Robe of Righteousness

  Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…. The good news begins with bad news: I am separated from God and can do nothing about it. My best effort on my best day cannot bridge that great divide. My only option is to turn to Christ and trust in him as the One who paid the penalty of my sin by dying on the cross. When I stand before the Judge, having trusted in Christ, two things happen:

• God clothes me with the garments of salvation. Not on the basis of what I have done, but fully on the merits of Christ’s work on the cross, God rescues me from an eternity separated from him. He declares me, “Not guilty” (justification). He takes off my old worn-out clothes and gives me a beautiful clean wardrobe—garments of salvation.
• God gives me a robe of his righteousness. Not only does God declare me, “Not guilty,” He declares me, “Righteous.” When he looks on me, dressed in the garments of salvation and the robe of his righteousness, he views me as blameless because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

The good news begins with bad news. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And our sin deserves death (physical, emotional, and spiritual). But the good news is that Jesus came and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. When we trust in Jesus as the only way to know God, we are set free from our old clothes and our old ways, and finally can enjoy the fellowship of the living God. That, by the way, is what we have wanted all along. Talking Point

• Ask God to give you the courage to share his good news with someone he has placed in your life.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your work on the cross to make my salvation possible. Thank you for a new set of clothes and a beautiful robe of righteousness. In your name I pray. Amen.    

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Today on The Journey Broadcast:

  Cleansed