Week 2 - Saturday

The Great Exchange

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)

God is holy, so holy that He cannot bear to be in the presence of sin. Because of this God requires perfect righteousness from anyone who enters into heaven (Psalm 15:1-2). Righteousness means being righteous, doing what is right, according to God's laws. Would you want to stand before God and have your own righteousness judged to see if it was perfect? All of your good works wouldn't matter. If you were found guilty of even one sin, you would be judged unworthy of heaven and banished to hell forever. If you honestly examine yourself, you would have to admit that you are guilty of not just one but of countless sins. Wouldn't it be better if someone else, with perfect righteousness, could give their righteousness to you. Wouldn't it be better if you could be judged on their perfect righteousness, instead of on your own? But the only one who could do that for you is God, because God is the only one who is perfectly righteous. That is exactly what the gospel offers. God is offering to give you His righteousness, in exchange for yours. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, He takes all your sins (because He paid the penalty for them by dying on the cross). In exchange He gives you His righteousness. This is the best trade a person could ever make in their entire life. But the only way to make this exchange is by faith in Jesus Christ. If you have never put your faith in Christ, you can do it now. In the best way you know how, tell Jesus you are sorry for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you. Tell Him that you want to follow Him as your Lord and Savior. If that is what's truly in your heart, Jesus will take away all your sins, and you will receive His righteousness, the righteousness of God.

A righteous man is a person who has been saved by faith in Jesus Christ. They are not righteous because they have never sinned. They are righteous because Jesus never sinned, and they have put their faith in him. However those who have been saved by faith in Christ, will go on to live by that faith. The reason this is true is because when a person receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they also receive His Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus Christ actually comes to live in them. From that point on the Holy Spirit is working inside them, gradually changing them, to make them righteous. The sins they used to enjoy, they now begin to hate. Instead they find, what they would rather do is obey God. Is this what's happening in your life? If not, you should examine yourself to see if Christ is really in you. Ask yourself these questions and be honest about the answers. Have you come to Jesus Christ, truly sorry for your sins and asking Him to forgive you? Have you committed yourself to following Him as your Lord? If not, you need to do that. If you believe you have come to Christ, are you studying God's word? Are you spending time daily in prayer? Are you striving to obey Him? If not, it's time to begin to really live by your faith.

Readings for today: Phil. 3:7-9; 1 John 3:5; Col. 1:22-23; 2 Cor. 3:16-18, 13:5