Jeremiah 23:5-6
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’
Our own righteousness is one of our biggest problems. Because we do good things, we think we are good. And when we do good things, we feel good about ourselves and believe others should think better of us for it.
But our own righteousness is nothing to God. Our best efforts are filthy rags. Because without God, all of our straining and striving, all of our works and deeds are rooted in self. Whatever our expressed reason for doing good, there is actually a hidden selfish motive. Perhaps we want affirmation from others, or maybe we think we’re earning God’s favor. Whatever the case, the righteousness of our best day is still stained by a sinful heart.
We are in desperate need of a righteousness that is not our own, an unadulterated righteousness that is unfailing. And by his grace, the Lord promises just that.
The Lord spoke through Jeremiah, promising that the one to come would not only be righteous himself, but that he would also be the people’s righteousness. He is the one who would perfectly fulfill the law, whose works and deeds would be rooted in selflessness. He is the one who would endure temptation, who would suffer a fate worse than death, not for himself, but for us.
And when we trust in him, he becomes our righteousness. We no longer have to rely on what we can do, but we can rest in what he has done. No longer do we do good things in order to be seen as good, but as a result of experiencing his goodness.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
