Receiving God’s Righteousness In contrast to our worthless and helpless condition of sin, Paul goes on in verses 21-28 of Romans chapter 3 to describe how God makes us worthy by giving us His righteousness as a gift. The righteousness of God should be understood as righteousness which never has sinned, is not now sinning, and never will sin. It is the state of having always done what is right, never making a mistake. It is obvious that such righteousness cannot be earned by we who are by nature sinful and dysfunctional. Even if it were possible for us to turn over a new leaf, and rid ourselves of all sin in the future we could not match the righteousness of God which never has sinned. It is clear we need that kind of righteousness, as our own, if we are ever to have fellowship with God. How do we get it? How is this possible? The way we receive the righteousness of God, His gift, is said to be “by faith in Jesus Christ.” This means you personally put your faith, and trust in what Jesus did for you when He died on the cross for your sins. You trust Him to relate to you, not as just a member of the human race in some kind of corporate way, rather that He relates to you personally, individually through His death and resurrection. Rather than engage in some sort of self-improvement program we are called upon to simply believe in God’s provisions for us in Christ. All who do so are said to be “JUSTIFIED,” —declared righteous by God, with His righteousness, because they trust Him. Other biblical terms for this experience include being “BORN AGAIN”, “SAVED”, or “REDEEMED”. All sin must be paid for by someone (Romans 6:23). When Jesus laid down His righteous, eternal life, He paid the price one time for all sin, past, present, and future. When you personally trust the fact that He died for you, you automatically, and without reservation or revocation, receive the righteousness of God. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, however, God does a very miraculous thing by making us to be a brand new person, the “New Man/Woman,” who has been given the righteousness of God... the new person that has been born of the Spirit, and shares the righteous character of God. It is important to note the new person we are is still living in the same physical body, and is, therefore, still surrounded by the natural conditioning known Biblically as “the flesh”. Generally speaking the Bible makes a distinction between the physical body, “flesh and blood”, and the sinful nature, “the flesh”, living within that body. While the physical body itself is essentially neutral, and can be used for good or evil, “the flesh”, is the sinful nature or disposition toward sin, and may be viewed as the remnants of the old persons we were prior to the new birth. It is the new man/woman, (inward man/woman), that has been born of God, and is, therefore, justified, (i.e. declared righteous by God). God’s Regeneration Program Since believers are really a brand new righteous person still living in a body that also houses a sinful nature, we are not surprised to find an intense inner conflict. It is to this inward turmoil of mixed motives, confused thoughts, and contradictory behavior that we now have to apply the gospel of Jesus Christ. The total gospel for believers is more than the fact that we have been saved from the guilt, and penalty of our sin. It also includes the fact that we are now being saved from the habit, dominion and power of sin in our lives. It is this gospel that Paul declares in Romans 6-8. What are we to do about our sin problem known as the “flesh”? Shall we just continue in sin that grace may abound? “God forbid!” Paul says, “How shall we, that are dead to sin live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1,2). It is natural for baby Christians to become obsessed with their own or others sin, (dysfunction). They become focused on trying to be good, not to sin and live the Christian life. But, Paul has a different focus for Christians. He shocks us into a new perspective on the problem of sin with this last question. Note carefully: what he is really asking believers is this—how could they possibly go on sinning considering they are “dead to sin?” Such a question shocks us at first. It implies, because we are “dead to sin,” that we actually cannot go on sinning. In addition, the statement we are “dead to sin” shocks us because it is so foreign to our common experience of struggles against sin. In the verses that follow, Paul clarifies this by revealing something that is wonderfully true about us as believers in Jesus Christ. He begins focusing our attention on what God has already done about our sin problem which produces both personal and relational dysfunction in our lives. He tells us that God has joined us to Christ, (baptized into Christ), in His death, burial and resurrection so that we may live a brand new life, (walk in newness of life). Elsewhere the Bible assures us that this new life we receive is: (1) the life of Christ (Colossians 1:27, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 1:21); (2) lived by grace through faith (Col. 2:6, Gal. 2:21, 3:3, 5:16); and (3) directed by the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:9-16, Phil. 2:5-9, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 4:17-23). To further explain the basis for our new life in Christ, Paul reveals that the “old man/woman”, (i.e. the sinful, worthless person we were as natural descendants of Adam), is crucified once and for all. The reasons God killed the “old man/woman” that we were are given in the statements that follow. First, the old man/woman is crucified so that “the body of sin might be destroyed”. This means that our old man/woman in Adam is legally pronounced dead in order that it should no longer condition or control the body. Second, the crucifixion of the old man/woman frees us from the slavery to sin (habitual dysfunction) we naturally experienced all our lives. It is the crucifixion of the old man/woman that makes us dead to sin “for he/she that is dead is freed from sin. Finally, the positive reason God crucified the old man/woman (i.e. our sinful, worthless identity in Adam), is so that we could live in Christ. Because of our union with Christ we not only die with Him, but we also live with Him. God, being holy and righteous, cannot be joined to that which is unholy and unrighteous. He has put to death the old person we were, and raised up a new man/woman that is holy and righteous so that we may live in Christ. In verse 11 we are called upon to apply the gospel in the preceding verses to our daily lives. We are commanded to “reckon (or count on the fact) that we are dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. This requires the exercise of our faith to recognize and believe our true identity. God says He has changed our identity from being worthless in Adam to being worthy in Christ. As far as God is concerned, we are already conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and, therefore, cannot continue in sin. Our responsibility is not to “try hard not to sin,” but rather to trust the fact that we are dead to sin, but alive unto God. When we begin to focus our attention on who God has made us to be in Christ, we begin to experience the personal benefits of the gospel. Only when we experience the security and significance we already have can we honestly be free of fear and confess our own “flesh” or sin nature to God. Such a confession underscores the Divine forgiveness and cleansing we already have, and is necessary to mature as a child of God, and actually love others like Christ (1 John 1:9). In Christ, We Are: Loved - John 15:9; Rom. 5:5-8; 8:35-37; Eph. 2:4; 3:17-19 Accepted - Eph. 1:5-6; 2:13,19-22; Col. 1:22; Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 8:14-17; 12:4,5; 1 Cor. 12:18-27 Forgiven - Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:7; 2 Cor. 5:21; Col. 1:12-14; 2:13,14; 1 John 1:8-2:2 Important - John 15:5-8; 16; Eph. 2:10; 4:1-3, 11-16; Rom. 8:28,29;1 Thes. 2:4; 5:14; Phil. 3:13,14 Adequate - 1 Cor. 15:57,58; Eph. 3:20,21; 6:10; Phil. 1:6; 4:13 Needed - Rom. 15:1-7; John 13:34,35; 2 Cor. 1:3,4; Gal. 6:1,2 Quote from the Alpha Series Chapter 5 Lesson 1 by Pastor John Glenn Alphaministries.org
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 03:01:40 +0000