April 27
Credited As Righteousness
[God] took [Abraham] outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. ––Genesis 15:5-6
Righteousness NOUN
: the quality or state of being righteous : conformity to the divine or the moral law : rectitude, uprightness
When we think of famous figures in the Bible, a guy named Phinehas doesn’t typically jump to mind. But he was actually mentioned a couple of times. When an Israelite man named Zimri and a Midianite woman named Cozbi rebelled against God, the priest Phinehas ran them through with a spear while they were sleeping. The story is found in Numbers 25, and occurred around 1500 BC. Roughly 1,000 years later, the psalmist writes about Phinehas:
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come. —Psalm 106:28-31
Can you imagine being written about 1,000 years from now (and someone reading about you 2,500 years in the future)? For conducting himself in a right manner, the Lord credited Phinehas’ actions as righteousness for “endless generations.” Don’t think the Lord doesn’t see the kind acts of goodness you do each and every day. The amazing part, however, is that in Christ, we don’t need to “do” anything to be counted among the righteous. In fact, Paul says,
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. —Romans 4:3-5
Paul is saying that it is not our works that justify us, but our faith. Jesus is the one who covers us in His righteousness, through our faith in Him. We don’t need to earn it, but only accept it. Choosing to do right and deciding to do acts of service flows from the grace He has extended to us, not the other way around.
Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t recognized for the righteous acts you perform for those you love. As a redeemed son of the risen Christ, your faith can change generations—just like Phinehas.
Father, thank You that through my spiritual lineage as a follower of Jesus, You have counted my generations as righteousness. Help me to walk in Your path!