Day: April 19, 2026

Sunday, April 19, 2026

“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5 KJV).

May we have the proper perspective of wickedness versus righteousness….

On the one hand, there is “righteousness” or “right standing before God, the condition of justification.” On the other hand, there is “wickedness,” or “the condition of being evil or morally wrong” (interestingly, the root “wicked” is derived from “witch!”). Every human, except the God-Man Jesus Christ, is born in wickedness rather than righteousness.

Ephesians chapter 2 reviews this individual history of believers in Christ: “[1] And you hath he [Father God] quickened [given life to], who were dead in trespasses and sins; [2] Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit [attitude/mentality] that now worketh in the children of disobedience [unbelievers, lost people]: [3] Among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of living] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

“God’s Grace Factory”—as it has been so aptly titled—removed us from such a wretched, wicked position in Adam and placed us into a glorious, righteous position in Christ: “[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, [5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; ) [6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [7] That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

This is not our righteousness, but God’s righteousness….