Christ Our Righteousness

Two of the most common criticisms I hear of Christians is that we are self-righteous and that we are hypocrites. The latter charge has an element of truth because, as Christians, we subscribe to a faith that calls us to be holy and righteous. But since we’re still in the process of putting that old sinful self to death, we often don’t look all that holy to the outside observer. So, when someone accuses me of hypocrisy because of my failure to fully reflect the Christ I profess, the only thing I can do is agree that I’m a work in progress and promise to keep trying.

The charge of self-righteousness is another matter. To accuse a believer of self-righteousness or for a professing Christian to act in a manner that would justify such a charge misses the entire meaning of the redemptive work of Christ. In our natural state, none of us are righteous.

“as it is written:
‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.’” Romans 3:10-11

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”—1 John 1:8

You may think that these charges apply only to the unredeemed sinner, and once we come to Christ in faith our sin is “taken away.” Unfortunately that’s sometimes how it is phrased. What is taken away is our guilt because our sin is forgiven. Some say that this open’s God up to the charge of hypocrisy because he declares us sinners to be righteous. Isn’t it a contradiction for a just and holy God to subvert His own system of justice by allowing us to be forgiven without paying the penalty for our sin?

Of course we, as Christians, know that we don’t have to pay the penalty for our sins because Christ paid in our stead when he suffered and died on the cross. We also know that by faith we are declared righteous and free from the guilt of sin. Just says it says in Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

So, from this, we might draw the conclusion that faith is the basis of our justification. No, the basis of our justification is the perfect righteousness of Christ. Faith is just the means by which we receive that righteousness. The next question might be: Ok, then where does faith come from? We often think that faith is something we are responsible to generate within ourselves. But this is contrary to what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Paul is telling us that faith is the gift of God that comes by His grace. What, then, is our responsibility? It is to respond to the gift we have received in gratitude—praising and glorifying our great God for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. As we begin to live our lives in the light of Christ’s righteousness, we become ever more aware of our own sin. Then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can begin putting it aside, and look forward to that final stage of our salvation process when we are glorified in the presence of the Father, and our sins are truly taken away.

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” —2 Corinthians 5:1-5