorious. For if the ministration of condemnation be glory. What is he referring to the law as the ministration of condemnation? Why? Does the law justify anyone?

34:13 No. It just condemns. And by the law is the knowledge of sins. And the Gentiles had not the law. It was only given to Israel.

34:20 But you look at the terminology here, he calls it the ministration of the spirit, the ministry of the spirit that we have presently. Read the whole chapter. I don't have time to read it. And then he speak, if the law when it was introduced had glory in it, how much more the ministration of the spirit? Far superior.

34:45 In the present person, Heading that is Christ, and the other one is led by Moses. Moses was a good man, and God gave him the law. And he says, did not Moses give you the law and none of you? Let me tell you something. God, Christ did not keep the law and pass it on to me because by the law, nothing is he gave me himself.

35:15 He is my righteousness. Don't you ever trade it for that for that. I I am surprised. Twice I ran into it recently. And it it just it just broke my heart.

35:29 And a believer shouldn't be living in the shadow and in fear. If you're wondering about that, you can you I don't know how you can have peace. But the believer has possession of the righteousness of God forever. And furthermore, if I ask you which is the... Oldest promise in the Bible, I'm sure everybody will will say this and will say that.

35:57 The oldest promise in the Bible, the promise of eternal life before the foundation of the world, before the ages of time. He did not come and have his completion until Christ came. In him was life. And it says he gives unto eternal life and they shall never pay. That promise of eternal life was before the ages of time.

36:23 But you see that... Read that in Timothy and read that in in a in a way in in Titus. But the promise of me as by faith, I trusted Christ as my savior. Not only my sins were forgiven, not only I have eternal life. Like I say, I have Christ himself as my righteousness.

36:43 God cannot judge his son's righteousness, his son who is righteous and if you can be lost. It means it wasn't good enough because that's the important thing. If I have the righteousness of God and God and Christ is it, it's my righteousness, my sanctification, my wisdom, and my redemption. All him, him, him, him. Do I have anything to fear?

37:09 The hymn writer said, in him, we meet in him a savior god and fear and terrorists. You have Christ? What is there beside him we need to have? He is our righteousness and the righteousness of God by faith. I didn't go to all the verses because I don't I want you to look out more.

37:34 Just you go and look it up about the righteousness of God. Really, do me a favor. If you go to STEM publishing company. STEM publishing company. And you go into that, they bring you a big long list.

37:54 You have all the great giants and scholars among the assemblies. And just go to the two of them or you'll find more. Go to Kelly and go to Darby and download just that, the righteousness of God, and read them. It thrills your soul. And I hope I was playing enough.

39:03 And help us, our father, to be in an understanding way that our salvation does not rest on the law or on what we do. Christ is our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption, And to pay more honor to the one who loved us, give us our joy. We thank you for us by separating. Blessing in the name of Lord Jesus. Amen.