In Christ, we are made righteous apart from works

Believers, believe right! Our own obedience can never make us righteous in the eyes of our heavenly Father as it is written in Romans 3:20 - 20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

It is sad to hear some pastors and leaders telling people that it is by their own obedience (law-keeping or the good or bad things they do) that God sees them as righteous when the bible says the opposite of believers in Christ in Romans 3:20 above. Praise the Lord for His grace revolution that is sweeping across the earth in these last days!

Teaching people that obeying the law is the path to righteousness only arouses sinful passions according to Romans 7:5 - “When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.”

The law is righteous, impartial, unbending and condemns everybody, no matter what position they hold in the church. Law-keeping leads to self-condemnation without which the devil cannot harm anyone by doing his job of demanding that judgment be poured upon the condemned. Yet many of us advocate this!

Galatians 5:4 says law-keeping serves to cut believers off from Christ! “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Being bound to the law is not a good place to be as it makes one subject to ALL of the curses in Deuteronomy 28.

Believers, it is by the obedience of our Saviour Jesus Christ that we are made righteous! Romans 5:19 - "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous."

Our sins aren’t what make us sinners. One man’s (Adam’s) disobedience gave everyone the sinner badge. By the same token, our own righteousnesses (filthy rags) aren’t what make us righteous. By this "one Man’s” (our Saviour Jesus’) obedience we have God’s righteousness as a gift.

Isaiah describes everyone’s law-keeping and right-doing (righteousnesses) as filthy rags (used sanitary towels in Hebrew). Imagine washing yourself with such after Christ has washed you clean with His own blood. You just get dirty all over again! Law-keeping is how to fall from grace and make Christ of no effect in the life of a believer; how to fall under the curse.

Believers, it is by “one Man’s obedience” that we are made righteous. As sinners produce sin because of Adam’s sin, in Christ, we produce righteousness because of God’s gift of righteousness to us in Christ. His gift of righteousness puts us in a place of no condemnation and like the woman caught in adultery, His gift of no condemnation is what makes us go and sin no more, not our self-will and determination.

Did you know that this gift of righteousness is also the weapon of our warfare? Remember 2 Corinthians 5- 4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

But what is this “obedience of Christ” that we bring every thought into captivity to? Remember Romans 5:19 above - "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. This “obedience of Christ” brings about our righteousness in Him. Because we are righteous in Him, no accusation or fiery dart of the wicked one can stick!

Bear in mind that the fiery darts of the wicked one are the fearful thoughts and reminders of our guilt for the bad things we've done that the devil throws at us in order to get a 'condemned' verdict so that judgment can follow according to the law. Thank God that we are not under law but under grace.

Remember Romans 8:32: - “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Our heavenly Father gives us all things freely with Christ and not because we did dry fast or sowed seed. With Christ, we don’t give to get; we get to give.

We overcome each battle by “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (i.e. our righteousness in Christ) and not our own obedience or our own works such as fasting, giving or whatever is done to get God to deliver you from evil or bless you.

For example, if you feel that your kids are under any kind of danger or bad influence, confess your righteousness in Christ and what the bible says about the righteous in Proverbs 11:21: “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.” He will deliver your seed – your children.

Isaiah 54:13 also – “ All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.”

If you feel that things aren’t going well or are experiencing more downs than ups, confess your righteousness in Christ and what God’s word says about the path of the righteous (just) in Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

Even the promise in Isaiah 54:17 is an inheritance of the servants of the Lord whose righteousness comes from Him and not from what they do or do not do – it is a gift!

““No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.”

Romans 10:10 says: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Believe that you are righteous in Christ, confess it with your mouth and see His salvation. Salvation here is not just having eternal life. It encompasses the Lord's protection, deliverance from the power, pleasure and penalty of sin, deliverance from molestations of enemies and deliverance from sickness, disease, poverty and all worldly ills.

Don’t worry if you don’t know the bible verses to quote. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things. He will make you remember. He didn’t make your parents force you to attend all those Sunday School lessons when you were younger for nothing! He will make you see the truth in all those memory verses you that had to learn.

As the righteousness of God in Christ, there is no condemnation for you. It is Christ’s gift of “Neither do I condemn you’ that makes us “Go and sin no more.”

Believe right and you will Live Right!