THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Roman 3:10
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 5:17,19
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

“There is none righteous, no not one…” most all of us have heard that preached. And if you look in the Bible it is in there. But wait a minute lets see what else it says. The Apostle Paul is writing against man in his natural state-there is none righteous-which is true. We know though that our righteousness doesn’t come from the Law or our conduct, it comes directly through our faith in Christ. Romans 3:22 “unto all and upon all them that believe..”

We have read in Roman’s 5:17 that because of one person’s offence –Adam’s treason- death reigned in the world. {I just want to point out that is Adam listed here and not Eve, but that is another article. Just know it was Adam and not Eve}. Satan became the lord over mankind and everything that man did was in response to fear, of death, accident and failure.

Jesus bought the free gift of righteousness which was much more alive, more real, and more abundant than death. The fear of death is dispelled by life in Christ. Paul even said in 1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting?” The force of righteousness overcomes the power of sin and death. We have more power over our life’s as the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ then satan had over us while we were in sin.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) When we made Jesus the Lord of our life’s, we received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that enables us to reign in life as a king. We come into position to reign over our life’s and the circumstances surrounding us the same as a king reigns over his kingdom.

We must learn to depend on our free gift of righteousness. We must learn to lean on it, and not our own understanding. The devil will try to tell you that none of this belongs to you, that you have no rights to it. If we are feeling a little sinful, then we just might agree with him.

We might not even realize it is the devil telling us this, we might think they are our own ideas. But when we get into the Word and read and see we have a right to these things simply because Jesus gave me the right. We can see that we have been made the righteousness of God.

Do you really know what it means “being made the righteousness of God?” Think about it and see the reality of it. The child or heir of a king has the same right as the king himself because he is part of the king. He is born of the king and consequently he has the same legal rights and privileges. Even if that heir is just a child and is still being tutored, he is never the less king of the land and has the authority to rule. Galatians 4:1-2 1 Now I say, [That] the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

We are born again, now we are bone of His bone. We received those rights and privileges because we were born into the family of God. God is now reproduced on the inside of you. Jesus paid the price for the sin problem and caused you to be reborn.

If we go back and look at Genesis 2:7, God created the body of Adam, and it was just that a body, then God breathed into that body the breathe of life. Up until that breathe that body was lifeless. Adam’s life came from the inside of God and that is essentially the same thing that happens when we ask Christ into our life’s. We are dead in sins and trespasses until God recreates your spirit and gives you new life. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus , the Spirit of God hovers over your body and a new spirit life which has never existed before is birthed inside of you.

Unfortunately most of us do not know who we are in Christ. No one is teaching us. When we discover who we are our entire existence will take on new meaning. This means your health, your finances, social life, it will all change. The storms of life will be stopped as you exert pressure on them with the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. You can then begin to reign as a king under your Lord and Savior.

God sees you this way. He expects you to take your rightful place and live this kind of life above the elements of the world. He has given you the power and strength of the Holy Spirit as your Comforter and Jesus Christ as your Lord and High Priest to change nations and governments around the world. And if you can change them then surely your own life can change.

Begin to take the New Testament seriously. Start to believe and walk in it. Start to lean on your righteousness, which God has so freely given you. You will begin to realize that all things are possible to you as a believer. You can say Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. with faith; total belief. The Holy Spirit will mold your life and your testimony will be one of power and strength.

As children of God, born again, created anew, we are to be superman and woman to the eyes of the world. When the rough times come we will not buckle, we will stand tall and triumph over them. We will walk hand in hand with Jesus through the storms of life and come out victoriously.

God does not put these rough storms and rough spots before you; He takes you through them and delivers you from them. The devil throws things at you to stop you from acting on the word of God. He knows how dangerous exercising your righteousness in Christ is. Righteousness is a dangerous weapon in the hands of the believer, so the devil is constantly trying to stop their effectiveness.


God Bless,
rECj/LJG