Whose Righteousness

And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."

Philippians 3:9

I don't know, maybe I am one of those fanatic, right-wing extremists but I happen to believe in hard work and personal responsibility. I was raised in a home where that was valued and taught. Once upon a time, my family qualified for government assistence. Of course, we never accepted that because my parents believed in hard work and living within our means. We did without, we skimped and scraped. We always had food on our table and a roof over our heads. My dad worked as many hours as he had to to see to that. We were always provided for.


Now I continue to live that kind of life. I've worked in some capacity since I was able. Before coming to Potter's Field I worked a full time job on top of college course. I refused to incur student loans. I paid my tuition out of my own pocket. When I needed a car I bought it for cash with my money that I'd saved. It's nothing fancy, just a 2000 Daewoo station wagon. It's got its personality flaws but it's my car. I bought it. I pay my own insurance. It's mine. It belongs to me. I work hard for what I want/need and if I can't afford it, I do without until I can afford it. Simple as that.

It's that self-reliance, pull-myself-up-by-my-own-bootstraps mentality that makes this verse difficult to me. Why would I want righteousness from God when I can have my own righteousness? Well, there's a very big problem with my righteousness - it comes from the law, the law that I cannot keep.

"For as many are of theworks of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everone who does not continue in all the things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them."

Galations 3:10-12

The problem with my righteousness is that I am incapable of keeping the whole law 100% of the time. And in the sight of a holy God, anything less than perfection is filthy rags. Seems like a high standard? An unattainable objective? It is. Because the standard is not Joe Shoe sitting next to you; it's Jesus. As a perfect God, He cannot allow imperfection otherwise He ceases to be perfect.

But His mercy is so great, He does not leave me to my own filthy rags. He offers me His own righteousness. He fulfilled the whole of the law, thereby becoming the perfect sacrifice for my sins. So the choice is mine. I can either be found in my own filthy, stinky rags, like a ragged street urchin or I can be found in Christ, robed in His righteousness, clean and pure in the eyes of God, not of my own merit or effort but only because of what He's already done for me.

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according tot he flesh but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:3-4

Application: Tonight before bed I will spend time meditating on Psalm 4, which speaks of the God of my righteousness.