How do you define the word righteous? And along that same line, define the word righteousness. Think about that for a few moments.
Let me give you a simple definition of righteous. It was one that my college professor gave in class years ago. Righteous: being made right with God. Is that how we see ourselves – right with God?
“ Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.” II Corinthians 5:21 ERV
That’s the way God sees us. The great exchange. Jesus, who had never sinned, took on our sins when He died on the cross and in exchange for our sin, gave us His righteousness. His right-standing with God became ours. That is absolutely amazing!
Isaiah wrote that our self-righteousness is like filthy rags. Our efforts to make ourselves in right-standing with God is, at its best, rubbish.
My dad was a master mechanic. He worked on large equipment, keeping it running and fixing it when it broke down. When he would come home his clothes were filthy and he would often have dirty towels he had used to wipe his hands on. I remember Mom telling him to throw those dirty things in the trash, there was no point in trying to wash them, they wouldn’t come clean.
That’s the image that would come to mind when I heard that phrase, filthy rags. Now contrast that image with this one.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:10-11 NKJV
Dirty, greasy, grimy clothes or the elegant apparel of a bride groom, how do we think God sees us? Because of Christ, He sees us decked out in His finest.
“But Christ died for us while we were still sinners (dirty, greasy), and by this God showed how much he loves us.
9 We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. 10 I mean that while we were God’s enemies, he made friends with us through his Son’s death. And the fact that we are now God’s friends (righteous) makes it even more certain that he will save us through his Son’s life. 11 And not only will we be saved, but we also rejoice right now in what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God’s friends.” Romans 5:8-11 ERV
I titled this morning’s blog God’s Thoughts About Me. Do you see it now? He thinks we’re righteous, in right standing with Him and these verses in Romans say that He calls us his friends. God the Father doesn’t hate us – He isn’t even mad at us.
He loves us!
Now for the final word on what God thinks about us. The first version of this verse uses the word “thoughts” and other versions say “plans”. I wanted you to see them both
“ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 KJV
“I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 ERV
God’s thoughts about us are those of a loving Father. He has good plans for us, He doesn’t want to harm us. Instead He gives us hope and a good future. As we go about our day, it’s quite possible that thoughts will come to mind that are counter to the thoughts that God has of us. Don’t let those thoughts linger, replace them with what God thinks of us.
Trust God! His thoughts toward us are good.