From Self-Righteousness to God's Righteousness (Free Me From Me)

From Free Me From Me by Ryan Wekenman

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

• “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 
• “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”
• “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 
• “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 
• “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” 
• “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. – Romans 3:9-26 ESV

When you fall into the trap of believing you’re the center of the story, life becomes one giant competition. As though you can climb your way out of the hole if you can just move faster than others.

How do you know if you have what it takes? If you are enough? Easy—you compare yourself with others. Who’s more moral? More spiritual? If you’re trending in the right direction, all is well.

But you see the problem, right? And the unrelenting pressure self-centeredness creates? We’ll never be able to justify ourselves before God through our supposedly superior righteousness, because we don’t just sin; we are sinners. So, we don’t just need some good behavior; we need a Savior.

Fortunately, we have one. The apostle John once wrote that God “loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10 NIV).

The Hebrew word for “atonement” that John would’ve grown up hearing is kippur. It comes from a word that means “to cover.” A kippur doesn’t just pay the debt; it also purifies (or covers) the party involved.

So John calling Jesus the “atoning sacrifice for our sins” is him saying, “Jesus covered it. He didn’t just forgive us; he made it right. How can he do that? Because of his sacrifice.”

In the Old Testament, atonement was made through animal sacrifice. In a way, those sacrifices atoned for (covered) the sins of the people for the year. But of course, people kept sinning, and the system had to continue.

Enter Jesus.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV

The writer of Hebrews said, “Unlike the other high priests, he [Jesus] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Hebrews 7:27 NIV).

You can learn to outsmart comparison by getting really good at spotting it and refusing to go any further, instead turning back and fixing your eyes on Jesus, who is your atoning sacrifice.

Today’s Truth Statement: I am created in the image of a self-sacrificial God.