Righteousness: A Gift, Not a Work (So Stop Telling Me It's "His Way of Doing Things"!)

  This is one of the most frustrating stumbling blocks that I am hearing in the churches today.

They keep talking about righteousness as if it means "God's Way of Doing Things."

That is patently untrue. I am so tried of hearing that. I am so tired of people not paying attention to what God's Word says.

Consider this passage:

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

Could it not be any clearer? Righteousness is something that we are established in. It is not something that we do, but rather somenthing that is done to us.

Let's go back to the Father of Faith, our beloved Abraham:

"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

What more do modern-day preachers need? How more clearly can God make it?

Going back to Isaiah 54, we find this verse:

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17)

Our righteousness comes from Him! We do not create it, we do not manufacture it.

And why stop there?

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Christ IS our righteousness. What else do you need to understand that righteousness is not "His way of doing things"?

How about this?!

"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)

That's all you need to know. 

When Jesus said to the Israelites of His day during His earthly ministry "See ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness," He was talking about the perfect standing before God, in which we are no longer condemned for our sins, but justified from all things (Acts 13:38)

Consider this passage, too:

"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." (Romans 5:17)

It's a gift! IT'S A GIFT! How much more plainly can Paul make it?!

I am done. I will not settle for any pastor or preacher who continues to push this canard that righteousness is something that we do. No! It is something that Jesus has done, that He has bestowed as a gift to all who will receive it, who will receive Him!

Can't Stop Writing About the Freedom in Righteousness

  This the Year of Time and Space.

It may have seemed that for many people, this year has been wasted.

For my part, I can tell you that all has worked for good. For my good! (Romans 8:28)

This year has allowed me to see more of Jesus, to understand how real He is.

This year, I walked out of a church that refused to stand up to the Governor's abusive, unlawful orders, and I ended up in a church which refused to be bullied, kowtowed by the lawlessness.

I am running for State Assembly, and the election season is kicking off into full swing.

Because the year pretty much grinded everything to a halt, there was so much evil the world that had to stop, as well. The natural cycles and themes of God's natural world were restored once again.

This was a time that forced people to walk by faith, in that we had to go forward one step at a time, not having the full knowledge of what could happen.

The Year of Time and Space is a year in which God brought many people in the Body of Christ to new heights, to greater revelation, to broader spaces.

This time of slow-down forced me to look into God's Word more than ever before. There were compulsive behaviors that God was able to remove from my life during this so-called pandemic. Because of the slowdown and shutdown of public gatherings, many pastors and church leaders brought their ministries online, and now they are reaching untold millions around the world with the Good News, the Gospel of Grace!

AMEN!

One of my points of greatest struggle was that I would get angry, I would get embittered very easily. I used to think that all the wrongs which people had perpetrated against me, would mean  that those harsh memories would be able to bother me any time. It was such a strain for me, and I spent so much time trying to stem and tame this struggle inside my head.

Now I understand that His righteousness rests within me, a golden offering that will never leave me, never be shaken out of me:

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)

And this righteousness cannot be taken away from me, even if I sin:

"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." (Proverbs 24:16)

The rightoeus man does sin from time to time, but he is established.

As we keep receiving the gift of righteousness, the abundance of grace, and as we keep seeing the LORD in the Word, we are transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). We grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, and His grace is all the more manifested to us (2 Peter 3:18).

The biggest change that has happened for me, though, is that I see how real, relevant, prevalent God is. I am no longer wondering if He is on my side. I know that He is for me, because I have been made the righteousess of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The stumbling block for me was that I struggled to understand that righteousness is a gift, and that is not dependent on my actions or my feelings. I confused that issue, and then combine that with the lie that the LORD comes and goes depending on how you feel or what you think, and well, there you have the perfect recipe for confusion, pain, anguish, torture, and loss.

Thank you, Jesus, that I am free from all of this. This is indeed the Year of Time and Space. I am set free from all the wrong believing, the wrong ideas, that wrong things that I had learned. I am so grateful for the extended shutdown period which occured, because I have now learned so much more about what it means to reign in life, in Your Life!

Righteousness: A Never-Ending, Ever-Flowing Gift

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

This revelation is so powerful, that I cannot stop sharing it.

In 2008, I learned that I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

What I did not learn, however, is that this righteousness does not leave me even if I sin, fall, fail, fall short, make a fool of myself, etc.

That was a lesson that has taken me so much longer to learn. I have been learning about this since at least 2012. I still remember reading an incredible document about this gift of righteousness when I was dining at a McDonald's in Venice, CA. It's amazing, and wonderful, how God grants me these wonderful memories!

Anyway, when I was working at the charter school in my aera, I continued to believe wrongly that I had to feel, think, wonder, have a mindset of a certain kind in order for God to be at work and to stay present with me.

I really believed this, and it created such bondage, such harm for me. No wonder my blood pressure was so high. I was so stressed, so busy trying to stay a good boy on the inside, not worrying about what other people would think of me.

And I was so empty, so tired at the end of the first semester as a teacher. I had thought that I had arrived. I had gotten everything that I needed, and yet I was so empty. There was so much striving going on inside of me, it was just awful.

And the other thing that I did not understand: God was always there with and for me, even when I was thinking bad thoughts, doing bad things, etc.

Why was I so overwhelmed? Because I was so busy trying to keep my thoughts clean and nice, and then I struggled with these blasphemous, perverse thoughts. How shameful they were. I did not understand the gift of righteousness at the time. This gift is not something that comes and goes with behavior. This is a gift which I receive, and KEEP RECEIVING! (Romans 5:17)

The other thing that I did not understand about the gift of righteousness: God is living in me and through me. He is not some impersonal force who is far, far away from me. He lives with me! He is providing all things to me that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)! This is so awesome!

I was never meant to live life alone. I am not living life alone. In fact, He is my life! (Colossians 3:4)

Amen!

He is a vibrant, loving, never leaving Father! Thank you, Jesus, for being so patient with me. The pain that I was going through, the deception that I was in bondage to was so strong.

I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ, regardless of my feelings, thoughts, perceptions, perversions. Before I got saved, I never struggled with some of the painful, poisonous thoughts that I had begun thinking, especially after I had received a greater revelation of my righteousness in Christ.

What was going on? I did not understand that you cannot keep receiving the gift of righteousness but also trust or work in your flesh, in your self-effort to produce results. Life comes from Jesus, not from ourselves.

This revelation took me some time to understand. What was happening to me in 2008, in those earlier days when I was learning about my righteous standing in Christ Jesus? I was under law, trying to be a good boy through my efforts:

"But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead." (Romans 7:8)

This is what was happening. I was in the Romans 7 world, because I did not understand that I had been made the righteousnesss of God in Christ--and that that was a status that would never, ever go away! AMEN!

Jesus cannot leave me now because I have been so thoroughly cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I am so glad that I can write about these things. I now understand why I was struggling the way that I was struggling. Thank you, Jesus, for the never-ending, ever-flowing gift of righteousness!

"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. (Romans 5:17)

and

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

Righteousness Has Nothing to Do With Us

"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." (Romans 5:17)

Righteousness is a gift. We receive it as such. A gift has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with the giver.

The bigger question emerges: Are you willing to receive it, or are you insisting on achieving it in some fashion?

Ever since Pastor Prince expounded on Romans 5:17, I was invested in receiving and receiving this gift.

Yet I had no idea that in my own mind, to an extent, I was still trying to earn it. If there were bad circumstances, if there were mean people who shamed or harmed me, if there were bad feelings, or environmental upsets, I would still question my righteousness.

In this was a problem for me because I was still attaching myself and my circumstances to my status of righteousness.

This is a bad habit which God wants to break us free of.

I had to get to the point where I was found guilty without cause in a courtroom, and I was forced into sentencing, then faced unjust outcomes. In the midst of all these circumstances, I learned to understand that no matter what's happening around me I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. It has absolutely nothing to do with me myself my circumstances my status my sentiments absolutely nothing.

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" (1 Peter 1:7).

Faith in what, though? Our righteous standing in Christ!

This faced some trials, but by the grace of God I have come out stronger, and more entrenched in the truth of who I am in Christ Jesus!

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

None of the weapons of the past have prospered against me.

It's all about understanding the gift of righteousness, and to realize that whether I have done something wrong, or even if I have done something right, my righteous standing in Christ before God has nothing to do with me.

He Provides Everything as Gift

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)

It has taken me a long time to rest in this powerful, wonderful truth.

The gift of righteousness is a gift, yes indeed (Romans 5:17).

Because it is a gift, I receive it based on nothing that I have done, nor does it remain with me based on something else that I do, or will do.

It has nothing, literally nothing to do with me. The gift of righteousness has everything, EVERYTHING to do with what Jesus did at the Cross. He declared "It Is Finished!" did he not?

Now, I have finally understood how complete, final, unadultered is this gift of righteousness. It does not matter what I do after receiving it. I may sin, fall, fail, but the gift of righteousness does not go away. The more that I believe and receive His righteousness, for indeed Christ Jesus is my righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and I have been made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When we rest in this wonderful revelation, His life permeates in us and through us!

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

"Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner." (Proverbs 11: 30-31)

and

"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8:10)

It's His life in us which sets us free from sin and death!

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)

YES! When we receive and keep receiving His abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness, we reign in life, HIS LIFE, and sin and death have no dominion over us (cf. Romans 5:17)

So, from righteousness as a gift comes everything else!

I receive every gift, every blessing from my God my loving Father in the same fashion!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

I do not have to strive for my Daddy God to grant me life, healing, blessings, honor, and all the rest. This life is His Life, for He lives in me! Today, I am no longer in my flesh, but I rest in Christ Himself, seated at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 2:4-5; Colossians 3:1-4)

And of course, my banner verse:

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

This life that He has given me, it's a life of receiving from Him! I don't have to wake up every day convinced that everything in this life depends on me. I am resting in His Life, and He is flowing through me.

This is just wonderful. I hope that this revelation I am sharing with you blesses you today, too!

Take No Thought for the Morrow -- He Has Already Taken Care of It

33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:33-34)

God's righteousness is not about doing things God's way.

His righteousness is not something that is done. He is righteous, and our Loving Father is righteousness. It's part of His identity.

Consider what Christ Jesus is to us:

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Christ is our righteousness.

And because of Jesus, we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ"

"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). 

Notice that Paul does not say that Jesus made us righteous (adjective). We have been made the rightoeusness--definite article--of God in Christ Jeasus.

Not only that, but a grand exchange took place. Jesus did not just take our sin, but He became sin. He took it away, and there is no way that it can be taken back! It's a done deal.

Now, back to the Sermon on the Mount:

"Seek you First the Kingdon of God and His righteousness".

Jesus did not impose on His disciples to "be righteous." He told them to "seek His righteousness."

We have that today of Jesus.

Before that, let's consider what Jesus shared with His audience:

"31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." (Matthew 6:31-32)

and then

"34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)

What makes these verses sing for my heart today? What makes these wonderful promises stand out for me today?

I know how much my Daddy God loves me. I realize now, much more than ever, that He was always loving me. There is no longer any question about how big, how grand He is NOW!

Why was this a problem in the past? Because of the stupid AA cult, which teaches people to turn one's will and life over to a power greater than oneself as we understand Him.

That is so patently offensive now that I look at the verse in italics. How can anyone even dream to understand God? How can we take into account His grace, His power, His goodness? Such grace, such grandeur, such glory is too great for us!

"Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" (Psalm 139 5-7)

He is taking care of everything. He is before us, and after us! Such love is too great for me to understand. I just have to keep growing in grace and take in more of His love for me!

He was always there for me, and He was actively caring for me. The righteousness issue has to be resolved, however, or we will be too busy trying to fix ourselves rather than trusting that He is taking care of us.

He cares for the birds, He cares for the flowers, so what would possibly make us think that He does not care for us? Only if we see our sins and ourselves, just as Adam and Eve fled from their Creator in the garden.

Today, all of these revelations make so much sense, these revealing loves of Daddy God are so clear. But ten years ago, I was constantly struggling with fear, constantly wondering if Daddy God had my back. I could not see into tomorrow. I feared so much for tomorrow. I actually believed that tomorrow was out of God's control!

Now that I have such a deeper knowledge of God's love for me, it's so much fun to cast my cares onto Him (1 Peter 5:6-7).

There is no need for me to take thought, to worry about tomorrow. He is taking thought for everything before me and after me! Hallelujah!

Righteousness: An Immutable Characteristic of Our New Selves in Christ

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When Jesus died on the Cross, and then He was raised from the dead three days later, He took us out of our dead selves in Adam, and gave us new selves, a new life in Himself (Ephesians 2:4-6).

We are no longer dead in Adam, but alive in Christ Jesus:

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one[Adam]; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)

Righteousness is an immutable gift which we receive, and keep receiving, through Christ Jesus.

We need to understand that Jesus did not just take our unrighteous stance before God.

"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)

He became sin, which means that He took our sin, and therefore we can never get back. He took our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24)

In turn, we were made the righteousness of God in Christ. Indeed, we receive and keep receivig His gifts of righteousness and grace, but righteousness defines who we are now today!

It's not something that can leak or fall away from us.

Consider what John the Beloved writes in His First Epistle:

"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." (1 John 3:7)

"Doing righteousness" is all about believing on Jesus!

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

When we believe on Jesus, this is what happens:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:1-2)

We are as righteous as Jesus! John could not have said it more clearly:

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

We have righteousness, not just as a part of us, but it defines who we are in Christ Jesus.

Righteousness is our new identity, since Christ has been made our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30)

We are are new creation in Christ Jesus, defined by His gift of righteousness, something that cannot change, whether we fail or fall, whether we sin or win.

Righteousness is Where We Are, Regardless of The Attacks

I was meditating on this revelation today.

For the longest time, I would work so hard to ignore or undo bad thoughts, bad feelings, bad memories.

If I remembered something that made me mad, angry, or I felt upset that some event or circumstances transpired a way that I wish had not happened, I would feel so bad that I was remembering that sentiment again.

Then I learned about what it means to be established in righteousness. This status we have in Christ Jesus cannot be asailed, no matter what happens to us, what happens around us.

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

We are established in His righteousness (Isaiah 54:17)

In fact, we are made the righteousness of God in Christ!

IN HIM!

That's where we are today, and all the blessings that come upon the righteous, come upon us because of Jesus.

I started to realize more and more that it didn't matter what I was feeling, what I was thinking, where I was going, or what was happening to me.

I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).

That's where I am, and that's where I shall rest and remain blessed, no matter what happens to me.

With that, I both know and believe that I am defended, protected, prepared to be overcome, no matter what attacks may come my way!

Stop Trying to Be Righteous: You Have Been Made the Righteousess of God in Christ

"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)

I have been meditating so much on Isaiah 54:14:

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

It's not enough to know about righteousness.

It's not enough to know that we have received righteousness.

It's not enough to know that we are made righteousness.

We need to be ESTABLISHED in it.

No matter what happens in our lives, no matter how much we fail, no matter how many times we fall, no matter how bad the circumstances may become in our lives, no matter how many failures and bad circumstances occur in the world around us, or even in our own homes.

We need to recognize that we are righteousness, and not righteous based on our own efforts.

Isaiah dispenses with that narrow-minded arrogance summarily:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

Notice that the word "righteousness" is in the plural form, indicating not just man's works, but the plural of majesty. The most superlative of man's righteousness is nothing but filthy, soiled rags to God.

We have God's righteousness (Isaiah 54:17):

And yet it's even more than having something.

We are defined by God's righteousness, and we are reborn, redefined as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

We are not just as righteous as Christ Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God the Father, but we have been made "The Righteousness of God" because we are now in Christ Jesus.

For this reason, among many others, John would write in his First Epistle:

"Herein is our love made perfect (lit. love perfected among us), that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

Now, here's the new learning point, the new departure point for faith.

We don't claim "I am the righteousness of God in Christ" to make it a reality. We claim this out loud to affirm what we have been made in Christ Jesus. This confession is not "name it and claim it", but rather "Name it, because it is so." Paul writes to the Romans:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

It's about renewing our minds to the truth of who we are in Christ, regardless of what people say or do to us.

So stop trying to make yourself righteous, whether by works or confession. Rest in the truth of your new identity in Christ, and let His righteousness take hold of you at every level of your being.

It's All About the GIFT of Righteousness

Last month, early in the month, I was facing so many challenges.

I needed a new car, and I needed a steady income.

I was so frustrated. I was struggling with bills, debts, demands.

One night, I got so angry. I shouted at God: "What good is having my sins forgiven if  I can't pay the rent?!"

When I had shouted like that, I paused.

I did not esteem the sacrifice. When Jesus died on the Cross, He took away all my sins, and all the sins of the world. He paid the ultimate price so that none of us will ever have to. The guilt and shame of sin is great. There is no escaping it through our efforts. Our hearts cannot rest with any kind of security as long as we continue to feel guilty about the sinful things which we have said and done.

Sunday evening, the second week of July, I was meditating on the gift of righteousness which I have received, and which I am called to keep receiving (Romans 5:17). A great joy flooded my heart.

No matter how bad things may seem around me, I can rest assured that I have been made the righteousness  of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). No matter what the economic circumstances may have been, no matter if I had face similar setbacks, I had neither right nor reason to condemn myself.

In fact, that is precisely what had happened. I had started condemning myself. "How is it possible that I have ended up in this situation again? I have to do this. I must face that. I have to take these steps again to get by, etc. I thought I was going to be past this!"

Then I recall what Paul had shared with the Philippians:

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." (Philippians 4:12)

It takes time. We don't get used to hardship and easy-ships all the time and overnight. The struggles we overcame in the past we may face again, because Jesus wants us to see something new about Him! Paul learned how to handle all these setbacks. We learn to trust in Jesus and recognize that He is supplying all our needs according to His riches, and not out of them (Philippians 4:19).

The gift of righteousness is the foundation for all blessings.

Jesus wasn't mincing words are just idly speaking in His Sermon on the Mount:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

That Sunday night, after I finished church, I met with a friend. He had a job. He had a car. He had enough resources, and yet he was complaining.

For me, I rested in the truth that God has made me righteousness, and that no matter what may be happening around me, that this gift was the most important to receive ... and keep receiving.

The next day, I had a new job and I got a car. God met all of my needs!

But the most important thing was to rest in His peace. That's what mattered. I needed to esteem and recognize more deeply how great is His gift of righteousness, that through Jesus I am justified from all things! (Acts 13:38)

Redemption is About Everlasting Grace

"8In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer." (Isaiah 54:8)

God is all about grace, and His grace is everlasting, eternal.

Notice that Isaiah prophesies about this everlasting kindness, or "chesed" in the original Hebrew, right after he speaks about Jesus our suffering Messiah, who was crushed for iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace (cf. Isaiah 53)

The grace that we receive from Christ Jesus is not a one-time thing, either.

Paul invites us to receive and keep receiving the twin gifts of righteousness and grace: 

"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." (Romans 5:17)

and also

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" (Romans 5:20)

Notice that whatever the sin, the failure, the cause of God's wrath may have been, God's grace is overbounding, overflowing, ready to wash over us all the more and bless us!

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

We have been redeemed in Christ Jesus, and let us never stop receiving His everlasting grace!

"10For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee." (Isaiah 54:10)

Are You Established in His Righteousness?

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

I learned about righteousness from Joyce Meyer.

The righteousness that we receive from Christ Jesus guarantees a long series of promises to us.

Meyer encouraged me to look all of them up and claim them in my life. Within a few months, my life was transformed. I was not sure how I was going to make it through that summer period.

Then I found a teaching job near me and I got the job the next day.

I found that I was receiving an incredible salary and working at a great place. God was really blessing me.

Then a sense of emptiness started to roll over me. Also, I labored in these days with a misunderstanding of Scripture.

For example, here's a wonderful promise from Isaiah:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

I used to interpret this verse to mean that I had to keep thinking about Him, that I had to aggressive make myself conscious of God in my life every day. If my mind or attention wavered in any way, I was going to lose God's presence in my life. 

In effect, I was aware of God taking care of me at every level and over everything. I walked around with this incredible peace. "God will take care of the 99% in my life, if I do my part, this 1%."

Yet that is not what God's New Covenant depends on.

It all falls on what Jesus has done for us as our Mediator!

"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

"11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

"12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12)

Notice that God provides all His blessings to us because He has provided a full payment for our sins, and our inquities, our failures, our sins God will remember no more.

See, I knew that there were these promises, and that these promises came to us because of what Christ Jesus had done for me:

"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)

Now here was the part that I didn't understand: God has put away our sins forever. I was still operating under a mixture, much like the Galatians. I thought that I had to be obedient in some fashion, whether it was focusing on God continuously. There was still this strange, condemning inkling that I had to do "my part".

In other words ... I was not established in righteousness. I didn't realize that righteousness is a gift that I get to keep on receiving, and that even when I fail, or when other people accuse of my wrong--whether justly or unjustly--that I am still righteous!

"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." (Romans 5:17)

Thank God for Pastor Joseph Prince, who taught me that "receive" is in the present, continuous tense. Young's Literal Translation emphasizes that we keep continuously receiving this gift of righteousness!

I didn't understand that, I didn't realize that I am established in His righteousness!

This flowing of God's justification into our lives comes forth in Amos' prophecy, too:

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

That word "mighty" in the original Hebrew also means "never-ending" or "eternal". 

The righteousness we receive from Jesus because of His death and resurrection will never leave us!

But how many of us believe it? How many of us know that we have been made "the righteousness of God in Christ"?

I did not know it, and we perish because of this lack of knowledge in our lives:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)

We need to understand that God's righteousness is going nowhere from us. Terror, ruin, tyranny will be far away from us nor will it every come near to us. This righteousness comes from our Daddy God (Isaiah 54:17)

In Christ, Keep Being Persuaded, Keep Being Filled

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 1:6)

Many Christians think that once they believe in Christ Jesus, they are all set in what they know about Him, and what He has done for them.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There are so many things about Him that we need to see, and there is so much transformation which the Holy Spirit is still doing in our lives.

In fact, even when we fail, we need to keep being persuaded that the work which God began in us, He is committed to completing with us until the day that Christ Jesus returns!

We are called to keep renewing our minds with more truth and revelation from God's Word:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

and then

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Then

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)

We are also invited to keep casting our cares to our loving Father, because He cares for us! (1 Peter: 5:6-7)

We are not called to a static life, but dynamic growth in Christ Jesus!

Also, we not only need to keep being persuaded that God is working a perfect work in us, but that His fruit of righteous abounds and keeps abounding in us!

"Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:11)

The fruits of righteousness--notice the plural--keep growing in us! Righteousness is a gift which we keep on receiving (Romans 5:17), and its fruits continue abounding in us.

Let's not frustrate the grace of God with our efforts, but rather keep believing on Jesus, keep receiving knowledge of Him, and we will continue being filled with His righteousness in us.

Righteousness: Keep Receiving God's Never-Ending River

"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." (Romans 5:17)

I have been studying righteousness in the Bible for the last week.

It's such an important topic, since man's greatest need is righteousness, or what  the modern psychiatric would call "Acceptance."

Man does not want to face shame or loss. He does not want to be put to shame.

Man is bound, burdened with sin and shame, condemnation which entraps man all the more, the more that he tries to be good, to overcome a sinful nature.

Man needs righteousness, and He needs life.

"I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly" (John 10:10)

We cannot have eternal life in us with sin, so the sin problem must be paid for, taken care of.

Jesus signaled that the sin problem and sins would be put away, and the Holy Spirit would then come to us:

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (John 16: 8-11)

The Holy Spirit convicts the believer of righteousness, even when we fail:

"A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." (Psalm 32:1)

Here is the Gospel in clear form preached for all out of the mouth of Paul the Apostle:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39)

Righteousness gives us life!

"In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." (Proverbs 12:28)

I have noticed throughout Scripture that righteousness is referenced, represented as running water.

A very powerful image of how powerful and all encompassing God's gift of righteousness is for us, the running of water indicates how we are to receive and keep receiving God's gift of righteousness for all of us.

Check out the following verses:

"Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it." (Isaiah 45:8)

"O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:" (Isaiah 48:18)

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

We need to see God's gift of righteousness as ever-flowing, never-ending, a mighty stream which affirms us and justifies us at all times.

Jesus' death and resurrection accomplished this much for us and more.

Keep receiving!

What It Means to Be Established in Righteousness--And How He Gets Us There

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54:14)

This journey has been incredible.

I never thought that I would be facing down police officers, mobsters, left-wing thugs, Antifa, internicine fights, unemployment, over-employment, media attacks, media scares.

Yet in the midst of all of this, I have both known and believed that God is love.

I have been without a car for a while, too.

My goodness, just when I thought everything was falling apart around me, and it seemed to have gotten worse.

And yet ...

I sensed within me frequently that I needed to double down on the unshakable truth of God's gift to me, through His Son Jesus:

"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." (Romans 5:17)

Through Jesus, we are now receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness!

Do I really believe that? Is it true that I am established in His righteousness?

For that reason, the trials will come into our lives. Do we rest assured in the truth that Jesus' Work at the Cross has accomplished all things, or not?

Peter would write to his fellow Jewish Christian believers during their trial:

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Notice that our faith is worth more to God than gold--and gold is often used throughout the Bible as  a type of righteousness and divinity.

The gold which never perishes--that is our righteousness, granted to us through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus:

"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

During the final days of last year, a sense of heaviness did overcome me. I faced so many challenges, and worried about what I was going to do or how I was going to get through all of it.

How did I respond to these challenges? I began to read more of God's Word and listen to more of His Word. I asked for answers, and I asked God to show me more of what I needed to know or whatever I had believed that was wrong.

What has been resonating in my spirit all comes back to the Gift of Righteousness!

I realized that I had spent so much time ruminating on what was wrong, rather than seeing Him who has been from the beginning.

Then this passage came to my mind, from one of Paul's letter to the Philippians (a letter which he was writing in jail):

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

Let's not forget Paul's exhortation to rest our minds in good things (Philippians 4:8)

That's a choice that I had to start making in my life. It was still too easy for me to retreat into troubles and hardships, and for my mind to drift then settled into imagining the worst case scenarios. Every one of these fears and tumults must be met with God's Word, not our wonderings:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

My Daddy God has been cleaning a lot of wrong thinking and habits in my mind. That's what spiritual growth in Him is all about!

"1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

It's good for me to reflect on how often my mind revert to worst-case scenarios. Many times in the morning, I would begin ruminating on bad outcomes. This is a faithless, bad habit and there is no excuse for it.

Oftentimes, I was struggling to effect some kid of solution, some kind of outcome, as though my standing or my well-being was wrapped up in any kind of outcome. Such thinking is simply untrue and unbiblical.

We have a promise, for God has called us to be "established in righteousness"(Isaiah 54:14)

When meditating on Romans 5:17, I recall that God invites us to keep receiving the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace. This promise fulfilled today for us reminded me of Amos 5:24, in which the prophet moved by the Spirit declared:

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24)

That mighty stream is flowing over me!

Sometimes, the only way that we can know and believe is that we stay rested in the truth of our status as righteous. There is no way we can be sure if we did not endure hard trials. I have seen myself going through some unprecedented difficulties recently. Instead of wandering into fears, worries, tumults, and a lingering sense of condemnation, I stay focused on the truth:

I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). This revelation was so often absent from me. When I had faced trying times before, I would immediately start asking myself what I had done wrong or right. I looked at myself. Now that I know about the New Covenant, now that I know that Daddy God is indeed a God to me, I rest in the part of the clause which enacts and enforces God's New Covenant in my life:

"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

"11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

"12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12)

All of my unrighteousness has been paid for, and before God I never need worry about being condemned for my sins--past, present, and future--ever again:

"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." (Isaiah 54:9)

and

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

and

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Cleansed from all unrighteousness!

Let's be established in this promise, in this confirmation! God gave His best, and the least we can do is honor what He has done for us.

Meditate on God's Gift of Righteousness

"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." (Romans 5:17)

"They which receiving" is more properly translated "They which are receiving".

It's an active, continuous tense.

God's gift of righteousness is not something that we receive one in a while.

God our Daddy wants us to keep receiving it, even when we sin, fail, and fall short of God's glory:

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23)

We still fall short, but that does not mean we should run and hide in shame, the way that Adam and Eve did when they ate from the Forbidden Tree.

Instead, God invites us to look on His Son and be transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We should come to the throne of Grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

God's new covenant in our lives is enacted by this gift of righteousness, that we know that we will never be punished for our sins and iniquities!

"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

"11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

"12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12)

Remember that the word "merciful" should be rendered "propitious", in that God did not arbitrarily decide not to punish our sins.

They were punished in the body of His Son Jesus!

"Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

He bore our sins, which signals to our conscience that we should never feel the need to punish ourselves for the wrongs which we have committed, and the sins which we will commit in the future:

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" (1 John 2:2)

Let's meditate on this great gift of righteousness, righteousness which rolls like a mighty, never-ending stream! (Amos 5:24)

Rahab The Harlot was Righteous! But How? By Faith!

Rahab was a harlot, which in today's langauge means that she was a prostitute.

Yet for God, righteousness is never based on what we do.

It's all about believing on Him!

"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

Righteousness is all about faith, trusting God and His Word, not our flesh and our efforts:

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)

Let's not forget God's promises to us through His prophet Isaiah:

"14In righteousness shalt thou be established:

...

"17No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54: 14, 17)

Righteousness is not something that we create, but rather something that God establishes us in. We receive it!

Consider in the 17th verse that God tells us "Their righteousness is from me."

It's not our own. In fact, our own attempts to create righteousness or to do righteousness are a double failure:

So, how was Rahab the harlot righteous?

Consider what she said to the Israelite spies who entered Jericho!

"And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." (Joshua 2: 9-11)

Let's look at the powerful testimony of this woman of faith!

She knew that God had given the land to the Israelites.

She heard and believed what God did to the Red Sea, and He destroyed the heathen kings in the Promised Land. She also affirms the pre-eminence of the LORD!

But there's more:

"12Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." (Joshua 2: 12-13)

She not only belived in the One God, but believed Him to be gracious!

In other words:

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

So, let us review.

Abraham was made righteousness because he believed in the LORD. Abraham took God at His word that He would bless Abraham and make Him a mighty nation--that the Dragon Slayer who would crush the head of Satan would come and redeem all mankind (Genesis 3:15).

Rahab believed in the LORD, too, recognizing His mighty deeds and the good works that He intended to do for Israel and for the world.

Notice, therefore, that we are not made righteousness based on anything that we do, and our righteousness is not removed from us based on anything that we do.

It is a gift!

"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." (Romans 5:17)

Then:

"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)

And of course, the writer of Hebrews identifies Rahab as faithful!

"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace." (Hebrews 11:31)

AMEN!