Note: I have a short set of very simple PowerPoint slides that I will be happy to provide on request. They're very plain and have only the two equations mentioned plus a few of the major points in the sermon. Email me at sam@srmccormick.net with the subject: Righteous By Faith slides if you're interested and I'll email them directly to you.
RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH
Ask yourself, “Am I righteous?”
Few people would answer with an unqualified “yes.”
But if your answer is “yes,” and you believe that you are righteous through unblemished right living, I hope to convince you to the contrary.
It’s hard to answer “yes” because:
• We don’t want to appear self-righteous
• If we’re honest, we recognize our faults and failings.
If these thoughts compel you to answer “no,” the next question is, “Am I capable of being righteous?”
Some of you may be mentally fast-forwarding to where you know I’m going with these questions; but even if you are, I hope to offer some thoughts to make your time well-spent, for many of us harbor lingering doubts, and are haunted by fears, knowing that people who mean well and strive to be righteous sometimes “go off the rails.”
1. These are important questions.
Your eternal destiny depends on it. Jesus told a parable of sheep and goats.
Matthew 25:31-34
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
The sheep represent the righteous as those who minister to the lonely, hurting, and needy, for he says:
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' (vs 37-39)
He sends those on his left--who did not minister to others in need--to eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and says (v46)
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Jesus parable teaches us righteousness is essential to entering heaven, and fastens righteousness to our actions.
Our problem is that unrighteousness is also attached to our actions.
Not only must we be righteous, but our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. As Jesus told the multitude, Matthew 5:20:
… I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
To get into heaven, one must have exceeding righteousness. It must go beyond that of the leading religious figures of the time.
How is it possible to exceed that standard? (For we must, to have a saving righteousness.)
2. The next question: “Who is righteous?”
The answer: Romans 3:10 (quoted from Psalm 14)
as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
3. The equation:
Fact: The righteous will be saved
+
Fact: No one is righteous
=
Inference: No one will be saved
Is this equation a true way of looking at these scriptures? If not, what are we misunderstanding?
4. Can anyone be saved?
This equation causes us to stew and fret about our salvation.
1 Peter 4:18 And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
5. The Bible speaks about some who were righteous.
It is evident that even though Paul quoted the scriptures, “None is righteous, no not one,” the scriptures do speak of some righteous people.
a. We know Abraham was not sinless, for he lied more than once and went in to his wife’s servant Hagar, doubting God’s promises.
Yet Abraham was counted righteous because of a powerful, active faith.
Think of what God required Abraham to do (Sacrifice Isaac the child of promise-Gen 22).
Even in spite of his missteps, Abraham held God in reverence and sought to please him, at extreme pain and loss to himself.
b. Noah – Gen 6:9 ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
c. Lot
2 Pet 2:7-8 ... if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)...
d. Zachariah & Elizabeth
Luke 1:5-6 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
e. John the Baptist
Mark 6:20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
f. Simeon
Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
g. Joseph of Arimathea
Luke 23:50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man,
h. The righteous have an effective avenue of speaking to God in prayer.
• James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
• Psalms 1:6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
• Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
• 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
i. The Lord hears the anguished cry of the righteous.
• Psalms 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
j. The “wheat” in the parable of the tares
Matt 13:43 - Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
l. Those who practice righteousness
1 John 3:7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous… (An amazing statement!)
So we wonder, “if none are righteous, how were these counted as righteous?
Here we have made a circle to our starting point. All this is true, but is it a story about no one, therefore no story at all?
If none are righteous, then these are not righteous.
6. The “equation” is false because it is incomplete.
Righteous as expressed in this equation is absolute, but since we never achieve that, we tend to think of righteousness in relative, or comparative terms, and ask:
• Is righteousness a matter of degrees, and will I be saved if I am righteous enough?”
• “I know I’m not righteous, but do I come close enough?”
• “In comparison to people who are more unrighteous, I may feel pretty righteous – but does God see me in that way?”
• I know God is longsuffering and will abundantly pardon, but
“How much unrigheousness is God willing to forgive, so that, on balance, he considers me more righteous than unrighteous?
Relative righteousness is not enough. It will not save.
No one has enough of it, for no amount is enough.
We cannot save ourselves.
If we could be saved by being comparatively righteous, Jesus died for nothing.
If it is not a matter of degrees, this equation is true, and no one will be saved.
The “none righteous, none saved” equation fails to account for all the relevant factors. It does not take Christ into account. The equation is a true of the world’s condition without Christ.
Jesus told his disciples:
“it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt 19:25)
“Who then can be saved?” they asked.
His answer: “ v26
With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Jesus here changes the equation, making it difficult (and in fact impossible with man), but with God, possible.
But Jesus opens the door, saying “with God all things are possible.”
The writer of the Hebrew letter walks through that open door.
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Jesus, as high priest, presents our plea for righteousness before the Father’s throne. By this means, Jesus is able to cleanse and make holy those who come to him in faith.
Fact: The righteous will be saved
+
Fact: No one is righteous
+
A functioning faith in Christ
=
Saved by righteous not our own
And that is the good news of the gospel.
a. Jesus righteousness is accounted to those who have a functioning faith
Jeremiah 23:5-6 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'
The righteousness that we cannot supply, God provides as a gift, by paying the penalty for sin himself.
b. Since righteousness does not come from within myself, how can I be sure I have access to that righteousness that is not my own?
Righteousness based on faith.
Romans 10:6-9
But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
When all the basics of faith are in operation, we not only know joy but can live a holy life and be reassured of salvation – even though we are still far from perfect – for we come to God with a righteousness not our own.
Philippians 3:8-9 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
7. “Pursue righteousness”
Righteousness is to be pursued.
Righteousness does not mean we who believe do not have any faults, or that we don’t need to combat sin, and bolster our defenses against temptation.
1 Timothy 6:11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
Proverbs 15:8-9 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
Matt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
It doesn’t fall on us like rain, that falls on the just and the unjust.
Effort is required to reach it.
Abraham is our striking model of faith.
• Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."
• Romans 4:9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
• Galatians 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?
One of the paths available to Abraham was to tell God, “I believe in you, and I know you love me and my son Isaac, so I just don’t believe you really want me to do this. My faith is in your promise concerning Isaac.”
Sometimes we find ourselves in a war of wills—our own vs. God’s.
Pursuing righteousness involves a surrender of our own will, and yielding our bodies as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
That is what Abraham did.
When we have that kind of functioning faith in operation, we are the people Paul wrote about:
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Romans 4:8
Abraham was such a man; but he didn’t have anything we can’t have.
We are saved by faith. Abraham is our model of faith.
He had to give up something precious, that he believed God wanted him to have – but he didn’t lose Isaac after all by giving him to God.
Sin is the contaminant that destroys righteousness. Becoming righteous by acquiring the righteousness of Christ separates us from our own sins as far as the east is from the west. As Ananias explained to Saul at Damascus, he was to shed his sins by washing them away in baptism (see Acts 22:16). When Saul did so, the righteousness of Christ was ascribed to him, and with his new name--Paul--he spent the rest of his life telling others of the righteousness found only in Jesus Christ.
