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The Righteousness of God
Ajayi Samuel Ojeva
Most men who are conscious of
God desire a right relationship with Him. This is rightly so, for
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:
23). "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one,
to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). "The wages of sin is death"
(Rom.6:23). The sin of Adam and Eve brought upon all men physical death
(1 Cor.15:20-22). Our individual, personal sins separate us from God.
This is spiritual death; "But your iniquities have separated you
from God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will
not hear" (Isaiah 59: 1-2). Sin will bring eternal death upon
unrepentant, unpardoned sinners, "But the cowardly, unbelieving,
abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death." (Rev.21:8). They will be
separated from God eternally (2 Thess.1: 7-9). Since we all have sinned
by transgressing the law of God (1Jn. 3:4), we are all alienated from God
(Col. 1:21), and we all need to be reconciled to God. We all need to be
made right with God.
God's Way of making this
possible is called "the righteousness of God." In other words,
the righteousness of God is His way of making man righteous, His way of
justifying man, God's plan of salvation. This plan is revealed in the
gospel, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes..., for in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" (Rom.1:16-17).
We must therefore turn to the gospel of Christ to know what God requires
of us to be made righteous. What is the gospel plan of salvation? What
must we do to obtain the forgiveness of sins?
Hearing the Gospel
For us to be reconciled to
God, we must hear the gospel of Christ. Jesus said, "Every one who
has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (John 6:45). God
teaches us through the preaching of the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Mk. 16:15).
Every man who desires to obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus
must listen to the gospel. Those who were saved on the day of Pentecost
heard the word first (Acts 2:37). The Corinthians heard the Gospel
preached to them (Acts 18:8). The Ephesians "heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation" (Eph. 1:13, NIV). It is this
gospel that reveals the lost state of man (Rom. 3:23; Col. 1:21), and
God's requirements for man to be saved (Rom. 1:16-17). It is the hearing
of the gospel that produces a saving faith (Rom. 10:17; Acts 18:8). Have
you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Faith in Jesus Christ
To be saved, you must believe
in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Jn. 3: 16).The necessity of believing
in Jesus as the Son of God in order to be saved is seen in Jesus'
declaration to the Jews in John 8: 24. "I said therefore to you,
that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you
shall die in your sins". To escape the wrath of God and to see life
you must believe in the Son. "He who believes in the Son has
everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God abides on him" (Jn. 3: 36). You must believe in
Jesus as your savior. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved" (Acts 4: 12). He is the propitiation for the sins of the
whole world (Rom. 3: 24-26; 1John 2: 2). You must believe in Him as your
Lord. Without faith it is Impossible to please God (Heb. 11: 6).
Not many people would deny
that faith is essential to salvation. However, many people teach that
just to have mental persuasion that Jesus is Lord and trust him for
salvation is what faith in Christ is all about. This is contrary to Bible
teaching. Jesus himself warned that, acknowledging submission to Him to
the exclusion of obedience to His word does not make him the Lord of a
person (Luke. 6:46; Matt. 7:21-23). He is the author of eternal salvation
to those who obey Him, not those who merely believe (Heb.5:9). The faith
that saves is a faith that moves a person to obey all that God has
commanded man to do in order to be saved (Jas. 2:17-26; Gal.5:6). If you
desire the salvation of your soul, you must believe and obey all things
that are revealed in the gospel (2Thess. 1:7-9). Do you trust in Jesus
and His sacrificial death for your salvation?
Repentance of Sins
To be saved, you must repent
of your sins. Repentance constitutes part of the gospel Jesus commanded
His disciples to preach (Luke. 24:47). On the day of Pentecost, men were
told to repent (Acts 2:38). In Acts 3:19, Peter told the Jews to
"repent." Because God has fixed a day for the judgment of men,
and yet, He does not want anyone to perish, He has commanded all men
everywhere to repent (2Pet. 3:9; Acts 17: 30). Repentance therefore, is
prerequisite to salvation. Everyone must have remorse for his sins; have
a change of heart, will, and way of life to be saved. Those who have
believed the wrong things must repent and turn to the truth for salvation
(Rom.2:4-9). Faith to the exclusion of repentance will save no man; only
those who forsake their sins will be forgiven (Prov. 28:13; Acts 2:38).
You must repent of your sins such as: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts
of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like;..Those who practice such things
will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal.5:19-21). The Bible warns, "Because
of those things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of
disobedience" (Col.3:5-6). Have you made the decision to turn
from your sins to serve the living God? Repent of your sins today,
tomorrow may be too late!
Confession of Jesus as Lord
For you to be saved, you must
confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Lord (Rom.10:9-10).
Having heard the gospel, believed in Jesus as the Son of God, and
repented of your sins, you must confess your faith in Jesus Christ. Only
those who confess Jesus Christ here on earth, will He confess before His
father in the last day (Matt. 10:32). Anyone who refuses to believe and
confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God has made God a liar (1Jn.
5:10-11). Remember that, if you fail to confess him now, you will do so
when you stand before him in judgment in the last day, but it will be to
your shame (Rom. 14:12; 2Cor.5:10). Today, He is your advocate and is
ready to save you if you will come to him (1John. 2:1-2; John 6:37;
5:40). On that day, He will be your judge, ready to take vengeance on you
for your unbelief and disobedience (Acts 10:42; 2 Thess. 1:7-10). Have
you acknowledged that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Won't you
confess Him today, that you may be saved?
Baptism into Christ
The final step that you must
take to be righteous before God, to be saved, is to be baptized into
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Many have denied over the years
that baptism is essential to salvation. But in the final words of Jesus
to His disciples before His ascension, He minced no words in emphasizing
the importance of baptism to salvation. Hear His words, "Go into all
the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and
has been baptized shall be saved, but he who has disbelieved shall be
condemned" (Mark 16:15-16, NASB). Let us note some points in His
statement here. First, He excluded infants from the subjects of baptism,
for He said, "He who has believed" is the one to be baptized
for salvation. Second, He did not say, he who has believed and is saved
should be baptized, but, "he who has believed and has been baptized
shall be saved", destroying in a moment, the doctrine of salvation
without, or, before baptism. When asked on the day of Pentecost,
"what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent, and let each
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins" (Acts 2:37-38).To Saul of Tarsus Ananias said,
"Arise, and be baptized, and wash your sins away" (Acts 22:16).
The Corinthians were once adulterers, fornicators etc, but they
"were washed, they (you) were sanctified, they were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor. 6:9-11). But when and how were
they washed, sanctified, and justified? This happened when "many of
the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized" (Acts18:8).
To be made righteous with God,
you must believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Lord, repent of your
sins, confess Jesus Christ and be buried with Christ By baptism for the
remission of your sins, by which you come into contact with His blood
which washes away your sins (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12-13), and then you are
raised with him to a new life. It is when you have done this, that you
have obeyed the gospel (Rom.6:16-17). Those who thus obey the gospel are
saved. They become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and are added
to the family of God, the Church of Christ (2 Cor.5:21; Acts 2:41-47; 1
Cor.12:13). This is the Church of Christ, made up of those who have been
reconciled to God, which Christ is coming back to take to Himself (Eph.
5:25-27).
You too can, and should be
reconciled to God today. Remember, all men outside of Christ are enemies
of God and are lost (Eph.2:11-13; Col. 1:21). Reconciliation to God is
possible only in Christ Jesus. You can be in Christ today if you will
believe in Him as the Son of God, repent of your sins, confess Jesus, and
be baptized into Him for the remission of your sins. You shall enjoy all
the spiritual blessings which are in Christ Jesus and eternal life shall
be yours. Why not act now?
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