How Did We Become Righteous?

Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.

Hebrews 10:10 (GNT)

In the book of Leviticus 4, the process of offering sacrifice for sin is clearly stated.

A man would come with his sin offering, which would be a spotless animal with no defect.

The priest will then inspect the animal to ensure it had no flaws.

After the animal had passed the test, the man will then lay his hands on it and confess his sins, transferring his sin to the animal and, as a result, receiving its spotlessness.

The animal will then be killed.

After this, the man walks away justified because of the sacrifice that was made.

This sacrifice had an expiration date.

If an animal could transfer its spotlessness to a man, how much more, Jesus?

He took your place as the spotless lamb.

So receiving Jesus means you accepted Him as your sin-bearer. It was like laying your hands on Him and confessing your sins to receive His righteousness.

And because His sacrifice for sin is eternal, having no expiration date, your righteousness also has no expiration date.

The man who made the sacrifice went away with the consciousness of being right with God because he transferred his sin to the animal.

The same way, the moment you believe in Jesus Christ, you are not supposed to be calling yourself a sinner again.

If you are a Christian and make a mistake, rather than feel condemned and start “confessing sins”, remember His sacrifice. To confess sins is like laying hands on Jesus all over again, but the sacrifice of himself was once and for all.

So rather than confess sin, say, Father, I thank you because I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”

Maintain a consciousness of His righteousness.

The devil will want to keep pointing you to yourself, but when he does, point him to the cross and tell him who you are now in Christ.

And you also don’t have to do anything wrong to say this; make it a practice of declaring your righteousness every day. 

The more you do this, the more conscious of your righteousness you become.

He took your place so that you may take His place, and now his judgment about you is that you are righteous.

This should be your confession, mindset, and consciousness.

(John 1:29. Hebrews 10:10-14. 2 Corinthians 5:21)