"CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"
ROMANS 10:1-4; PHILIPPIANS 3:8-10

INTRO: What comes to mind when I say the word Righteousness? The
dictionary defines it this way: "Conforming to a standard of right and
justice; virtuous. The act of being morally right" (Funk & Wagnalls
Standard Desk Dictionary, Volume 2, N-Z, p. 574). But How does God
define righteousness? The matter of righteousness is what this Bible is
all about. It is what Calvary and the Cross are all about. It is what the
Church and Christian religion are all about. What is Righteousness?
According to God’s Word, righteousness is bringing people by to God’s
standard of righteousness. The Chinese character for "righteousness"
is most interesting. It is composed of two separate characters - one
standing for a lamb, the other for me. When "lamb" is placed directly
above "me," a new character - "righteousness" is formed. This is a
helpful picture of the grace of God. Between me, the sinner, and God,
the Holy One, there is interposed by faith the Lamb of God. By virtue
of his sacrifice he has received me on the ground of faith, and I have
become righteous in his sight.

How are we brought up to God’s standard of righteousness? By faith
in His Son, Jesus. Romans 3:21-26 tells us, "But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is
no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that
are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time
his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus." The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:7-9 that
knowing Christ and be found in HIM was what mattered: "But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in
Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith." The only way you or I may enter Heaven is through the
righteousness of Christ. What does it profit us to gain all this life
has to offer and have not the righteousness of Christ put to our
account? NOTHING! Our Lord Jesus asked in Mark 8:36-37—"For
what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his
own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

When we speak of the "Righteousness of Christ" we mean that none of
us are what God wants us to be; that we are sinners. Isaiah 64:6 tells
us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are
as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the
wind, have taken us away." We are unable to lift ourselves up to
God’s standard. The Bible tells us that Christ has taken our place,
and when we receive Christ by faith, God accepts us on the merit of
Christ’s righteousness not ours. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He
hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him." If I look through a piece of red glass,
everything is red. If we look through a piece of blue glass, everything
is blue. If we look through a piece of yellow glass, everything is yellow,
and so on. When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God looks
at us through the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees us in all the white
holiness of His Son. Our sins are imputed to the account of Christ
and his righteousness to our account.

CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS is a glorious truth. But please note IT
IS:

(1) REQUIRED OF SINNERS
ROMANS 10:1-4—"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God
for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear record that
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."

A. THE REQUIREMENT. God is Holy and He requires that we be holy
also. In Leviticus 19:2 the Lord told Moses, "Speak unto all the
congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be
holy: for I the LORD your God am holy." Peter echoes these words in 1
Peter 1:15-16—"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy
in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am
holy." The only way we can "Be ye holy, am I am holy," as God demands
is for us to have the Righteousness of Christ. Someone has said, "God
never alters the robe of righteousness to fit man; He changes the man to
fit the robe." Once we receive Christ as our Savior, we are made anew.
And daily, as we follow the leadership of God’s Spirit and the commands
of God’s Word, we become more of what God would have us to be!

ILLUS: Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote: "Our God is a demanding God,
an exigent God. His very nature demands of Him that He
demand of us more than we can ever supply. The requirement
of His righteousness is a righteousness equal to His own. He
could never accept human righteousness as a compromising
payment. Perfection demands perfection; that is why salvation
must be by grace, and why works are not sufficient. The glory
of grace is that our God is not only a demanding God, He is a
supplying God. Never has He required anything of us that He
has not furnished us as a gift of His sovereign grace. His
demand of righteousness has been fully met by that which was
manifested for us in Christ. In a devotional book The Canon of
Winchester says, ‘The demands of holiness are so great that the
resources to meet them are simply not to be found within the
competence of our human nature.’ Who is sufficient, then, to
meet the daily demands of God? Once more it must be seen
that what God requires, He provides. The Christian life comes
on the installment buying plan. There is a down payment of
righteousness and a daily installment of holiness, one required
for entrance into eternal life and the other for enjoying fellow-
ship and blessings. God will not accept human righteousness
for salvation any more than an automobile salesman will
accept counterfeit money as a down payment on a new model
car. Nor can He accept the average goodness of average
Christians as the basis for showering us with the special,
abundant blessings which He must reserve for those who bring
Him that which He requires. Just as God provided Christ as
the down payment, so He has provided Christ as the continuing
payment of holiness. The second must be appropriated by faith
even as the first. ‘He is made unto us….righteousness,
sanctification...’ (1 Cor. 1:30). The Holy Spirit brings
righteousness when He bears new life in us at the new birth,
and He applies righteousness to us every hour of our life. The
provision is fully made, and thus are the demands of holiness
met" (1).

God requires for sinners to enter Heaven they have the Righteousness of
Christ put to their account. But notice also…

B. THE REASON. As Isaiah 64:6 tells us, "But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…" John Wesley
said, "The very best of us all are no better than the uncleanest things"
(John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes). The words "filthy rags" in Isaiah
64:6 literally mean "a "menstruous rag" (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Commentary). That’s the best we can do apart from the righteousness
of Christ! We are filthy, unrighteous, unholy apart from Christ! But
when we receive Christ as our Savior, His Righteousness becomes our
righteousness. And we are accepted by God for this cause.

ILLUS: Charles Spurgeon said, "Saints are so righteous in Jesus
Christ that they are more righteous than Adam was before
he fell, for he had but a creature righteousness, and they have
the righteousness of the Creator. He had a righteousness
which he lost, but believers have righteousness which they can
lose, an everlasting righteousness" (2).

Either Christ becomes your righteousness or you remain in yours sins,
and pay for them yourself in the eternal flames of hell. The choice is
your and yours alone!

The Righteousness of Christ IS REQUIRED OF SINNERS, but also it is…

(2) REVEALED IN THE SCRIPTURES
ROMANS 10:3-4—"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."

*Where is this required righteousness found? It is revealed in the Word of
God! It is:

A. REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Adam and Eve after the Fall
were covered of their nakedness by God who slew a lamb as their
covering. This lamb slain was merely a picture, a foretaste of the
perfect, righteous, holy Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of all
mankind. 1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
Abel was accepted by God because he came with a blood sacrifice, and
Cain was rejected because his was not of blood. Isaac was to be killed
as a sacrifice by his father Abraham but the ram caught in the thicket
took his place. The Israelites on the Passover while in Egyptian
bondage were told to apply the blood to the doorposts so they could
escape the judgment of God. They were covered by the blood! All of the
Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the righteous, Holy Lamb of God
Who was slain for our sins. Isaiah 53 foretells the coming of God’s
Righteous Lamb Would be slain for the sins of man.

ILLUS: A young converted Jewess, daughter of a New York rabbi,
tells this story:

My father taught me to read the Bible in Hebrew when a young
child. We began at Genesis. When we came to Isaiah he
skipped the fifty-third chapter. I asked him why. He said it was
not necessary for Jews to read that chapter. I became more
curious. I asked him who it was for, and he said Christians. I
asked him what the Christian Bible was doing in our Bible. He
became very angry and told me to keep quiet. He said again it
was not necessary to read it. I wondered why God would put
unnecessary things in the Bible. I copied the fifty-third chapter
on paper and carried it in my stocking for two years until I
came to America--the free country. I looked at it at night and
every chance I could without being seen. I took better care of
that paper than people do of money. Through reading this
wonderful chapter I was led to accept Christ as my Saviour. I
was walking in New York one day and heard a lady reading this
chapter. She explained that it referred to Jesus Christ. It
satisfied me completely. --Sunday School Times

The Old Testament reveals that to be accepted by God and have one’s
sins covered one had to have the blood. Thus faith in the blood became
their righteousness. What about in the New Testament? THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IS:

B. REVEALED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. John preached it. In John 1:
29 we read, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"
Warren Wiersbe wrote: "John’s announcement is the answer to Isaac’s
question, ‘where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ (Gen. 22:7). The
Passover lamb in Ex. 12 and the sacrificial lamb in Isaiah 53 point to
Christ. There were many lambs slain in Old Testament history, but
Christ is the Lamb of God, the unique one. The blood of lambs slain in
tabernacle or temple merely covered sin (Heb. 10:1-4), but Christ’s
blood takes away sin. The lambs offered in the Old Testament days
were for Israel alone, but Christ died for the sins of the whole world" (3).
Jesus, Himself, said He was the only way (John 14:6). Without him
there would be no Way revealed; no divine and saving truth, no
immortal life (The People’s New Testament Commentary). The Apostles
preached this truth. Acts 4:12—"Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved." Matthew Henry said, "The name of Jesus is given to
men of every age and nation, as that whereby alone believers are saved
from the wrath to come" (4). Paul wrote of Israel in Romans 10:3—"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." Israel was saying in essence, "There must be
another way." But Christ is the ONLY WAY! Because as v4 tells us,
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believeth." The meaning is that the whole law pointed to Christ, and his
righteousness. They were its object. Yet the Jews clung to the law, and
refused to believe upon Christ, in whom the law met its fulfillment. As
long as the Jews remained in unbelief, they were cut off from Christ. He
who believes submits to God's plan of righteousness (The People’s New
Testament Commentary). There is no righteousness apart from Christ!

C. REVEALED AS THE ONLY WAY! Proverbs 16:25 says, "There is a
way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of
death." Jesus Christ is God’s only Way to righteousness. It is:

1. Not By Works. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Oliver B. Greene in his
Commentary on Ephesians wrote: "In Ephesians 2:8-10 we have the
origin and outcome of salvation…by grace, through faith, ye are
saved…it is the gift of God, not ourselves. We have the certainty of
salvation: ‘Ye ARE saved!’ We have the fact clearly set forth that
salvation IS God’s gift…man has nothing to do with redemption.
All you or I can do to become the recipient of salvation is to hear the
Gospel, and receive Jesus through faith brought to our heart by
hearing the Gospel. It is all of God, beloved. I have been preaching
the Gospel for many years, and the hardest thing on this earth for
me to get across to people is the Bible fact that man cannot save
himself—nor can man help God save him. Salvation is totally and
entirely of God" (5).

Who could have possibly had more and better works than did the
Pharisees? Yet, Jesus said ours must be greater than theirs!
In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, "For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

2. Not By Religion. Our Lord said in Matthew 7:21-23—"Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
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." "Most people
in America have just enough religion to keep them from getting the
real thing. They have just enough to inoculate them against God!"-
Billy Graham S.B.C. 1982

The Righteousness of Christ IS: REQUIRED FOR SINNERS, REVEALED IN THE
SCRIPTURES and…

(3) RECEIVED BY THE SPIRIT
JOHN 3:5-8; JOHN 16:7-11

*Notice with me:

A. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WOOING. The word Woo means "To
entreat earnestly. To invite to seek" (Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk
Dictionary. Volume 2, N-Z. p. 789). It is the Holy Spirit Who prepares
the heart to receive Christ. Warren Wiersbe wrote: "You cannot produce
a spiritual birth with physical means. The new birth can only be
produced by spiritual means. What are these means? The Spirit of God
(John 3:6 and 6:63), and the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18). A
person is born again when the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to
produce faith and impart the new nature when the person believes. The
Spirit usually uses a believer to give the Word to another person, but
only the Spirit can impart life" (6).

ILLUS: Charles Spurgeon said, "Unless the Holy Ghost blesses the
Word, we who preach the gospel are of all men most miserable,
for we have attempted a task that is impossible. We have
entered into a sphere where nothing but the supernatural will
ever avail. If the Holy Spirit does not renew the hearts of our
hearers, we cannot do it. If the Holy Ghost does not regenerate
them, we cannot. If He does not send the truth home in their
souls, we might as well speak into the ear of a corpse" (7).

We have some examples of the "wooing" of the Spirit:

Those who heard Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:37—"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Lydia. Acts 16:14—"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."
Felix. Acts 24:25—"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."

B. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians
in 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6—"For our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance;
as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
And ye became followers of us, and the Lord, having received the word
in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." The Word is ineffective
without the Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit changes people when
they believe the Good News. When we tell others about Christ, we
must depend on the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and convince them
that they need salvation. His power changes them—not our cleverness
or persuasion. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, our words are
meaningless. The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of sin but also
assures them of the truth of the gospel (8).

ILLUS: Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It
brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that
light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy
to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the
World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their
inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the
Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but
only the Spirit can give sight. -- A.W. Tozer, Born After
Midnight. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 5.

C. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORK. The New Birth is the work of
the Holy Spirit. When the Word has been heard, the heart prepared;
the Holy Spirit then grants both repentance and faith (Ephesians 2:8).

ILLUS: "By the testimony of the Spirit, I mean, an inward impression
on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God immediately and
directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that
Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given Himself for me; that all
my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God ...
He so works upon the soul by His immediate influence, and by
a strong, though inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind
and troubled waves subside, and there is a sweet calm; the
heart resting as in the arms of Jesus, and the sinner being
clearly satisfied that God is reconciled, that all his 'iniquities
are forgiven, and his sins covered'." John Wesley, Works V,
124-125.

It is by grace we become recipients of Christ’s righteousness
(Ephesians 2:8).

(4) RESULTS IN CHANGED LIVES
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17—"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things
are become new."

ILLUS: When a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly it becomes a
totally new creature. A metamorphose takes place. "Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new
has come! (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV) – Unknown

*When Christ’s Righteousness becomes our righteousness things will
change. What are some of these changes? WE:
A. CHANGE MASTERS—FROM SATAN TO GOD. Paul said in Romans 6:
17—"But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."

ILLUS: In certain skilled crafts, an apprentice trains under a
"master," who trains, shapes, and molds his apprentice in the
finer points of his craft. As spiritual people, we choose a
master and pattern ourselves after him. Without Jesus, we
would have no choice—we would have to apprentice ourselves
to sin, and the results would be guilt, suffering, and
separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, however, we can
choose God as our master (9).

B. CHANGE ROADS—FROM THE BROAD WAY TO THE NARROW WAY.
Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14—"Enter ye in at the strait
gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there
be that find it." All without Christ are on the broad way that leads to
destruction! But thank God when we receive Christ we change roads!

C. CHANGE ASSOCIATIONS—FROM THE WORLD TO THE CHURCH.
When a person receives Christ and His righteousness his associations
change. This world no longer loves him, nor befriends him. In John
15:18-19 the Lord tells us, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated
me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his
own; but because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you."

ILLUS: A man said to D. L. Moody, "Now that I am converted, have I
got to give up the world?" Mr. Moody answered, "No, you do
not have to give up the world; if you have a good ringing
testimony for the Son of God, the world will give you up pretty
quick; they will not want you around."

Hugh McIntosh said, "A genuine Christian ought to be as
distinguishable among his fellows as a civilized man among savages"
(10). Why? We change associations!

D. CHANGE DESTINIES—FROM HELL TO HEAVEN. Let me assure you
this morning that the person who is trusting in their own
righteousness to get them to Heaven instead to having Christ’s
righteousness applied to their life will spend eternity in hell! God
accepts only Christ’s righteousness for entrance into Heaven. As Titus
3:5-6 tells us, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
the renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which was shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

CLOSING: Are you ready to make the change? Are you tired in trying to be
good enough, live good enough, and act good enough to go to
Heaven? To go to Heaven when you leave this life, you must have
the righteousness of Christ applied to your life! That is the only
thing which will merit you a home in Heaven. Christ Our
Righteousness is REQUIRED OF SINNERS, REVEALED IN THE
SCRIPTURES, RECEIVED BY THE SPIRIT, and RESULTS IN
CHANGED LIVES. Is Christ’s Righteousness your righteousness?

NOTES: 1. Donald Grey Barnhouse. Illustrating Great Themes of Scripture.
pp. 172-173.
2. Charles H. Spurgeon. 2200 Quotations From The Writings of
Charles H. Spurgeon. p. 178.
3. Warren W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines On The New
Testament. p. 212.
Owen Collins. The Classic Bible Commentary. p. 1158.
Oliver B. Greene. The Epistle of Paul The Apostle to The
Ephesians. pp. 87-88.
Wiersbe. p. 218.
Spurgeon. pp. 102-103.
Living Letters From The Life Application Bible. p. 160.
Living Letters. p. 25.
10. Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary &
Classical. p. 36.