Christ OUR Righteousness.

Rom 10:1  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 

Rom 10:2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 

Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 

How many of us have a ZEAL for God, but NOT according to knowledge? How many of us establish our own way of righteousness, ignoring the truth of the righteousness found only in God through Jesus Christ? People don't generally want to submit themselves to anyone, including God.  The righteousness of God is Jesus Christ.

2Pe_1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 

Rom 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 

Christ's righteousness SAVES US and nothing more. Not a single law saves us. Not a single good work saves us. Not one tiny bit of our own right doing saves us. WE CANNOT save ourselves!!!!!!!

Yet we set up so many boundaries and fear if we step out of those boundaries we are no longer saved.  How can we have it both ways? How can we believe in Jesus to save us, and still try to save ourselves in ways other than believing in our Savior to save us?

Setting up laws, laws given by God and taking those laws and twisting them so much we can't listen to God any longer leaves us where? When you take something someone has given you and make it your own, it is no longer truly what you were given. If you were to give it back you would be giving back something different, not something the same. God gave His laws for a purpose- ceremonial, dietary, moral, laws for so many things from day to day living, to many happenstances in the lives of people. God gave these laws and He did so for a reason. People were so incredibly far from God when He gave Moses what he needed to get His chosen free from slavery. They needed to know God, the love of God. Over many hundreds of years they took those laws and gradually altered them in subtle ways. They took the love of God out of the laws entirely. They lost sight of God's prophets and the prophecies they gave for the future. And when Jesus came, the very righteousness of all things, the complete embodiment of the law, they were not prepared to receive Him, in fact they held fast to their own righteousness and they found that righteousness in keeping all the laws to the letter. Laws they'd changed to suit themselves. They couldn't take that leap of faith necessary to believe.

Faith in Jesus Christ to be our righteousness, it isn't easy to fully believe it because we want to have a hand in our own salvation.

More on all of this tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!