Boldness by Righteousness

God makes unrighteous people righteous. Scripture says it, and I believe it. Let’s look at one simple verse that affirms this truth:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

In this verse, I like to insert names in place of the pronouns: “For God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for you and me, that we might become the righteousness of God in Jesus.” There is a complete exchange: Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness so that we might be made righteous with His righteousness. This righteousness is available through faith in His blood.

Righteousness produces certain immediate and definite observable results. Let’s look at one of those results as stated in Scripture. Actually, our ways of living, our attitudes, our relationships, and the effectiveness of our Christian lives and acts of service will depend on how far we realize that we have been made righteous. We read in Proverbs 28:1:

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Many Christians today lack boldness. They are timid and apologetic; they tend to back down when confronted with evil or with the devil. The real root cause is their failure to appreciate the fact that they are righteous in God’s sight—as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself. When we appreciate that truth, it makes us bold.