Kindly take time n read, tanx OUR COMPLETE RIGHTEOUSNESS There are multitudes of Christians who are trying to be more righteous through their good works. They think the more they do well and live a sinless life, the more righteous they will become. This shows great ignorance. The righteousness we have received from God is an absolute righteousness. It is a perfect righteousness. We do not have to do anything to make it better. Nothing we do can increase or decrease the righteousness of God at work in us. It is a whole righteousness. It is the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ that we have received freely by faith. Jesus Christ was made sin as we were so that we will be made righteous as He is. On the cross He became our substitute. “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 Cor. 5:21). He took our place of sin and we took His place of righteousness. Jesus Christ was crucified in our name, and we have been made righteous in His Name. Now, we are as righteous as He is. Glory to God. Just as God cannot be more righteous than He is, we also cannot be more righteous than we are. We have His righteousness. Our good deeds do not make us more righteous. We are as righteous now as we will ever be. Our good works are just the fruit of God’s gift of righteousness working in us. They do not make us more righteous or holier than we already are in Christ. Does a mango tree become a mango tree because it is bearing fruits? A mango tree bears mango fruits because it is a mango tree. If a mango tree bears fruits, it is only a fruitful mango tree. If it does not bear fruit effectively, it is still a mango tree, but an ineffective mango tree. This is because the nature of a tree determines the kind of fruits it bears. So then, a man cannot bear the fruit of righteousness until he is first of all made a tree of righteousness by God through faith in Christ. We also have an absolute righteousness. God calls us His trees of righteousness. He says; “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”(Isaiah 61:3) You see, we are by nature trees of righteousness, the Lord’s own planting that He shall be glorified. All that the Father expects from us is fruitfulness. But, note that, we bear the fruit of righteousness because we are already by nature trees of righteousness. Nevertheless, a Christian’s unproductiveness or ineffectiveness does not change his nature as a tree of righteousness. This is because our nature of righteousness is never determined by our fruitfulness. It is a state of being. We became righteous without fruitfulness. It is through faith in Christ. I do not know how best to emphasize this fact. We have already established that fruitfulness in Christ Jesus depends mainly on one’s spiritual, mental and character maturity in Christ. Naturally, no Christian would like to commit sin. This is because he has God’s nature of righteousness working in him. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made him free from the law of sin and death.”(Rom. 8:2). We do not have to worry and struggle over fruit bearing. God has naturally ordained us to be fruitful. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain :”(John 15:16). The right thing to do as God’s trees of righteousness is to receive nutrients and nourishment from God’s word. In so doing, we will grow into maturity. As we grow into spiritual, mental and character maturity through the Word, our fruit bearing will be as natural as breathing, because no tree struggles to bear fruits... PASTOR BERNARD KING-ARTHURI
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 22:44:56 +0000
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