An Impossible Sounding Message

When Paul used the phrase, "the righteousness of God"  (Romans 3:21-22), it seems clear that he is talking about the righteousness which speaks of the nature and the essence of God as well as the righteousness which comes to the believer as a result of faith responding to the grace of God.  It is easy enough to comprehend how the words fit inside the nature of God, but when it comes to having them fit inside the human heart for such a radical transformation, it is hard to imagine such can be possible.  The good news is that the impossible sounding is possible.    

In the 22nd verse of this 3rd chapter of Romans Paul writes, "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."  There are other places in the Word where we hear the same impossible sounding message.  Philippians 3:9 reads, "...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God based on faith."  And in the last verse of the fifth chapter of II Corinthians comes another affirming Word, "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."     

Faith is indeed a powerful spiritual power unleashed through the plan of God which enables us to appropriate for daily living the very nature and essence of God Himself.  It is not that this righteousness of God imparted to us through faith turns us into some kind of spiritual superman, but that it enables us to live rightly with and before our Creator God.  Not only does this imparted righteousness reveal itself as we are enabled to live rightly with God, but it is also the very thing given to us by God which enables us to live rightly with one another.