Our Righteousness Is Filthy Rags

A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Luke 7:41–42

D.L. MOODY
Very few people think they are lost. You seldom meet a bankrupt sinner. Most of them think they can pay about seventy-five cents on the dollar; some ninety-nine percent—they just come short a little, and they think the Almighty will make it up somehow.
Don’t let Satan make you think you are so good that you don’t need the grace of God. We are a bad lot, all of us, with nothing to pay.

ERWIN LUTZER
At an evangelical conference, a man interviewed several participants. His question: “Is it necessary to be perfect to enter into heaven?” And this interviewer couldn’t find anybody who would say yes. That’s astounding. These Christians, who should have known better, said, in effect, “Well no, of course not.”
Here is God who is holy and without stain, and He’s going to let imperfect people into heaven? It’s unthinkable. It shows you the extent of our theological naïveté. If you are not as holy as God, don’t even think about being admitted into heaven. Don’t even let the thought cross your mind.
Our problem is so massive that there is nothing we can do to solve it. But in Christ, God solved the problem for us. We give to Christ our sin and He gives to us what we do not have, namely, God’s righteousness. We are declared perfectly holy because of Christ’s gift to us.

PRAYER
Father, I thank you that I am credited with the righteousness of a perfect Savior. Thank you for Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What thoughts go through your mind when you think of what Christ has done on the cross for you?

God forgave our sins in Christ, what are some applications of this in your life?