Understanding the Righteousness of God in Everyday Terms
Let’s break down a big idea from the Bible in simple words: if you believe in Jesus Christ, God sees you as good, right, and just—not because of anything you’ve done, but because of what Jesus did. In fact, the Bible says that through Jesus, we actually become the righteousness of God.
How does that make sense? Here’s the heart of it: Jesus, even though He never did anything wrong—never broke a single rule or commandment, not even once—agreed to take the blame for all the wrong things people have ever done. He was the only one who was totally innocent, never knowing sin personally, but He took on the punishment that was meant for others.
This is called the “substitution” of Jesus. Think of it like this: imagine someone who has never broken a law in their life suddenly choosing to take the place of someone who was guilty, standing before the judge and saying, “Punish me instead.” That’s what Jesus did on our behalf.
The Bible says, “He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). That means God treated Jesus as if He had committed all those wrongs, even though He hadn’t, so that everyone who trusts in Him could be treated as though they had always done what was right.
So, when you hear that “he who believes in Christ is made righteous,” it’s not about how good you are on your own. It’s about how much Jesus loved us—He gave up His clean record so we could have it.
The result? If you put your trust in Jesus, God sees you as if you’re perfectly right with Him, because Jesus took your place. That’s the simple, good news at the heart of the Christian faith.
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