Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. —1 Peter 3:18
As you better understand how God desires for you to live, there may be times you feel woefully inadequate. But the point of exposing our insufficiency isn’t to burden us with our failure. Rather the goal is to make us realize our utter dependence on Christ.
If you’re a believer in Christ, He has already imputed to you His righteousness. You couldn’t possibly be any more pleasing to the Lord, even if you tried—because His covenant love is based on His performance, not yours. And it’s His love and faithfulness that enable you to walk in a way that honors Him.
The conviction you feel, therefore, isn’t meant to induce you to try harder, as if you could somehow work yourself into better favor with God. No, it’s intended to let true repentance lead you back to the true Source of all this love, kindness, and self-control—the only One who’s able to make you into what He wants you to be.
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Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together ©2017 Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
Spend time thanking God for Christ’s righteousness on your behalf and ask Him to form you into who He wants you to be.