But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. —Isaiah 53:5
IF YOU HAVE not watched The Passion Of The Christ directed by Mel Gibson, I encourage you to get the DVD and watch all that Jesus has done for you on His road to the cross. Observe the anguish that He endured in the garden of Gethsemane, where He prayed in preparation for the ordeal that He knew was to come.
Our righteousness is a result of Jesus’ work and we can only receive His righteousness through His unmerited favor!
See how your King was taken by ruthless Roman soldiers, who mocked Him and rammed a crude crown fashioned from thorns onto His head. Look at how your Savior suffered lash after lash from whips designed to inflict maximum pain—whips laced with broken glass and hooks, so that every stroke ripped off flesh from His already lacerated back.
In one scene, Jesus collapsed from the blows, and I screamed in my heart, willing Him to stay down so that His tormentors would relent in their vicious assault on Him. But He did not stay down. With you and me on His mind, He clung on to the beating post and dragged Himself up to receive the full measure of the scourging, knowing that it is by His stripes that we are healed.
His agony did not end when the hardened soldiers grew tired of flogging Him. The soldiers shoved a heavy cross onto His completely bloodied back, forcing Him to carry the splintered planks toward Golgotha. After barely surviving such vicious treatment, it was no wonder that Jesus fell under the weight of the cross after staggering part of the way, and the soldiers had to force a passerby to help Him carry the cross. Our Lord was then stretched out over the cross and huge, long nails were hammered cruelly into His hands and feet.
Did Jesus endure all this for nothing? Was this all in vain?
That is precisely what Christians who insist on trying to earn their own righteousness through the law are saying.
Let me quote Paul so that you can see for yourself what I mean:
I do not frustrate the grace [unmerited favor] of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. —GALATIANS 2:21, KJV
My friend, do not frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God in your life by looking to yourself and trying by your own efforts to make yourself righteous before God. We cannot earn God’s favor and acceptance. We can only receive righteousness as a free gift from God. God’s righteousness is free for us, but it cost Him dearly. He paid for it with the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It is a gift that can only be given freely not because it is cheap, but truly, because it is priceless!
“But Pastor Prince, how can I, who did no right, be made righteous?”
Well, answer me this first: How could Jesus, who knew no sin, become sin on the cross for us?
You see, Jesus had no sin of His own, but He took upon Himself all of humanity’s sins. On the other hand, you and I had no righteousness of our own, but on that cross, Jesus took upon Himself all our sins, past, present and future, and in exchange, gave us His perfect, everlasting righteousness. Now, is this righteousness that we have received a result of our own works or His work? It is clear that our righteousness is a result of His work and we can only receive His righteousness through His unmerited favor!
Let me give you the clearest definition of grace (unmerited favor) in the Bible:
And if by grace [unmerited favor], then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace [unmerited favor] is no longer grace [unmerited favor]. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace [unmerited favor]; otherwise work is no longer work. —Romans 11:6
Do you follow? There is no middle road. You are either righteous by God’s unmerited favor or you are trying to merit righteousness with your own works. You are either depending on Jesus or you are depending on yourself. Because Jesus has paid so dearly for you to have His own righteousness, you can cease from your own efforts to be righteous in God’s eyes to earn His favor. See yourself the righteousness of God in Christ and expect the blessings of the righteous to manifest in your life!
Today’s Prayer
Father, help me to always look to Jesus, who suffered a great deal for me and died for me, so that I could have His righteousness as a free gift. I fully expect all the blessings of the righteous to flood my life today.
Today’s Thought
Am I depending on Jesus or am I depending on myself and my works to be righteous before God?
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Prince, Joseph. 100 Days Of Favor, Daily Readings From Unmerited Favor.