MY LIFE: #49 IM Christ's Righteousness

When we get caught in this form of self-righteousness, we are actually working against the work of Christ in our lives. Once we accept our position of being seated at the right hand of Christ...

IM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST

For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Rom 5:19)

Believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit need to stop living for acceptance from others and begin living from their righteousness given to them in Christ.  He accepts the believer as righteous even in the middle of a messy sin-filled life.  As each convert walks in their new identity, their mind is being renewed daily by the mind of Christ and they will then believe what Christ says about them is true and permanent in order to make the choice to walk after and in the Spirit.

In the quiet corners of my soul, I often grapple with the paradox of the above passage. It’s a divine gift, freely offered—yet I find myself wrestling, resisting, and sometimes even doubting such a possibility.

Without question, I know that the truth echoes through sacred texts: I am the righteousness of Christ. Cloaked in His perfection, washed by His blood. But oh, the weight of unworthiness, my flesh screams through the halls of my weak mind! How can I, a flawed vessel, bear such a mantle? The treacherous memories of past mistakes and sins reverberate, and admittedly, I wonder if Grace is enough.

Sanctification—is a profound word that creeps in with doubts and confusion. The memories from my childhood that shouted, “Stephen is a dummy,” remain a steady voice in my head. I stumble over old habits, pride, and selfish desires. The mirror reflects both Saint and the inferior one, and I ache for consistency, but on rough days, the “Dummy” seems to scream the loudest. I needed to stop reacting to these lies and incidents.

In the above diagram, it is absolutely imperative that each believer is shown exactly where their faith & works are placed – in & through the Life of Christ or by means of self-effort, which produces more unrighteousness. When the believer is snared by their own righteousness, which is actually unrighteousness, they find themselves in a spot of fighting the truth of being the very righteousness of Christ. When this happens, in fronting an incident, a reaction after the flesh is inevitable.

One of the main drives of all humans is to seek love, acceptance, and forgiveness – saved or not. Acceptance produces rest. Rest precedes ceasing from our works by self-effort (Heb. 4:3). When a believer is living in performance-based acceptance as a lifestyle, he/she will be certain to react versus respond via the Holy Spirit. If the incident is NOT resolved in Christ and we are not focused on our identity in Christ, unforgiveness, grudges, acting detached, seeking revenge, and other fleshly expressions will emerge.

Legalism tugs at the heart of all believers. The checklist of good deeds, the fear of falling short, and the grasp for control perpetrate us daily. We need to bolster the fact that we ARE the Righteousness of Christ. Grace laughs in the face of our self-righteousness and striving. It whispers, “Try, try, and try again.” Any indwelt Christian who walks in this form of selfish striving will find themselves rejecting, criticizing, and putting self, others, and God under their judgment. Knowing where our RIGHTEOUSNESS is found (as a believer) is at the core of accepting who we are IN Christ.

When we get caught in this form of self-righteousness, we are actually working against the work of Christ in our lives. Once we accept our position of being seated at the right hand of the Most High, we are able to release His righteousness through our mortal being – being and functioning within the Righteousness of Christ (Romans 5:19).

While I agree that we are the Righteousness of Christ is one of the greatest mysteries, I am called to believe that God delights in me because of it. Certainly, this is not because of my merit but because at Salvation, He transformed me into His rightness through His Father. May we all find solace in this life-changing truth, knowing that His righteousness covers us, and transforms us into being the Righteousness of Jesus Himself.

Study these verses: Prov. 3:7-8; John 5:24; 8:32; 10:28; Rom. 5:12; 6:6; 10:13; 12:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; 6:13; 9:27; 2 Cor. 4:10; 5:17-2; Gal. 2:20; 5:1; Eph. 1:4, 6; 4:17-18; Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 1:13; 2:10; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12; 13:8; 1 John 5:13; Rev. 3:20.

Coming up next is #50, “My Will is The Key.”

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