Right believing always produces right living.

Believers, how can we who did no righteousness become righteous with an everlasting righteousness? It is because God made Christ who did no sin to be sin for us. See this 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."

Jesus had no sin. He paid the wages of our sins. "As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous-not even one."" This according to Romans 3:10. We have no righteousness. We receive Christ's righteousness as a gift through His obedience as it is written: "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

This is the crux of the gospel: righteousness by faith. Our own obedience and the good things that we do to get right with God are like "a menstrual rag" according to Isaiah 64:6- 

"We are all like one who is unclean,

all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

The above "menstrual rag" description for the good things we do to get from God! Doing them to get right with God has this effect- 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."

Also trying to obey the law to get right with God causes sin to have dominion over such who try, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14.

Believer, we escape God's wrath and inherit eternal life not by right doing but by right believing in Jesus Christ- believing that in Christ, all of our sins are forgiven and in Him we have everlasting righteousness apart from works and eternal life through Him. This is the message of the cross: Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.

But does this mean that we can now go on sinning sprees, since we are made righteous by Christ's obedience and not our own puny efforts at keeping the Ten Commandments? Certainly not! Paul too was falsely accused of preaching that it is okay to sin because we have grace. See this in Romans 3:8-

"And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned."

Count yourself blessed and in good company if people have falsely accused you thus too! Those self-righteous people who make this false accusation that Grace is a license to sin and teach human effort at obedience to get right with God believe that everybody (except themselves) is just looking for an excuse to wallow in sins. But many sinners are trying hard to stop. These beloved of God who are struggling with sins and addictions go to church and are given more laws to keep and more terms and conditions to meet by human effort in order to receive from God who gives us ALL things FREELY with Christ (Romans 8:32)!

Imagine telling a believer who is looking to be blessed with children that God is not answering her prayers because of some sin in her life or because she has not been paying her tithe! This is akin to kicking a person who is down or placing additional loads on a person who is already heavy-laden. And so sin has dominion in their lives, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Try to obey the law or do good things to get right with God or get from Him and sin will multiply.

Check out Christ the gospels- from the woman caught in adultery to Zacchaeus the thieving tax collector, He never asked anyone that He gave salvation from their problems to first go and fast or pay tithe before they could receive. He never asked beneficiaries of His grace whether they had been obeying the Ten Commandments before saving them. He has not and will never change. 

The law-hugging Pharisees and teachers of religious law who depended on their obedience to the law to be right with God could not receive from Him, "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." Galatians 5:4.

Believer, believe right. God is not out to get you for your sins. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ Who is Grace-personified, to save us from our sins. Jesus Christ Himself is Grace. Titus 2:11 (TPT) says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Grace cannot cause you to sin. Grace saves from sins according to Matt. 1:21-

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Being under Grace and not living right is even more impossible that jumping into the sea naked and not getting wet.

Believer, Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. It cannot be earned. It is not a reward for the good things we have done. Here, God does not bless you because you obeyed the Ten commandments, sowed seed or paid tithe religiously to get into His good books. Doing these things cannot save anybody. There is no Christ saving in the equation. Doing these things to get right with God is to reject the gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have. See Galatians 2:21.

If you can obey the law or work for God's promise of blessing, it is no longer grace (Romans 11:6.) Good works are not CONDITIONS for salvation; good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation. Christ does it all. This is why a believer can never boast in that self- righteous "God blessed me because I paid my tithe and did my best to obey the Ten Commandments" manner. Our best can never be good enough, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." says Romans 3:20.

The law demands absolute righteousness from those who are trying to obey it (James 2:10) and no one can do this, hence the curse reigning in the lives of many who profess Christ but are still using the Ten Commandments and doing good things as their standard of righteousness; Galatians 3:10-

Anyone who tries to please God by obeying the Law is under a curse. The Scriptures say, “Everyone who doesn’t obey everything in the Law is under a curse.”

But this "do good things and obey the law to get right with God" message is widely preached in many places of worship today. Believer, this dependence on human might and power to please God or get from Him is death. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.

With the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by might nor power: "Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."

The law was not given for us to keep so that we can be righteous. It was given to bring us to the end of our tether; to show us how sinful we are; to show everyone up as guilty before God. See Romans 3:19-20:

"19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 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."

Also see verses 27-28 of the same Romans 3:

27 "Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

Only when we receive ABUNDANCE of GRACE and the GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS do we reign in life. See 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."

Believe Right and you will Live Right.