Persecuted? It's About and Who and Whose You Are!

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5: 10)

When I first read this scripture, I thought that Jesus was referring to people who were preaching the gospel, or those who were doing charity work or ministering to people in the Body of Christ.

But righteousness has nothing to do with what we do, and everything to do with what Jesus Christ has done:

"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." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

God also characterizes righteousness as a gift which we keep receiving by faith:

"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.)

"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (Romans 5: 17-18)

This gift is manifested in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit:

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just [lit. the righteous] shall live by faith." (Romans 1: 17)

and

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. " (Romans14: 17)

In fact, the Holy Spirit is expressly invested in us to convict us of righteousness (John 16: 10):

So, this righteousness has nothing to do with what we do, but rather what we have become and whose we are in Christ.

So, we can rejoice with the hardships that come our way (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10), knowing that we receive persecution for our reign in the Kingdom of Heaven!