Romans 4:5 - But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness...
The Book of Romans, as I stated earlier, teaches us about the righteousness of God and how that is given to us upon salvation. The definition of righteousness according to Strong's Concordance is "the state of him who is as he ought to be; the condition acceptable to God." It comes from a word defined as "used of him whose way of thinking, feeling and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification (refinement) in the heart or life."
Just who do we think we are to say we can become righteous? But it has nothing to do with us and all to do with God. He is the judge of who we are and who we can become under the power of His Holy Spirit. Righteousness is a gift from God. It is an inherent characteristic (of God) that He "plants" in all who choose to receive Jesus Christ into their lives. He is not a respecter of persons. He will change the very nature of anyone who sees a need for Christ. We cannot achieve this in any way other than through our faith in what we have heard about Christ: His birth, His life, His death and His ultimate resurrection. Not one person can do the right works or right amount of them to achieve righteousness. Being a good person doesn't cannot produce righteousness. There is no law to which we can be totally obedient. I can't express it any stronger than it is a gift and only comes through faith...in Christ Jesus alone.
God's righteousness shows us how sinful we really are, how much we need Him and His work of justifying us and how wonderfully merciful and forgiving God is to those who come to the saving knowledge and acceptance of Christ. This righteousness reveals the awesome power of our God. I am truly amazed at knowing that He knew before the beginning of time that we would be in this situation and had a plan available for us. We have a Way to be reconciled to God. That Way is Jesus Christ. It is now our responsibility to act accordingly.
The Book of Romans, as I stated earlier, teaches us about the righteousness of God and how that is given to us upon salvation. The definition of righteousness according to Strong's Concordance is "the state of him who is as he ought to be; the condition acceptable to God." It comes from a word defined as "used of him whose way of thinking, feeling and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification (refinement) in the heart or life."
Just who do we think we are to say we can become righteous? But it has nothing to do with us and all to do with God. He is the judge of who we are and who we can become under the power of His Holy Spirit. Righteousness is a gift from God. It is an inherent characteristic (of God) that He "plants" in all who choose to receive Jesus Christ into their lives. He is not a respecter of persons. He will change the very nature of anyone who sees a need for Christ. We cannot achieve this in any way other than through our faith in what we have heard about Christ: His birth, His life, His death and His ultimate resurrection. Not one person can do the right works or right amount of them to achieve righteousness. Being a good person doesn't cannot produce righteousness. There is no law to which we can be totally obedient. I can't express it any stronger than it is a gift and only comes through faith...in Christ Jesus alone.
God's righteousness shows us how sinful we really are, how much we need Him and His work of justifying us and how wonderfully merciful and forgiving God is to those who come to the saving knowledge and acceptance of Christ. This righteousness reveals the awesome power of our God. I am truly amazed at knowing that He knew before the beginning of time that we would be in this situation and had a plan available for us. We have a Way to be reconciled to God. That Way is Jesus Christ. It is now our responsibility to act accordingly.
Along with righteousness comes justification. It is God freeing us from guilt and making us acceptable to Him. We are considered innocent of our faults. We have been made right and just! We are worthy of salvation. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ whatever sins we had before have been removed completely. We are as we were originally intended to have been in God's eyes.
I pray that God would touch the hearts of those who struggle in and are tired of their own sins.
Isaiah 45:24 - Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength...
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