Righteousness is a Gift

"Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things, proudly and contemptuously against the righteous." -Psalm 31:18 [KJV]

The language of natural reason is, If I am righteous, God will love me: the language of faith is, Though I am a sinner, yet God loves me; and, because He loves me, therefore He makes me righteous. How? The pen of inspiration answers: David, describing the character of a sinner, renewed by grace, and made meet to dwell with God, saith, “He shall receive righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:5.) 

Here we see plainly, that righteousness is a gift; that it is received, not worked out by the sinner; that it is given by the God of our salvation. It is the glorious robe, our elder brother, Jesus, wrought out for us; our heavenly Father imputes to us, and puts upon us. God the Holy Spirit enables us, by faith, to receive it, rejoice in it, and boast of it. For, we see ourselves made infinitely and everlastingly righteous in it. Here observe, the gift of righteousness, to make destitute sinners righteous, is an Old Testament doctrine. 

Lord, establish our hearts in this fundamental truth of Thy blessed word. Jesus, Master, enable us to take comfort in Thy one righteousness, and to give Thee the glory of this inestimable blessing. Is it so, that thou art thus righteous in God’s sight? Then, thou hast righteous hopes, righteous fears, righteous joys, a righteous heart, and a holy life: yea, and proud, contemptuous foes too. 

Their lying lips will be opened against thee. The adversary of all truth will bring lying accusations against the truth thou believest, as sure as he brought them against Jesus Christ the righteous, Who is the TRUTH. Stirred up by Him, marvel not if men charge thee with being an Antinomian, an enemy to all righteousness—that they say grievous things of thee—speak proudly against thy faith— contemptuously sneer at thy confidence—saying, how absurd the notion, that thou, who art a miserable sinner in thyself, should yet be perfectly righteous in Christ! 

And, in opposition to Christ’s glorious righteousness, they will set up the sinner’s filthy rags, and assert that we are to be justified first or last, or somehow, by what we do. What is thy duty here? Imitate David. Give thyself unto prayer. “Let the lying lips be put to silence.” How? By the grace of Jesus teaching thee to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. So is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (see 1 Peter 2:15.) “We are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” -Philippians 3:3

 

-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us, ...
Read more

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s...
Read more

GLORY ALONE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

" Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.”   But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted. Mind then, O Christian— against Me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord . Thou art gloryi...
Read more