Sunday, June 20, 2010

246. You Are Righteous Apart from Your Behavior and Performance

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Righteousness is a gift from God that we can never earn. All the blessings of God are given to us freely as the gift of God. If we thing we've worked or performed or behaved well enough to receive something from God, then that's not the gospel and it's a lie!

The book of Romans says that all have fallen short of the glory of God.  In Romans 1, Paul makes a list of many examples of "the unrighteousness and ungodliness of all men."  After making this list, he concludes in Romans 2 that there is therefore absolutely no place for judging one another, since all of us are in the same boat.

He then goes on to share the good news of the gift of God's righteousness that is freely given by God Himself to those who believe.   It's not our good behavior or performance that makes us righteous, and it's not our poor behavior or performance that keeps us from being righteous.  It's the gift of God that makes us and keeps us righteous!  The good news is that you are righteous.  You are not merely a "sinner saved by grace."  You are no longer identified as a sinner, no matter what your behavior.  You are a holy and righteous saint!

3 comments:

  1. You are no longer identified as a sinner, no matter what your behavior.

    What a load of rubbish. We are not saved by our works & God is love no matter what but dont tell people their behavior doesn't matter. That is advocating licence to sin. If they are a saint their behavior will change. Read Jude

    Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

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  2. Dear Anon,

    Nobody said behavior wasn't important. But it has nothing to do with who we are in Christ. As Joel said, we were identified as sinners because we were born in Adam. Under the New Covenant, believers are identified as righteous and saints simply because we were born in Christ. It's a gift, an inheritance.

    To suggest your behavior makes you more or less righteous is the root of being obsessed with self righteousness. Under the Old Covenant this is exactly what the Jewish people spent their time doing...Trying to establish their OWN righteousness.

    "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God." (Rom 10:3)

    In Titus Paul said it is the grace of God that motivates us to live Godly in Christ Jesus. Not the other way around. Grace does not lead or "license" people into sin.

    So in regards to who you are in Christ, it's based on His finished work and nothing else.

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  3. Yes! Yes! Yes!

    When we fully grasp this message and realize just how much God, our Dad, loves us and just how valuable His grace is, we desire more and more to allow Him to live through us. It's beautiful, natural, and easy as resting in Him!

    Jen M.

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