The Lord our Righteousness - the weapon of our warfare!

Believers, do you seem to always have thoughts of bad things happening to you or your family members? Do you tend to think of the plane you're scheduled to be on spiralling down to earth with you in it? Do you feel like something bad will happen to you because of a particular sin that you committed (and sometimes your worst fears even come to pass!?) Do you have 'un-Christian' thoughts and can't seem to find a way out? Have you tried to stop thinking these thoughts but they just don’t go away? Do you sometimes wonder if you are really saved? There's good news for you!

First, we need to understand that the battle ground where we wrestle against “spiritual wickedness in high places” is not on some mountain top or in the work place or a coven. The battle ground is the mind. This is reflected in Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 10 - “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Thoughts and imaginations are formed in the mind from what we hear and see. You see, Satan is an accuser, literally “the prosecutor” or “the accuser” (Ha Satan) in Hebrew. In Israel today, all prosecuting lawyers have the same title – Ha Satan. What a prosecutor does is present charges against the accused in court, with the aim of getting a guilty verdict so that judgment can follow. Now, the court of law is the mind. What the devil and his agents do is accuse people (including believers) of the bad things that they have done and remind them of the coming judgment. These are the ‘fiery darts of the wicked one’ that Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6. They try to make you think things like “your plane can crash because your Heavenly Father will not keep you safe unless you get right with Him” or “God will punish you for such and such unless you do this and that.” And once a person accepts this guilt that Christ as already borne for us in His body, condemnation and judgment follow.

But no one can ever get right with God by their own efforts at law-keeping according to Romans 3:20 - "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."No one has it all together in and of themselves. 

If you break one law, you are guilty of all (James 2:10). Only the blood of Jesus will suffice with the Righteous Judge (God) and His gift of righteousness is free in Christ! Only through the righteousness of faith, not works, can the devil’s fiery darts be quenched in our lives. Ephesians 6:16 says "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."

When a believer is accused by the devil in this manner and his response is to start doing things to “be righteous again” or “get right with God,” he condemns himself by rejecting the price that Jesus paid for all of our sins. He rejects Jesus as his Advocate and becomes his own advocate with his works. He falls from grace, as it is written in Galatians 5:4 - "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."

When a believer is sick and someone tells him that unless he does some particular thing, God will not heal him (when Romans 8:32 tells us that all things are freely given to us in Christ), that counselor is doing the work of the devil. What comes next is condemnation, a fearful expectation of judgment…then stress, sickness, poverty, etc….death.

Glory be to our Lord God for grace to overcome these crazy thoughts and accusations by “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” But what is this "obedience of Christ"? We find the meaning in one of my favourite passages of the bible - 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."

Now this is not righteousness based on what we do or don't do. It is a gift according to Romans 5:17-

"For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)"

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so we can become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor.5:21).

We bring these thoughts into captivity by confessing what our Lord's obedience has achieved for us; by confessing that "I am the righteousness of God in Christ."

So how can a thing as simple as confessing our righteousness bring peace of mind and rid us of these burdensome thoughts? The bible has the answer for this too in Romans 10:10 – “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

When you voice out your righteousness in Christ, salvation follows. Salvation here is not just being saved to go to heaven; it is also deliverance from the molestation of enemies and redemption from all earthly ills. It is being saved from the penalty, power, presence and pleasure of sin! The word used in the original Greek translation of the New Testament is Swthria (pronounced soteria) and it encompasses all these meanings. That is our Jesus (Yeshua =Salvation)! 

When you speak out your righteousness in Christ, every single blessing that is for the righteous in the bible becomes yours! The fiery darts (evil thoughts and accusations) which are the weapons of the enemy will fail in your life because – Isaiah 54:17:

“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.

Notice that this blessing is not earned by fasting and prayer or any work. It is an inheritance (heritage) for those whose righteousness is from the Lord, not their efforts at keeping the law or pleasing Him. Believe. Confess it and see it!

Paul described righteousness as a weapon in 2 Corinthians 6:7 - “in [speaking] the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand [like holding the sword to attack] and for the left [like holding the shield to defend],”

Truly, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God! Believers, the battle for our mind is fought with the weapon of righteousness which we have as a gift from our Heavenly Father through Christ. This is our shield (of faith) to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one!

Many times, these bad thoughts and memories are not ours but the devil subtly reminding us of our guilt which Christ has already taken away!

Believers our Lord Jesus is our only defense against the devil's weapons a.k.a accusations! Christ paid in full for all of our sins – past, present and future. But many of us often forget that in Christ, nobody can bring a charge against us, according to Romans 8:33 – “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself].” and He justifies the ungodly - those who have no good in them and by His grace, see their need for a Saviour.

When those bad thoughts and accusations come knocking, remember Whose you are and who you are in Christ – the righteousness of God. Confess your righteousness - even in the midst of your sin - and feel His peace that surpasses all understanding guard your heart and your mind in Christ. You will not continue in sin because the path of the righteous (by faith) does not grow darker and more sinful; it is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day! Proverbs 4:18

See yourself mounting up with wings like eagles because the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesisans 1:3)!

In Christ, you can expect good things to happen to you always.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.