Under no circumstance can any of us claim a righteousness sufficient to earn God’s favor. Even a cursory review of the Ten Commandments reveals that hard truth. We have no righteousness before God because every time we break one of His holy commands we show ourselves to be insolent rebels who despise God and His Word. Only by His grace do we hear the thundering Law and rather than rare up in protest humble ourselves before His throne and seek His mercy. If we are to be righteous, we must be made righteous by God Himself. We must be washed and cleansed of the guilt that plagues us. That is precisely what God does. He takes us who are completely unrighteous and declares us to be wholly righteous! And this He does as a free gift. This is why He gathers us to the Church because it is through the church that Christ daily and richly forgives the sins of poor sinners. What great joy then to be in the house of God on the Lord’s Day to be declared righteous by our Heavenly Father. I look forward to seeing all of you this coming Lord’s Day.
Pastor Ulmer