©2002 Charles Darby
1 John 4:17 Herein
is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
because as he is, so are we in this world.
2 Cor 5:21 For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him.
Acts 17:28 For
in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own
poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Gal 2:20 I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Most all who are Christians will tell you they believe the word of God. Some will even argue the word of God and get very mad if you don't agree with them! In my humble opinion, we should not argue the Word of God. The Word should be a weapon to use against satan and a tool to help others see and know Jesus Christ. The Word of God will still get the job done if used properly.
Let's notice 1st John 4:17 above: “As He is, so are we in this present world”. What is Jesus like? How is His standing with the Father? What are we now that we have been washed in His blood and filled with His Spirit? He has overcome and sat down at the Father's right hand. The scripture says we are like Him, now, in this present world. Praise God!
Notice 2nd Cor 5:21 above: “that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”. How righteous is God? This should be our present state, if we are in Christ. How can we walk with God if we don't agree with Him? I choose to believe what He says about me, not what my flesh or others say about me!
Where does the right standing come from? From the right relationship with Jesus Christ, of course. In and of myself I don't have any righteousness that can please God. No one does. Jesus Christ is my righteousness. He is my strength. He is the Vine and I but a branch. A branch has no life of its own. All the life is in the vine. Notice Acts 17:28 above: “in Him we live and move and have our being”. The Vine supplies every need for the branch. Gal 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”. He is alive forevermore and so am I, if I abide in Him until the end!
As long as we try to attain to righteousness by our efforts we will never get there. The harder I try to live “right” the more I mess up! My righteousness is like filthy rags anyway. As I abide in Jesus Christ, living right is a natural result. To Him be all the glory and praise. His righteousness is what we should desire. That's a gift through Jesus Christ. He will fill us if we ask. Like salvation, righteousness is a gift!
We have been “made” righteous in Jesus Christ. Now all we need do is be what He has created us to be. We don't become righteous by doing righteous things, any more than a bird becomes a bird by flying. God created him a bird when he was born. We were created righteous when we were born-again. We are righteous because He is righteous! We do righteous deeds because we are righteous. It's Him that lives in us. The renewed mind thinks the way He thinks.
If we continue to look at our flesh or the flesh of others, we will never see true righteousness. Righteousness is in the spirit, where Christ dwells. Let's learn to walk in the Spirit and not let the flesh rule in our lives.
For instructions on being Born
Again click here or top of page.
Thank you for reading. Click on E-mail
to contact us. E-mail
Would you vote for this site? You can
vote once per day. Nothing to fill out, just click on the banner below.
