We Are The Righteousness Of God

When Jacob asked his mother what would happen if he got cursed, the mother said, "I will receive the curse instead of you." Bible says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree"" (Galatians 3:13). This scripture is in connection to what we just read. Just as the mother promised to take upon herself the curse from the father, so did Christ take our curses (sins) and was judged in our stead. By doing so, He made us righteous, covering us with His blood, just as Rebekah covered Jacob and made him go for the blessings. Jesus has also qualified us to be blessed but without Him, we receive curses from God. Jesus promised that he would receive every curse that we should receive. People with many sins do not need to wash away their own sins; Jesus came and did everything for them.

Stop crying and nagging over your sins for you can't bear them! Esau was cursed because he tried to live by the Word of God; he tried to do what his father had told him to do. He labored hard but the result was to be cursed. If you try living according to the words of the Bible, you will only end up being cursed. It's because we are unable to live by the words of the Bible. If you could live by the words of the Bible, would there be a need for Jesus? Absolutely not! So why did God give us His Commandment? In the Pentateuch, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, there are commandments that tell us what to do and what not to do. They are the Word of God, His Commandments. We may not be able to keep them a 100% but we should recognize them as his commandments. The reason why God gave us the law was to make us conscious about the fact that we are sinners. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

The Amplified Bible translates it better: "For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For the real function of the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character." It pays to compare versions of the Bible and I encourage you to do that. Jacob did nothing to be blessed. The mother prepared everything he needed to be blessed even though he had problems with sin. He wasn't supposed to add anything by himself. Rebekah prepared everything so that Jacob would lack nothing as he appeared before his father. If this son had gone out to the father and something had gone wrong, the mother said she would take all responsibility and receive the curse instead of him.

There are two kinds of spiritual lives. One is trying to live according to the Word of God: trying, laboring, toiling and struggling to get to God by self efforts. Then for the other one you conclude by yourself that no matter how hard you try to live by the Word of God, you cannot. After recognizing this, you ask Jesus to do it for you. As you do this, you fully rely on Jesus and not your own strength, effort, or anything. This is true repentance. The one working hard tries so much and when it does not work, he falls, and he tries again, and he falls. As this happens, his spiritual life becomes a cycle of falling and stumbling. This is why some Christians commit suicide. They think God's so angry with them and after being fed up, they decide to take their lives. It's natural for such things to happen, but that's why God sent Jesus to us. Let's say you take a drum of clean water. When you take a little drop of unclean water and put it in the drum of pure water, is the water still clean? No!

It's the same way that even if you try so hard to live by the 613 articles of the Ten Commandments and you leave one out, you nullify everything. How then can you be right? Even the very air we breathe is full of sin! It's by the grace of the Lord we're saved. Those who rely on their works, thinking they can please God are cursed. They call themselves "Pious", but are full of filth. No one shall be justified by the work of the Law. "And all who depend on the Law who are seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals are under a curse and doomed to disappointment and destruction, for it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them.

Now it is evident that no person is justified (declared righteous and brought into right standing with God) through the Law, for the Scripture says, The man in right standing with God the just, the righteous shall live by and out of faith and he who through and by faith is declared righteous and in right standing with God shall live" (Galatians 3:10-11, AMP). Paul tells us here that if you depend on the Law to be justified and even miss one, you're cursed! Now Paul tells us about the Law: "Is the Law then contrary and opposed to the promises of God? Of course not! For if a Law had been given which could confer spiritual life, then righteousness and right standing with God would certainly have come by Law. But the Scriptures picture all mankind as sinners shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that the inheritance, blessing which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered, and committed) to all those who believe who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him.

Now before the faith came, we were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed), So that the Law served to us Jews as our trainer our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us until Christ came, that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith. But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood). For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ. There is now no distinction neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and spiritual heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:21-29.

It's interesting to note that just as Jacob was covered by Rebekah to receive the blessing, the Apostle Paul also confirms that we are clothed with Christ. When God sees us, it's as though we were Christ. Glory to God! When Jacob went out to his father to be blessed, there were conditions to be met. First, Jacob covered himself when he went out. He covered himself completely. If Jacob had exposed even a little bit of himself, he would have been cursed. Jacob was blessed because he completely covered himself. I've always learnt to walk in the grace that Christ has made available. Let's go before God boldly as David went before Goliath. Joseph never compromised his spiritual life even though he was in prison; let's not compromise our spiritual lives either. Let's move in the grace of God which is made available to us today!

Do you remember the prayer of the publican and the Pharisee? Bible says "And he (Jesus) spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke 18:9-14. Jesus makes things clear. Because the Pharisee thought he was righteous, he did not receive the righteousness from God.

However, the publican came as a sinner, but returned as a righteous person. There are those who deceive us by their outward living, thinking they're so purely by themselves. What is it that makes a person unclean? Jesus told the people, "...whatsoever thing from without entereth into the mouth, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that deifleth the man for those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they deifle the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, false witness, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: these are the things which defile a man." (Mark 7:18-23). So all these evil things come from within and defile a man but not to eat with unwashed hands.

The people thought that the Pharisees and scribes were very holy men. Jesus told them that they were mistaken. These scribes and Pharisees might be outwardly clean, but inwardly they were filthy. The disciples told Jesus that the Pharisees and scribes were very offended by His words. Should that worry Jesus? The disciples ought to know that Jesus did no come to please man but God. He came to expose the errors of false teachers which were certainly pleasing to God. Jesus said, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted will be pulled up by the roots" (Matthew 15:13). He commanded His disciples to keep themselves away from them. "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Matthew 15:14. As part of the fulfillment of the law, Jesus exposed the misinterpretations and misapplications of the Law by the scribes and the Pharisees.

Those rabbis thought superficially that the sixth commandment, "thought shall not kill", applies only to murder. But Jesus explains its true meaning. The sixth commandment does not only mean the physical taking away of another person's life. God's prohibition is much deeper than that. Murder is committed not only physically, but also verbally, by means of abusive words that stem from a hateful heart. Hurling invectives like "idiot" or "moron" against someone is the same as plunging a knife into his heart. "A tongue six inches long can kill a man six feet tall." The rabbis also diluted the force of the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" by applying it only to the external act. Any lustful thought, desire, or glance of the eye is adultery. In the area of marriage and divorce, the rabbis made it easy for the men to cast off their wives. For example, Rabbi Hillel taught that a man had the right to divorce his wife if she was a poor cook.

Rabbi Akiba even allowed a man to divorce his wife if he found someone prettier. As long as divorce papers were served, a man could marry another according to his wish. But Jesus made the marriage law absolutely binding: "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." Matthew 5:32. In other words, the marriage bond is for life, and if broken because of fornication, no remarriage is allowed. Marriage is a "life sentence"! Such is how these laws were to be interpreted. Now back to our story. Esau thought after all, Jacob could not go for hunting so he went with his strength to do what the father had ordered. But by then we find out that Jacob had it in a very simple way as Esau was struggling in the forest.

Most people today have the heart of Esau; they think they can do more than what Christ's already done. Jacob didn't go in his name, but in the name of his mom, Rebakah. That's exactly what we must do today; we're to go to God in the Name of Jesus. Those who think that by the power of their human intellect they can know God, deceive themselves. Unless God reveals Himself to sinful man, he cannot know Him. It is to the humble and teachable that God graciously grants the wisdom to know Him (1 Corinthians 1:19-30). Stop struggling carrying your own yoke. Rather, take on the yoke of Jesus, for it not heavy but light. One can only know God the Father through God the Son. The Lord Jesus extends this gracious invitation: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus is telling the people, "Stop working and start trusting in Me for your salvation." The Pharisees had been oppressing the people with their load of rules and regulations. "Obey those laws and you shall be saved," was the bad news the Pharisees preached. But the good news of Jesus is this: "I will obey the Law for you so that you might be saved." Jesus not only kept the Law but also bore the curse of the Law upon Himself on the cross. By so doing, He was "truly meek and lowly in heart." He who is Author of the Law became a Servant to the Law; He was "made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law" (Galatians 4:4-5). All who need salvation rest can find it in Jesus. But we must take His yoke, and learn from Him. We take His yoke by believing in Him, and doing what He says. He assures us that His yoke is far better than any other, for His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

My dear friend, even now, it's not too late. If you have boasted or shown off, even a little about the good things you've done before the Lord, though you may not show it, be ashamed of yourself. If you come before Jesus with an open heart, saying, "I truly have no hope in me. There is no good in me. There is nothing I can do well. I cannot help but be destroyed", you can go home having received forgiveness of sin. I hope that you will hide yourselves. You must hide all of the wrong, as well as the good you have done. It wasn't possible to tell whether the man was Jacob, even after his father touched him because Jacob was covered with goat hair. In the same way, we must cover ourselves with the deeds of Jesus Christ. When God sees us, He should not see us. He should see only what Jesus has done.

The Bible says "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." Matthew 5:13-14. What is this text trying to communicate? We all know that salt preserves from corruption. The disciples of Christ preserve the world from general corruption as they share the true meaning of the Gospel. Whatever becomes utterly corrupted is doomed to be destroyed. Salt is worthless if it has lost its qualities; it preserves no longer. It is fit only to be cast out and trodden under foot. So, too, if those who are the salt of the earth cease to communicate the saving power, they are fit only to be cast out, and Christ will cast such out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16).

The business of the church is not only to save, but to enlighten. Christ is light, and his disciples must be light. Anciently cities, for the sake of defense, were placed on hills. Such cities are seen from afar; so must the church give forth its light. Now go out to your world and shine with the Righteousness of Christ.

God bless you.