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Years ago a popular country/western melody filled the radio airwaves. The title of the song seemed to make the point completely - "Always Late". I was labled this once, when extremely late to an important radio musical performance.

The MC even labled me as always late (jokingly), at the beginning of the program!

No one wants to be late of course. But every true Christian desires to always be right, or in the right, and strives to do right in the sight of God and man. Although impossible to be right before God in the flesh, we are to acknowledge our unrighteousness before God in repentance, and then we are considered righteous in His sight.

However, our confession and repentance does not set us right before Him permanently, although this is our heart's desire. It is not our heartfelt sorrow and repentance before God that makes us right again. Our repentance is never perfect because we can never be perfect in ourselves - even after repentance. Our own imperfections prevents perfect repentance.

This is because we, of ourselves, can never present the righteousness required by God - even with deep heartfelt confession and repentance. Even after the time of our heartfelt sorrow and repentance, from that moment, many times we continue to struggle with the same problems. We simply cannot continuously perform what we and God desires, either in our actions and attitudes, and in our day to day activities and relationships.

We cannot attain in our thoughts and action the righteousness that God requires. It will always be imperfect.

But God requires PERFECT righteousness. This can only be found as we are in His perfect Son. If we present ourselves in and through Him, the Father will accept us as being righteous, because of our being in His perfect Son. Our belief in His payment for our sin results in a lifetime of continuous cancellation of what we are in our flesh that is contrary to Jesus Christ's perfection.

Our imperfect repentance and righteousness is counted as perfect because of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. This is the reason He sits with the Father on the throne, continuously interceeding for us as our High Priest, continuosly blotting out, and not simply "covering" our sins. The sacraficial offerings for sins during OT times only "covered" sins temporarly.

The sacrafices and offerings contained in the Old Covenant did not - indeed they COUILD NOT blot out sin. Only the blood of God in the flesh of Jesus Christ can completely blot out our sin. He does this on a continuous basis, because the Holy Spirit knows our intent of our heart, and works permanent repentance into our hearts. Jesus becomes our righteousness, as we grow more and more into the likeness of Him..

This is an ongoing process. Otherwise, the instant we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, there would be no need for us to continue to live on in our physical bodies on this earth. Instead, through this process, we become more and more like our Savior (Hebrews 12:22-23 ).

Through this process, we are finally made perfect at our resurrection. We will finally "be right" in every way, as Jesus Christ is - forever.

"Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]. For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]". - Hebrews 4:14-16 (AMP)

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

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