Tag Archives: righteousness

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH

September 19, 2022Bible Studyrighteousness, through the Spirit, wait by faithLuella Campbell

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH

“For through the Spirit we eagerly wait by faith for the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:5-6.

“The Christian life,” says Paul, “operates on a completely different principle from the old system of the law.” The law makes us look within and continually evaluate ourselves on our performance. We can never be sure whether we have been obedient enough, attained the standard, and satisfied the demands of the law. We focus on what we have achieved or failed to achieve rather than on the attitudes and motives of our hearts.

We develop an attitude of self-righteous pride, like the Pharisee in the temple whose prayer was nothing more than self-congratulation and contempt for the tax collector whom he despised because he was a sell-out to Rome. Circumcision is the doorway to this way of life. It enhances self-awareness and self-satisfaction which cancels out faith in Jesus and trust in His finished work.

“The Christian life,” said Paul, “is the way of faith in the righteousness of Jesus which He gives to us as a gift, not trust in ourselves to attain the perfection of God which He requires for us to be acceptable to Him.” It does not matter whether we are circumcised or uncircumcised, Jew or Gentile, a member of the covenant people of God or not. What matters is whether we have faith in the death of Jesus to forgive our sin, cleanse us from all unrighteousness and clothe us in His perfect righteousness which He gives freely to those who believe in Him.

Where does circumcision fit in? It doesn’t because new life in Jesus Christ is based on faith, not on performance. Keeping the law does not produce love. It produces pride in myself and contempt for other people who do not do what I do. Even the Law taught God’s people to treat each other with kindness and mercy and not cruelty like the Egyptians had treated them when they were in slavery to them.

Everything God has done for us through Jesus is intended to bring our old selfish sin nature into submission to Him and to nurture our new nature which has been recreated in the image of God.

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.” Colossians 3:9-11.

Paul also spoke about righteousness as something we hope for. Does that mean that, in the end it is possible that we might not receive this gift which is the only thing that makes us acceptable to God? No, because hope in the Bible has a different meaning from the hope we express in our everyday lives.

When we say that we hope that something will happen, there is an element of uncertainty because we have no foundation upon which to base our hope. “I hope it will not rain today,” we say when we need good weather for an outing to the beach, but we cannot be sure because no one can control the weather. In the Bible, our hope is based on what God has promised. He has already declared that it will happen, and we put our confidence and expectation in what He has said. It is a hope until it becomes a reality. Faith in Him is the energy that makes our hope a fact.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see,” Hebrews 11:1.

God has promised us the gift of righteousness through Christ’s death for us. We do not have to work for it. It is His gift to us now, but we will only experience the full effects of Jesus’ righteousness when He returns to restore everything to perfection. We live now in the hope of His righteousness, and on that basis, we have confidence that everything He has promised will be given to us on that day.

We will always be imperfect as long as we are in this body, but God sees us in Christ as already perfected. We live now in the faith that God accepts us because we are “covered” by the righteousness of Jesus, just as we are “covered” for the repair of our vehicle in the case of an accident, or for the loss of property when something of ours is stolen if we have an insurance policy.

We can love freely because we are not trying to impress God but living out of the confidence that we are who He says we are, His children who resemble Him because we have His Spirit in us.

Acknowledgement

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT HE WOULD FILL US WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS

July 3, 2022Apologeticsblessed, hunger and thirst, righteousnessLuella Campbell

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT HE WOULD FILL US WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matt. 5: 6-8)

Just as we learned yesterday, these three statements are connected because they are all part of the second chiasm; (you will understand if you read yesterday’s post).

The problem with understanding this chiasm is that we westerners do not understand what righteousness is. Oh, we love the word because it sounds so “holy” but from our perspective it is abstract and therefore we can’t connect it with action.

Hebrews thought, expressed in their language, in terms of action. They experienced life through their senses. Abstract words meant nothing to them. So then, what is righteousness? Throughout the Old Testament, the word “righteousness” is used interchangeably with “generosity”. Here are a few examples:

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. (Psa. 37: 21)

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. (Psa. 37: 25-26)

Righteousness, then, is doing the right thing i.e., doing what God would do in every situation. God’s attitude towards people is always to be generous and to show mercy, therefore, to hunger and thirst for righteousness really means to be passionate about being generous towards people in need, not only with our resources but with our attitudes and behaviour.

With what then, will we be filled? Not with righteousness but with what we gave away. In the original, the meaning is “herbage”. In other words, God will fill us with whatever we gave away. God always responds to our generosity by multiplying what we give away. Consider these words of Jesus:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6: 38)

Because we are dealing with a chiasm, we must first look at the corresponding statement at the end of the chiasm, and then consider the central thought.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Of course we will have no idea what this means if we try to interpret it literally. How is it possible to “see” God when He is spirit? The Hebrews had a word, zikkut,for the kind of generosity that goes beyond what is expected. Every Hebrew person had a duty to give a percentage of his income away – 20% to be exact. A part of his duty was to bring, every third year, the tithe that was meant for his family to enjoy, to the “storehouse” – the tabernacle or temple – for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien. This was the least he could do to support the needy.

Anything he did to meet the needs of others above his duty was regarded as zikkut. It was this kind of generosity, based on an understanding of, and in gratitude to God for His generosity, that gave the giver an insight into the heart of God. He was able to “see” God with the eyes of a greater understanding than just doing his duty. His heart was “pure”, unmixed with selfishness, putting God and others first, which enabled him to experience God more intimately than those who just did their duty.

It is this kind of attitude that constitutes hunger and thirst for righteousness. These are the people who will experience the abundance of God’s generosity because He can trust them not to consume what He gives on themselves, but share it with those in need.

The central thought of this chiasm is mercy. God revealed to Moses, in response to his request (Ex. 33: 18-19), that the weightiest part of His name – His character – is mercy. God’s mercy has been fully revealed in His Son. Jesus’ death on the cross was the pinnacle of God’s mercy and should be the motivation for all our deeds of “righteousness”. We show mercy to others, not because we are benevolent but because of His mercy to us.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James. 2: 12-13)

The bottom line is: when we understand the magnitude of God’s mercy, we cannot help but be generous towards others. Then we will be the recipients of God’s abundant generosity towards us with all the material things we need.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6: 31-33)

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE

April 27, 2021Bible Studyknowledge, righteousness, zealLuella Campbell

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they might be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:1-4.

How dangerous is zeal without knowledge and sincerity without truth!

Look what those who are zealous for their religious beliefs are doing to those who do not believe as they do. Look what the apostle Paul did to believers in Jesus before he came face to face with Jesus and learned the truth about Him. Look at what Hitler did to the Jews because of his zeal and the zeal of those he brainwashed into believing that they were vermin and needed to be exterminated.

According to Paul, the Jews themselves believed they could achieve righteousness by observing the law. In their zeal, they tried to bulldoze out of existence everyone who believed that Jesus was the way and followed Him as the way to God. In their sincere conviction that they were right, they became guilty of breaking the very law they were trying to uphold.

How could they justify hatred and murder as God’s way of dealing with those who did not believe as they did? Just as Jesus said, they were manifesting the very characteristics of their father the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning.

Whatever the outward circumstances might be, behind every national and international conflict lies the battle between religion and truth. People will kill and people will die for what they believe, whether it be lies or truth. Take the ongoing conflict between Muslim and Jew in the Middle East, or the battle between moderate and radical factions of this religion or that religion. Take the laws that are passed in parliament to wrest the freedom from people to practise their faith according to their conscience. Who or what is the source of all this animosity; this hatred; this belief that you are my enemy if you do not believe as I do?

If we watch Jesus for a moment, we will notice that, in all His dealings with people, be they religious fanatic or weeping sinner, He spoke the truth and honoured their freedom to make their own decision regarding what He had said. Never did He put pressure on anyone to believe His word by force or emotion. Again and again, He brought people back to God’s word as the foundation for what He told them.

“It is written,” was His “slogan”. He used it to silence the devil in the wilderness when he tried to lure Him into acting independently of His Father. He used it to pull the religious opposition back to the true foundation of their beliefs and behaviour. He dismissed their accusations with contempt because they were based on prejudice, not on truth. The words He spoke were an echo of His Father’s words, faithfully spoken in obedience to Him.

This was His way of dealing with unbelievers: “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn him at the last day.” John 12:47, 48.

On every occasion He spoke the truth and gave His hearers the opportunity to believe or reject what He said. Upon them rested the responsibility and consequences of their choices.

How important is the knowledge of the truth as the foundation for what we believe! For the Jews, zeal without knowledge led them away from God and into condemnation instead of the righteousness they worked so hard to achieve. For those who trust in Jesus for His gift of righteousness as God has promised, they are fully accepted, declared not guilty and restored to the family as dearly loved sons and daughters of God.

This is God’s way; it is the truth upon which we can base our lives with all the zeal in the world and, with a good conscience, we can invite others into His family as well.

Acknowledgement

13 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF WISDOM

October 25, 2020Christian Lifefoolishness, righteousness, wisdomLuella Campbell

13 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF WISDOM

WISDOM ACCORDING TO THE OLD COVENANT

The next topic we will explore is the kingdom power of wisdom which is an intricate study with many facets.

From the beginning, God wanted a family of sons and daughters who would live together with Him in love and harmony in a beautiful and perfect environment. His verdict on everything He created was “very good”.

All was perfect for a while until sin entered the world through His first son and marred His plan. Instead of love, peace and harmony, Adam’s decision to be his own god brought chaos into the world and produced a dysfunctional family of enemies alienated from God and one another through selfishness and greed.

God set in motion a remedy which would reverse the effects of Adam’s rebellion on the whole human family and eventually restore His creation to its original state. This intricate plan was the product of divine wisdom to get mankind back to living with Him as a loving and harmonious family.

He chose a couple to start a family and a nation that would be the prototype of His restored relationship with mankind. He made a covenant with them, the legal framework within which He would be free to have fellowship with them.

This covenant showed them God’s holiness, righteousness and truth. If they kept His covenant, He would bless and prosper them; if not, He would banish them from their inheritance, the land He gave them, His blessing and His presence.

In the Old Covenant, righteousness, or doing the right thing was tied to obedience to the law. The children of Israel, in the main, failed to keep the covenant, rebelled and were exiled to Babylon for 70 years.

However, Job, who lived in the time of the Patriarchs, is an example of a person whom God judged to be righteous because of what he did. Job believed the philosophy of his day that God’s blessing was the reward for living a righteous life. Yet God put him through a severe test.

Job, in the intensity of his suffering, searched for the meaning of what he was enduring. He never mentioned the devil in his quest for understanding. Instead, he saw God as responsible for his pain but could make no sense of his suffering since he considered himself to be righteous. Why was he being punished for what he had not done?

“But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living… Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,… And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:12-13, 20, 23, 28 NIV

It is wise to live according to God’s requirements because right living makes for a harmonious family.

Solomon reached the same conclusion at the end of his quest for the meaning of life…

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 NIV

This was God’s prescribed way for people to return to His original plan for His human family. If people lived in the fear of the Lord, they would live the right way by doing what God required. However, Israel’s failure to live by God’s law reveals two things about human nature:

Since we are born with a sinful nature, no amount of right living now cancels out the sins of our past.

It is impossible for a sinful person to live a righteous life.

Let’s examine “the fear of the Lord” in the context of the Old Covenant.

What is the fear of the Lord? This is also a huge subject. My definition of the fear of the Lord is very simple. TAKING GOD SERIOUSLY.

Wisdom and folly are often contrasted in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Proverbs. It is wise to do the right thing because it works. It is folly to do the wrong thing because it does not work, i.e. it does or does not satisfy God’s requirement for a righteous life.

The significance of folly is that the fool does the wrong thing out of rebellion, not ignorance. Although he knows what is right, he doesn’t do it, and it ends in disaster.

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalms 14:1-3 NIV

“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.” Romans 1:21-22 NLT

In the Old Covenant, therefore, God set the standard for wisdom… to live in the fear of the Lord… but showed us how impossible it us for human beings to live up to His standard because our old nature is in rebellion and at enmity against God….

THE POWER OF WISDOM IN THE NEW COVENANT

God’s revelation of His holy requirements in the Old Covenant was a preparation for His wisdom to be revealed in all its glory in the New Covenant.

Proverbs 8 gives us a hint in poetic language, that God’s wisdom was personified in someone called Wisdom who was with Him from the beginning, was involved in the creation of the universe, and was in joyful fellowship with Him.

“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech…. I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Proverbs 8:12-13, 20 NLT

“I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord .” Proverbs 8:27-31, 34-35 NIV

John, in his gospel, clarifies this thought that it was Jesus, THE WORD, who was with God in the beginning and was the agent of creation. God spoke and the Word did what God said.

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”John 1:1-3 NLT

When we join together what Proverbs 8 says about Wisdom and what John says about the Word, we have the beginning of God’s amazing plan to recover and restore what was ruined at the Fall.

God’s plan was to do the right thing by sending His Son to earth as a human being to live a perfectly righteous life and die as a sacrifice and substitute for all sinners, and it worked!

“So, the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14 NLT

To ensure that there would be no mistake about the identity and character of the one He would send, God, through His prophets, painted a word picture of His Redeemer in the Old Covenant writings.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — and he will delight in the fear of the Lord… ” Isaiah 11:1-3 NIV

“Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness. In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.” Isaiah 33:5-6 NLT

So, Jesus is all of God’s wisdom in one person.

“Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 NLT

“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

Jesus did everything necessary, through His perfect life, sacrificial death and powerful resurrection, to reconcile us to the Father, restore us to God’s family, recreate us in His image and set us apart from sin to God.

“I want them (all believers) to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3 NLT

How can we apply this wisdom to our daily struggles so that we participate in God’s plan rather than unwittingly fight against it?

James gives us a clue.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.

Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” James 1:2-8 NLT

Let me paraphrase.

When we face trials and tests, God is putting into action His plan to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29). He wants sons, not brats, in His family, those who submit to His discipline and training. When we don’t understand what’s going on, instead of floundering in our faith and resisting God’s discipline (Heb. 12:8-11) we can ask God for wisdom to respond and act in the right way so that we learn from and not waste our hardships.

So, the wisdom God revealed in Jesus and shows us how to live is a powerful kingdom tool to help us navigate and gain the most out of our struggles and hardships. In this way, we learn to co-operate with rather than fight against the ups and downs of life. We are learning to be sons and daughters in God’s forever family.

“If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:8-11 NLT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All Scripture quotations in this series

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

11 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

October 23, 2020Christian Lifebreastplate, motivation, righteousnessLuella Campbell

11 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

“How can righteousness be a power?” you may ask.

Righteousness is both a powerful motivation to do the right thing and a shield against the accusation and condemnation the devil uses to muddy our fellowship with God.

We have already considered righteousness as our permanent standing with God because we have been justified by faith in Jesus.

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1 NLT

When we commit sin, Satan attacks on two fronts. He accuses us… “Now look what you’ve done!” and he condemns us, “Now you’ve blown it! You’re finished. God won’t have anything more to do with you.”

Jesus said that, when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convince the believer of righteousness.

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.” John 16:7-11 NLT

The Holy Spirit convicts (or convinces) on three fronts. He convinces unbelievers of sin; He convinces believers of righteousness; He convinces the devil of judgment.

Can you see how important it is to us that the Holy Spirit tells us how good we are and not how bad we are? There is no value in kicking us down when we are down already. A far more powerful motivation to move away from sin is to remind us of who we are in Christ.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

When we came to faith in Jesus, we became a new creation. Everything that belonged to the old life was gone. God gave us a new beginning. Sin is no longer a way of life since we have been given a new nature, the nature of Jesus.

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” 1 John 3:9 NIV

However, this does not mean that we will never sin again. We still have remnants of our old nature which trip us up from time to time. Sin does not alienate us from God. It spoils our fellowship with Him. When we take responsibility for our sin and agree with God that we have done is wrong, He forgives and restores our peace.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9 NIV

God’s remedy for sin is the same for the believer as for those who repent and believe in Jesus for salvation.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 NIV

Sin does not cancel our righteous standing with God. It spoils our fellowship with Him in the same way as a child who does naughty things does not cease to be a son or daughter but cannot face the parent because he/she feels guilty.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7 NIV

Paul included righteousness in his arsenal of protective armour against the devil’s attempts to drive a wedge between us and God.

“Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place…”Ephesians 6:11, 14 NIV

Why did Paul see righteousness as a breastplate?

The Roman soldier’s breastplate covered his chest, protecting the most vital of his internal organs, his heart and lungs. We can live without some of our internal organs but not without heart and lungs.

The heart symbolises everything within us that makes us who we are and how we function. When we received Christ Jesus into our hearts, they became His throne and dwelling place. He came to indwell us by His Spirit, imparting to us His own righteousness so that we are no longer alienated from the Father.

The Holy Spirit, reminding us of our righteousness in Christ, draws us back from sin and motivates us to live out what is already at work in us. He empowers us to become who we are, sons and daughters of the living God.

Righteousness, then, is the heart of our relationship and fellowship with God. However, the power of righteousness only becomes effective to protect us from the accusation and condemnation of the devil when we activate it by trusting God’s Word that we are righteous.

By faith, we apply the truth of our righteousness when we are tempted to do wrong either by intention or neglect. When we have sinned, our righteousness in Jesus draws us back into fellowship with Him through confession and forgiveness.

It is through this power that we protect and maintain our fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit who permanently lives in us.

Righteousness in us is like two sides of a coin. God has given us the righteousness of His Son which puts us in right standing with Him. We respond by living out in our lives the righteousness He has given us. This is the lifestyle of righteous, walking in the Word in the power of the Spirit.

How do we know how to respond and act in righteousness in our everyday lives? God has given us the answer in His Word.

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalms 119:105 NLT

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” Romans 8:14 NLT

Once again, the Spirit and the Word together are absolutely central to our walk in righteousness in an evil world. We display the righteousness of Jesus in us by living according to the correction and instruction of the Word through the Spirit who administers God’s grace to us.