In Christ, we are forever righteous in God's sight, even with our many sins and imperfections.
Believers, in the midst of our glaring deficiencies and imperfections in our thoughts, words and deeds, God sees us as righteous because we are in Christ. How is this possible? We see how in 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."
In the midst of Christ's absolute righteousness, loveliness and perfection, He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Christ did not become sin by doing sin. All of the pain, suffering and God's rejection that He went through was not for His own sins. He had/has none. He died for our sins. Likewise, in Him, we did not become or remain righteous in God's sight by doing righteous deeds or by obeying the law but by receiving the gift of righteousness that He died that we might have. We GET TO live right by His gift of righteousness. See 1 Peter 2:24-
"He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed."
See the CEV: "Christ carried the burden of our sins. He was nailed to the cross, so that we would stop sinning and start living right. By His cuts and bruises you are healed."
The wages of our entire lifetime of sins is death and it is appointed for man to die only once, after that, judgment. In Christ, we have suffered and died that death and have been raised from the dead together with Him. In Him, we no longer owe God a sin debt. Christ paid it in full for us but some people still want to be under law where they continue to pay the wages of sin. ONLY when one believes that he is righteous by faith in Christ can he stop sinning, live right and receive lasting healing. See this is Romans 5:17 below as well.
In Christ, God made His own Son who knew no sin, did no sin and in whom is no sin to become sin for us so that we who knew sin, did sin and in whom is sin might become His righteousness. His righteousness is a gift that can never be earned by good works or lost by acts of sin. Christ shed His blood for us so that we might be righteous and so that we might escape God's wrath. See Romans 5:9-
"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."
This is the Good News: Righteousness by faith in Christ and not because we obeyed the law or did good things.
Because our good works and law-keeping prowess did not earn us this righteousness to begin with, our sins and shortcomings cannot make us lose it. But many find it hard to believe this gospel that Paul preached without shame. Paul says of the Good News (gospel) in Romans 1:
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
And how does God make us right In His sight? See Romans 3-
"26...for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 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."
This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. If an iota of human effort at getting or remaining right with God is involved, it is no longer grace (Romans 11:6.) In fact, Isaiah 64:6 describes all of the good things we do to score points of righteousness with God as "a menstrual rag:"
"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."
Our salvation is wholly dependent on our believing that God "makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus" and us receiving His gift of righteousness. God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ is everlasting and cannot be undone by acts of sin. Doing anything (obeying the law, sowing seed, whatever) in a bid to "maintain your salvation" or remain in right-standing with God is a testament to unbelief in the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes righteous in God's sight.
Anyone who professes Christ yet is trying to obey the law in order to be righteous is saying what Christ did is not true or is not enough to save. Such are mixing "menstrual rag" righteousnesses from obeying the Law with Christ's perfect righteousness that we have by Grace. This is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3. A horrid mixture of part-Law and part-Grace. Believers, let's not be found here. See the effect of trying to obey the law in order to get right with God 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."
Some people think that this verse is for people who are not yet born-again. Such teach that Grace makes you right with God on the day you got saved, but after that, you have to do your best to obey the law or else. But Paul wrote this letter to Galatian Christians who were deceived into following this part-Law/part-Grace "neither cold nor hot" doctrine. See what he told them in Galatians 3:
"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."
ONLY the righteousness that proceeds from the obedience of Christ will suffice for God the Righteous and it is an everlasting righteousness that cannot be undone by acts of sin. This is the message of Christ that Paul preached and many religious people of his day accused him of preaching that it is okay to sin because of grace. See this in Romans 3:
7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 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."
Rejoice if you are also persecuted for preaching the Good News of Righteousness by faith in Christ. Christ says in Matthew 5:10: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
God's grace is not license to sin. Grace is a Person and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only Way to live in triumph over sin and death (sickness, lack, worry, depression and all earthly ills are "death begun.") See this 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."
Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation, not CONDITIONS. With Christ as our righteousness, we are being transformed to His likeness by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18.) We are constantly being filled to overflowing with the goodness of God so much that with what is overflowing, we can't help but be a blessing to those around us. In Him, we get to love, give beyond the lawful regulations of the tithe, do exploits and live a life that exceeds the moral excellence that the law demands, yet not us but Christ that lives in us.
The gospel is not at all about behaviour modification or suppressing sins by human effort at obeying the law. The gospel is all about hearts' transformation by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says:
"But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed to the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
But some "men of God" distrust the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the sinner to live right and tell you to rely on the arm of flesh that will fail to be godly. The arm of flesh (human effort at obeying the law to get right with God) will fail and when it does, those suppressed sinful urges will explode in a volcanic eruption of sinful deeds that lead to death. See Romans 7:5.
Beware of those who preach: "Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, you have to do your best to obey the law so that you can maintain your salvation." This is akin to mixing "a menstrual rag" to the perfect righteousness that we have through Christ's obedience. This is the broad road that leads to destruction and many churchgoers are on it.
Many people think that they can "at least try" to obey some laws and that they have the power to "at least try" to not commit some particular sins and that God will see that they are trying and are not that bad. This is false security and absolute foolishness according to the order of the Galatians that Paul called foolish. Because of this false security, we are often impatient with people who seem not to be trying hard enough to be obedient and tell them to "at least try..." The truth is James 2:10:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all."
The one who only lied about his location on the phone for a good reason is as guilty as the world's vilest offender. This doesn't seem fair until we realise something:
Believer, the reason why you and I are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. If a big enough trial came our way and it was up to us to save ourselves, we would all fail woefully. No matter how hard a weightlifter trains or how much experience he has, he cannot carry a weight that is designed to crush him 100 times over. Bear in mind that we are not all of the same size emotionally so what is crushing for you might be nothing to another. Life also does not consider weight, stature, resources or level of preparedness before throwing weights at anybody. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them.
This is why you and I who believe are not wallowing in sins like sinners that the world judges with contempt: 1 Corinthians 10:13
"We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."
With this understanding, it becomes difficult to point point sinners who are still struggling with sins to themselves for salvation or tell them things like "How can God bless you when you are still blah blah blah.". Instead, we point all to Christ of whom it is said in Matthew 1:21-
"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
And Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
No sin is too big for Him to save the sinner who believes from. He transforms our hearts and so we get to live right. Law-keeping can only suppress sins until the arm of flesh fails.
Let's not make the same mistake that Peter did. He knew 100%, even boasted that he would never deny Christ but when his circumstances changed, he sang a different tune...three times. No sin is beneath anybody. It is only by Grace that we are not tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13.)
The reason why many think they can stand (obey the law) is because they have not been tempted beyond what they can bear.
For Christ's strength to be made perfect in our lives, we have to see ourselves as we are without His salvation: weak, powerless and helpless against sin and death, without an iota of righteousness, cannot obey at all by ourselves, hopeless and doomed for destruction. Nothing we do to gain righteousness matters. All amount to "a menstrual rag" according to Isaiah. Only Christ's righteousness will suffice.
Because we believe and confess His righteousness, God sees us the way He sees Jesus Christ- absolutely, 100% righteous, even when we sin. But He does not leave us to continue to wallow in sins. This is what He is doing as we await His glorious appearing at the Rapture: John 6:43-46 (MSG)-
"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."
Right believing always produces right living.
"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
In the midst of Christ's absolute righteousness, loveliness and perfection, He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Christ did not become sin by doing sin. All of the pain, suffering and God's rejection that He went through was not for His own sins. He had/has none. He died for our sins. Likewise, in Him, we did not become or remain righteous in God's sight by doing righteous deeds or by obeying the law but by receiving the gift of righteousness that He died that we might have. We GET TO live right by His gift of righteousness. See 1 Peter 2:24-
"He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed."
See the CEV: "Christ carried the burden of our sins. He was nailed to the cross, so that we would stop sinning and start living right. By His cuts and bruises you are healed."
The wages of our entire lifetime of sins is death and it is appointed for man to die only once, after that, judgment. In Christ, we have suffered and died that death and have been raised from the dead together with Him. In Him, we no longer owe God a sin debt. Christ paid it in full for us but some people still want to be under law where they continue to pay the wages of sin. ONLY when one believes that he is righteous by faith in Christ can he stop sinning, live right and receive lasting healing. See this is Romans 5:17 below as well.
In Christ, God made His own Son who knew no sin, did no sin and in whom is no sin to become sin for us so that we who knew sin, did sin and in whom is sin might become His righteousness. His righteousness is a gift that can never be earned by good works or lost by acts of sin. Christ shed His blood for us so that we might be righteous and so that we might escape God's wrath. See Romans 5:9-
"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."
This is the Good News: Righteousness by faith in Christ and not because we obeyed the law or did good things.
Because our good works and law-keeping prowess did not earn us this righteousness to begin with, our sins and shortcomings cannot make us lose it. But many find it hard to believe this gospel that Paul preached without shame. Paul says of the Good News (gospel) in Romans 1:
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
And how does God make us right In His sight? See Romans 3-
"26...for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 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."
This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. If an iota of human effort at getting or remaining right with God is involved, it is no longer grace (Romans 11:6.) In fact, Isaiah 64:6 describes all of the good things we do to score points of righteousness with God as "a menstrual rag:"
"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."
Our salvation is wholly dependent on our believing that God "makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus" and us receiving His gift of righteousness. God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ is everlasting and cannot be undone by acts of sin. Doing anything (obeying the law, sowing seed, whatever) in a bid to "maintain your salvation" or remain in right-standing with God is a testament to unbelief in the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes righteous in God's sight.
Anyone who professes Christ yet is trying to obey the law in order to be righteous is saying what Christ did is not true or is not enough to save. Such are mixing "menstrual rag" righteousnesses from obeying the Law with Christ's perfect righteousness that we have by Grace. This is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3. A horrid mixture of part-Law and part-Grace. Believers, let's not be found here. See the effect of trying to obey the law in order to get right with God 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."
Some people think that this verse is for people who are not yet born-again. Such teach that Grace makes you right with God on the day you got saved, but after that, you have to do your best to obey the law or else. But Paul wrote this letter to Galatian Christians who were deceived into following this part-Law/part-Grace "neither cold nor hot" doctrine. See what he told them in Galatians 3:
"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."
ONLY the righteousness that proceeds from the obedience of Christ will suffice for God the Righteous and it is an everlasting righteousness that cannot be undone by acts of sin. This is the message of Christ that Paul preached and many religious people of his day accused him of preaching that it is okay to sin because of grace. See this in Romans 3:
7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 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."
Rejoice if you are also persecuted for preaching the Good News of Righteousness by faith in Christ. Christ says in Matthew 5:10: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
God's grace is not license to sin. Grace is a Person and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only Way to live in triumph over sin and death (sickness, lack, worry, depression and all earthly ills are "death begun.") See this 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."
Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation, not CONDITIONS. With Christ as our righteousness, we are being transformed to His likeness by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18.) We are constantly being filled to overflowing with the goodness of God so much that with what is overflowing, we can't help but be a blessing to those around us. In Him, we get to love, give beyond the lawful regulations of the tithe, do exploits and live a life that exceeds the moral excellence that the law demands, yet not us but Christ that lives in us.
The gospel is not at all about behaviour modification or suppressing sins by human effort at obeying the law. The gospel is all about hearts' transformation by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says:
"But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed to the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
But some "men of God" distrust the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the sinner to live right and tell you to rely on the arm of flesh that will fail to be godly. The arm of flesh (human effort at obeying the law to get right with God) will fail and when it does, those suppressed sinful urges will explode in a volcanic eruption of sinful deeds that lead to death. See Romans 7:5.
Beware of those who preach: "Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, you have to do your best to obey the law so that you can maintain your salvation." This is akin to mixing "a menstrual rag" to the perfect righteousness that we have through Christ's obedience. This is the broad road that leads to destruction and many churchgoers are on it.
Many people think that they can "at least try" to obey some laws and that they have the power to "at least try" to not commit some particular sins and that God will see that they are trying and are not that bad. This is false security and absolute foolishness according to the order of the Galatians that Paul called foolish. Because of this false security, we are often impatient with people who seem not to be trying hard enough to be obedient and tell them to "at least try..." The truth is James 2:10:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all."
The one who only lied about his location on the phone for a good reason is as guilty as the world's vilest offender. This doesn't seem fair until we realise something:
Believer, the reason why you and I are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. If a big enough trial came our way and it was up to us to save ourselves, we would all fail woefully. No matter how hard a weightlifter trains or how much experience he has, he cannot carry a weight that is designed to crush him 100 times over. Bear in mind that we are not all of the same size emotionally so what is crushing for you might be nothing to another. Life also does not consider weight, stature, resources or level of preparedness before throwing weights at anybody. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them.
This is why you and I who believe are not wallowing in sins like sinners that the world judges with contempt: 1 Corinthians 10:13
"We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."
With this understanding, it becomes difficult to point point sinners who are still struggling with sins to themselves for salvation or tell them things like "How can God bless you when you are still blah blah blah.". Instead, we point all to Christ of whom it is said in Matthew 1:21-
"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
And Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
No sin is too big for Him to save the sinner who believes from. He transforms our hearts and so we get to live right. Law-keeping can only suppress sins until the arm of flesh fails.
Let's not make the same mistake that Peter did. He knew 100%, even boasted that he would never deny Christ but when his circumstances changed, he sang a different tune...three times. No sin is beneath anybody. It is only by Grace that we are not tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13.)
The reason why many think they can stand (obey the law) is because they have not been tempted beyond what they can bear.
For Christ's strength to be made perfect in our lives, we have to see ourselves as we are without His salvation: weak, powerless and helpless against sin and death, without an iota of righteousness, cannot obey at all by ourselves, hopeless and doomed for destruction. Nothing we do to gain righteousness matters. All amount to "a menstrual rag" according to Isaiah. Only Christ's righteousness will suffice.
Because we believe and confess His righteousness, God sees us the way He sees Jesus Christ- absolutely, 100% righteous, even when we sin. But He does not leave us to continue to wallow in sins. This is what He is doing as we await His glorious appearing at the Rapture: John 6:43-46 (MSG)-
"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."
Right believing always produces right living.
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