A Righteousness that is not my own

Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

This is incredible! It is possible to have a righteousness that is not my own. It is not my righteousness. In other words, I can be counted as righteous yet not really be righteous. Or I can be considered righteous based not on my righteousness but upon a righteousness that comes from God.

I don't think I can interpret this as God turning me into a righteous person. If this happened, then I myself would be righteous. If I became righteous in myself, then I would live up to God's law--the standard of personal righteousness. But the Apostle Paul is saying that this righteousness from God is not by the law. That means my being called righteous is not the result of my obedience to God's law.

If it is not my righteousness, then whose is it?

1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Amazing. Jesus has become for me my righteousness. This is the essence of what it means to be justified by faith. By having faith in Christ, God credits the righteousness of Jesus to me! His right-standing becomes mine even though I myself am unrighteous.

Romans 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

If God judged me as righteous based upon my good deeds and good character, then it the same as my employer paying me because of the work I did. It would be something I earned and therefore deserved. But here, it is saying that the righteousness that I have is not my own but is a gift given to me through faith.

At one time in my life, I would have thought this to be foolish, cheap grace, not taking responsibility for my own actions. But that was because I pridefully believed that I myself was basically good. I trusted in my own righteousness. But then I came to realize how awesome God was and saw how I was not really that good. It was then that this gift of righteousness became dear to me. Yet another way God is so good--that He would judge me based on Jesus' merits and not my own. Jesus is not only my Lord, but the gift of righteousness from the Father above.