Tempted to Doubt

I'm going to snag it.

All right, well, good morning, everyone.

You may be seated.

Yeah, I'm going to do the scripture reading a little bit later.

All right, yeah, so my name is Jeff Kreisel.

I serve as the RUF campus minister at USAPHA.

If you would like to learn more about our ministry at the academy,

please grab me afterwards.

My wife is also on staff.

Raise your hand, Jennifer.

She's on staff.

And then Daniel Sachs, he's one of our volunteers.

He's here as well.

Just grab one of the three of us, and we would love to.

Just tell you about how God is at work at the Air Force Academy.

So this year, I've decided to work through the Gospel of Luke with our students.

And the Gospel of Luke is a uniquely applicable book for college students.

College students that struggle with doubt.

College students who are surrounded by so many reasons to doubt the goodness and the plan of God.

And so we're working through the Gospel of Luke.

And I was kind of struck by Luke's purpose statement that he gives for the entire book.

He says this in chapter 1, verse 3.

It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past,

to write an orderly, detailed account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

which is a name that means lover of God,

so that you may have certainty concerning the things that you have been taught.

Certainty is what Luke is after, because he knows that we, living in a fallen, wrecked world,

will struggle with doubt.

We will struggle to believe with certainty what Christ has accomplished on our behalf.

And this certainty is something that not only skeptical college students need,

it is something that all Christians, from all times, all places,

something that we all need.

We need to experience certainty.

And so the Gospel of Luke was written for people like you and I,

people who struggle with doubt,

people who struggle to experience full certainty

about the events surrounding Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

In Luke's Gospel, it reminds us that experiencing doubt

doesn't mean that you aren't a Christian.

In fact, Luke's Gospel shows us that experiencing doubt

is because we are fallen humans living in a fallen, wrecked, confusing wilderness of a world.

And so the question isn't, do I have doubts?

The question that the Gospel of Luke presents is,

what do I do with them?

What do I do with my doubts?

Do I ignore them?

Do I sweep them under the rug and act as if they don't exist?

Do I downplay them?

Do I distract myself with other things so that I don't have to deal with my doubt?

Do I feed my doubt?

Or do I attempt to identify the root of my doubts

and then I do the hard work of uprooting those doubts

before they cause me to spiral?

Even Martin Luther, the great theologian author during the Reformation,

struggled with doubt.

He said this.

He said,

I cannot stop the birds.

His word for doubts.

I cannot stop the birds from flying around my head,

but I can stop them from making a nest in my hair.

I love that.

Luke's Gospel, it helps us.

It helps prevent doubts from nesting in our head.

It helps prevent doubts from nesting in our hearts.

And so as we look at this passage this morning in Luke 4,

it's particularly relevant given that you guys worked through Isaiah 7 last week.

A prophecy is given about the coming Messiah who would know how to choose right

and how to choose or how to not choose evil or how to refuse what is evil.

And so we see this prophecy in Isaiah 7 that is actually lived out in Luke 4.

When Jesus goes into the wilderness,

he is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he is tempted for 40 days and 40 nights.

He goes toe-to-toe with Satan himself.

Satan throws all of his best temptations to doubt at Jesus,

and we're going to see how Jesus responds.

The stakes are high.

The stakes are really high in this passage.

If Jesus fails, if he falters, kind of like Adam did back in Genesis 3,

if he falls and Satan's doubts start to nest in his head and in his heart,

the wilderness world in which we live will remain a wilderness world.

But if Jesus succeeds where Adam failed,

then the wilderness will become a paradise that we all get to enjoy for eternity.

Isaiah 7 prophesied that the coming Messiah would know how to refuse evil and to choose good.

And in Luke 4, Jesus is going to show us how to deal with our doubts.

So I invite you all to please stand for the reading of God's word.

Luke 4, verses 1 through 13.

Luke 4:1–13

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days,

being tempted by the devil.

And he ate nothing during those days, and when they were ended, he was hungry.

The devil said to him,

If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.

And Jesus answered him,

It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone.

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

and said to him,

To you I will give all this authority and their glory,

for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

If you then worship me, it will all be yours.

And Jesus answered him,

It is written,

You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

And he took him to Jerusalem,

and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

and said to him,

If you are the Son of God,

throw yourself down from here.

For it is written,

He will command his angels concerning you to guard you.

And on their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

And Jesus answered him,

It is said,

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

And when the devil had ended every temptation,

he departed from him until an opportune time.

This is the reading of God's Word.

Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father,

we live in a wilderness world,

a world in which we are surrounded by so many reasons

why we should doubt your goodness,

and your plan for our lives,

and the reality that we are redeemed

through the redemptive work of Christ.

We pray, Lord,

that we would doubt our doubts this morning,

that we would see Christ more clearly,

and that we would have greater certainty

concerning the things surrounding his life,

death, and resurrection.

We pray all these things in his name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Let me move this a little bit more.

So living in the wilderness is hard,

is it not?

Living in the wilderness is hard,

and it is especially hard

when you are trying to resist

the wilderness's temptations.

When you are trying to resist temptation,

the wilderness is hard.

If you are tempted to lust,

tempted with greed,

tempted with power or control,

maybe you are tempted with self-righteousness

or self-hatred,

you name the temptation.

When you face that temptation in the wilderness,

if you try to resist it,

it is going to be difficult.

Caving is easy.

Fighting temptation is hard.

And the harder that you fight temptation

and refuse to cave,

the better you actually understand

the power of temptation.

C.S. Lewis,

in one of his great writings,

he gave this summary

for how Jesus experienced

the wilderness temptations.

He says this.

He says,

No man knows how bad he is

till he has tried very hard to be good.

A silly idea is current

that good people do not know

what temptation means.

This is an obvious lie.

Only those who try to resist temptation

know how strong it is.

You find out the strength of a wind

by trying to walk against it,

not by lying down.

A man who gives in to temptation

after five minutes

simply does not know

what it would have been like

an hour later.

That is why bad people,

in one sense,

know very little about badness.

They have lived a sheltered life

by always giving in.

We never find out the strength

of the evil impulse inside of us

until we try to fight it.

In Christ,

because he was the only man

who never yielded to temptation,

is also the only man

who knows to the full

what temptation means.

Do you hear what C.S. Lewis

is saying here?

He's saying,

to truly understand

the power and the weightiness

of temptation

and how hard it is to fight it.

You have to fight it

for a long period of time,

and no one knew this better

than Jesus.

Throughout his life,

not just for 40 days

and 40 nights,

Jesus was tempted

in every way

that we are tempted.

We can't even begin

to grasp the depths,

the degree of the temptation

that Jesus experienced,

and the reason why

is because we cave.

When we're walking

against the wind,

we don't like it,

so we lie down.

We end the temptation

before it gets

too hard and heavy.

But Jesus never stopped

walking into the wind.

Every day of his life,

Jesus more than anyone else

knew the power of temptation.

And because he never laid down

when he was faced

with those temptations,

we actually have a Savior

who can resonate with us

when we ourselves are tempted.

This is what the author

of Hebrews brings out.

He says,

For we do not have

a high priest

who is unable

to sympathize

with our weakness,

but one who in every respect

has been tempted

as we are,

yet without sin.

Jesus was fully human,

and he walked

into the wilderness,

and he goes toe-to-toe

with Satan himself,

and he faces

every temptation

that we could ever face,

and he wins.

For 40 days

and 40 nights,

the Holy Spirit

led Jesus

into this wilderness

experience

where he would

be bombarded

by Satan

with all of these reasons

to doubt,

to doubt the character

of God,

to doubt various attributes

of God,

to doubt the very plan

of God

for his life,

and to make things

even harder.

During this entire time,

he fasted.

He fasted for 40 days

and 40 nights,

and the text says

that at the 40-day mark,

he was starving.

He was kind of

at the end of his rope.

He was in really bad shape.

He was probably

close to death

at this point

after 40 days

of fasting.

And so here he is,

he's at his weakest,

and Satan goes

on the attack

for one last attempt,

right,

to get Jesus

to finally lay down,

to get Jesus

to finally cave

to the pressure

and give in

to temptation.

Now imagine going

without food

for one week.

Now imagine

adding five more weeks

to that week.

I can't even fathom

how difficult

this must have been

for him.

I've been watching

the TV show alone

recently.

It's on Netflix

and Hulu.

It's essentially

a survivalist show.

And usually around

the week mark,

they start to think

to themselves,

why am I here?

Why am I doing this?

This is miserable.

And they usually

tap out.

Lower the stakes

even more.

I've been intermittent

fasting over the last

few months,

trying to lose

a few pounds.

And so for every day,

I fast for 16 hours.

So I stop eating

at 9 p.m.

and then I get to eat

again at 1 p.m.

the next day.

And so 16 hours,

I go without food.

And so between 10 and 11 a.m.,

I'll tell you what happens.

Every single day,

my stomach starts to growl

and I start to think,

why am I doing this?

Like I can just eat.

Like I have the power

to go into my kitchen

and open the fridge

and just eat something.

It takes like all

of my willpower

to not cut a corner,

to not cheat my fast,

to end my fast prematurely,

to stick it out every day

and just go 16 hours.

Now imagine 40 days

without food.

And you have no distractions.

Like I can distract myself

when I'm hungry.

I go on a walk.

I listen to a podcast.

I read a book.

I play with my kids.

I can do things

to distract myself

from my hunger.

But in Luke 4,

Satan wouldn't even allow Jesus

to distract himself

for a minute,

for a moment.

His tempting whispers,

they never stop.

He says,

I bet you're really hungry, Jesus.

You don't look good, Jesus.

You look like you're

in really bad shape.

You look like you

might be close to the end,

in fact.

Just satisfy your cravings.

You have the power.

Just turn this rock

into bread.

You know you want to.

You starving

can't be a good thing.

You starving

can't be a purposeful thing.

It would be easy for you

just to break your fast

a day early.

What's a day?

It's only a day.

You've gone 39 days.

Well done.

What's one day?

Stop walking

into the wind

and just lie down.

You see,

while the fasting

for 40 days

was hard,

Jesus knew

that it was purposeful.

And he wasn't motivated

to lose a few pounds

like me.

like Jesus

was motivated

in the wilderness

because he was preparing

for greater suffering.

He was training

and testing his spirit

in preparation

for the next three years

of very difficult

public ministry

that would ultimately

culminate

in the cross.

Now,

if he couldn't resist

temptation

for 40 days

without food,

how was he going

to bear the sins

of the world

as he hung

on a cross?

And so he needed

to go through

this period

of testing

and training.

He was learning

how to rely

on the Holy Spirit

even when he was starving.

He was learning

how to pray

thy will,

not my will

in the wilderness

so that

he could pray

the same prayer

in Gethsemane.

Thy will,

not my will

as he's looking

straight into

the reality

of the cross.

But man,

was he hungry.

I can't imagine

how hungry

he must have been.

So with this temptation,

the first temptation,

it's pretty obvious

what Satan

is up to.

Satan is trying

to get Jesus

to doubt

God's provision,

God's ability

and willingness

to take care

of Jesus'

physical needs.

Now this temptation

worked on Israel

as they were

wandering in the wilderness

for 40 years.

God told the Israelites,

I will be faithful

to my promise

to provide

for your needs.

I will send you

manna from heaven

every single day

to care for you.

But there's one caveat.

God,

you are to only

gather enough

manna for that day

with the exception

of the day

before the Sabbath.

You gather

for two days.

But you are to trust me

that I'm going

to provide for you

even when you're hungry,

even when you're

in the wilderness.

And what did

the Israelites do?

They doubted

God's ability

to provide,

his willingness

to provide,

and they start

hoarding the manna.

Start hoarding it.

But Jesus

was different.

He knew,

as Isaiah 7 says,

how to refuse evil

and how to choose good.

He trusted

that God

was going to be faithful

to his provision,

promise.

He knew

that he didn't have

to take matters

into his own hands.

God was faithful

even while he was

starving

in the wilderness.

but there's more

to this temptation

than simply trusting

God's provision.

The preceding story

in Luke's gospel

flows directly

into this story.

And what happened

directly before

Jesus is led

into the wilderness?

Well,

the Holy Spirit

led Jesus

into the Jordan River

where he was baptized

and the clouds

open,

the skies open,

the heavens open,

and God says,

this is my beloved son.

With him

I am well pleased.

This is the backdrop

of this temptation.

You see,

the deeper temptation

here

was to get Jesus

to doubt

God's pronouncement

at his baptism

which had just occurred.

He's essentially

tempting Jesus

to doubt

that he is God's son,

that he is

loved by God,

that he is

delighted in

by God.

You can hear

Satan's whispers.

Like,

did God actually say

that you are

the son of God?

Did he actually say

that you are

his beloved son?

If that's true,

then why are you starving?

Given your current condition,

it seems as if

God doesn't love you.

In fact,

it would seem

as if God hates you,

that you are his enemy.

Why would he allow you

to starve

if he loves you?

Are you sure

about that?

Are you sure

you're his son?

Are you sure

he loves you?

Are you sure

he's pleased with you,

that he is proud of you?

Maybe he was lying

at your baptism.

Do you see

what Satan is doing here?

He wanted Jesus

to doubt

his very identity

as the Messiah.

He wanted him

to doubt

his identity

as a child of God,

as the son of God.

He wants Jesus

to doubt

God's love for him,

and he wants

Jesus to doubt

that God

is pleased with him.

Satan was casting doubt

on what God

said to be true,

which is what Satan

has been doing

since the very beginning

of time.

Satan casts doubt

on what God

says to be true.

But Jesus

doesn't cave.

Instead,

he responds

to this temptation

by quoting a passage

from Deuteronomy

that the Israelites

so quickly forgot.

He says this,

Man shall not live

by bread alone,

but by every word

that proceeds

from the mouth of God,

including the words

that he just heard

at his baptism.

This is my beloved son.

With him,

I am well pleased.

You see,

Jesus was not only

relying on God's promise

to provide

for his physical needs,

he was also relying

on God's pronouncement

at his baptism

that he was God's son,

that he was loved,

and that he was delighted in.

Now,

if we're being honest

with ourselves,

I think that we're more

like the Israelites

in the wilderness

than Jesus

in the wilderness.

When life throws us

a curveball,

when things get difficult,

we tend to take matters

into our own hands,

and we start to doubt

God's pronouncement

that we are his child,

that he does love us

more than we can imagine,

that he is pleased with us

because of the redemptive work

of Christ applied to us.

We are so quick

to doubt God's word

about us.

While starving,

Jesus reminds us

that God's word

about us,

it never changes.

In God's word,

it can never fail,

it can never falter.

Jesus had no doubt

in his mind

about who he was.

He knew that he was,

in fact,

the son of God.

He knew that he was

loved by God.

He knew that God

was pleased with him.

Why?

Because God said it.

Because God's word

spoke truth.

Truth.

And he believed

God's word.

Even in the wilderness.

So the first temptation

doesn't work.

So Satan moves on

to the second temptation,

and he shifts his tactics.

He is cunning and clever,

and he shifts his tactics.

Instead of focusing

on a lack of food,

Satan now focuses

on a lack of power.

And so he gives Jesus,

he takes Jesus,

like, up,

and he shows him,

like,

a panoramic view

of all of the kingdoms

of the world.

And the text says

that he did this

in a moment.

So clearly something

mysterious is at work.

Something supernatural

is happening here.

He shows Jesus,

in a moment,

every kingdom

on the earth.

And I imagine

this wasn't just

the existing kingdoms,

but every kingdom

throughout all time

and space, right?

And so he probably

showed him

the Greek empire

and the Roman empire

and the Ottoman empire

and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Maybe the Mongolian empire

was thrown in there.

The British empire.

And yeah,

I think he saw

the United States

of America, right?

He saw all the glory,

all the fame,

all the wealth

that every kingdom

has ever possessed.

And at a time

when he had nothing,

Satan says

it could all be yours.

All of it

could be yours.

Satan was offering Jesus

all the power,

all the glory,

all the wealth,

all the fame

that this world

could offer

in a moment.

And all Jesus had to do

was hit his knees

on the ground.

That's it.

That's all he had to do

was just fall

two to three feet

to the ground

and he would have it all.

You see,

the second temptation,

it seems as if

it's like this simple

temptation

for power

and glory, right?

But like the first temptation,

there's a deeper temptation

at work here.

The real temptation here

is to get Jesus

to doubt God's plan

for redemption,

which includes

Jesus going

through the cross.

Satan's offer

was a much easier route.

It was a much easier route

to get all the glory

and power.

You know,

Satan was essentially

offering Jesus

the same thing

that God the Father

was offering Jesus.

Everything.

And you can question,

you know,

if Satan was actually able

to promise something like this

or to give something

like this,

but the reality is

he's offering it.

Listen,

God's road

for Jesus

was that Jesus

would die for sinners

on a cross

and then he would

get everything.

Satan's offer

is just bow.

no atoning death,

no cross.

This is like

the easy button option.

You can have

the crown

without the cross.

Take it, Jesus.

But here's the thing.

Jesus didn't just come

into our world

and put on flesh

to inherit

earthly fame

and fortune

and glory

and power.

he came

into this world

to get us.

He put on flesh

to make us

his treasured possession,

to make us

a holy nation,

to make us

a kingdom of priests.

He put on flesh

to solve

the problem

of sin

that we can't

solve

on our own.

So there's more

that Jesus

has on his mind

than mere power,

glory,

fame,

and wealth.

above all,

Jesus was motivated

in this wilderness

out of loving obedience

to God's plan.

The atoning cross

on which Jesus

would pay our debt

was part of God's plan.

And Jesus trusted

God's plan

even if

God's plan

meant that he

had to go

through the hardships

of the cross,

that he would have

to suffer.

You see,

if he took

Satan's offer,

he would reject

God's plan.

And if he rejects

God's plan,

he was rejecting

God himself.

Instead,

he was choosing

to worship Satan

and follow Satan's plan

for his life.

But in the wilderness,

Jesus doesn't

hesitate

to reject

the easy button

option.

Isn't that amazing?

Once again,

he quotes a passage

from Deuteronomy

that was so quickly

forgotten

by the Israelites.

He says,

you shall worship

the Lord your God

and him only

shall you serve.

Listen,

sometimes in life,

God's plan

and your plan

may not match up.

Sometimes,

God's plan

may even include

hardship.

It may include

suffering.

I love,

so last week,

I preached from Luke 8

when Jesus

leads them

into the storm

only to calm it.

Like,

so clearly,

like,

sometimes Jesus

will lead you

into hardship

to humble you,

maybe to prepare you

for greater hardship

to come,

or maybe he's leading you

into hardship

to reveal

the goodness

of Christ

and the power

of Christ

to get you

through the storm.

easy button options

will be offered.

I want a promotion.

I want it desperately,

but am I willing

to work on Sundays

to get it?

Or how about this one?

I really want

to buy that new car

that I've been eyeballing

all these years,

but am I willing

to stop giving

to a missionary

or to a local charity

to get it?

Jesus answered,

no.

Or how about this one?

I want to enjoy

like a nice,

restful day

just sitting on my couch

watching football,

but am I willing

to ignore my neighbor

whose mom

just passed away

to get it?

Jesus answered,

no.

He refused

to take

the easy button

option

even though

it was presented

to him

on a silver platter.

All you have to do

is hit your knees

on the ground,

two to three feet.

Jesus said no

to the quick fix

and he said yes

to the cross

because he firmly

believed

that God knew

what he was doing,

leading him there.

All right,

so two temptations

down,

one to go.

And once again,

Satan shifts tactics.

So twice,

Jesus has bested Satan

by quoting scripture.

And so what does Satan do

with a third temptation?

Well,

he uses scripture

as part of his final temptation

to best Jesus.

And so he takes Jesus

to the roof

of the Jerusalem temple.

It was probably

somewhere around

550 feet.

And so yes,

if you fell

from that height,

you would die

instantly.

he takes him

to the top

and he says,

I see what you've been doing

all these 40 days.

You have been using scripture

to best me.

Well,

I know my Bible

as well.

So Jesus,

please turn with me

to Psalm 91.

Because here,

God promised

that he was going

to protect his Messiah

from danger.

It says right here,

it says right here

that God will catch

his Messiah

if he falls.

So if you are the Messiah,

then jump.

Jump.

Let's see what happens.

What's the worst

that could happen?

God catches you?

Cool.

Then you prove

that you are the Messiah.

You see,

once again,

it seems like Satan

is simply tempting Jesus

to doubt God's ability

to protect him.

But once again,

there's more going on

with this third temptation.

In this one,

Satan is tempting Jesus

to doubt God's presence.

He takes Jesus

to the temple,

which is where,

like,

God's concentrated presence

was found.

And he essentially says,

if God is present

anywhere on the earth,

it's right here

on the temple.

This is where he dwells.

He is present,

right?

Do you believe

that he's with you?

His presence

implies his ability

to protect,

does it not?

And once again,

Jesus doesn't bite.

Why doesn't he bite?

Because he trusts God

at his word.

He didn't need

to test God's presence

because God said

that he would always

be with him.

If God said it,

he will do it.

His word cannot fail.

His word is power.

His word is the sword

of the spirit

that cuts down

the lies that surround us,

that cuts down doubt

before it can nest

in our hair.

You see,

Jesus shows us

in Luke 4

how to resist

the temptations

to doubt God's,

there's a lot of P's here,

right?

Provision,

God's pronouncement

of who he is,

to doubt God's power,

his plan,

his protection,

and his presence.

When you start

to hear the tempting

whispers to doubt,

your weapon

is the same weapon

that Jesus employed

in the wilderness.

Your weapon

is God's very word.

When you hear the whisper,

you're not actually

a child of God.

We turn to John 1,

John 1:12

verse 12,

and we say,

but to all

who did receive him,

who believed

in his name,

God gave the right

to be called

children of God.

No,

I am a child of God.

Why?

Because God's word

says so.

How about this one?

God won't take care

of you.

You're in a storm.

You're going

through hardship.

He must be mad at you.

He won't take care

of your needs.

Matthew 6, 26,

look at the birds

of the air.

They neither sow

nor reap,

nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly

Father feeds them.

Are you not more value

than they?

You're wrong,

whispers.

God does care

about me.

He cares about me

more than I even

could ever believe

myself.

How about this one?

God doesn't love you.

Have you ever heard

that whispered

into your ear?

Maybe after you've

sinned and you feel

the weight of your

guilt and shame,

do you ever

tell yourself

or hear that whisper,

God doesn't love you.

Where do you turn?

Well, how about

Romans 5, verse 8?

Romans 5:8

God shows his love

for us,

and that while we

were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Yeah, God loves me.

Or how about this?

God hasn't redeemed you.

You still have debt

to pay.

Isaiah 43, verse 1.

Isaiah 43:1

Fear not,

for I have redeemed you.

I have called you

by name.

You are mine.

No, God knows my name.

He has redeemed me.

And so those doubts

can get behind me.

You see,

this is why Jesus came.

This is why we

celebrate Christmas.

Jesus came to fulfill

God's word

because we could not.

Jesus came to lead us

through the wilderness

because he's the only one

who went through

the wilderness unscathed.

There's no one better

to lead us through it.

He came to live

a perfectly righteous life

to give us

his righteousness.

He came to empower us

to pray,

thy will,

not my will,

even in hardship,

even when we're suffering,

even when we're facing

the greatest of storms.

He came to defeat

the devil

for people

who just lay down

when it starts

to get windy.

You know,

at the beginning

of the Bible,

this is an interesting

parallel.

Adam faced

temptation

in paradise

and through

his failure,

he cast

humanity

into a spiritual

wilderness.

Jesus faced

temptation

in a spiritual

wilderness

and through

his victory

he secured

for us

the eternal

restoration

of paradise.

Amen.

Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father,

we thank you

that you are

a good and gracious

God who is with us,

who is for us,

who loves us more

than we could even

begin to realize.

We pray that your

spirit would empower

us to struggle

with temptation,

to push against it,

to walk into the wind

instead of laying down

and taking the easy

button option.

We pray that we would

be the kind of people

who put others

ahead of ourselves,

who love our neighbors,

who pursue them

even when we want

comfort and security.

we pray, Lord,

that you would help us

this Christmas season

to be mindful of the

one who became a servant,

who humbled himself

and suffered on a cross

so that we could receive

his righteousness

and it's through his name.

Amen.