"Our beloved brother Paul" (cf .2 Peter 3:15), yielded his brilliant mind to the control of the Holy Spirit.
(a) One result that we thank the Lord for is Paul's Romans chapter five.
(b) He discerned the real significance of Christ's sacrifice on His cross: not only did Jesus clear us from guilt so that we stand before the Father neutral now with the guilt of sin gone; Jesus did far more.
(c) He "justified" us.
(d) That means He imputed to us judicially the full benefits of the amazing righteousness of Christ; it means that now we stand before the Father with the "mind of Christ" (cf. Phil. 2:5).
(e) "Righteousness" is far more than mere "holiness." "Holiness" is what the sinless angels possess but at best it is a term with neutral meaning; in the Bible it is applied to the sinless angels (and of course, to the Father); but now that it has captivated the human race, "holiness" is not good enough.
(f) "Righteousness" is holiness that has met the problem of sin in fallen human flesh or nature and has triumphed over the sin.
(g) That's why the unfallen angels are not spoken of in the Bible as being "righteous," but are merely "holy."
(h) No one in the Bible is spoken of as being "righteous," but only Jesus Christ.
(i) That means that in His incarnation among us, the flesh or nature which Christ "took" upon Himself has to be our fallen, sinful flesh, or nature. If that were not true, it would be impossible to speak of Christ as being "righteous;" In that case He would be only "holy." (That's how important is this truth of the nature of Christ in His incarnation--that He "took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature"!)
(j) He will be rewarded at His coming with a host of redeemed former sinners who have overcome sin by the grace of Christ; although they all have inherited our fallen, sinful nature, they will have triumphed over sin in that fallen, sinful nature!
(k) That triumph is yours by the "faith of Jesus" through His "much more bounding grace," grace that abounds far greater than our sin!
The Lord willing, tomorrow more about that wonderful Romans chapter five.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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