LIFE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH THE GOSPEL – Pastor Chris
Sunday, August 26, 2018
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith… (Romans 1:16-17).
From the verse above, we observe first, the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Word of God concerning Jesus Christ, and the salvation that He brought—is the power of God to save men. His power to bring those who believe out of sin, into the life of righteousness, is encapsulated in the Gospel of His grace. There’s no other way to learn about, receive, or understand the righteousness of God outside the Gospel.
Then, in 2 Timothy 1:10, the Apostle Paul shares another inspiring thought: through the Gospel, life and immortality have been brought to light. What kind of life is he referring to? It’s the divine life; the God-type of life; the life that makes men sons of God, and this life is in Jesus Christ: “…this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12).
Being born again, we haven’t only become righteous, but have also become the unveiling of God’s righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “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.” Righteousness has become the character of your spirit. The ability to be right, and to do right—the ability to perform righteousness—is inherent in your spirit. You can live that life of righteousness, the nature of rightness that God has given you, from inside out.
Furthermore, you have, and can live the transcendent life; the overcoming life that makes us superior to Satan, darkness, disease, sickness, failure, defeat, and death; a life that’s beyond this world! This extraordinary life, along with the gift of righteousness, was delivered to us in Christ, through the Gospel.
PRAYER
Awesome and righteous Father, I thank you for the life of Christ in my spirit that’s made me one with you; your righteousness in me has brought perfection and excellence into my life, causing me to live and do right, walking triumphantly every day! I’m walking in the reality of who I am in Christ, taking full advantage of the power and effect of your divine life in me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: John 3:15-17; Romans 3:24-26; Romans 5:17-21;
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1 & Psalms 139-141
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN Colossians 3:1-11 & Jeremiah 12
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