Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you
have been saved." This indicates that
we are saved by God's grace.
Romans 3:25 and 26 say, "Whom God
set forth as a propitiation place
through faith in His blood, for the
demonstrating of His
righteousness..with a view to the
demonstrating of His righteousness in
the present time, so that He might be
righteous and the One who justifies
him who is of the faith of Jesus." This
shows us that salvation is also by
God's righteousness.
God's grace provides a Savior for us,
so that we have the possibility of
being saved (John 3:16), while God's
righteousness causes salvation to be
accomplished upon us, so that God
must save us. The part from the
Lord's birth through His death and
resurrection to His ascension, has
been accomplished for us by God's
grace, while the part since the Lord's
ascension until now is accomplished
for us by His righteousness.
Grace can be given or withheld
according to God's pleasure, but
righteousness allows no choice. Since
Christ has died and been raised, God
must save you if you believe. If you
believe and God does not save you,
then He is not righteous. What does 1
John 1:9 say? Does it say, "If we
confess our sins, He is merciful and
loving to forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness"?
No. It says, "He is faithful and
righteous." The blood of His Son has
cleansed us from all sins. When we
believe, God must save us. God
cannot be unfaithful, because His
word has already been spoken. He
cannot be unrighteous because the
blood of His Son has been shed.
Therefore, we thank and praise God,
for He must save us!
All unrighteousness is sin. God cannot
be unrighteous, therefore He must
save us. Saying that God may not
forgive us is like saying that He is
unfaithful and unrighteous. We must
lay hold of God's righteousness. He
delights in our laying hold of His
righteousness. For us to lay hold of
God's righteousness is to honor Him.