"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."
This is one of the clearest verses illustrating what theologians call “Imputed Righteousness”. The early reformers called it “Alien Righteousness” which I like better, because it clarifies that it does not come from this world. The power that saves you does not originate within you. That’s why Jonathon Edwards said, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Whatever you call it; this concept is the heart of the gospel.
Alien Righteousness is also a stumbling block for many people…. because it absolutely eliminates boasting. I didn’t accept Christ because I am smarter, more perceptive, or innately better than those who are lost. Believing that we can do something that will make us like God is what tripped us up in the garden and still does today. Surely, we can find a way for us to get at least a little bit of credit for our eternal salivation, right? Nope, because if there were, we would boast.
We would take credit and become our own little god, and that violates the very First commandment… “ …have no other gods before me.” The original sin is pride, and it can only be combatted by humility. And the way to humility is to take an honest look at our condition and acknowledge our inability to change it.
The self-righteous insists that If they do more good than bad, they should get into Heaven… The problem is that regardless of their accounting, they don’t do more good than bad, and even if they did, the requirement for entrance is perfection.
The pious believe their religious deeds, and rituals make them “more” worthy and thereby qualify them to judge others. The issue there is that scripture calls their deeds “filthy rags” (research that and you’ll be repulsed by what it means).
The bottom line is that our own righteousness is inadequate… We must have His righteousness, and only His death and resurrection can impute this alien righteousness to us. Only then by grace, may we stand before God in complete perfection and enter into His presence…. That is amazing grace.
“You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you.” – Charles Spurgeon
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