“For by the on man’s disobedience the many were made
sinners. So by one man’s obedience…many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19
Christ’s perfect life and obedience was important. His
obedience included a life in which he obeyed God’s law in all things at all
times. Every day was perfect. Our savior lived in perfect alignment with God’s
will and law.
Jerry Bridges says it well:
“For
the most part Jesus’s life of perfect obedience has
been
seen only as a necessary precondition to his death.
The
truth is, however, Jesus not only died for us, He also lived for us.
That is, all that Christ did both in his life and
death,
He
did in our place as our substitute.”
We as humans have double guilt.
We have the inherited guilt from Adam and then on top of that our own guilt and
debt to condemn us. Jesus came and took care of the problem of the debt that we
owed.
Even the absence of sin is not a
ticket to an audience with God. We need more than a removal of guilt we need a
savior who can give us the perfection that we can never attain. An absence of
sin seems impressive compared to the dirt in our hearts, but God requires much
more than a blank slate, he requires righteousness and perfection.
The death of Christ is what removed
our debt and returned us to a balance of zero, while Christ’s obedience is what
put unimaginable wealth in our bank account; it is because of Christ’s life and
perfect obedience that we are granted perfect righteousness before God
Justification by faith alone
means that we’re justified by the works of Christ alone.
So yes we should be very grateful
for Christ’s death on the cross, but we need to be just as grateful for his
obedient life as well!
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