Who is the Judge?

I remember being in a class in my first year at the university, the lecturer that day said a tree cannot say it is tall until it stands among other trees. And what he said got stuck in my head since that day. And this is true; many times, we measure ourselves based on the standard we find around us to either justify ourselves or look down on ourselves. But when it comes to the righteous way of life before God, do we look around us to give ourselves a score, or do we look at the person who is righteousness personified?

In Luke 18:9-14, there is the popular parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector who both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee justified himself based on the people he saw around him, like the tax collector, saying he fasts twice a week, gives tithes, and even compares himself with the collector that he wasn’t like him. The tax collector, on the other hand, just asked God to be merciful to him for being a sinner. Jesus said the tax collector went home justified rather than the Pharisee. Why?

Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is like filthy rags. This goes to show that no one ever qualified for God yet except Jesus. If anyone was righteous in the sight of God, then there wouldn’t have been a need for a saviour. So, the purpose of the Law wasn’t to make us righteous, but to show how unrighteous we are and the need for a saviour.

So, the Pharisee who justified himself only said he was less of a failure than the others, but still a failure. That sounds harsh, right? But that’s what we mean when we justify our actions.

Since Jesus was and is the only person who stands righteous before God. He then gave us the perfect spirit which we all receive when we become born again. This is why our righteousness is by grace and not by works so that nobody like the Pharisee can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

It is because of what Jesus has done for us we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, (ref.: Hebrews 4:16).

So, the person who does the righteousness check is not us but God Himself because the only reason we are righteous is by the grace of Jesus. This is because, on our own, we can NEVER be righteous. So, it is all praise and thanks to our Lord Jesus.

I would have concluded my write-up in the previous paragraph. But just to answer some questions that may pop up in someone’s mind if I ended it that way. Someone might conclude that we can never be righteous by our works no matter how hard we try because we are righteous because of the grace of Jesus. So, we can go on sinning because it is grace and not works that matters. NO! That’s not what I mean.

Apostle Paul attended to this mindset in Romans 6, but I’ll quote verses 1-5 from The Passion Translation. It says, “[1] So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? [2] What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? [3] Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death? [4] Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. [5] For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.” You can read the entire chapter when going through the scriptures.

So, it is clear that since we have been saved through grace, we now have the perfect spirit of Christ Jesus which in turn is expected to affect how we live through the renewal of our minds (ref.: Romans 12:2). So, the renewal is still a process, but because our righteousness is a free gift from our Lord Jesus, this is why we are righteous.

 

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t? Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations—you’re born again, and you are now brand new!

                                          

Log on next time.

 

For prayers and comments, send them to the comment section below.

 

GOD BLESS YOU.

 

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

 

                                                                                                                 

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)