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The
Free Gift of Righteousness
It’s Something You Receive, Not Something You Do
by Pastor John Hamel
"For
He hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
(2Corinthians 5:21)
"Once
you discover what God has done for you on the inside, you'll spend the rest
of your life being successful at prayer on the outside." - Pastor John
Hamel
"Righteousness."
This little word is probably one of the most misunderstood words in all of
Scripture and it should not be.
Righteousness
simply means, "to be right with” God. This is what Jesus has
done for us. He has made us right with God our
Father by bearing the penalty of our sins for us.
Some people
wrongly believe that they must make themselves right with God. This
is how all the false religions of the world came into
existence. They do not realize that in order to make themselves
righteous they would first have to become sinless as Jesus is and then go
to the cross as Jesus did. That, of course, is not
possible.
The
only way for a human being to become the righteousness of God is to receive
the “gift” of righteousness that is being freely offered by Creator God,
through acceptance of the Person of Jesus Christ. This is what
the Apostle Paul taught.
“…much more they which RECEIVE
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)
Most
believers do not realize that righteousness is not something we do.
Righteousness is something we receive. That is why it is
called a “gift” in the Bible. Gifts are not earned. Gifts
are simply and thankfully received.
Right standing with God cannot be
earned, either. That would make it a wage, not a gift. Right
standing with God can only be received as a gift provided by the sacrifice
of Jesus. Can you see it?
Another
interesting aspect of righteousness is that it is perfect. It is not
possible to grow in righteousness once it is received. We can grow in
faith, we can grow in love but we
cannot grow in righteousness. When we accept Jesus’ free gift of
righteousness we become as righteous as we will ever be. We actually
become as righteous as Jesus.
No
one will ever arrive in Heaven and
become more righteous. We receive the fullness of the gift right here
on good old planet Earth. So, if you are Born Again, you
are as right with God as Jesus is and as righteous as you ever will be,
feel like it or not. That's just Bible, plain and simple.
Righteousness
is not based on feelings, either. It is based on faith in what the
Father has stated in His Word. No matter how bad you messed up
yesterday, you are still the righteousness of God today. Sin is
always wrong but repentance is always right.
If
you messed up, ask for forgiveness and start walking in righteousness
again. This is what the Father actually expects
of us. Seem too good to be true? Well it is
both. It is too good and it is true!
Many
prayer failures are simply the result of failure to understand and to
simply RECEIVE righteousness as a gift. If I was having a
problem getting my prayers answered, I would first make sure I had no unforgiveness in my life. (Mark 11:25)
Once I was clear there, I would move immediately and make sure I was laying
hold of righteousness as the Father expects me to.
Let's look quickly at just
some of the many wonderful benefits of obediently receiving Jesus'
righteousness by faith.
"For
thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." (Psalm
5:12)
”The
righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." (Psalm 34:17)
"I
have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread … The righteous
shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever."
(Psalm 37:25, 29)
"The
righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."
(Psalm 92:12)
"…the
LORD loveth the righteous." (Psalm 146:8)
"…the
seed (children) of the righteous shall be delivered." (Proverbs 11:21)
"For
the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their prayers…" (1
Peter 3:12)
When Satan comes to tell
you what a loser you are for all the mistakes you have made, open your
mouth and say, “I am the Righteousness of God
by faith in His Word. By faith, I am actually as righteous as Jesus.
Therefore, I receive all of my benefits right
now, regardless of all past mistakes. Thank you for this
miracle, Father, in Jesus’ Name."
Once
you discover what God has done for you on the inside, you'll spend the rest
of your life being successful at prayer on the outside.
Righteousness
- it's something you receive, not something you do.
Receive
righteousness right now, by faith!
Be blessed ... John & Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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