Christ, Our Righteousness

In the charred landscapes left behind by the Los Angeles wildfires, a persistent sign of life has transfixed locals: trees. On lots where houses have been reduced to piles of rubble and cars to mangled metal husks, trees rise. These surviving oaks, pines and orange trees are often the only remaining landmarks in a neighborhood, bittersweet reminders of a time before so much tragedy.

The trees’ survival was a curiosity to many. Shouldn’t they have burned alongside homes?

The trees survived because they are filled with water: The roots draw moisture from soil and transport it through branches to its leaves. When the fires erupted in January, trees in Los Angeles had been especially nourished after two previous rainy winters. All that water makes burning a living tree akin to trying to start a campfire with wet logs.

Possible Preaching Angles:

The trees’ survival in the aftermath of wildfire is a living parable of biblical truths: resilience through adversity, the life-giving power of being rooted and nourished, and the hope that endures even when all else is lost. 1) Final Judgment; Judgment Day – Only believers will be able to stand in the day of judgment because we have the indwelling Christ and his righteousness; 2) Endurance; Hope; Perseverance - The Bible often uses the imagery of trees enduring through drought to represent steadfastness and life in the midst of hardship (Psa. 1:2-3; Jer. 17:7-8).

On the Cross, Jesus was both our substitute and a representative. Here are two analogies to unpack what that means.

A substitute is someone who takes the place of another person but does not represent that person. For example, a pinch hitter in baseball enters the lineup to bat in the place of another player. He is a substitute for that player, but in no sense represents the other player.

On the other hand, a simple representative acts on behalf of another person, and serves as his spokesman but he’s not a substitute for that person. For example, a baseball player has an agent who represents him in contract negotiations with the team. The representative does not replace the player but merely advocates for him.

These roles can be combined. Here’s an illustration of both.

If you’re a shareholder for the company, and you can’t attend the shareholders meeting, you can sign an agreement authorizing someone else to serve as your proxy at the meeting. That person will vote for you, and because they have been authorized to do so, their votes are your votes. You have voted via proxy at the meeting of shareholders. The proxy is a substitute in that they attend the meeting in our place, but they are also a representative in that they do not vote instead of us, but on our behalf, so that we vote.

In bearing our punishment, Jesus was both our substitute and a representative before God. He was punished in our place and bore the suffering we deserved. But he also represented us before God, so that his punishment was our punishment.

Pastor Bryan Chapell writes in his recent book Grace at Work:

I have a friend who's a marathon runner. He was in a race a few years ago that he knew would be tough, particularly at the end. And knowing what happens at the ends of races, how people call out encouragement, he didn't put his own name on his racing bib but actually wrote the word “Christian.” He knew that when he got to that final mile, and all the people were cheering, they wouldn't call out his name but would say, "Go get `em, Christian!" "You can do it, Christian!" "Hang in there, Christian!" He ran to represent the name of Christ that he bore.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Colossians 3:17 tells us: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." Everything you do should be in the name of Christ. When we are in the workplace, we bear the name of our Savior. Because we represent Christ, we don't cheat the boss on our timecards or on expense reports, even if others do. We don't lie to the IRS. Why? Because our Lord has written his name on us so that others can see him.

Every year around the Thanksgiving holiday, families across the country begin decorating their homes (inside and out) with Christmas decorations. For some, it is a cherished family tradition. For others, it takes a more competitive tone. Classic films like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation have captured the competitive spirit that can settle in between neighbors about who has the "best" decorations or light display. The result often is a string of outrageously bright homes that seem to demonstrate the spirit of American capitalism more than the spirit of Christmas.

This year, however, one family decided to cut off the competition—before it even started. Jami Kelly, of suburban Detroit, said her family began to put up outdoor decorations, but quickly became discouraged at the extravagance of her neighbor's display. "Nothing measures up," she remembered thinking. So, instead of trying to outdo her neighbor and adding more stress to the holiday season, Kelly grabbed a piece of plywood and a few sets of white lights. She weaved them together to form a bright arrow pointing to her neighbor's home. Then, above the arrow, she spelled out in charming white lights: "Ditto."

Potential Preaching Angles: Sometimes it's easier to give up and let someone else get the credit—a lesson that's especially appropriate at Christmas.

When the Bible scholar N.T. (Tom) Wright was asked what he would tell his children on his deathbed he said, "Look at Jesus." Tom Wright explained why:

The [Person] who walks out of [the pages of the Gospels] to meet us is just central and irreplaceable. He is always a surprise. We never have Jesus in our pockets. He is always coming at us from different angles … If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. And go on looking until you're not just a spectator, but part of the drama that has him as the central character.

Imagine an eight-year-old boy playing with a toy truck and then it breaks. He is disconsolate and cries out to his parents to fix it. Yet as he's crying, his father says to him, "A distant relative you've never met has just died and left you one hundred million dollars." What will the child's reaction be? He will just cry louder until his truck is fixed. He does not have enough cognitive capacity to realize his true condition and be consoled.

In the same way, Christians lack the spiritual capacity to realize all we have in Jesus. This is the reason Paul prays that God would give Christians the spiritual ability to grasp the height, depth, breadth, and length of Christ's salvation (Eph. 3:16-19; Eph. 1:17-18). In general, our lack of joy is as Shakespeare wrote: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves" (Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2). We are like the eight-year-old boy who rests his happiness in his "stars"—his circumstances—rather than recognizing what we have in Christ.

Karl Barth preached regularly to the inmates of the prison in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. Knowledge of that context adds poignancy to the sermons. Here was an audience of people who had been officially judged and condemned as guilty. One of the sermons is based on Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." He illustrated by retelling a Swiss legend:

You probably all know the legend of the rider who crossed the frozen Lake of Constance by night without knowing it. When he reached the opposite shore and was told whence he came, he broke down horrified. This is the human situation when the sky opens and the earth is bright, when we may hear: By grace you have been saved! In such a moment we are like that terrified rider. When we hear this word we involuntarily look back, do we not, asking ourselves: Where have I been? Over an abyss, in mortal danger! What did I do? The most foolish thing I ever attempted! What happened? I was doomed and miraculously escaped and now I am safe!

In the same way, everyone who is trusting Christ for salvation by grace alone can say, "I was in mortal danger. I was doomed but through the cross of Christ I miraculously escaped and now I am safe!"

Here's one way to look at Jesus' earthly life of obedience to God the Father. Jesus lived approximately 33½ years, or 1,057,157,021 seconds. In every second the average human being's brain has 100 billion neurons all firing around 200 times per second, giving a capacity of 20 million billion firings per second. If we want to know how many conscious decisions Jesus made to obey his Father's will, multiply 20 million billion by the number of seconds he lived: 1,057,157,021. The equation would look like this:

20,000,000,000 x 1,057,157,021 = a very large number!

Jesus Christ never made one decision, consciously or unconsciously, in all those innumerable split seconds that wasn't completely consistent with loving his Father and his neighbor. And his obedience wasn't merely an outward performance. He always did the right thing, and he always did it for the right reason. During his lifetime of constant, unwavering obedience, from infancy all the way to death, he wove a robe righteousness sufficient to cover millions and millions of us. Yes, even you.

Think of Christ's resurrection as a store receipt. If you're in a department store and you buy some clothes, you should always ask for the receipt. Why? Because if you're still walking around the store a plainclothes security person could stop you and ask, "Excuse me, can I look in your bag?" And if you don't have a receipt you could get in trouble. So you if somebody stops you, you want to be able to hold up your receipt and say, "Oh, plainclothes security person, trouble me not because this proves that this has been paid for and I do not have to pay it again." The resurrection is a giant receipt stamped across history for all people to see, a receipt that allows you to know that your future is certain if you believe in Jesus Christ.

Editor's Note: In the same sermon, Tim Keller said, "If someone goes into jail because the law says that ten years in jail is the punishment for the crime, the day that man comes out of jail he has paid for the crime. That law doesn't have a claim on him anymore. He's free man. The wages of sin is death, and when Christ went down into death, he paid for our debt. When he came up out of the grave that meant it was paid. Christ's resurrection proves that it was fully paid."

Bryan Chapell writes in "Your New Identity”:

A number of you in the room are old enough to remember when you did not pay for gas at the pump. Remember when you had to actually take your wallet out of your pocket, pull out real dollar bills, and go into the gas station and pay for your gas? Of course nobody does that anymore. You just pay at the pump. Actually, I discovered I don't have to go to the gas station at all. I can send my daughter. At today's gas prices when she goes to pay, she can't pay for it. So what does she take? By taking my credit card, in one sense she has taken my identity. She takes my riches (such as they are) and they are hers. What is mine is put into her account. The credit is hers not because she earned it. The credit is hers because what is mine has been given to her in that moment for that purpose.

Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Identity in Christ; (2) Easter; Christ, resurrection of—Bryan Chapell used this as an illustration for his Easter sermon and then he added, "Because I am united to the death of Christ and united to the life [or resurrection] of Christ, his identity has become mine and now I/you/we are profoundly loved."

For too long, we've called unbelievers to "invite Jesus into your life." Jesus doesn't want to be in your life. Your life's a wreck. Jesus calls you into his life. And his life isn't boring or purposeless or static. It's wild and exhilarating and unpredictable.

Max Lucado tells the story of being dropped by his insurance company because he had one too many speeding tickets and a minor fender bender that wasn't his fault. One day he received a letter in the mail, informing him to seek coverage elsewhere. As he reflected on how he wasn't good enough for his insurance company, the spiritual tie-in was too obvious. "Many people fear receiving such a letter [from God]," Lucado writes. "Some worry they already have."

Lucado then imagines this correspondence, straight from the Pearly Gates Underwriting Division:

Dear Mrs. Smith,

I'm writing in response to this morning's request for forgiveness. I'm sorry to inform you that you have reached your quota of sins. Our records show that, since employing our services, you have erred seven times in the area of greed, and your prayer life is substandard when compared to others of like age and circumstance.

Further review reveals that your understanding of doctrine is in the lower 20 percentile and you have excessive tendencies to gossip. Because of your sins you are a high-risk candidate for heaven. You understand that grace has its limits. Jesus sends his regrets and kindest regards and hopes that you will find some other form of coverage.

This is how it goes for a slave, who constantly lives in fear not knowing enough, not doing enough, not ever measuring up.

In his book Bloodlines, John Piper writes:

One of the lessons I have learned in six and half decades of life is that very few dreams should go on hold while you improve the shortcomings of your life …. To be sure, there are times when you need to stop what you are doing and focus on conquering a flaw. But if you wait till all your shortcomings are remedied, your dreams will die. All our advances are with a limp.

If you wait till you are beyond criticism to pursue your dream, you will never do it. You won't marry or stay married. You won't decide to have children or raise them. You won't take your first job or keep it. You won't go into missions or stay there …. Few things paralyze people more than their own imperfections. And there are always people around to remind you of your flaws and suggest you can't move forward until you're better.

Michael Horton uses the following story to illustrate how Christ has paid our debt of sin and credited us with his righteousness:

After my junior year in college, I went to Europe with some friends. Having misjudged my expenses by several digits, I phoned home for help. My parents transferred money from their account to cover outstanding bills and included an additional sum from which I could draw until the end of the trip.

Now, was this money, which I was going to draw daily as I needed, strictly speaking, my money? No, it belonged to my parents; nevertheless, because they had transferred it to my account, it was my money. My account was now filled with money I had not earned but which was mine to use nonetheless.

In his book By Grace Alone, Sinclair Ferguson identifies four major "fiery darts" Satan uses to unsettle believers and rob them of their assurance and peace in the gospel:

• Fiery Dart 1: "God is against you," Satan says. "He is not really for you. How can you believe he is for you when you see the things that are happening in your life?"
• Fiery Dart 2: "I have accusations I will bring against you because of your sins," Satan argues. "What can you say in defense? Nothing."
• Fiery Dart 3: "You can say you are forgiven, but there is a payback day coming—a condemnation day," Satan insinuates. "How will you defend yourself then?"
• Fiery Dart 4: "Given your track record, what hope is there that you will persevere to the end?" Satan asks.

In his book Closing the Window, Tim Chester shares the following quotes from men who have struggled with the guilt and condemnation that comes from viewing pornography:

• "It's made me want to hide from God …. It makes me doubt my salvation, and then the depression comes and with the depression comes temptation to sin again."
• "I feel crap about myself. I don't feel worthy to serve God. And I don't believe I can break the habit."
• "I feel dirty and unable to approach God after looking at porn …. So often I feel unable to come to him in repentance, even though I know my sin is already dealt with."
• "I couldn't talk with God about my problems. My picture of him was that he would accept me if and when I had 'scrubbed up' enough."

Without condoning the sin of viewing porn, Chester offers the following words of hope to people who are struggling with pornography:

Jesus lived God's welcome to sinners. He embodied God's mercy. He was known as the friend of sinners. The religious people didn't like it, because it turned their proud systems of self-righteousness upside down. But Jesus sat down to eat with prostitutes, adulterers, and porn addicts …. On the cross, God treated Christ as a porn user …. [Paraphrasing 2 Corinthians 5:17], "God made Jesus, who never looked with lust, to be a porn addict for us, so that in him we might become sexually pure."

"My hearing [the good news of Jesus] gave me a heart wound. By God's blessing, my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me."

Nathan Cole, a Connecticut farmer converted to Jesus Christ in the 1740s, describing what happened to him under the preaching of George Whitefield.