The difference between the righteous and the wicked

Believers, in God's eyes, the difference between the righteous and the wicked is not what they do or do not do. It is HOW they are made righteous. When your believing is right, right living will follow.

The bible tells us in 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."

Committing acts of sin is not what makes a person a sinner. Adam's sin made the whole human race sinners. Wicked. Committing acts of sin, alongside sickness, stress, depression, lack, oppression, etc are fruits of the old nature (sinner nature) that was inherited from Adam. Everyone with this old nature is subject to the Law. As long as this old nature is intact, sin will multiply. Because "the strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15:56,) those who try to keep the Law in order to be righteous only strengthen the grip of sin over their lives. The more people with this old nature try to keep the Law, the more they sin. See 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."

By the same token, keeping the Law and doing righteous things is not what makes a person righteous in the sight of God. Many non-Christians do their best not to sin but this does not mean they are saved. Romans 3:20 says "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

Reigning over sin, addiction, sickness, stress and all earthly ills are fruits of the new nature that we have in Christ as it is written in Romans 5:17 -

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ."

Romans 7:4 also shows us how we get to produce a harvest of good deeds for God - only when we are dead to the Law and united with Christ-

"4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God." Christ does it all. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:21-

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Christ performed a perfect work in cleansing us of all our unrighteousnesses and giving us His own righteousness as a gift. Anyone who is without this gift of righteousness in Christ is "the wicked," even if they do their best to keep the law and do righteous things. See Christ's word in Matt. 7:

"22 When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! In Your name we spoke God's message, by Your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!’ 23 Then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you wicked people!’

Even bible-toting, demon-binding and miracle-performing leaders and churchgoers can be among the wicked. Believer, to know Christ and to be known by Him is to have Him as your Righteousness. See why in Romans 9:

"30 So we say that the Gentiles, who were not trying to put themselves right with God, were put right with Him through faith; 31 while God's people, who were seeking a law that would put them right with God, did not find it. 32 And why not? Because they did not depend on faith but on what they did. And so they stumbled over the “stumbling stone” 33 that the scripture speaks of:

“Look, I place in Zion a stone

that will make people stumble,

a rock that will make them fall.

But whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”"

Isaiah 64:6 describes our own righteousnesses from all our efforts at keeping the law as "menstrual rags." But some of us still depend on the "good" things we do for salvation.

In Christ, we are made righteous apart from our works. In Him, God sees us as 100% righteous. He sees us as Christ is (righteous,) EVEN WHEN WE SIN, but we do not continue in sin. Why? Because with His gift of righteousness comes no condemnation; there is no condemnation for all who are in Him (says Romans 8:1) and it is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more." In Christ, under grace, you will not continue to sin. Sin will lose its dominion over you, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under Law but under Grace."

Believe Right and you will Live Right!