April 23 – Righteousness Received

Hope for Today: A Daily Devotion from Reasons for Hope*Jesus

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“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5

These are very sweet and precious words to those who look upon their own best virtues and performances by nature as sinful, and upon their best condition by grace as extremely weak and imperfect. How comfortable a thing is the justification of the penitent by faith when the soul is first stripped quite naked before God and thoroughly convinced of its wickedness and weakness!

A mere moral man does not meddle with this. He pretends to make amends for his former sins by altering his course and doing better works. But this is not making amends at all. We are but unprofitable servants and we need continual forgiveness of sin, even when we have done all that we can.

There is but one way to be justified and to obtain and preserve the blessing of a good conscience. It is by humbling ourselves, confessing that we are guilty, and looking only for forgiveness and righteousness in Christ. Thus we are made, by Him, the righteousness of God. How marvelous is the gift! How wondrous the change on the poor sinner! May the Lord put us all in this way, to the praise of the glory of His grace, accepting us in the Beloved!

The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before Your throne;
But faith can answer Your demands.
By pleading what my Lord has done.

Devotion by Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky (1690—1774)