Here are two reasons the gospel cures both the feeling of
inferiority, and the feeling of superiority. They come out of this text from
God’s book:
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.[1]
Reason One: “But now the righteousness of God has been
manifested apart from the law.”
A. Because we are
talking about “the righteousness of God”
we have a reality of righteousness that is outside the scope of man’s
picking-and-choosing. It is not what one group thinks is good or bad. It is not
what our families thought of us (for good or ill), nor what the bullies at
school thought of us, or even the fans who thought we were wonderful. The same
measure applies to all, so there is no grounds for any person to think better
or worse of themselves than anyone else.
B. Because the
righteousness of God is manifested “apart
from the law,” we cannot judge ourselves or others based on performance.
Even the law, the most trustworthy measure of righteousness, is not the way we
connect to the righteousness of God. Even the Law and the Prophets together did
not give us the righteousness of God, but only bore witness to it. There is no
collection of good works by which some people appear better or worse than
others. The righteousness in question is apart from the law, removing any way
to conceive of ourselves or others by a standard of performance.
Reason Two: “the righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all who believe.”
A. The
righteousness of God is “through faith in
Jesus Christ”. On one side, this emphasizes that our connection to God’s righteousness
is by faith, not by works, removing any performance-standard by which some
could look inferior while others superior. On the other side, this is talking
about a faith that is “in Jesus Christ,” emphasizing
that there is only one place to get this righteousness. There are not many ways
to God’s righteousness, by which some consider themselves better than others. There
is one person who can connect us to God’s righteousness, and everyone has the
same opportunity to come to him.
B. The righteousness
of God is “for all who believe,” not for
all who behave. No matter what differences we see in believers’ behavior, our
connection to the righteousness of God is that we believe. We have all heard
the gospel that, “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.”[2]
Anyone who is part of the “whoever
believes in him,” has “the
righteousness of God” apart from the law, by faith in Jesus Christ.
Simply put, as is said throughout the New Testament, there
are zero grounds for believers to feel inferior to other believers because we
aren’t doing as well as them, or to feel superior to other believers because
they are not doing as well as us. Everything we have in Jesus Christ, including
the righteousness of God, is “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.”[3]
For the side of me that feels inferior to people because of
my own failures regarding sin, and judgmental rejections through the sins of
others, there is this wonderful good news that my connection to the righteousness
of God is apart from the law, by faith in Jesus Christ, for me because I
believe. I cannot be less than any other believer in Jesus Christ.
For the side of me that feels superior to other believers,
especially when I think they are doing wrong to me and I am doing right to
them, if they are just as sincere in believing in Jesus as myself, then they
are also connected to the righteousness of God apart from the law, and through
their faith in Jesus Christ. Even when it seems like a brother in the Lord has
wronged me in a worthlessness-confirming act of judgment and rejection, their
righteousness is the righteousness of God, it is theirs apart from the law, it
is the same as my righteousness (which is God’s, not my own), and so we are
equal by faith in Jesus Christ.
And, another great equalizer before the cross of Christ is
this: “I can do all things through him
who strengthens me.”[4]
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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