John 12:24 is a precious verse in the Bible. It says that unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. A man like the Lord Jesus was just one grain before God. Only after He has died is there many grains. Salvation begins with the cross. Although we must have Bethlehem before we can have Golgotha, we are saved through Golgotha, not Bethlehem. The Son of God is absolutely righteous. He was the one righteous grain. But His righteousness cannot save us. It cannot be imputed to us. God does mention the righteousness of Christ in the Bible. But He never says that Christ's righteousness is to be ours. The Bible says that Christ is our righteousness. It never says that Christ's righteousness is our righteousness. I would like to bring this out, for this will exalt the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Christ is our righteousness. Christ Himself is our righteousness. We go to God in Christ. Christ is our righteousness.

Once I asked a Western sister what she wears when she goes before God. She said that she puts on the righteousness of Christ to go to God. She took the righteousness of Christ as her garment to go to God. I asked her where this is found in the Bible. It is not the righteousness of Christ that has become our righteousness. Christ has never transferred His righteousness to us. Rather, it is Christ Himself who has become our righteousness. We are saved by the righteousness of God, not by the righteousness of Christ.

We have seen what God's righteousness is. God's righteousness brings us forgiveness and saves us from judgment. It is not the righteousness of Christ that does this. The righteousness of Christ is only the qualification for Him to be our Savior. Christ has never transferred His righteousness to us. If the righteousness of the Lord Jesus were transferable to us, He could have done this while He was living on earth. He did not have to go to the cross, and we could have been saved then. If that is the case, His life would have become a ransoming life. But there is no such doctrine as a ransoming life. There is only the doctrine of a ransoming death. Only the death of the Lord Jesus will save us. His life is our example. We cannot be saved by His life. His righteousness condemns us. The more righteous He is, the more we are in trouble. There is absolutely no way for His righteousness to be imputed to us. If God were to put us side by side with the righteousness of the Lord, we could only go to hell. But thank God that He has died and become our righteousness. This is why we are saved. Salvation comes from the cross. It does not come from the manger. Salvation comes from Golgotha; it does not come from Bethlehem. If the righteousness of the Lord Jesus could save us, He would not have had to die. Therefore, when we read the Bible, we should not be affected by theology. We will be much clearer if we are taught by the Bible rather than by theology. Man's word can help, but it can also damage. We would rather put man's word aside.

Let us go on step by step. We first saw that it must be God who comes to bear our sins. Then we saw that Jesus of Nazareth came to bear our sins. But His righteousness on earth was more of a condemnation to us. When were we saved through the Lord Jesus? Let us consider a type in the Bible. Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, there was a veil. God was within the veil in the Holy of Holies. Outside the veil was the world. The Bible tells us that this veil signifies the flesh of the Lord Jesus (Heb. 10:20). In other words, the Holy of Holies can only be seen by the Lord Jesus as a man on earth and those who live a life like the life of the Lord Jesus. Not all can see God. Only the Lord Jesus can see God. No one in the entire world can see the Holy of Holies. It has been veiled. Man was able to see the Holy of Holies when God removed the veil from heaven and combined the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the outer court into one. This was accomplished at the time the Son of God was crucified on the cross. At that time, the way to the Holy of Holies was opened. This is why Hebrews 10:19-20 says that we have boldness to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus through the veil. This torn veil is the flesh of the Lord Jesus. Now we have boldness and the full assurance of faith to come to God. The righteousness of the Lord Jesus on earth has no direct relationship with us. Thank the Lord that He did not stay on earth forever. If He were to remain on earth forever, He would still be the one grain. Thank God that He has died and produced us, the many grains. Thank the Lord for the cross.