“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. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” – Romans 10:3-4
HAVE YOU SUBMITTED YOURSELF UNTO the righteousness of God? I did not ask if you have joined a religion. I did not ask if you have been baptized. I did not ask if you have been confirmed on a church roll. I did not ask if you have done many wonderful works in Christ’s name. I did not ask if you surrendered your life to God, decided to follow Jesus as your “Lord”, vowed to turn from your sins, or invited Immanuel into your heart. For good works cannot justify a man before God, and no amount of sincerity can circumvent the resolute truth that “ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Pray bear with me as I briefly touch upon my text.
In the first place, my text mentions those ignorant of God’s righteousness. Who compose this pitiable class of men deceived as to how they may enter the kingdom of God? Aye, it is to be lamented, many, “because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14). Any man who believes he must contribute something to the salvation of his soul – be it making Christ his “Lord”, or being baptized, or denying himself pomp and pleasure, or devoting himself to religious causes – can be included in this unenviable company. These poor souls have been deceived into supposing how a man lives will determine where he spends eternity, and, though they may be pious and sincere in their religious devotion, they remain unreconciled to their Creator. Nay, because they have not believed on Christ, they are at enmity with God (Romans 8:7), and his wrath abideth on them (John 3:36).
It follows, because these unfortunate persons are ignorant of God’s righteousness, that they would go about to establish their own righteousness. Sadly, though such scriptures as Isaiah 64:6 make plain that “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”, they earnestly believe they somehow can justify themselves before God – that impure vessels as themselves can make themselves pure in the Almighty’s sight. And so they attempt to earn their salvation through performing the goods works mentioned above, mistakenly perceiving eternal life to be a reward for the righteous, rather than a gift for the guilty. But all the good works in this world can never save a man, because man, being by nature sinful and corrupt, is incapable of reconciling himself to God.
In fruitlessly pursuing their false plans of salvation, the masses pass by the only way by which they can be saved – the righteousness of Jesus Christ. For the hideous garb of good works cannot make a man holy before God any more than mascara and lipstick can make a pig beautiful. To go to heaven, a man must have Christ’s righteousness imputed on his behalf. But he can only receive this if he first realizes he is a sinner who cannot save himself from eternal damnation in hell, and then believe that Jesus Christ – the sinless, only begotten Son of God – died on the cross to pay for his sins with his blood, was buried, and was bodily resurrected three days later unto the justification of all who believe on him. And it is by believing the gospel as his only hope for heaven that men submit themselves unto the righteousness of God. And, this accomplished, they need no longer smart beneath the law of sin and death, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
So, I ask you once more, dear reader – have you submitted yourself unto the righteousness of God? Have you ceased from trying to earn your salvation, and instead believed upon the Son of God, who bled for your sins on Calvary and perished a criminal’s death so you might be saved? I pray that you do so, for “to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).