Righteousness of God

Righteousness of God
Rom. 1:17
      The righteousness of God requires righteousness of us.  Being perfectly righteous, He has a perfect right to require righteousness from us.  Sadly enough, we have none.  We have only total ruin 3:9-18.  These verses list many of the unrighteous deeds of which we are guilty in our depraved nature.  It concludes with all mankind held guilty before God  Add to that we are Law breakers 3:19, 20.  Whether it be Jews breaking the given Law of God, or whether it be Gentiles who have not the Law but are a law unto ourselves,  we all are Law breakers.
      God, however, has ordained our righteousness in our Surety.  Since we have none of our own, thank God we do in the Person of our Surety.  Our Surety was made under the Law Gal. 4:4, 5.  He was God, but He was made flesh, and He subjected Himself to the Law He had given.  He met every demand of that Law Matt. 5:17, 18.  His obedience was perfect, and He had no guile 1Pet.2:21-23.   He was obedient even unto dyeing for us in obedience to the Father,
      His grace made us more righteous than Adam was before the Fall.  Adam's righteousness was really not righteousness; it was innocence not having obeyed or disobeyed.  He was untested.  Then he broke the one law that God gave him and became disobedient or unrighteous.  When Jesus, our Surety died on that old rugged cross, every sin of every one of His elect people was laid on Him, and 2 Cor. 5:21 tells us that He was made sin for us.  That is He was our substitute, and He died in our place.  Because of that we were made the righteousness of God in Him.  This imputed righteousness of ours is not innocence; it is the perfect righteousnes of God imputed to us  It is a righteousness far greater than Adam ever knew.  It makes us in God's sight as righteous as Jesus Christ, Himself.  Oh, Hallelujah.