Righteousness

This is going to be very short, but if I say it like it needs to be said it’s also going to be very important. We’re going to talk about righteousness, which just happens to be the word that came to me. You could put several other words in the same place: holiness, faith, love, sanctification, could work in this message.

Romans 3:10,12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.
12 There is none that do good, no, not one.

This is written in the Psalms 14 and 53 and Paul repeats it.

There is none righteous, no, not one. That is a concrete statement. It doesn’t change. There are none righteous, no, not one. That means man has no righteousness; no man: non-Christians, Christians, or Christians with great spirituality. It makes no difference; there are none righteous, no, not one. The only righteous one is the Lord Jesus Himself. He is righteous, so He has to be our righteousness. When He comes forth in us as the righteous One and only then is there righteousness in us. He is the righteous One. He is our holiness, our faith, our love, our sanctification, our all in all (Ephesians 1:23).

We have talked about this same principle in other messages in terms of a prophet or an apostle. There’s only one apostle and that’s the Lord. The one He apostles through has an apostolic ministry, but He is the Apostle, not the one He is ministering through. When the individual regards himself as the apostle, his ministry becomes limited and polluted. The ministry of the Lord is limited when the individual claims the ministry as his own. The Lord will not share His glory with another. I am the Lord: that is My name; and My glory will I not give to another. Isaiah 42:8. Whenever the individual is the apostle or the prophet, there is a limitation on the ministry of the Lord through him. It is tainted, because of man’s nature.

Romans 4:5 But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

The believing in Him, He counts as righteousness, but that doesn’t make you in yourself righteous. Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham believed God and God counted it for righteousness. In other words, it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Abraham wasn’t any more righteous than he was to start with, but God reckoned it and counted him as righteous even though he wasn’t. So the righteousness is still of God. It was not of Abraham. He did not have righteousness in his nature.

Romans 10:1-3 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
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.

When a person is trying to be righteous, it is evident that he is not in submission to the righteousness of God. If he is trying to be a prophet, then he’s not being submissive to the Prophet, the Lord Himself, or an apostle. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard, “By faith you can do this, and by faith you can do that.” If you are talking about your faith, then you’re missing it. It’s His faith! It is the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes it work. We cannot claim these things as our own.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” Paul doesn’t even claim a life outside of Christ.

“Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by my faith?” No! “I live by the faith of the Son of God.”

It is His faith. In other words, Paul is saying, “I can’t even claim this faith as my own. It is His faith. I live by His faith! He is my righteousness!”

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