Monday, 13 June 2016

I'm Not Good Enough to Be A Christian.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord is Our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:6

Are you a Christian who has given up or feels terrible about how much you sin?  Are you someone who doesn't become a Christian because you think you can never be good enough?

I have been both of these people.
But there is good news.
The Lord Jesus is our righteousness. 

Jesus lived a righteous life for us. 
He knows we  cannot be righteous.
His righteousness covers us like a robe or coat.
We can, "come boldly to the throne of grace..." just as we are - every day.

"And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was recorded but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Romans 4:22,23

"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile."  Romans 3:22

"..that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Philippians 3:8-11

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."  Isaiah 64:6

We are saved by grace through our faith (or belief in God and that he sent his Son to save us) not by one thing we do.