Imagine that you are sitting in a chair in front of God the Father, and all his glory is blazing in unapproachable light, and Jesus, in his blood-soaked robe, is sitting in a chair next to you. An angel asks God the Father, “Who is more righteous, Jesus or this image bearer?”
How do you think God the Father would answer?
Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and because you have placed your faith in him, God the Father would say,
“They are equally righteous because _________ [your name] is ‘in’ my Son. I see all those who are in my beloved Son the same way I see him: as perfectly righteous.” In Christ, you are holy and are without fault in God’s eyes. Not only is your sin removed but God has given you his own righteousness (Romans 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:4). The sinless life Jesus lived, which fulfilled the law, is now applied to you.
Seeing Yourself through the Righteousness of Christ
What changes when you see yourself through the righteousness of Christ, holy and faultless in the eyes of God? Guilt and shame are powerless. Your salvation and your eternal destiny in the new heaven and earth is secure. No mistake or failure can change who God has declared you to be. You are free from condemnation (Romans 8:1)!
How Your Identity in Christ Changes Everything
Embracing God’s righteousness in Christ as my own righteousness transformed my life. Before I understood the righteousness of God, I was a compulsive stutterer afraid of public speaking. I believe my stuttering was a trauma response. But now I am a pastor. What happened? My security in God’s love became unshakeable. Nothing, not even the trauma I had experienced, could overcome my new identity. I gained a new confidence, a new power, a new mind, and a new way to relate to the world. When I begin to see myself as God sees me in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30), by faith, in the Spirit’s power, I no longer allowed my past pain and trauma to define me. Jesus alone defines me!
Sharing the Righteousness of Christ with Others
The same Jesus who declares me righteousness has declared you righteous too. If Jesus could transform me, he could do it for anyone! When you’re lit up with love, you become a recipient of God’s righteousness and a invite others to share in the righteousness of Jesus.
As you share Christ with the people you meet, people who are weary and burdened from trying to heal their own wounds, let them know about the righteous-making power in the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:8-9). Jesus is not looking for people who are weary from trying to make themselves acceptable to God. He’s looking for weary people who know they can’t.
Dr. Derwin Gray is the cofounder and lead pastor of Transformation Church (TC), a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a popular conference speaker and the author of Hero: Unleashing God’s Power in a Man’s Heart, Building a Multiethnic Church, The Good Life, Limitless Life, and God, Do You Hear Me? Derwin earned a master of divinity degree with a concentration in apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary under the mentorship of the renowned theologian Dr. Norman Geisler and a doctor of ministry degree in the New Testament in context at Northern Seminary. Derwin is also a graduate of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. Derwin met his wife, Vicki, at Brigham Young University. They have been married since 1992 and have two adult children, Presley and Jeremiah.
Adapted from Lit Up with Love: Becoming Good-News People to a Gospel-Starved World by Derwin Gray. Copyright © 2025. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
