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God's Imputed Righteousness

Jesus said:
"wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat"
Matthew 7:14

The wide gate to hell is the religion of self-righteousness. There is only one God who can save us from hell - His name is Jesus Christ. There is no other God beside Him. But simply knowing that Jesus is God is not enough to save you. Many who name Jesus Christ as their Savior will be damned because they are trusting in their own personal good works for their righteousness instead of trusting in the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone.

"many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."       Matthew 7:22,23

Many people think that their good works can get them into heaven. ..."and in thy name done many wonderful works?" People who think they are good will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Self-righteousness is deadly! On judgement day there will be many who thought they were going to heaven because of their good works, but Christ will only say  "depart from me".       Matthew 7:22,23

Many people who call themselves Christians are deceived by the devil himself through the means of false gospels.
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness"        2 Corinthians 11:13-15

The message of the Gospel is about salvation for FREE!
Saved by GRACE means I'm saved by the work of Jesus Christ, not by my own work. Salvation is a free gift that was earned by the person and work of Jesus Christ alone! Jesus gives eternal life to anyone He wants to - and it's for FREE! The free gift of eternal life is called "saved by GRACE". Grace means it's free!

But the devil has his own ministers who mix up the gospel of grace and turn it into a gospel of works.  If he can get you to trust in self-righteousness in any way, then that gospel is no longer  the gospel of grace. And if salvation is not 100% by grace, then it's not the gospel. Our faith must rest only in what Christ has done.

True believers know that good works is only an evidence of salvation. Our works cannot cause salvation.
"God imputeth righteousness without works"
Romans 4:6

Do you know what it means to be righteous? It's to be sinless. It means that you lived your whole life without a single sin. If it were possible for you to do that, then you would be righteous. But that's IMPOSSIBLE! That's right, it's impossible for a man to do that, but it was not impossible for Jesus Christ because Jesus is God. Jesus is totally sinless and that means He is perfectly righteous.

True believers trust only in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ as their covering. God freely clothes undeserving sinners with His righteousness without our works.

"God imputeth righteousness without works"
Romans 4:6

Do you know what I mean by "imputed" righteousness? It means that the work of Jesus Christ is counted as my own. It means that the perfect sinless life of Jesus Christ is credited to my account so that God sees me as being exactly as holy and sinless as Jesus Christ is. It's as if I never sinned in my whole life. It's as if I kept the whole law of God perfectly without a single transgression.

It also means that Jesus suffered the punishment of my sins by dying for me as my substitute. He died in my place. His substitutionary death is what cleanses me of all my sins. And Jesus rose from the dead on the third day because the Father accepted His payment for my sins. Jesus Christ has accomplished all the work that is required for me to go to heaven. There is nothing left for me to do. Christ did it ALL and all his work is transferred to my account so that it's as if I did it all myself. That's called "imputed" righteousness.

"God imputeth righteousness without works"
Romans 4:6

True believers know they only appear righteous in God's eyes because they are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

"he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness"
Isaiah 61:10

True believers believe God when He says No one, not even ONE is righteous without being clothed by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one"
Romans 3:10

True believers know that their own works are just filthy rags in the sight of God.
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags"       Isaiah 64:6

God's standard of good means PERFECTION. Nobody is perfect but God.
"there is none good but one, that is, God"
Matthew 19:17

True believers do not think of presenting their own works before the throne of God for their righteousness; their hope of salvation rests in the righteousness of God.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and HIS righteousness"   Matthew 6:33

True believers do not talk about self-righteousness; they talk about God's righteousness.
"My tongue also shall talk of THY righteousness all the day long"   Psalms 71:24

The mark of every dead religion is self-righteousness. Whether you call it Atheism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Catholicism, Jehovah's Witness-ism, Reincarnation-ism, Hinduism, Freewill-ism, or you name it. If salvation is obtained by something that YOU do, then it's just a religion of self-righteousness.

"they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Romans 10:2-4

It's impossible to earn your way into heaven by your works.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ"    Galatians 2:16

It's impossible because it only takes ONE sin to send you to hell.
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."   James 2:10

No one goes to heaven because they are good.
"there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Romans 3:12

God's law requires perfection. It's impossible to earn your way into heaven by works because nobody's perfect.
"by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified"
Galatians 2:16

The law was not given for the purpose of earning your way into heaven.
"if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law."        Galatians 3:21

The law was given to point out our sins.
"I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."       Romans 7:7

The law was given to point out the sinfulness of man in comparison to the holiness of God.
"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."     Romans 3:19

The lesson to learn from the law is that it's impossible to earn your way into heaven by your works. Have you learned the lesson of the schoolmaster?

"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
Galatians 3:24

Anyone who believes the gospel is a saint. True saints are not saints because they are good; they are saints because they are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. They don't look to the law for their righteousness; they only look to Christ.

"Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."    Romans 10:4

People who really know the gospel understand that self-righteousness is a path to hell. That's why they only trust in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ for their salvation.

"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"     Philippians 3:9,10

True believers know that our own works of righteousness cannot earn salvation.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done,but according to his mercy he saved us"
Titus 3:5

Salvation is by grace. It's FREE!
"For by grace are ye saved"       Ephesians 2:8

If YOUR works earned salvation, then it wouldn't be a gift and you would boast of your self-righteousness.
"it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."      Ephesians 2:9

True believers trust in Jesus Christ alone for their righteousness.
"by the obedience of ONE shall many be made righteous"     Romans 5:19

Whose obedience are YOU trusting in for the salvation of your soul? I hope these bible quotations have made it clear to you that salvation is only by the person and work of Jesus Christ. Self-righteousness will only take you to hell. If you don't think you don't need the Savior, then you are self-righteous. But if you see that you are not perfect, then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for your righteousness.

"Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."        James 2:23

None of our works can wash away sins. Only the blood of Christ can wash away sins.
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."       Galatians 2:21

Jesus Christ transferred the sins of the elect onto Himself.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree"      1 Peter 2:24

The elect are the ones Christ died for. Jesus did not die for every single individual who would ever live; He only died for the elect.

"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth"      Romans 8:33

Only the elect will be saved.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matthew 24:31

God's elect consists of people of all colors and nations.
"thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation"       Revelation 5:9

God's elect are such a great number of people that they cannot even be numbered by man.
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands"     Revelation 7:9

Anyone who believes the gospel is one of God's elect.
"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God."
1 Thessalonians 1:4

But election is not based on works.
"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works"     Romans 9:11

In other words, election is not based on God foreseeing who would choose Him and therefore He elected them to be saved. That cannot be because the fallen nature of man is that he hates God and will not seek God.

"there is none that seeketh after God"       Romans 3:11

That's why God had to "elect" certain ones to be saved. If God waited around for someone to seek Him He would literally be waiting forever because no one would ever come to Him.

"there is none that seeketh after God"      Romans 3:11

The only time anyone seeks God is when God gives him or her a NEW nature. No one loves God until they are born again. Jesus said:

"Ye must be born again."     John 3:7

When God makes us born again, we love Him, we trust Him, we believe Him, we rest in His finished work for our salvation, and we seek Him continually because He gave us everlasting life.

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."     Ezekiel 36:26


 

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