Perfection

Jesus doesn’t just pay for our sins and hope that we make our second chance count through good works. Many people say that Jesus saved them, but really, they are stuck in the never-ending quest of paying Jesus back through good works. The gospel offers freedom from this cycle of bondage.

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus doesn’t just take away our sin. He also gives us his perfect righteousness as a gift. Jesus doesn’t just wipe away our sinful record. He also gives us his perfect record instead (Romans 3:22). Paul writes, “For our sake he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is called the “Great Exchange.” By grace through faith, Jesus takes our sin, and we receive his righteousness.

This is the only way to receive righteousness. Paul talks about the way he has been saved: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:8-9). Those who try to earn their own righteousness before God are rejecting God’s gracious gift, as Paul writes, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 3:21).