Romans 4:1-3: “What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.”
Abraham was made right before God by believing and not by doing. He obeyed God to leave his home and to go to the land that the Lord would show him. Abraham failed many times along the way. His obedience, though commendable, could not justify him before a holy God or make him righteous.
Instead, the righteousness of God was reckoned to Abraham through faith. Like Abraham, we can never obey perfectly to earn a righteousness of our own. But we can, through faith, receive a righteousness through the gift of Jesus Christ.
Where do you look for your righteousness? This Lenten season, may we marvel at the great gift given to us through Jesus. He was and is the only one to live a life of righteousness.