According to the Bible Jesus Christ died to undo and reverse the inescapable results of human sin so that the original relationship between God and man can be restored.
As we read the Bible we find the following radical results of the death of Christ:
We who were spiritually dead are restored to endless spiritual life.We who were enslaved to sin, death and Satan are set free.We who were cut off from God are reunited to him.We who were rejected by God are accepted by God.We who were banned from the presence of God are granted permanent access to God.We who are guilty and condemned are now acquitted, declared not guilty.We who rightly expected to have to pay for our sins are now forgiven.We who lived with a massive sin debt now live with that sin debt fully and permanently cancelled.We who were God’s enemies are made God’s friends.We who were alienated from God are reconciled to God.We who are sinners are called saints.We who are imperfect are deemed to be perfect.We who were children of the devil are now the children of God.We who were afraid of God’s wrath now live at peace with God.We who feared God now rejoice in God.We who are disqualified before God are now qualified to live in his kingdom.We who were trapped in spiritual darkness now live in the kingdom of light.We who were without hope now have joyful, confident assurance.We who were bound in an impossible necessity to keep God’s Law are now liberated by grace.We who were under the domination of sin and death now live under the reign of grace.Here in this multi-faceted salvation we see the deep and powerful meaning of Jeremiah’s statement that the promised descendant of David, whom we know as Jesus Christ, would be called ‘the LORD our Righteousness’ [Jeremiah 23:5,6; 33:15,16].
None of this is ours because of anything that we are or have done or have achieved or experienced. None of us has what it takes to achieve or qualify for this incredible transition, this amazing escape. It is all because of Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness. He is that righteousness that Paul describes:
A righteousness from God … that is by faith from first to last [Romans 1:16]
A righteousness from God, apart from law [Romans 3:21].
A righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe [Romans 3:22]
A righteousness that is given freely by his grace through the redemption that comes through Jesus Christ [Romans 3:24].
A righteousness that totally satisfies the justice of God [Romans 3:26].
A righteousness that excludes all human boasting because it has nothing to do with us [Romans 3:27,28].
A righteousness that is credited to sinners on the basis of faith not works [Romans 4:4-8].
In Jesus Christ – the LORD our Righteousness – we are declared by God and treated by God as legally in the right, legally acquitted, legally not guilty. Jesus Christ, on our behalf and as our substitute and representative, fully met the righteous requirements of God in his living, and in his dying fully paid out the righteous (just) penalty incurred by us by our sin.
Never again is our sin held against us because God has credited to us the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is the confidence that the Word of God gives to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ: never again need we look at ourselves and, seeing our sin and guilt, fear rejection and condemnation from God. Rather we should see ourselves always, ever and only hidden in the one refuge of absolute and impenetrable security: Jesus Christ – the LORD our Righteousness.