Ephesians 4:24 (NKJV) and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
What is righteousness? Righteousness gives us the ability to stand in the presence of God the Father without feeling guilty, condemned or inferior, as if sin had never existed. Do you know how many people of other beliefs have sought this position or attainment but failed miserably? As believers in Jesus Christ, however, this is the treasure that God has given to us!
We can stand before God as if sin had never existed in our lives because Jesus has redeemed us with His blood. Righteousness is a standing of uprightness with God. It is a positional truth. In other words, it doesn’t mean we are perfect, but God chooses to see us as righteous in Christ. Righteousness is the blessing that is imputed to us upon salvation—a position we hold with our Heavenly Father as if we had never sinned. This position comes into effect after you have received Christ and become a new creation.
This righteous position is found in the new creation of the heart, inner man or spirit man. The Bible says that God created it in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, you are a new creation after you have been born again, seen as righteous and holy before God!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The fact that you have been made righteous by faith means that in Christ, God now judges you as righteous, and you meet with His approval according to His standard of what is right.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Righteousness is the very reason for the plan of redemption. We cannot achieve anything before God through our own strength. God, in His abundant grace, allows His only begotten Son to be made sin for us, so that we may be hidden in Him. We have this right standing before God because of Jesus’ work of atonement. This righteousness comes from God and to us through faith in God. It allows us to have a restored fellowship with God—the same relationship that Adam had in the Garden of Eden before the Fall.
No one can attain righteousness except through Jesus Christ. The righteous live by faith in Jesus’ work of atonement. It is a reality for believers when we stand before God daily, and not a religion. Praise the Lord for His abundant grace that He has showered upon us through Jesus Christ! This truth about righteousness will help us to boast about the Lord and to make Him known, and it will draw us closer to God daily.
Sermon Series: Righteousness: Religion or Reality
义是基于耶稣已经成就的工作
以弗所书 4:24 并且穿上新人；这新人是照着神的形象造的，有真理的义和圣洁。
什么是“义”？“义”使我们能够坦然无惧地站在天父面前，不再感到内疚、被定罪或自卑——就好像罪从未存在过一样。你知道有多少信仰体系的人，终其一生都在寻求这样的地位或成就，却始终未能达到吗？然而，作为信靠耶稣基督的信徒，这正是神赐给我们的珍贵产业！
我们今天能站在神面前，如同从未犯罪过，是因为耶稣用祂的宝血救赎了我们。“义”是一种在神面前正直的地位，是一个“地位上的真理”。换句话说，这并不是指我们已经完美无瑕，而是神选择在基督里看我们为义。义是我们得救时神所赐的福分——一种在天父面前如同从未犯罪的地位。这地位在我们接受基督、成为新造的人之后便生效。
这种义的地位存在于我们里面的“新造的人”——也就是心灵的深处、内在的人、属灵的人。圣经说，神照着祂自己的形象，用“真理的义和圣洁”创造了这新人。因此，当你重生之后，你就成为了一个新造的人，在神面前被看为义和圣洁！
哥林多后书 5:17 若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人，旧事已过，都变成新的了。
你因信称义，意味着在基督里，神如今按照祂的标准看你为义，并悦纳你。
哥林多后书 5:21 神使那无罪的，替我们成为罪，好叫我们在他里面成为神的义。
“义”正是整个救赎计划的核心。我们无法凭自己的力量在神面前成就任何事。神在祂丰富的恩典中，愿意让祂的独生子为我们成为罪，使我们可以藏在祂里面。我们能在神面前得以站立得正，完全是因为耶稣所完成的赎罪之工。这义是从神而来，藉着信心临到我们，使我们能与神恢复团契——就像亚当堕落前在伊甸园里与神所拥有的关系一样。
除了藉着耶稣基督，没有人能得着义。义人因着信，信靠耶稣所完成的赎罪之工而活。对信徒来说，这并不是一种宗教仪式，而是每天真实活在神面前的生命现实。赞美主！因祂借着耶稣基督所倾倒在我们身上的丰盛恩典！这关于“义”的真理，将使我们夸口的不再是自己，而是主，并且使我们更深地认识祂、每日更亲近祂。
讲章系列：公义：宗教要求，还是救恩的确据？