It’s a big shift in our thinking and believing to receive the right standing, approval and favor God bestows on us, completely independent of what we do.
So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
(Rom. 3:28 NLT)

Are you ready for some good news? God is not mad at you!

He’s not! The good news of the gospel is this: we have been made right with God through faith! We have “right standing” with God through Jesus! Although we were sinners – apathetic, rebellious and separated from God – when we believe on and received Jesus as our Lord – He makes us righteous. Many Christians do not truly understand how good this good news is! Let’s review it today.

The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 6:23) In other words, someone had to pay the wage of death that sin demanded. Although Jesus was sinless, He stepped up to the plate as our substitute and paid that wage on the cross so that we could exchange our sin for His righteousness. Through His “right doing” on the cross – we have “right standing” with God.

Jesus paid the wage and took the punishment and penalty we deserved. When Jesus took our place on the cross, He satisfied God’s justice. God poured out His complete wrath towards sin on Jesus and legally, the wage for sin had been paid for all mankind. When we believe and receive in Jesus and His finished work – Jesus' payment and righteous is credited to our account. We are justified (just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned) and declared not guilty!

That is good news! Today is a good day to remember how good it is. We have right standing with God through faith – not by obeying the law. It’s not what we do – it’s what God has done! Our “right standing” with God is through faith, due to His “right doing.” Our “right standing” has nothing to do with our “right doing.”

Of course, the devil doesn’t want any of God’s children to get ahold of this life-changing revelation. He’d rather keep us in a state of guilt, inferiority and with a sense of unworthiness. He’d rather have us looking over our shoulder – sure that God is mad at us. Many of us are accustomed to obtaining approval and favor with others because of what we do – so, it’s a big shift in our thinking and believing to receive the right standing, approval and favor God bestows on us, completely independent of what we do. The truth is, there is no way we can do enough good works to obtain right standing, so we might as well just go ahead and believe the good news of the gospel! God loved us so much, He sent His Son and Jesus died on the cross so that we could have the free gift of righteousness and enjoy God’s goodness.

You may wonder, then, where does “right doing” fit in for the believer? Doesn’t God want us to live a righteous life? Of course, but here’s the twist. We do righteous deeds, not to become righteous, but because we are righteous. Since we have “right standing” with God, we are free to engage in “right doing.” However, when we trust in our “right doing” to give us “right standing” – we always fall short because that is not the way “right standing” comes! “Right standing” comes through faith in Christ, completely independent of our works – good or bad.

Talk about good news! Through Christ, we have become the righteousness of God. It was His gift to us, not our gift to Him! This good news can’t help but make us glad, happy, joyful, thankful and…free to engage in “right doing!”

Today, get happy – you have “right standing” with God because of Jesus’ “right doing.”
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
(Romans 3:22-28 NLT)
Say This:
Father, I am so thankful that You have made me righteous. Today, I receive it – I have ‘right standing’ with God through faith because of Jesus’ ‘right doing.’ Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Beth Jones Ministries

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