In my previous post: RIGHTEOUSNESS II, we saw that since man couldn’t come before God without feeling guilty and inferior, he lost four other things (peace, boldness, immortality and joy). We looked at man establishing his righteousness due to his ignorance of God’s righteousness. We concluded by examining the two kinds of righteousness: righteousness by law and righteousness by faith. Kindly go back and read for better understanding.
In
this post, we shall be focusing on how we become the righteousness of God
through faith and how we build on that foundation to live a holy life.
HOW HE MADE US RIGHTEOUS
God
had to restore man to righteousness before any other thing. But how was he
going to do that?
JESUS’ SUBSTITUTIONAL SACRIFICE
2Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
He
made him. God the Father made Jesus to BECOME SIN FOR US and yet he knew no
sin. Why? So the WE might BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS of God in Christ.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
None
of the things Jesus went through by way of suffering and shame was on his
account. All those were processes of making us take upon ourselves his right
standing with the Father God as he took our place.
1Peter 3:18 ¶ For Christ also hath
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit
Numerous
bible scriptures confirm this
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous.
1Peter 2:22, 24 Who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth: Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed.
1John 3:5 And ye know that he was
manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
God
played His role by providing for us the most perfect sacrifice, His only
begotten son.
ONLY BELIEVE
Our only role in becoming God’s righteousness in Christ is to believe in the finished work of the cross.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
We
believe with the heart unto righteousness. What are we to believe with our
hearts? ‘…And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead’ Ro 10:9 this means accepting wholeheartedly that the finished work of
Jesus is enough to make you righteous before the FATHER God.
NEW CREATION
2Corinthians 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.
The
Amplified Bible puts it better:
2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any
person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah), he is a new creation (a new
creature altogether): old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed
away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
Will
you become more new in Christ as the days go by? Will you become more righteous
today than you were yesterday? No! It is either you are righteous or you are
not righteous. It is absolute.
PURSUING HOLINESS
Righteousness
is justification and holiness is sanctification. You must first of all be
justified by God before you sanctify yourself. If a court declares a person
guilty, there is no amount of work the person does to justify him, except the
same court comes back to acquit and discharge him. After the court discharges a
man, it is now up to him to go and live a life free of crime.
After
God justifies you, it’s now left to you to live a sanctified life.
Romans 12:9 …Abhor that which is evil;
cleave to that which is good.
2Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1 Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?
And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of
God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I
will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall
be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
DOES A RIGHTEOUS PERSON SIN?
1John 2:1 ¶ My little children, these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
God
does not want the righteous person to sin but he has put together a remedy for
it. It is similar to any ship on the seas. The engineer does not intend for
troubles on the ocean but he has provided life jackets in the ship. Why? Your
guess is good as mine.
The
righteous man does not enjoy falling into sin because he loses his joy anytime
he sins. What should you do when you sin?
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
*CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD
When a criminal is even caught red-handed in a crime, he is still given a fair hearing in court and permitted to plead guilty or not guilty himself. Similarly, God knows it when you sin but you must still confess before him.
THE MENTAL BATTLE BEFORE THE CONFESSION IS
MADE:
- It is not a sin, after all, everybody does it. Your mind may even come up with names of more spiritual people who did worse things.
- Okay, even if it is a sin, somebody caused it, it’s not your fault.
- But even if I ask for forgiveness, will I be forgiven? Don’t you think God is tired of your numerous sins and confessions?
Never
attempt to live the next minute of your life with unconfessed sin. It is
dangerous and very risky. Stop the argument in your mind and go before God now
and confess any known sin and He will take care of the unknown ones.
*RECEIVE HIS FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING
After
you confess your sins to God, Satan will laugh at you in your mind. You think
by simply confessing, God has forgiven you? Look at the seriousness of your sin
and you think by just a simple confession God will let you off the hook? Dear
reader, Satan is very bad and crafty, don’t follow him.
God
has committed Himself to forgive and you and cleansing you IF ONLY YOU WILL
CONFESS IT. He adds that He is FAITHFUL and JUST.
The
Amplified Bible puts it this way
1 John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that
we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own
nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from
all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will
and purpose].
This
provision and many others will be made available and accessible to children of
God. Will like to give your life to God today by accepting Jesus Christ as your
Lord and saviour? Then pray this prayer after me:
Father,
I come to you today just as I am, I have found my greatest challenge today i.e.
I have no right standing with you because of the condemnation that passed unto
all human beings. Save me as I open my heart and accept Jesus today as my Lord
and Saviour. Thank you for saving me and giving a right standing in your
presence today. Amen.
As
simple as it may seem to you, you are saved or born again by this prayer of
faith. You have been restored to the right place before God. Get a bible if you
don’t have one yet and start reading it for yourself. May the Holy Spirit also
be your guide.
In living this life of holiness, God reveals to us that Satan deals with us as the Accuser of the brethren. We have therefore been provided us with the whole armour of God. In my last and final post in this series, I shall be dealing with the breastplate of righteousness. Until then, be strong in your new-found position.