The Righteousness Which is of God by Faith in Christ JESUS

"...and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." -Philippians 3:9 [KJV]

Here are the two righteousnesses clearly laid down, in one or other of which we must all stand before God—the righteousness which is of the law, and the righteousness which is of God by faith in Christ. But bear this in mind, that a righteousness to be available before God must be a perfect righteousness. This righteousness no man ever did or could produce by his own obedience to the law, for no man ever yet loved God "with all his heart and soul and mind and strength, and his neighbour as himself;" and if a man do not thus love God and thus love his neighbour, he is accursed and condemned already by that righteous law which curseth "every one who continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."

Now the apostle felt that as this righteousness could not be yielded by himself as a fallen sinner, he must necessarily fall under the condemnation and curse attached to that holy law. Trembling, therefore, in his conscience, as feeling that the wrath of God was revealed against him, and all unjustified sinners in a broken law, and knowing that he must sink for ever under the terrible indignation of the Almighty, if he had no covering for his needy, naked soul but his own righteousness, he fled out of it to find justification and acceptance, mercy and peace in the righteousness of Christ. Thenceforth he "was determined to know nothing, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified," and Jesus became to him his "all in all."

When once he had been favoured with a view of the righteousness of the Son of God, he wanted no other for time or eternity. He saw by faith the words and works of the God-man, and he beheld Deity stamped upon every thought, word, and action of that pure humanity with which it was in union, and thus investing them with a merit beyond all conception or expression of men or angels. He saw Him by faith bearing his sins in His own body on the tree, and by His active and passive obedience working out a righteousness acceptable to God, and such as he and all the redeemed could stand in before the great white throne without spot or blemish.

As a traveller overtaken by a violent thunderstorm gladly flies to a house by the wayside wherein he may find shelter from the lightning-stroke and the sweeping rain; or as a ship threatened with a hurricane bends every sail to reach in time the harbour of refuge, so does the soul terrified by the thunders and lightnings of God's righteous law, seek for shelter in the wounded side of Jesus, and hide itself beneath His justifying obedience. This righteousness is here called "the righteousness of God;" for God the Father contrived it, God the Son performed it, and God the Holy Ghost applies it; and it is said to be "by faith" and "through the faith of Christ" because faith views it, believes in it, receives it, and gives the soul a manifested interest in it.

-preacher J.C. Philpot (1802-1869 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Putrid Cup of Tolerance: When Evil Poses as Progress

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." -Psalm 97:10 [KJV] "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Thomas Mann's chilling words pierce through the fog of modern moral relativism like a shard of ice. It's a warning that echoes through the blood-soaked pages of history, a truth we ignore at our peril. The Seduction of False Neutrality We live in an age where tolerance is held up as the supreme virtue, the golden idol before which we must all bow. We're told to accept everything, question nothing, and embrace a faux-unity that sacrifices truth on the altar of political correctness. But what happens when this tolerance becomes a blindfold, obscuring the stark reality of evil lurking in our midst? Like a ravenous wolf, evil doesn't care for our carefully crafted social constructs. It doesn't respect boundaries, it doesn't play fair, and it ce...
Read more

LORD JESUS, Be Merciful...

" LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee." -Psalm 41:4 [KJV] Is this the language of the man after God’s own heart? Was David a saint when he uttered it? Yes, he was a holy man of God. This confession and prayer shew it. His heart was not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, nor blinded by self-righteous pride, so as to say, “I have no sin.”   Self-righteous hearts cannot away with this, that all the Lord’s saints are yet in themselves miserable sinners; that they daily see need to confess this; and to sue for mercy and healing from the Lord. Here is a confession, a plea, and a prayer.  (1st.) A confession, “I have sinned against Thee.” Thus we must come and confess to the Lord to-day, to-morrow, and every day, till the sun of life sets. Sense of sin, whether fresh contracted, or long since committed, abides with us. It wounds and pains a gracious soul. Here grace discovers itself. That soul waits not for time to efface the m...
Read more

Great Encouragement in Christ JESUS ~ 19 October, 2025 A.D.

"Behold, he prayeth!"   -Acts 9:11 [KJV] In many trades, it is customary to shew samples or patterns. By these men judge of the goodness or quality of the whole. St. Paul sets himself forth as a sample, or pattern, of the free, distinguishing, sovereign, unmerited grace of God, that we should judge of its nature by its efficacy upon him. “I obtained mercy, for this cause, that in me first   (-a first rate sinner) Jesus Christ may shew forth His all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting”   (I Timothy 1:16.) Thou hast seen this pattern of free grace. What dost thou think of it?  The whole is alike with the pattern. It cometh alike upon elect sinners. It finds no more prerequisites, fitness, qualifications, or conditions in any, than it did in St. Paul. Whenever it takes place upon any, it produceth the same effects as it did in him. Grace and mercy from Jesus, makes Saul pray to Jesus. There is the ...
Read more