Paul: His Life and His Teachings The Revelation of God’s Righteousness
watch
No.40 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Revelation of God’s Righteousness (Part 1)
No.41 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Revelation of God’s Righteousness (Part 2)
listen
overview
God always do the right thing - He is righteous. Because He is righteous, He wants His people to always do the right thing. So, He gave the command, “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers… (Deut. 6:18). Today, the same righteousness is what God wants to see in us, and He enables us to do so through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. In this lesson, we will study on the righteousness of God, and trace the imprints of God’s righteousness in all His handiwork. This is a revelation that we all need to understand and keep in our hearts. Let us start with the Gospel – God’s redemptive plan for man through the substitutionary works of Jesus Christ. Paul, the revealer of God’s righteousness devoted a significant amount of his letters explaining the Gospel message both to the Jews and the Gentiles alike. His letter to the Romans is perhaps the most organized treatise about God’s righteous plan among His epistles.
After Paul introduces himself as a servant of the Gospel, Paul presented the grave consequences of man’s rejection of God’s righteousness. In chapter 3, Paul sets the stage for the Gospel by presenting the need for salvation by grace given that the Old Testament prophecies remains in effect despite the Israel’s unbelief. In verse 9, Paul just show that Jews and Gentiles are both under sin, i.e., under the bondage of sin. This speaks of the universality of the Fall. Notice that Paul’s letter to the Romans is directed to predominantly Gentile population. Through all these, God has been revealing and establishing His righteousness upon the earth. God is not looking for people whom He can condemn and sent to hell. He has been looking for people whom He can impute or impart His righteousness to. And this righteousness comes by the preaching of the gospel and believing in them. The same Gospel however presents judgment to humanity whom altogether is under the bondage of sin. Paul writes, “No one is righteous. No one understands. No one seeks God. All have turned away and became useless.” In the eyes of God, this is not good.
All are guilty before God - both those who are under the law and those who are not under the law. Just like in a court trial, our case is defenseless because of the weight of evidences which has been brought against us. And without saying a word we await our condemnation. God’s solution to the grave situation we are in is righteousness that comes by faith and not by the law. Paul expressed this in more detail in chapter 7. Due to man’s helplessness, the deliverance can only come through the power of the gospel, the proclaimed Word. This speaks of the intervention of God on the previously described malignancy of sin. Paul is indicating that a new age of God’s righteousness has broken. God in His righteousness has the way of making man righteous in His sight again. This is what He is revealing now. So, the righteousness of God is God’s way of putting man right with Him. Things are now going to change with the righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believe. By faith in Jesus Christ, man could once again partake of God’s righteousness. Faith here is not just a mental assent. Rather, it is a belief in everything that Christ represents, His finished work, His person, His teachings. This is believing the gospel (death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ). We need to believe in the efficacy of His sacrifice and His blood. This involves acceptance of one’s sinfulness. That no one is more holy than the others in the eyes of God. All have sinned and comes short of the glory of God. Likewise, it involves the acceptance of God’s gift. Jesus Christ, and His grace justified us freely. He purchased our redemption. We should not boast about this because the whole thing is a free gift. No amount of work can earn the salvation that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. We should be thankful to God for His forbearance, for His love, mercy, and grace. Praise be to God!