Desperate need for righteousness.
There is a desperate need for righteousness. But as we have already seen –
“… No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.””
Romans 3:10-12 NLT
All our human efforts to achieve righteousness – are futile. Jesus said:
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63 NLT
“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand…”
Romans 5:2 NLT
In that place of undeserved privilege, we see the glory of God on display. We see the glorious change. We see that by God’s provisions, the law-keeping and God’s righteousness which the law describes, that which has never been possible in the past – has now been achieved by God through our faith in Jesus. God freely gives His righteousness, and through Jesus it turns into righteous characters and triumph over sins. That is the law-keeping in its truest sense. The law keeping in God’s ways. The law keeping which pleases God the Father, and results in a righteous character which we have never been able to achieve by our striving.
“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”
Philippians 1:9-11 NLT
“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 5:17 NLT
“Triumphing over sin and death through Jesus Christ”. Yes. God has found a way again. And once more, it is “through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Righteousness is living a life in harmony with the perfect will of God. It is given freely to those who believe in Jesus. It is living the right way. Living God’s way. Righteous character is the fruit of our Salvation through the loving, trusting, abiding relationship with Jesus.
We human beings depend on our meagre human brains and our fickle memories. We read the Scriptures and try to memorise the words which describe the will of God and His ways, as revealed in the Ten Commandments, and in the Gospels, and in the writings of the apostles and prophets. The Bible is a large book, and it is not easy to hold much of it consistently in our minds. But with the arrival of Jesus Christ, God is stepping away from the meagre human ways of doing thing, and is abundantly and generously introducing His ways. Spirit ways. Heavenly ways. Divine ways. The New Covenant ways. It started with the miracles of Jesus, then after the crucifixion – gift upon gift, favour upon favour, grace upon grace. You remember how the Holy Spirit helped disciples to remember the Scriptures and to understand the truth. And then to preach it with power and conviction. What was so hard before – now it just comes. This is God’s ways.
Now our Christian lives are turbocharged. Now the meagre mechanical human ways of doing things, have been replaced by Spirit’s divine dynamic Omnipotent God’s ways. Ways which are from heaven. Ways which work. What an amazing change. What an amazing gift of God!
Jesus said:
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63 NLT
God has found a way again, and again it is through Jesus Christ.
Numerous references to the law-keeping in the New Testament unmistakably point in the right direction. God Himself indicated by His actions of writing His law onto our hearts and minds – that the righteousness is indispensable for the happy and harmonious continuation of life in the universe.
“But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
2 Peter 3:13 NLT
God methodically embarked at this righteousness issue as soon as the blood of Jesus became available on Calvary. The result of this action is that His children have been reclaimed from sin and evil. That means that His children are now living in harmony with the perfect will of God. Their beautiful righteous lives are openly displayed for all to see.
“For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 NLT
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It isn’t hard to guess that the devil is not happy with this.
“And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.”
Revelation 12:17 NLT
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
God’s message to us is: “Do not be afraid”. God’s provisions, like war arsenals are in place – and are battle ready.
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12 NLT
“Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT
“you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!””
2 Chronicles 20:17 NLT
But yes. We do have responsibility. Cooperation! God’s message is: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil”. Listen to the Spirit. Devil’s mission is to deceive, disrupt, destroy. He will come in all sorts of disguises. He will present his merchandise in attractive wrappings, but don’t be fooled. Our job is to say No. The Holy Spirit is here to make us willing and able to resist him.
We are to:
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7 NLT
“Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.””
2 Chronicles 20:20 NLT
The greatest weapon in God’s arsenal is FAITH. We need to make good use of it. Let us be brave and daring when believing.
“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.””
Mark 9:23 NKJV