19) Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may
be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
God.
20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21) But now the righteousness of God without the
law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22) Even the righteousness of God which is by
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference:
23) For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;
24) Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
|
“R |
ighteousness”
denotes the state of being in “right standing” with God. Too often, even saints
of God really do not understand the difference between the righteousness of God
and “self-righteousness.” Actually, the difference is really not that hard to
understand if one remember that self-righteousness is
that “righteousness” which one measures within himself by meeting his own
“standard.”
What
Man does not generally understand is that righteousness of any sort is
impossible outside of the Lord. Therefore, when one is separated from the Lord
through sin, he has no chance of being righteous.
One
has little hope of attaining “the righteousness of God” but through hearing the
Word of God. If one does not hear, he has no grounds upon which to receive
faith. Why? Because faith is built upon truth.
Faith
is essential to fulfilling yet another requirement of God. You see, the basis
of salvation is the fact that Man is in need of a change. Indeed, this is one
of His requirements. Change is only possible in one who operates by faith in
the Word of God. Only a man under God’s anointing has the capacity of operating
not as a natural man, but rather, as a spiritual one. Even after one submits
himself to the infilling of the Spirit and baptism, to “…go on unto perfection”
requires that once “initial contact” with salvation is made, one must desire to
continue in the truth.
Perhaps
it is so hard for many to “deal” with the truth because once one is confronted
with it, how much can one deny? You see, the truth tells us that we are not
“righteous” of ourselves but rather, stay righteous in the sight of God only by
following the Holy Spirit.
Righteousness
is made available to us as an outgrowth of the coming of the Law. You see,
apart from it, Man would have no knowledge of his need to be returned to “right
standing.” While the Law was instituted for the “lawless,” it blesses the
righteous by accentuating for us that which leads to unrighteousness. This
gives a crystal-clear view of holiness.
Some
are under archaic, mistaken idea that because we live in the dispensation of
grace, all are automatically covered by it. This is in error, for in order for
one to profit from grace, he must submit himself to Jesus and cease from sin.
Too
often, it is our “skewed” view of things which gets us out of
right-standing with the Lord. As we are “exposed” to trials and tests, if we
fail to lean on Him and allow Him to be our Solution, we will fail to be the
examples that we have been called to be. If we focus upon the test and its
inconvenience only, we will be unable to recognize the test as a means to
glorify God.
Try
as we might, in none of our situations nor interpersonal relationships are we
able to change anything! We are unable to change our spouse, our children, our
co-workers and our brothers and sisters. Yet, we try, causing chaos in these
relationships as well as our relationship with the Lord.
We
need to understand that as opposed to simply bringing opposition, the Lord
allows difficulties to come our way so that we might be pointed in a different
direction. What does it take for some of us to realize that other than what the
Lord does allow, we would “self-destruct.”
There
is not, and has never been a “middle-of-the-road” with the Lord. Therefore, we
are either “all the way” for Him, or we are not, because whatever is not on the
Lord’s “side” (and not being done according to the Word) is against Him.
What
must not ever be questioned is that God’s righteousness does not change.
Therefore, the responsibility for change is ours and we have no other choice
but to conform to Him!
God
and His righteousness are so incomprehensible to us because of the issue of
original sin. You see, since natural man is a man of flesh, he is bound to
sin—and sin is the antithesis of righteousness. What we need to know of God, we
gain through the knowledge of salvation. But once we are saved, we rely
too much upon Jesus to do our job. How so? By attempting to avoid
responsibility, we leave souls “floundering,” with on one to lead them to
salvation.
We
must understand that whatever comes to us in this life is only leading to a
blessing! Why, because man is not in control, God is! He is the one who deserve
to be praised. This is what Joseph demonstrated love for God by the life he
led. He, if anyone, had “just cause” to have a problem. Would any one of us had
refused revenge on our brothers had they done something similar? Joseph, an
unredeemed man, saw that we, the redeemed often do not—God’s opportunity
to receive glory. Even over and above himself, Joseph knew that what happened
to him and others was about God.
If
we can’t stand the test(s), we will never be used by God. Why, because He
permits all things to come our way to prove our sincerity. Through the Spirit,
we are victorious over all things when we accept the change and assume our
responsibility. Trying to put this responsibility to change on another person, is creating problems for ourselves and others. The
creative work of God ended in six days and the seventh day represented a
perpetual day. It is God’s law that we accept our deliverance and rest from all
problems that we create in our minds.
Remember,
God operates by His own law, which is His reality and should be ours. We suffer
problems and battle fatigue because we are operating against God’s Laws. When
to try to operate outside of The Truth to avoid changing to make ourselves feel
good, our lives become a lie, known and read by all men.
If this is our “MO” (mode of operation), it is a given we will never be saved and do our job of leading others to Christ. Absence of self and total submission to God is and has always been the order of the Day!