THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS #23

God's gift of righteousness is the foundation of the well-loved passage in Romans 8 that assures Christians that nothing can be against them and that nothing can separate them from the love of God that is in Christ.

Because the person who believes in Jesus Christ is declared 'righteous' ' that is, justified, acquitted, declared not guilty because of the righteous life and sin-bearing death of Christ ' because of this no charge or accusation or condemnation against them can stand. Such charges and accusations may in fact be true, but they can never again be held against the believer because Christ has taken and paid for them all on the believer's behalf.

God has justified ' no one can condemn. He gave his Son to achieve and implement this, this was his will, his purpose and his pleasure ' no one can now turn his grace away from the believer.

In addition, all of those circumstances of life that are assumed by many to be the signs and implementation of God's wrath and retribution ' suffering, poverty, sickness, indeed misfortune of any kind ' can never again be seen to be so. Never again for the believer are the calamities of live to be interpreted as the removal of God's love and good-pleasure.

Nothing, not anything, can separate the genuine believer from the love of God in Christ.

Are you sick? It is not God's condemnation.

Are you poor? It is not God turning his face away from you.

He no longer relates to you as you are in yourself ' sinful, failing, incomplete. He relates to you always, ever and only in Christ ' from whom he will never again turn away his love.

This is the assurance and the peace of those who have received from God his gift of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Scriptures: Romans 8:28-39