Made righteous—by faith (1)

Here’s an amazing and life-changing truth. The God who made His sinless Son to “be sin” takes unrighteous people like us and makes them “righteous.” How does it happen? By works? No, by faith! “People are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners” (Romans 4:5 NLT). This righteousness isn’t about behaving the right way—it’s about believing the right way. You can’t become righteous in God’s eyes through human effort or keeping the law. You become righteous only through faith in Christ and trusting in His finished work on the cross. You say, “But I feel so guilty when I sin.” And you should; it’s a good deterrent! But Christ took away all your sins; therefore He took away all your guilt. So what are you feeling? Inner conflict! Your regenerated spirit lives in your unregenerated body, and it reacts the same way your natural body reacts to something harmful. Sin feels foreign to the new you, and when you indulge in it, the pleasure is brief and the aftermath is bad. In essence, your spiritual boundaries have been violated, and your regenerated spirit is telling you that you can’t indulge in sin anymore. That’s not who you are! The old you could have indulged in sin and enjoyed it, but the new you can’t, because you are “a new creation in Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). So rejoice! Today God sees you as “righteous,” therefore you can approach Him at any time with complete confidence (see Ephesians 3:12).