Jeremiah 23:6 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 Our Righteousness.

Studying the various prophetic names for Christ can be very enlightening. This one is certainly echoed in the New Testament. Paul goes on at length about righteousness by faith in Christ in Romans and elsewhere, and the same note is picked up in Hebrews and 2 Peter. Probably the most explicit passage is 1 Corinthians 1:30 “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Jesus Christ is indeed The Lord our Righteousness. This is vitally important, because every other religion demands a righteousness based on works. Christ being our righteousness isn’t an excuse to sin – Paul had to deal with that in Romans, too – but it removes the pressure of performance. We have such trouble accepting this, because we aren’t worthy of it, and because we want to be worthy, that is, we want to be able to say that we did it. That’s pride! That is actually a major hindrance to people accepting the Gospel. They have experienced so little unconditional love that they can’t believe God would make righteousness and salvation available simply on the basis of faith. I have seen students who felt they had to make good grades for their parents to love them. I’ve seen girls who felt they had to fit a particular standard of beauty for people to love them. The list could go on and on, but the point is, God loves us because He is love, and He created us. One of the most important statements in the whole Bible is found in Ephesians 2:8-9. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” We want to be able to boast! However, the Bible is clear that salvation is for the humble. (1 Peter 5:5-6 and many others)

This is of course something I’ve had to learn, sometimes the hard way. I did experience unconditional love as a child, and so had little difficulty believing God loved me, but I got to thinking I deserved it! I was an adult before the reality of my own sinfulness really came crashing down on me, even though that sinfulness had been express-ed many times in many ways before that. As a pastor/teacher doing the work of an evangelist, I have to communicate both that everyone is a sinner and that God loves us anyway, enough to give His Son to take the penalty for our sin. That flies in the face of both human logic and human pride, so I must rely on the Holy Spirit to prepare people’s hearts to receive the message I speak. However, He is certainly up to the task, so I must never be discouraged, much less give up.

Father, thank You both for Your love and grace and for the privilege of sharing Your love and grace with others. Thank You for last night, when I saw Your words through me shaking the barriers around someone who has resisted Your Gospel for a long time. I pray that those barriers would crumble soon, so that He may join me in Your family. Lord, there are many like him in this city. I pray for a massive outpouring of Your Spirit to wash away all barriers to the Gospel, so that great numbers of people may be gathered into Your kingdom, set free from all the lying traps of the enemy, that Christ may be Lord indeed in this city, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!