But teach me that I cannot satisfy thy law,
that this effort (to satisfy the law on my own) is a resting in my righteousness,
that only Christ's righteousness, ready made,
already finished, is fit for that purpose
Christ's righteousness ready made, already finished. That is the message of Easter.
I want us to ponder those words. Meditate on them. Memorize them. This is the crux of our faith. Christ's righteousness, ready made, already finished.
For millenia prior to the cross, it was only the shedding of bloody sacrifices that could cleanse people from their sin. At the cross, the Bloody Sacrifice was made in our place. He took our sin, the cup of wrath that we so deserved directly from the Father's hand and poured it on himself on the cross. With his resurrection, he put the period at the end of the sentence. Satan sits, mouth agape at the empty tomb. The victory that was his, is his no longer. No grave can hold the Savior of the world. Jesus is not a still-dead sacrifice. He's alive! He rose, conquering not only the grave, but sin and death itself! A final sacrifice.
And yet, here we are, a church, a people bent on trying to save ourselves. Each time we rely on our own strength. Each time we neglect to pray "Lord, do this work." Each time we put ourselves above others. Each time we neglect to do what's right. Each time we do the wrong thing because if feels right. Each time we put things off til tomorrow. Each time we refuse to share our burdens. Each time we refuse to enter into each other's suffering.
Each time we say "I'm sufficient. I can do it. I don't need Him. I can do it."
The culture tells us this in bold faced billboards and commercials. Be you. You can do it. You are strong.
But we are not. Strength is not the state of natural man. Brokenness is. And it is because of this, we need to meditate on the completed work of Christ this Easter, no, every day.
Christ's righteous stands in utter contrast to our wretchedness. And he offers it to us so that we can stand before the Father Justified- never to receive the cup of wrath from the Father's hand.
Christ's work is finished. It is already here. We do not have to search for it in other things. It is in an open hand. It is in the pages of Scripture.
May we live each day fully grasping that only Christ's righteousness, ready made, already finished, is fit for that purpose of taking our dead hearts and making them alive. Not you. Not your spouse. Not your good works. Not your kids, your family, your job, your righteous works. It's not enough. But the Author and Finisher of our faith has done the work. It is ready made for you. Repent. Believe.