Lesson 20

Righteousness is "conformity to the law, mind and will of God."
Legally, when we believed in Jesus, we have been made righteous.
When we believed in Jesus, the righteousness of Jesus becomes our righteousness.
Before God, we are accepted as righteous in Christ.
In Christ, we have been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our RIGHTEOUSNESS, holiness and redemption.
(1 Corinthians 1:30)

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

You were taught ...... to put on the new self, created to be like God in true RIGHTEOUSNESS and holiness.
(Ephesians 4:22, 24)

Righteousness, or right standing before God, is thus a gift.
It is a gift that is received when we believed in Jesus.
Righteousness cannot be earned by doing the works of the law, for no one has ever been able to fulfill the laws of God.

I consider them (my achievements) rubbish, that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - a righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
(Philippians 3:8-9)

Having been made righteous through our faith in Christ, we are now commanded by God to live according to that righteousness.
It is only as we live righteously as sons of God that our life will be pleasing to God.

An illustration from our daily life is as follow:
When a child is born in to a noble and famous family, the child will bear the family name.
He does not have to earn that family name; he is born with it.
However, being born into that famous family, he must live up to the standard of that family tradition.
He must be honest, fair, generous and kind, in order to maintain the name of the family, and please his father, the head of the family.

In the same way, all believers in Jesus have been created righteous in Christ.
We do not have to earn our righteousness.
However, having been made righteous in Christ, we are to live the righteous life, for that is how God wants His sons to live (Matthew 5:43-45).
Otherwise, we will bring shame to God, when we live outside the will of God.

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue RIGHTEOUSNESS, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
(1 Timothy 6:11)

Flee the desires of youth, and pursue RIGHTEOUSNESS, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
(2 Timothy 2:22)

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices RIGHTEOUSNESS is born of Him.
(1 John 2:29)

In His word, God has specified His will concerning the way we should live our personal life, in order that we might live as sons of God.
God has declared His will for us concerning different areas of our life, and it is our duty to obey Him.

These areas are as follows:

Our lives have been redeemed from the hands of the devil by the blood of Jesus.
We have been brought with a price.
We no longer belong to ourselves; instead, we belong to God (Romans 13:1).

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were brought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Because we belong to God, we therefore cannot live as we wish.
We are to live according to the will of God.
We are to live no longer for ourselves, but totally for God.
God wants us to offer our lives as living sacrifices to Him for His glory (Romans 12:1).

Therefore, I urge you, brother, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship.
(Romans 12:1)

We can no longer follow our own plans, ambitions, and ideas, concerning our career, our place of residence, our life-partner, our children, our money, our time, or our talents.
Neither are we to depend on our own wisdom, strength or experience to live our own life or serve God.

We are to die to our own plans and ideas, wisdom and power, no matter how good or reasonable.
God wants us to live only according to His plans, His timing, and His power.
God wants to direct our paths by His word and His Spirit.
He wants us to live our lives in total dependence on Him, in every area of life.

God does not want us to live out of our own power and wisdom - out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:9-17; Revelation 2:7; 22:2).
He wants us to live in total dependence on Him - on Him who is the Tree of Life.

Thus our Lord has declared:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whatever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
(Luke 9:23-24)

Jesus declared that we must die to ourselves DAILY.
Our old life - the sinful nature, the flesh - always desire to overthrow the rule of God in our life (Romans 7:14-8:14).
However, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can receive the strength to die to self and follow after the Spirit (Romans 8:13-14).

Dying to self and following after Jesus is process we will go through DAILY as long as we are on this earth.
Everyday, we will be faced with the choice of either following after Jesus or following after our old sinful nature. It is a painful process (Hebrews 12:4-7).
Yet it is the only way by which we may be transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
As we die daily to ourselves, we will decrease, and Jesus will increase (John 3:30 NKJ).

As we die daily and follow Jesus, we will find life.
However, if we lived only for ourselves, following our own good plans and using our natural wisdom, we will lose our life.

E.g. You are wealth, and you desire to enjoy life according to your own plans.
So you plan to have a 10-room mansion, with a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, gymnasium, etc. However, God may have other ides.
God's Spirit may say to you: "Build a 5-room bungalow. Use the rest of your money to set up a home for unwedded mothers. Support the minister involved in this ministry. Let may love be made known to these hurting children of mine."
Will you die to self, deny your own plans, and follow after the Sprit of Jesus?

E.g. You may feel that you have enough talent to excel as a concert pianist or a ballet dancer. However, God may say to you: "Give up your small ambitions; go to Russia and preach the Good News to my people there, that they may have life.
Use your talents to reach out to my lost sheep in Russia." Will you obey?

E.g. You always go out dining with your family during the weekend. You enjoy the food and your family. But God can tell you: "Invite that sister/brother/widow who is living all alone and feeling lonely. Invite this person out and show your love to this child of mine. He/She needs your encouragement."
Would you die to yourself - the desire to please only yourself - and live to fulfill God's will instead?

The Holy Spirit will lead us to walk in LOVE in specific ways, at specific times.
You will never find these specific instructions in the word of God.
Therefore, in order to die to self and follow after Christ, we must be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit at all times (Romans 8:12-14).

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will DIE; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will LIVE, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
(Romans 8:12-14)

If we are not being sensitive and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit everyday, we are not living as sons of God, no matter how much "sacrificial ministry" we may be currently doing.
All such ministry becomes a sham, a cover-up, a holy justification for our rebellion against the Holy Spirit.

All form of sacrifices in ministry, at our own convenience and timing, will not bring God's transformation in our life, if we do not obey the Holy Spirit's specific leading in the specific areas in which He desires to change us.
E.g. Praying standard prayers, even for hours everyday, without listening to the Spirit of Jesus, and obeying the leading of the Spirit, will not transform us.
E.g. Giving lots of money to the kingdom of God, without walking in love and mercy to the poor and needy, will cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will always apply the will of God to specific areas of our life.
He will always apply it to areas that are still not touched by the will of God.
And there are many such areas in our lives, e.g.:

The Holy Spirit wants to transform us into the likeness and maturity of Jesus.
Whenever we obey, we will be transformed to another level of glory, becoming more and more like Jesus.
If we disobey, we will grieve the Holy Spirit, and will continue to live in rebellion in the area of our disobedience, becoming more like the devil in that area.
If we persist in our rebellion, we will reap destruction and death.
As a result, we can lose our whole life because of that one area of persistent sin.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap DESTRUCTION; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap ETERNAL LIFE.
(Galatians 6:7-8)

God wants us to love Him with everything we are and everything we have.
We are commanded to love God with our whole being.
This is the first and greatest commandment of God.
Nothing should stop or hinder us from obeying this commandment.

We should not allow our relationship, our love of luxury and comfort, our tradition, or our love for the things of the world come between us and God.
He must come first in our life.

Jesus replied, "Love the lord your God with all your heat and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
(Matthew 22:37-38)

We must honor our parents (Exodus 20:12).
We must also provide and care for our children (1 Timothy 5:8).

However, when God asks us to serve Him, we must obey Him, even if it is against the wishes of our parents or children.
When we put God first above all relationship, God will take care of our loved ones and provide for their needs and our needs.
He will also vindicate us, even though we may be misunderstood at first.

Thus Jesus said:

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is nor worthy of me.
(Matthew 10:37)

E.g. Will you obey God to go on a long-term mission even if your parents object and want you to be a businessman instead?
E.g. Will you turn to God and worship Him even if you parent or children threaten to leave you and abandon you if you go ahead?

E.g. If you were doing God's work, will you stop and let your work be interrupted just to entertain your mother or father, brothers or sisters, relatives or friends?
Is pleasing your relatives and friends more important than pleasing God.

E.g. Jesus put the His obedience to God and His preaching of the Good News above all considerations of family ties.
His family members declared that he was mad and wanted to stop His ministry.
However, Jesus continued with His work in obedience to God (Mark 3:20-21, 31-35).

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples were not able to eat. When  His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived, Standing outside, they sent someone to call Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."
"Who are my mother and brothers?" He asked.
Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
(Mark 3:23-21, 31-35)

When we serve God in love, we are bringing souls into God's kingdom and bringing these souls to maturity in Christ.
Such a ministry to God should always come first before any consideration of comfort, convenience or luxury.

When we serve God, we must be willing to joyfully endure all hardships and inconvenience in order to bring glory to His name.

It is a choice we have to make everyday: to die to self, and serve God joyfully.
No one can give take away our joy, if we begin to rejoice in God and allow His joy to flow through us.
Only our rebellion and selfishness can take away our joy and bring on irritation.

E.g. At one time, a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (Matthew 8:19-20).

Thus Jesus Himself has set an example for us in this area.
He left his glory behind when He came from heaven to earth to be born as a man, suffering the hardships of man, and dying for the sins of the world (Philippians 2:5-8).
He willingly suffered as a man because He loved the Father and He loved you and I.
He traveled the length of Judea to preached the Good News to the poor, at the costs of all comforts and luxuries (Matthew 8:20).

E.g. If you were to open up your house to the needy for an evening meal, you will have to clean up, you will sleep late, you will be physically tired the next day, your "family privacy" will be disrupted; your food bill will go up; your carpet will have milk and ketchup; you may have to send your guests home.

If the Holy Spirit has spoken to your husband about such an act of love for the needy, would you object and show a long face, because it is inconvenient and disrupts your comfortable routine?
Or would you be willing to follow Jesus at all cost? (Luke 14:12-14; James 1:27).

Then Jesus said to His host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous"
(Luke 14:12-14)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
(James 1:27)

Talking about loving and serving God is cheap and easy, because it costs nothing.
It is only when we obey the Spirit's leading that we will truly please God.

Your thought

1. Do you know that God wants you to die to yourself and offer your life totally to Him as a living sacrifice, to do His will, not your own will? Have you dedicated your whole life to God for his use? Even if you have, re-surrender your life to Him right now in prayer.
   

2. Are there any areas of your life in which you have not allowed God's will to be done?
   Have you put your family, your spouse, your children's interest above God's will?
   Have you allowed your desire for convenience and comfort to stop you from following the leading of the Holy Spirit for yourself and your family?
   Ask God for His grace and strength to obey the Holy Spirit, and begin to obey Him today.

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