"I Am The Righteous of God-Part 1"

I Am the Righteousness of God – Part 1

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB 95
I believe we all know that asking Jesus to be our Lord and Savior means we
have salvation. All of us should understand that to mean when we die, we will go to
heaven and not hell. That is correct but it is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the
complete meaning. Jesus died for our sins, yes, but as this scripture says He became
sin on our behalf. How could He become sin? Jesus did not become sin itself; He did
not become a sinner for us either; nor did he become guilty of our sins. What it means is
the guilt of every sin committed by man since Adam and Eve, and every sin that will be
committed until the end of the world, was imputed from us to Him on the cross.
So, what does “impute” mean? It is a financial and legal accounting term. It
describes how God transfers a spiritual standing, either a sinful standing or a righteous
standing, to a person’s account. In the case of 2 Corinthians 5:21 it means God
transfers the penalty of the sin of the whole world to his perfect sinless Son and in
return He transfers the righteousness of the same perfect Son to us. When we accept
this transfer as being for us, that is receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we become
the righteousness of God, per 2 Corinthian 5:21. The guilt of sin was imputed to Jesus
as the righteousness of Jesus was imputed to us. Thus, you can see why salvation is
referred to as a miracle.
Something our finite minds have a hard time understanding is eternity. Jesus and
Father God were together for all eternity, always together, never separated. Just before
Jesus died on the cross, He quoted Psalm 22:1 and cried out “My God, My God, why
have You forsaken me.” Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. The guilt of the whole world’s
sin came upon Him. God the Father hates sin and cannot stand in its presence and had
to turn His face. For the first time ever He and the Son were separated because of our
sin so that we could now come into God’s presence in the throne room. Have you ever
thought of that? Not only did Jesus suffer tremendous physical pain, but He suffered
mental and spiritual pain also.
There are three great imputations in the Scripture. One is when Adam sinned, his
disobedience and guilt were charged to all mankind (Romans 5:12). Jesus was a
human when He walked the earth, born of Mary, but not by the seed of man, He was
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The second imputation is the believer’s sin
guilt imputed to Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). The third imputation is Jesus’ righteousness
imputed to believers (Romans 4:22-24).
The bottom line for this devotion I that if you are a believer, the guilt of your sins
has been imputed to Jesus and His righteousness has been imputed to you. You are the

righteousness of God through Christ Jesus. Your debt has been paid for every sin you
ever committed or will commit. Receive that righteousness and walk in it. Speak
righteousness. Act righteous. Live righteous giving thanks and praise to your God for
His mercy and grace. If you are not saved, read the prayer below loud enough for your
own ears to hear and mean what you say and you will be saved. This is not the end of
the devotion. Part 2 will appear another day.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You suffered more than I can imagine for me, not only
physically but also spiritually and mentally. I am still realizing how much You love me. I
accept what you did for me and ask you to come into my heart and be my Savior and
Lord. I repent of my sins that caused you so much agony. Come into my heart and
guide me in every aspect of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You Lord and
thank you for all you have done for me. In your name I pray, amen.