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| Photo courtesy of advancingministries.net |
After yesterday's natural cleaning post, I just had to blog a bit about something we are ALL prone to do, everyday it seems.
You see, so many of us seek out a goodness or a right-standing before God (and man) based on what we do or who we are.
We might look to a clean house or well-behaved children to make us look or feel better about ourselves.
We might look to good grades, a great job, a generous paycheck, or a beautiful home, a boat, or jazzy electronic devices.
But the truth is, it doesn't matter how much money we make, how many "likes" we get on Facebook, how organically we eat, how beautiful we look, how physically fit we are, how naturally we clean, or how small our carbon footprint is to be made right before God.
Based on Romans chapter 3, our righteousness is to be based solely on the person and atoning work of Christ. Period. Not by the law or good works. Not by any cool thing we do or by any New Year's resolutions we set. Now, a fancy word for righteousness or right-standing is "justification." This is a legal term that means "to be declared righteous." It doesn't mean you ARE righteous. It simply means that you have been DECLARED to be righteous. Your sins are forgiven. And this is accomplished through faith in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, as an act of God's grace to us.
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." Romans 3:21-25 (emphasis mine)
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 (emphasis mine)
Now, you could be a new believer or a seasoned veteran of the faith, and yet it seems we must ALL remind ourselves of this truth on a DAILY (or even moment-by-moment) basis--we are justified by Christ alone by faith alone, and NOT of our works (so we cannot boast).
Why is this so hard for us to remember?
Because we can be easily deceived if we are not in God's Word on a daily basis, and we truly do NOT hear this truth from ANY OTHER SOURCE other than God's Word!
So next time you get angry that your children are misbehaving and making you look bad in public, or you feel jealous about a new purchase your neighbor has made or how beautiful or fit she looks, or feel badly about how unorganized or unkempt your house is...stop yourself and consider the following question.
What (or whom) am I basing my righteousness on in this moment?
The answer to this question can serve as an insightful glimpse into your soul and bring you to refocus on the ONLY source of our righteousness as children of God...the complete and finished work of Christ on the cross. Praise be to His name...it is finished!!
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