Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The LORD our righteousness Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA November 30, 2003 The First Sunday in Advent Main Scripture text: Jeremiah 33:14-16. This prophecy, dating from about 600 years before the birth of Christ, tell us what Jesus will do and how He will save us. We learn that Jesus will not only do what is just and right, He will do these things "in the land," or among the people, in the society. To understand the importance of that, we need to understand the Old Testament concepts of justice and righteousness. Righteousness. Biblically, righteous is the fulfillment of the demands of relationships. When someone fulfills the conditions imposed by a relationship, he or she is "righteous" in Old Testament terms. Righteousness is understood in terms of right-relatedness -- with God and each other. This is why Jesus said the two greatest commandments are: 1) Love God with all your being; 2) Love others as yourself. The "righteous Branch" prophesied by Jeremiah will put us in right-relationship with God, and that will result in our being in right relationship with others. This righteous Branch will also do what is "just." In Old Testament terms justice has two functions: Restoration, and correction/preservation. Restoration is restoring that to which one is entitled through relationship, but has been deprived of by unrighteousness. God through Jeremiah is saying that the Righteous Branch will see to it that we get back what the devil has stolen from us, including an intimate relationship with God, peace in our homes and communities, righteousness in our government, and prosperity. Correction/preservation involves correcting what is wrong so as to protect and preserve the social order. How? By fixing and properly maintaining relationships. The righteous Branch will teach us to love God with all our being and our neighbor as our self. He will empower us to fulfill the responsibilities of the relationships. This has already begun. The Church is to be a microcosm of this new order, governed by the law of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. How Jesus saves us. First, the bad news. We simply are not capable of becoming -- must less remaining -- rightly related to God. And without that relationship we have no hope for the peace, joy, and prosperity for which we yearn. Now the good news: The solution is found in Jeremiah 33:16: "the LORD our righteousness"! The only way anyone can be right with God is through the righteousness that comes from God Himself through Jesus Christ. Righteousness is a gift of God that can be yours and mine by faith, by believing that a loving God has indeed made Jesus Christ our righteousness, and has thus qualified us to share in the riches of His grace and the blessings of His Kingdom! Supporting texts: Matthew 22: 36-40 | Isaiah 64:6 | Romans 3:23 | Psalm 31:1 | Psalm 35:24 | 1 Corinthians 1:30 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 031130a: The LORD Our Righteousness. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us