Righteousness by faith

Call To Prayer

Title: Righteousness by faith

By: Daniel Peter

Date: 03.05.2024

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith  Philippians 3:9 NIV

God does all things to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6), and one of the areas He desires to receive praise from us is the manifestation of His character (His nature, the nature of righteousness). Many have fallen because they failed to understand God’s mind in this area, as they have tried to attain the righteousness of God apart from Him.

The word “Righteousness” as found in the scripture was translated from the Greek word “dikaiosunē”, and the Hebrew word “tsedâqâh”, and it is the quality of being morally right or justifiable. This quality of being righteous is what enables us to stand in His presence, and it is by it we access His blessing. Based on what Christ has done for us in the New Covenant, righteousness has been accounted to us as a gift, from the very moment we accepted the Gospel. This means the access we have to stand before Him and access the riches of our inheritance in Him is simply based on the obedience of Christ and not ours.

However, the impartation of this gift of righteousness was done in the hope that we will manifest it, but this may not be instant, as the believer would need to grow to be fully yielded to the nudges of this new nature. Just like putting a seed in the ground does not guarantee immediate harvest, but one still needs to wait for the seed to germinate, grow and produce fruit. In the same manner, we may need to wait for the fruit of righteousness to be seen in our lives. Yet, the believer is considered righteous by God even before he or she does a righteous act because he or she has received this Righteousness as a gift.

The failing of the Jews was that they tried to attain righteousness by the works of the law, which would have given them a reason to boast, which was why they were resisted (1 Cor. 1:29, James 4:6). We who have received this gift of righteousness should take our rest in Him by trusting Him for the manifestation.

Prayer Point

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let us ask Him to help us rest in Him by trusting Him for the manifestation of the righteousness we have received as a gift.