righteous by: paul ellis. there is nothing wrong with wanting to do the right thing. the problem is...

RIGHTEOUSBy: Paul Ellis

There is nothing wrong with wanting to do the right thing. The problem is we often don‘t know the right thing to do. ―Should I choose A or B? What does God say? Our sincere desire to do right combined with our inability to tell how things will turn out leaves us feeling apprehensive and insecure. ―Did I make the right choice? And when our best laid plans go awry we become perplexed. ―How did I end up here? Where did I go wrong?

Those who don‘t feel righteous feel anxious. They lack real peace. Of course we don‘t base our faith on our feelings but feelings should follow faith as surely as peace and joy follow righteousness.

Most believers have not heard that the righteousness you and I both need comes to us as a free gift from the Lord.

There is simply no way to be righteous other than to receive the gift of his righteousness by faith.

 God's Grace is a Good news, God's Law is Not

It's not something you can earn but it's freely given. Your part is to receive, believe and trust in God that He already made you righteous through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

One thing you must never do with a gift, and especially a priceless gift, is insult the giver by trying to pay for it.

My friends, how I wish with all my heart that my own people might be saved! How I pray to God for them! I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge. They have not known the way in which God puts people right with himself, and instead, they have tried to set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God's way of putting people right. For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.

Romans 10:1-4 GNT

Zeal without knowledge of the gospel is a recipe for self- righteous religion. You may be working a hundred hours a week for Jesus but if you have not submitted to the righteousness revealed in the gospel of his grace, your work is for naught. You‘re stacking firewood and you‘re not saved.

Many churchgoers are zealous for God with a zeal based on ignorance and unbelief. They are working like slaves but in God‘s eyes their deeds are incomplete.

We Christians do not wake up each morning planning to be self-righteous, but self- righteous is what we are if we trying to impress God with our deeds and our sacrifices.

Martha‘s problem was not that she was cooking; it‘s that she wasn‘t eating. The Chef of Heaven had come to visit and all she wanted to do was make sandwiches for him. That‘s not how it works. That‘s back to front. We‘re not saved or made righteous because we bless him but because he has blessed us. The lesser is blessed by the greater.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew

5:6

He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:35

When you have had a hearty meal, the last thing you feel like doing is cooking. You just want to sit and digest and heap praises on the chef. This is a very appropriate response to grace!

How can you tell when a Christian has submitted to God‘s righteousness? They have a look of well-fed contentment. They are not sweating in the kitchen making sandwiches for Jesus. Neither are they singing discontented songs of hunger and thirst (―Oh feed me Jesus‖). Instead, they are pointing hungry people to the Bread of Life by proclaiming the gospel of his satisfying righteousness.

As far as righteousness is concerned, you really must do nothing. Anything you do to help the Lord in matters of justification will be utterly disastrous. We are justified by faith alone.

Illustration: a swimmer drowning in the ocean must depend and completely submit to his lifeguard in order to be saved. If he Panics and tries to save himself would only make both of their lives in danger and more difficult for the lifeguard to execute his lifesaving techniques.

illustration School exam. A student is being evaluated on how much he learned about a certain curriculum by taking a final exam. It's either he pass or fail. If he pass, that means he met the requirements. If he fails, that means his knowledge of and efforts of studying the curriculum isn't enough for him to finish it.

Bad news is: as far as righteousness is concerned, our own knowledge and effort won't give us a 100% passing mark.

Good news is: There is a gift for you. You don't need to take the exam because there is someone who took it on your behalf, He is Jesus. And guess what? He passed! He is the perfect lamb that was slain so your failures and mistakes will not just be covered but will be remembered no more!

For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV

It means you have had a complete renovation, a Holy Spirit renewal, an entire rebuild. You have been straightened out. You are no longer the crooked person you used to be. Whereas in Adam you had bent inclinations that led you towards sin no matter how hard you tried to avoid it, in Christ you are inclined to walk straight and true.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would seek to convince us of our righteousness in Christ. When do you most need convincing of your righteousness in Christ? It is when you are feeling unrighteous. It is when you have just sinned.

And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment .

John 16: 8-10 AMP

The Holy Spirit is not closing his eyes to

your sin; he is trying to open your eyes to

Jesus.

PEACE ALWAYS FOLLOWS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Romans 5: 1 NLT

Another sign that some don‘t appreciate the gift of righteousness is anxiety regarding the Lord‘s will. What should I do? What does God want me to do with my life?

God‘s word and the Holy Spirit are declaring together that you are truly righteous. This means your desires are righteous, your dreams are righteous, and your deeds are righteous.

And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we‘ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives. Once you‘re convinced that he is right and righteous, you‘ll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God‘s true children.

1 John 2:28–29, The Message

One of the greatest failures of the modern church is that we have defined career success in terms of formal ministry. The message many young people hear is this: If you want to be a Somebody in the kingdom, you have four choices; pastor or deacon, if you work well with others, or missionary or evangelist if you don‘t.

You are a precious and unique member of his body. There are things that are easy for you that are hard for others. You feel and see things differently from other people. These differences are not accidental. They hint at the flavor or expression of the kingdom that God has given to you alone. They point to your gifts and we need them. The world waits to see Christ revealed in you.

Be convinced of your righteousness, fan the gift of God into flame and go for it. Live deeply in Christ and be the person he made you to be. Your future is bright!

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Proverbs 4:18

CONCLUSION

When you stumble and sin, an old

covenant preacher will say, ―Look at what you did!‖ But a new covenant preacher will say, ―Look at what He did! (Pointing to Jesus’ accomplishment on the cross)

An old covenant preacher would have you turn from every sin until you‘re a dizzy sinner. But a new covenant preacher will release the grace of God that empowers you to sin no more.

Under the old covenant you were righteous because of what you did, but in the new you are righteous because of what he did. You are declared righteous, recreated to be like God in true righteousness.

What does God want you to do with the gift of his righteousness? He wants you to receive it, to walk in it, and to rule and reign with him in righteousness.

not a list of things you must do to inherit eternal life. It is the blessed announcement that the righteousness you need to enter the kingdom of heaven—the righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and law teachers—comes to us as a free gift through faith.