Jeremiah 33:16 “In those days Judah will be saved
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’”

The physical blessings of Jerusalem mentioned in this chapter are partially fulfilled, but the Lord being our righteousness was fulfilled on Calvary. As Paul said, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) That is the total and eternal fulfillment of this Word to Jeremiah. We aren’t to be presumptive about it, and we certainly aren’t to think that what we do doesn’t matter anymore, but the whole question of whether we are righteous and acceptable to our Creator was settled forever on the cross of Christ, if we will accept it by faith. It’s a very strange situation, really, because when we discard our own “righteousness,” recognizing that it is worthless, (Isaiah 64:6) and place our trust in Jesus, the Righteous One of God, then we will act righteously! It doesn’t make much sense to our human intellect, but it is glorious reality in the kingdom of God. To me, a good definition of righteousness is displaying the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in the context of being obedient to God. Of course, that requires faith and submission to God, but in that case we can resist the devil, the driving force behind unrighteousness, and he will flee from us. (James 4:7) The world is currently filled with unrighteousness, but the only real cure for that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is something I have known in my head for quite a while, but it is still being worked out in my heart and life. I am not immune to temptations of all sorts, and I must never forget my weakness. At the same time, I am to have total confidence in my Lord, because He can do anything at all, even in and through me. I have no personal righteousness of which to brag, but my Lord is indeed my righteousness, and by His grace, that is manifested more and more, even in and through me.

Father, I am very aware of my inability to be righteous on my own. Thank You. Help me keep my eyes off of myself and fix them on Jesus my Lord, (Hebrews 12:2) so that Your righteousness may be manifested indeed, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!