October 2008 Meditation: Virtuous = Righteous
As
we saw in our August monthly meditation, a synonym for virtuous is
righteous. What does it mean to be righteous? When considering
righteousness, we have to realize that we are not righteous apart from
our relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Our righteousness is not based on our good works.
God
saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take
credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for
the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we
are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that
we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Eph. 2:8-10 (New Living Translation)
Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His
mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should
become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:5-7 (New King James Version)
We do not become a virtuous woman based on what we do. We are virtuous because of what God did for us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus secured our righteousness for us by being made sin.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
2 Cor. 5:21 (King James Version)
Jesus,
our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was
brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval
Romans 4:25 (God’s Word Translation)
The New Living Translation of this verse ends by saying, “he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.”
We are right because God made us right, not because of what we do.
Our righteousness is by faith. It is based on what we believe, actually who we believe in.
For
the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, so God declared him to
be righteous.” When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers
earn what they receive. But people are declared righteous because of
their faith, not because of their work.
Romans 4:3-5
We have to allow our thoughts to line up with what God says about us. He says we are righteous when we put our trust in Him.
I am a virtuous woman because that is who God made me to be when I made Jesus my Lord.