The Lord Will Have Righteous People

This morning I have been reading through the book of the Prophet Malachi.  These are the verses that caught my eye today - Malachi 3:1-4 NIV:

[1] “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty."

[2] "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years."

As I reflect on these verses, the part that grabbed my attention was the second half of verse 3, "Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness".   His desire is for people of righteousness, and He will have them.  The interesting thing, is that we now know that this righteousness will be accomplished by the Lord, and not by our actions.   We ARE righteous, through faith in Jesus, not through our observance of the law. 

Paul writes very clearly that this is so in several of his letters, and the following couple of verses from his letter to the Romans are good examples - Romans 3:22,28 NIV:

[22] "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,.."

[28] "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."

I love how the Lord, set the stage for the awesome fulfillment of these words from Malachi through Jesus.  He proclaimed refinement and purification of the Levites, but instead of applying that word to them, He applied it to Himself, and did all that was required to be perfectly righteous.  Then He, in His great mercy and compassion, applied that righteousness to us, to those that believe!  He said He will have people who bring offerings in righteousness and then He made it possible for all people to fulfill this word!   Whether gentile or Jew, man or woman, if we believe and receive Jesus in faith, we receive His righteousness! 

Paul wrote in his letter to Romans 5:17 NIV:  "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!"

Thus, we find in our own lives, this word from Malachi fulfilled, for we who believe in Jesus, are able to bring our lives as offerings in righteousness!  Let us lay down our lives before Him, who is our righteousness, and let us give Him glory for doing what only He can do!  He has visited His people, He has come as a refining fire, He has come and purified, and He has established us as righteous!

Thank You Lord!