To and On

December 28, 2019

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;” —Romans 3:20-22 NKJV

For anyone burdened by guilt at not quite ever measuring up, these words of St. Paul are like a fresh breeze in the desert. Our working more or trying harder to do the right thing may be admirable, but the Enemy of our souls is always at hand to sow seeds of doubt. “How much is enough? You’re working hard today, but remember how badly you screwed up last week?” No amount of good deeds can undo even the tiniest of bad ones. They remain like an ink dot on an otherwise pristine white page. The overwhelming whiteness is unnoticed as the attention is drawn to that single spot of ink. Paul asserts however, that there is more to the story.

The righteousness that is unavailable through our efforts to do good is given to us in Christ. Here, Paul says, “to all and ON all” who believe. It is not only a gift to us, but it rests on us. Elsewhere, Paul reminds us to “put on” righteousness. And John tells us that the white robes the saints wear as they worship around the throne of God are the righteousness of the saints. When God looks at the believer, he doesn’t see the sin-stained rags we once wore; he sees the holiness of his Son. So why then do we keep looking at ourselves as we were before Christ? Is that not self-defeating? When I put on work clothes, I don’t care if they get dirty, but when I put on a suit and tie, I live up to the clothes and take care not to get them soiled. Maybe if we saw ourselves clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we would be more careful how we act in this world, and be more confident of the world to come.