Thursday, January 11, 2007
Philippians 3:8-9 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 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 . . .
IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS
This Christmas you probably heard Jesus called a "gift". Pastors often remind us not to be distracted by the smaller gifts of Christmas, and lose sight of the "greatest gift".
Pastor Paul wrote that he considered everything that he might possess apart from Christ as "rubbish". Junk. Garbage. Something that may be thrown away.
Why did Paul consider it so important to know Jesus intimately? Because Paul knew about "imputed righteousness". Sounds technical and complicated, but it's really simple. "Imputed righteousness" means: Whatever good Jesus did has been credited to YOU.
When you told that lie last week, God saw Jesus instead, in whose mouth a lie was never found. When that idiot made everyone laugh at you and you struck out with words, God saw Jesus instead, refusing to strike out even when beaten. When you were so pressed by your responsibilities that you become impatient with those placed under you, God saw Jesus, patiently teaching His slow disciples, patiently sifting through mobs of people to heal.
Christian, do you want to know what God really thinks of you? Look inside the gift of Christ Jesus. Study the life of your Savior, for His life is what the Father sees when He looks at your life. Through faith in Christ, you have been given the righteousness of Jesus.
During this Epiphany, open the gifts inside the greatest gift. Learn of your Savior more deeply than in past years. Open each package, hold up its contents in your hand, slow down, meditate on it. And remember that what you learn of Jesus, God thinks of YOU through faith in His Son.
