Reflections
The apostle Paul goes to great lengths to explain how God is able to justify – declare as righteous – the sinner through Jesus Christ. He discusses the moral and legal issues involved. But all of this teaching leads to one Truth: Jesus Christ IS our righteousness. He is the only righteousness we have.
Jesus Christ dwells in the believer — and because He is righteous, He IS our righteousness. Or, as Paul says, “We are the righteousness of God IN HIM.”
Righteousness and life go hand in hand. God does not simply declare me righteous. That alone would impart no life. Rather, God unites me in spirit with Christ Himself. He IS the life of the believer, and thus, He IS the righteousness of the believer.
The doctrine of justification by faith rightly states that because Christ died for us, that if we put our faith in Him, that all of our sins are imputed to Him, and all of His righteousness is imputed to us. This is legally correct. But it is only LEGAL imputation. It does not actually impart LIFE.
In reality, if we place our faith in Christ, yes, God legally IMPUTES to us His righteousness. But more than this, God IMPARTS to us Christ Himself. His presence in us constitutes OUR life, and OUR righteousness.
God never created human beings to have their own righteousness, any more than He created them to have their own life. No. From the start man was to be one with God – living from out of God as his source for all. Jesus Christ in us is the means.
Righteousness is a Person. And the believer is united with that Person in spirit. Thus, rather than continually try to be righteous, we need to believe and abide in Christ as our righteousness. This is the only way in which good works can follow in the Christian life and be the outcome of faith.