Revelation of Righteousness in the Now
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe … that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (Romans 3.21-22, 2 Cor. 5.21, NASB)
Since Genesis 3.6, when Adam “knew” that he was naked, man has possessed a sin consciousness, that inward-known inability to stand uprightly before Almighty God. This sin consciousness has fueled the craze for all kinds of different religions for centuries as man has sought a way to rid himself of it. One only has to go through a stack of Old National Geographic magazines to see the lengths that ancient civilizations would go in creating elaborate sacrificial systems, including the famous tossing of the virgin into the volcano, to appease the “gods” to obtain righteousness. The glory of the Gospel is that it is a revelation of righteousness in the now.
Besides betraying Paul’s revelation, the awful truth about the moniker “sinner saved by grace” is that it perpetuates a sin consciousness among the holy. In the Genesis account, we see that Adam, once a sinner, could not approach God Almighty without shame, humiliation, and embarrassment. Indeed, God drove him out of the Garden, out of His presence, because he was a sinner.
The Word says that spiritual death reigned from Adam to Moses (Romans 5.12). Under Moses, God set up an elaborate temple system in order to “atone” for man’s sins. Under this system, the high priest’s entrance into the Holy of Holies, God’s very presence, marked the most significant event under the Old Covenant. Just once a year, the high priest would take the blood into God’s presence and make an offering for the sins of himself and for the people.
Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer performing the divine worship, but in the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. (Hebrews 9.6-10, ASV) (emphasis supplied)
Significantly, the Day of Atonement offering did not purge the consciences of the people of their sin nature; they continued to be sinners. Consequently, though atonement was made, they still could not personally approach God. They were required to continually rely on the high priest to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for their sins. Tradition holds that they were so terrified of God that they would tie a rope to one of the high priest’s ankles before he went behind the Temple veil. That way, if he dropped dead by making a mistake during his ceremonial duties, they could drag his body out without going in (no sinner but the high priest could ever enter the Holy of Holies, even if he died in there).
The question for the “orthodox” preacher who preaches the “sinners saved by grace” gospel is, how is today any different from the Old Covenant? If the people, as sinners, could not enter God’s presence, but could only watch the high priest disappear behind the Temple’s veil, how is it that people today, being “sinners,” can do so? Why aren’t Christian folks, as sinners, held to the same elaborate temple system as the Jews were 3000 years ago? What exactly has changed?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the inconsistency. The truth is that, by virtue of the New Birth, we stand complete in Christ in the now.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach … (Colossians 1.21-22, NASB) (emphasis supplied)
The life and nature of God is absolute righteousness and the gospel that preaches that Christians are “sinners saved by grace” is a fallacy. The Gospel flatly says that we may be born-again and this New Birth is God’s very nature imparted to us.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature … new things have come. Now all these things are from God … (2 Corinthians 5.17-18, NASB)
By virtue this born-again experience, we are not sinners, but God’s very own sons (1 John 5.1 - “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God”) and His very own righteousness (2 Cor. 5.21 - “we might become the righteousness of God in Him”). The true believer should never carry with him a consciousness of sin. Rather, he should perpetually possess a righteousness consciousness.
