Thanks religion, we'll take it from here
I hear the phrase ‘you ain’t right’ on a regular basis. I’m easily influenced to do or say something outrageous just for the laughs. Although my behavior isn’t ‘right’ sometimes, it doesn’t define my permanent ‘right’ standing as a son in the Kingdom of God. The last couple blogs have been about people understanding their identity: that we’re victorious and forgiven because of what Christ accomplished. This week we’re going to look at our righteousness. In other words, we’re already standing ‘right’ before God as forgiven, blameless, and clean because of Jesus.
What you’re about to read may be shocking to you. Not because you’ll disagree but because it may require you to rewire the way you think. Can the Gospel message really be this simple?
Righteousness is not given or taken from us based on our performance. In Christ, righteousness is already ours based on belief not behavior. Righteousness means nothing for us today unless we own it. If God is righteous and He lives in me, I’m righteous in Christ. If God is complete and He lives in me, I’m complete in Christ. If God is perfect and He lives in me, I’m perfect in Christ. Romans 4:3 tells us, “Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness.” So how do we become righteous? By believing God to be who He says He is. By believing God when He says He loves us in spite of our actions. By believing God when life falls apart and circumstances don’t make sense. By believing God to provide when our finances don’t line up. By believing God is enough! Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Because I am in Christ, God now sees me according to how Jesus has lived, not by how I act. Let this reality sink in. In Christ, God no longer sees me as a sinner saved by grace; He now sees me as a saint saved by grace. Regardless of my situation, He sees Jesus in me; He sees the righteousness of Christ. The life Jesus lived on Earth has now been credited in full to those who believe.
The biggest hinderance to receiving this incredible truth is many of us are more comfortable being slaves than being free. Why? We like having something to measure ourselves by and strive for. It allows us to control how God distributes His love and grace. It makes sense to believe we’re blessed because we follow the ‘rules’. And isn’t it so humble to think of ourselves as such wretched dirty sinners? However, none of these things are actually Jesus focused. Stop striving for something you already have. Stop following rules and start following Jesus. When you live to receive blessings you miss the revelation that you’re already blessed. By the way, it’s not humble to think lowly of yourself. That’s false humility and a slap to the face of your Creator. Proper humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but rather, thinking of yourself less. You are a son or daughter of the living King. You are royalty (1 Peter 2:9)! You are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)! It’s time you start living like it.
We must remember to be faithful to the covenant we’re in. We stand ‘right’ because we’re standing on the finished work of Jesus. We say things like, ‘yeah, but we still sin.’ Well, remember we were forgiven on the cross. We need to stop focusing so much on our sin because it’s already been dealt with. We’re not to live sin conscious, we’re to live Savior conscious. We don’t have a sin issue, we have a belief issue. Jesus doesn’t want your sins, He wants you! Righteousness isn’t what you do, it’s determined by who you believe and who you believe will determine how you behave. When you start thinking differently, you start living differently. You stop focusing on you and you start extending the love that God has bestowed upon you. Paul reiterated this in Galatians 2:21, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” So be confident in your right standing before God. You are as righteous as you’ll ever be and there’s nothing you can do about it.