Did you wake up this morning invigorated and ready to delve deeper into your understanding of who you are in Christ? If you didn’t, and yesterday’s devotion was overwhelming; go back and meditate on the Scriptures I shared with you until they become deep seeded roots of understanding. Then when you are ready; begin reading today’s devotion and the days following. The timing of when you read this devotion and the ones following is not important. What is important is that you accept your salvation first so you will be able to accept what your identity in Christ (right standing) entitles you to as His disciple. For those of you who are ready to go to the next level, let’s begin.
You are the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus!
(Please take the time while reading to look up the Scriptures in parenthesis)
Have you ever received a gift of clothing that didn’t fit and then taken it back to a store and exchanged it for another item that fit? When you purchased the new item did you then go back another day and exchange it for the old one that didn’t fit? Of course you didn’t! That wouldn’t make sense. Yet everyday this is exactly what many Christians do with the gift of righteousness that was purchased for them by the blood of Jesus on the Cross! They are in a constant state of exchange based on how they feel when wearing the gift of righteousness. If they feel comfortable IN righteousness they think, speak, and act righteous. If they feel comfortable in sin, they think, speak, and act sinful. In other words they are unstable and ineffective for the Kingdom work they are called to do.
They just can’t seem to accept that the old article of clothing (sinful nature) that Adam gave them when He sinned will never fit them again; because they said yes to Jesus Christ. When Jesus took our sin on the Cross He exchanged it for His righteousness! For those who say yes to Jesus Christ He gives us the gift of righteousness! (Romans 5:6-21, Romans 3:21-26) It doesn’t matter how you feel when wearing the gift of righteousness because your feelings do not change the fact that righteousness is a perfect fit for those who believe! It becomes a matter of whether you believe this truth by faith or not. If you are going to be a person who operates IN the mind of Christ this one issue has to be resolved or you will not be able to operate in it long term.
Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus is the next step after accepting your everlasting salvation through your belief in Jesus Christ! And this comes in accepting that as He is so are we in this world because He first loved us and gave Himself as a sacrifice for us on the Cross! (1 John 4:17-19) When this is understood and accepted you will no longer walk in fear believing the lie that you are only a sinner saved by grace. You were a sinner because of Adam’s sin, but now you ARE the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And when you believed by faith that God raised Christ from the dead you outgrew the old article of clothing (sin nature).
I know this is very difficult to accept for some of you but it is true. Many people would like you to believe that you are still a slave to sin, but when you believed in Jesus you became a slave to righteousness! (Romans 6:15-23) If you continue exchanging your thoughts of righteousness for the thoughts of sinfulness because you do not believe by faith that you are the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus; you will become double minded and unstable in all your ways. So believing by faith without doubting, that you ARE the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus; is the key to living a stable life of faith, which leads you to ask God for the attributes of Christ that accompany your salvation. Do not become sluggish as some are accustomed to doing but imitate those who through faith and patience inherited the blessings of God. (Hebrews 6:9-12)
Those who teach that you have to do right to be right with God are those who still believe in their own acts of righteousness as a way to right standing with God. Paul calls these people dogs and evil workers. They try to get people to follow law as a way of righteousness, but that no longer works. (Philippians 3:2-11) If it did then Jesus died in vain! Self righteousness is the greatest act of abortion ever committed by man! In order to give birth to the attributes of Jesus Christ and to operate in the mindset of Christ, one has to let his righteousness consciousness come to full term by believing by faith that IN Christ ALONE we are the righteousness of God!
If we are going to operate in the mindset of Christ with the attributes of Christ flowing through us we have to reconcile this truth within ourselves through faith! To reconcile means to: accept as inevitable, come to terms with, bring into accord, and harmonize! In 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Paul says it this way. “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Do you know who you are as the righteousness of God IN Christ Jesus? If so lead others into understanding by mentoring them in the Word. If you do now know and you still hold onto the old article of clothing (sin consciousness), then take the time to meditate on God’s Word until it takes root in your heart and you no longer question that IN Christ you are the righteousness of God!
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