My Robe of Righteousness

Isaiah 61:10-11

¹⁰ I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the soil makes the sprout come up and  a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

There is wonderful peace and exceeding joy when we know that God has clothed us with garments of salvation, and arrayed us in a robe of righteousness. Christians today need to know and understand how much the goodness of God is manifest in his people when they know God's salvation and God's righteousness.

 Satan will attack us in an attempt to bring us down by convincing us that we are not worthy, or that we really do not deserve salvation from God. Sinners that we are, Satan will constantly work on us, getting us to believe that God would never save us. 

In addition to the outward attacks of Satan, there are some inward attacks that happen, too. Inward accusations meant to tear down and damage the influence of the church. These may come in several forms, but the most evident movement from within the body of Christ is legalism. It rears its ugly head when Christians, under the guise of being defenders of the truth, try to bind us with a strict adherence to their list of biblical laws. Anyone that steps out of line is immediately suspect of not being a "real" Christian at all. The legalist cannot see that he allows himself to become exactly like the Pharisees, which Jesus continually chastised for making God's rules and laws a burden instead of a blessing. 

None of us will ever be perfect, and for me, I am glad. I can latch hold of the claim of Jesus that he did not come to save the perfect, he came to save the imperfect. Those who are not sick do not need of a doctor, but those who suffer spiritual sickness can always lean on Jesus, the Great Physician. 

Legalism leads to self-righteousness, and those who make such a venture through life will have us believing our salvation is based on something we do, rather than God's grace, which assures us that salvation something God does. My righteousness will not save me. Only God's righteousness can do the job. The legalist will have us believing we are under condemnation because of our sin. God wants us to receive forgiveness through Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross. "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1.  It's time we praise God by celebrating the freedom he has given. 

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