What’s in a name? Everything! (5)

The name Jehovah-Tsidkenu: the Lord my righteousness, was given by God to Jeremiah, announcing the coming of Jesus. “I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line…And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness’” (vv. 5-6 NLT). Before Jesus came, our righteousness was dependent on our own efforts. “We will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us” (Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT). But we failed the righteousness test big time! Then the “Lord our righteousness” became our solution. Here’s how: God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV). Notice, in Jesus we’ve “become” [been converted…turned into] righteous before God! We’re not to try to do right just so we can feel right before God or generate a supply of good works to draw from when we need credit. We’re to draw what we need from the righteousness deposited into our account by Christ. If we need humility, purity, patience, kindness, or love, it’s useless to look within ourselves. They’re just not there! We must draw them by faith from the supply stored up for us in Jesus. Guilty hearts can draw forgiveness, anxious spirits can draw peace, weary souls can draw strength, and confused minds can draw guidance from our inexhaustible supply in Jehovah-Tsidkenu. Just as you receive salvation by faith, you must draw righteousness and everything else you need through faith in what God has accomplished and stored up for your use in Jesus—the Lord your righteousness!