The Great Exchange: Receiving the Righteousness of God

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God is holy.  He is perfect.  In Him there is no sin, no unrighteousness.  We are instructed to be holy as He is holy, to be like God.

Adam was created in the image of God. He was like God. But after the Fall, Adam bore children in his own image, an image marred by sin, not the image of God.  

We are born into sin.  We have a sin nature that has been passed down to us from Adam.  It’s who we are.  We can’t cease from sinning, even if we want to, at least, not in our own power.  We are all born sinners.

In his epistle to the Romans Paul puts it this way:

The only way we can live the holy life God requires of us is by accepting the free gift of righteousness He has graciously offered us.  He calls us to live a holy life, fully aware of our inability to do so in our own strength.  The only way we can obey God and please Him is to receive from Him the resources He provides. And He doesn’t disappoint us.  He gives us everything we need to live a holy life. (2 Peter 1:3)

Because He provides everything we need to truly live a holy life, we can take no credit for anything good we do in this life.  There is no room left for us to brag about how “good” we are.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

None of us can boast because God is the one who has done the work. Our part is to accept the gift of righteousness He has provided. 

So, how do we do that?  Romans 1:16-17 gives us the answer. We receive this wonderful gift of right standing with God by believing in the provision He has already made.  We receive it by faith.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17 (NASB)

We can stand before God holy and without blame because of the finished work of Jesus Christ when we, by faith, receive the free gift of righteousness God has given us.  

But we must remember that though this gift of righteousness is given freely to us through faith,  it is not cheap.  It cost God everything.  

2 Corinthians 5:21 reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus himself became our sin so we could, in turn, become the righteousness of God in Him.  He who knew no sin became sin.  Jesus lived a perfect life.  No sin was found in him.  We, on the other hand, were born into sin.  It’s in our very nature.  A sinner can not help but sin.  The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23).  We deserve the punishment of death, separation from God forever.  But Jesus, the only One who did not deserve the punishment of death because he lived a sinless life, died in our place.  The wrath of God was taken out on Jesus, the son of God. The judgment of God for all sin was satisfied through the Cross of Jesus Christ.  That is the price He paid in order to offer us the gift of His righteousness.

This is the Great Exchange.  

Christ who never sinned, took the punishment of sin for all mankind, so we who knew no righteousness could become the righteousness of God in Him.  

He became sin.  We became the righteousness of God.

It’s not fair.  He didn’t deserve what He suffered.  We don’t deserve the righteousness we have received.  But He loves us that much.  

When we, in our own strength and ability, try to be holy by our own work and effort are not pleasing to God.  Doing “good things” to please God is actually an offense towards Him.  In Christ He has paid the ultimate price for us to walk in the righteousness of God.  When we try to accomplish this by our own strength we’re essentially saying, “No thank you, Lord.  I’ll do this myself.”  To do so is proof that we don’t understand the wickedness of our own sinful nature nor our helplessness to do anything about it.  Nothing we could ever do could ever replace the work of Jesus’ sinless life and undeserved death on the Cross at Calvary.   In fact, IIsaiah 64:6 says our attempts at  righteousness by our own works are “as filthy rags” before God.  It’s worthless and offensive to Him. 

But in Isaiah 61:10 God shows us another way.  Yes, He wants us to walk in righteousness, but not our own.  He wants us to walk in the righteousness He provides, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the righteousness we can only receive by faith.  And we do this by “putting on”  the beautiful gift He has given us.

We put on the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness that Christ has so graciously provided for us.  It’s the only way.  Our own righteousness is like filthy rags.  It doesn’t cover our shame and guilt.  Christ does.

This idea of “putting on” the righteousness of Christ is reaffirmed in the New Testament.  

Romans 13:14 says,  “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

And again, 

 “and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”  – Ephesians 4:23-24

Believing that the work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for you, and receiving the gift of righteousness He has purchased for you, doesn’t just cover up your sin, it transforms you into a new person.  

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

When we become a believer in Christ we are born again by the Spirit of God.  We become a new person, someone who did not exist before.  We are a new creation in Christ.  The old has gone away.  We are something completely new.

This is good news.  We are not the same person, just trying to turn a new leaf and change our habits.  Before Christ we didn’t have the ability to obey, even if we wanted to.  In Christ, He gives us not only the desire to please Him but the ability to do so.  

Can you see why there’s no boasting for the believer?  God is the one who initiates and completes our salvation.  Our part is to believe in Him, receive His invitation to become a new creature in Christ, and walk out our salvation daily.

I’m not saying being a Christian and living for God is easy.  It’s not. It requires our commitment and effort to believe what is true, forsake what is false, and stay on the path of righteousness.  But in Christ it’s possible.  It’s available for those who make the decision to believe and obey.  But without the work of the Holy Spirit inside our heart, without the work of Christ on the cross, without the Father giving us His only begotten Son, it’s impossible. 

In the Fall, we, mankind, were separated from God by sin.  Through the cross He has made a way for us to draw near again.  We have been reconciled back to Him and He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Now it’s our turn to go into the world and tell others who don’t know of His great sacrifice that they, too, can draw near to Him.  

He has taken our sin and shame and in exchange given us His righteousness.  

The Gospel is indeed good news!  God has reconciled us to Himself! He has made a way where there was no way!  He is gracious to us!

Thank you, Lord, for the great exchange.  Thank you for taking my punishment, becoming sin for me, and giving me your righteousness in Jesus’ precious name. 

Amen!

© Audrey McCracken, 2024

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