| RIGHTEOUSNESS |
| RIGHTEOUSNESS What does righteousness mean? (a) judged innocent (b) accepted by God Righteousness is �right standing before God� (as if we had never sinned) Righteousness is the ability to stand in the Father�s presence without the sense of fear, condemnation or inferiority. Here�s a promise of it in Isaiah 54:13-14 And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness shall you be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you. Eph 2:12 That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. It means that we can go straight into the presence of God to His Throne and talk with Him or just sit at His feet. (Just like our kids just walk in our door without knocking (they know they are welcome � they�re our kids). 1. Can we earn righteousness? 2. Can we buy righteousness? 3. Can righteousness come by works? (e.g. going to church, giving to the poor, living a �good� life, being kind to people, going on mission trips) etc. The Answer to ALL these questions is? NO! All these things are WORKS. We are saved by faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9 � For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.) The works we will do come later as we develop a relationship with the living God. (�John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Our works will result from our LOVE walk with God which will come out of our intimate relationship with Him as we GROW in Him. Isaiah 64:6 says �Our righteousness are as filthy rags� Romans 3:10 says �No there is none righteous, no not one�. James 5:16 (b) ...the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much So, How do I become righteous? Old tradition taught us that we became righteous by works. We didn�t have to do anything to earn it, not one single thing - except make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives. We receive it by �declaration� (CONFESSION) that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life. (Rom 10:9-10). We didn�t have to do one good deed, or �get� good enough or have spiritual badges. We had to do nothing except SAY �Jesus is Lord� - and mean it from our heart, then something miraculous happened and we BECAME the righteousness of God. That�s the person that James 5:16 talks about � The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. You are that person. You are the Righteousness of God and you too can have a powerful and effective prayer life. I know of people who as soon as they were saved they became so busy working for God that they had no time for God, they had no time to develop a relationship with Him. They began to do all sorts of church works and running around busy for the church. It�s OK to help in your church, but not at the expense of your relationship with God. Don�t become that person � the devil is a deceiver John 10:10 says he comes to steal the WORD. Matt 6:33 �seek you first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. Put God first! The devil has always tried to kill �the Word� (Jesus), we saw that in John 1:1 He tried to kill the Word in the days of Moses (Jesus� lineage) He tried to kill the Word in the days of Herod (Jesus himself) He still tries to kill the Word today (the living Word) 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: Righteousness is a Gift from God � A free gift (Eph 2:8 ��For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:) He gave us HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS God loves as if we had never sinned. Yes, we are under construction BUT not under CONDEMNATION (Romans 8:1 says that �There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The key is �spirit led� not led by your flesh. Just as a mother ADORES her baby � so God ADORES us. God is not running around the throne, tearing out His hair wondering if you�ll make it. He sees you as already perfect, just as he sees you as already healed. He wants you, He loves you. People have STRONGHOLDS in their thought life about God, they must be pulled down, 2 Corinthians 10:5 tell us to �cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; God is for us, not against us - Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? A stronghold in ancient times was a �fortress� or a �strong place� to defend against the enemy, usually on a high place with 6 ft. walls and a moat and more walls. A stronghold in the MIND is somewhat similar. It is a collection of thoughts in agreement with satan�s lies against God and His absolute love for us. God IS our stronghold (our strong tower) our Fortress (Proverbs 18:10) To the degree the devil is successful regarding lies to us about God, we will not enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. You may have had one or more types of an earthly father a. a distant father (who expressed his affections in a minimal way) b. an authoritarian father (a �do & don�t� dad � no intimacy, wanted only obedience from us (children were to be seen & not heard) c. an absent father (totally abandoned & rejected by Him) d. an abusive father (a father who inflicted �emotional, physical & mental pain � CRUEL! e. an accusing father (judged only your failures, always accusing, little or no affection) God is NOT any of the above. He loves us. I have heard stories of fathers in my life that would make the angels weep. God does not have a big stick. God doesn�t say �THAT�S ONE�! God says just like He said of Jesus ��this is my beloved son (daughter) in whom I am well pleased�. It�s waking up each and every day KNOWING God is pleased with ME � not by your works but by your HEART. You BECAME a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17 ��Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. You are re-created in His image & likeness, Genesis 1:26 �...and God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:) the moment you made Jesus Christ LORD of your life. Just like Adam and Eve were before the fall � they were perfect. They could commune with God � face to face. Jesus went to the Cross so you can too can commune with God � face to face. If you are �in Christ� you are righteous. How does righteousness come ? - by Faith If Righteousness comes by Faith � How do we receive Faith Faith came the moment you invited Jesus Christ into your life. (Romans 10:9-10) ��That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Our opening scripture! The just (righteous) shall LIVE by FAITH (Habakkuk. 2:4) The just (righteous) shall LIVE by FAITH (Romans 1:17) The just (righteous) shall LIVE by FAITH (Hebrews 10:38) The just (righteous) shall LIVE by FAITH (Galatians 3:11) These all say the EXACT same thing. Think maybe God is trying to tell us something? You became RIGHTEOUS the moment you invited Jesus to be your Lord & Saviour (the Holy Spirit took up residence in your spirit (your inner man) when you became born-again AND at the same time you BECAME a new creature. God changes us from the inside. We cannot change ourselves. We cannot �make� ourselves righteous, we are already righteous, by the Blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary. Here are several of many scriptures on righteousness for you to meditate on: Romans 6:18 �being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness Romans 4:3 �Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. (That�s where God started, with a believer, in the OT) Jeremiah 23:6 �The Lord our Righteousness. |
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