Righteousness
Introduction
Righteousness, the ability to be righteous. Righteous before who or what? Righteousness in it’s simplest form can depict guiltless, blameless, holiness. A man who was recorded in history to be blameless and without sin is JESUS.
Righteousness of GOD is to have a right standing before GOD, to be justifiable and upright. This justification comes not by our works or deeds but by what JESUS Christ did on the cross, nullifying all that was, is and is to come.
With the love Christ showed to us and through the action of giving away His life that we may have the opportunity to stand before GOD, clean and spotless makes us ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20-21). It must be repeated and known and let it soak down into our spirits, JESUS is the only reason through whom we can stand before GOD gracefully because grace and mercy is what HE gave so we don’t stay at a place of condemnation, battling with our minds and pondering on how imperfect and unclean we are.
To whom is this righteousness for? The world. John 3:16, GOD so loved the world that HE gave to all who believe by faith. As our memory verse mentions, not knowing (ignorance- for lack of it people perish) GOD’s righteousness, we seek ours. There is a void in man that seeks for HIS creator and when man has found after he sought HIS creator. The LORD is faithful to give. For the believer, Psalms 119:40 the daily longing for HIM to be like HIM drives us to keep pleasing HIM.
The righteousness of GOD identifies us as HIS very own people, ambassadors and representatives of HIM to every part of the earth. Embracing this truth, gives us a knowing and for that knowing to be part of our conscience we must repeatedly and continuously declare, “I am the righteousness of GOD” even when we did wrong. But as Paul said, does that give us the license to sin because grace is available and freely given? Certainly no! Condemnation of self is an action that draw a person away from GOD. To walk in the fullness of the finished work of Christ we need to intentionally declare who we are rather than being conscious of sin. Let’s be more conscious of the righteousness of GOD. It is the mind the enemy tries to use to his advantage. Don’t pay attention to his lies, it can feed your conscience and cause us to draw ourselves away from GOD, but He desires that we come to HIM with all our mess and mistakes. Righteousness of GOD gives the office of authority as ambassadors because we speak not of our own or under our own power but under the influence and authority of GOD. SO WALK IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.
Main Scriptures
Questions
- Self-righteousness or GOD righteousness, which do we side with and why?
- “Righteous conscious mind”, how do you understand that?
- What is the difference between having righteous consciousness and a sin consciousness?
- How do I allow GOD to work through me so my works are not in vain?
- 3:27, the phrase *being clothed with Christ* , how does it apply to righteous of GOD?
- 2 Cor. 5:20-21, what does the Bible mean by so that I(we) have become the righteousness of GOD”?
Questions
- How is God’s righteousness revealed? – Romans 1:16-17
- According to 1 John 2:29, how are we to practice righteousness?
- Matthew 5:20 says, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In what ways?
- Paul encourages Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22 to pursue righteousness. As youths, how can we pursue righteousness in our days?
- Why do we need to put on righteousness as a breastplate? What does it mean? – Ephesians 6:14
- What are some benefits of living righteously?
- How do I walk in the righteousness of GOD when I fall into sin?