Today, I will commence a study on righteousness, this is one subject that is grossly misunderstood by many church folks, however, it very important to the body of Christ. An understanding of righteousness, will give you confidence to face all that life throws at you.Jesus was able to raise Lazarus from the dead, because he understood his standing with the father.
Romans 1:16-17 say…”For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
You see, whatever you are not ashamed of, you are open and honest about. Whatever you are unashamed of, you are proud of.
In the opening sentence in this construction, Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth”
I like to draw your attention to two words: gospel and salvation.
Gospel connotes good news and Salvation which originated from the Greek word “Soteria” is an all inclusive word of the gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive act and processes. It speaks of safety, deliverance and preservation from harm,ruin or loss and Healing. It is a complete package, a full option.
Remember when you take regular vacation, you look to get the biggest “bang for your buck”, you usually will go for the all inclusive package, meaning you would pay one price up front and then not have to worry about every little expense while on vacation.
That is what Jesus did for you. He paid in full for your “soteria”.
The Power of God can be found nowhere else, but in the gospel. Thus in essence, when you are faced with life challenges,all you have to do is look to the “Word”.
The power of God is available to anyone who dares to believe the good news.
The good news to the poor man is God has supplied all his needs. The goodnews to you who is sick is by his stripes you were healed. To you who lives in fear, the good news is that God has not given you the spirit of fear, but of boldness…
A literal rendering of the above text, say…”I am proud and unashamed of the good news of Christ, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes”
Aside from the being the power of God unto soteria, the good news of Christ is also a revelation of the righteousness of God….” “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith”…
Now, what is righteousness?
Righteousness is the nature of God. It comes to you at the new birth or when you become born again and it is a gift of God.
It is the ability to stand in the father`s presence as though sin has never been, as free as Adam was before his disobedience.
Righteousness means right standing with God or the ability to stand in the presence of God without the sense of sin, guilt and inferiority. Jesus was made sin for us, meaning he took our nature, and transferred to us his own nature, …“that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
You see, Jesus is our righteousness. We have the same righteousness or right standing with God that Jesus has. We are in Christ and He is righteous. The church is his body; every single believer is a member of his body, and since Christ -the head – is righteous, we- the body- is also righteous…We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. To be Continued!!!
Beloved, I like to use this opportunity to invite you to the commencement service of my church,”Joint Heirs International” located in Tedeschi Shopping Plaza, 443 Crescent Street, Brockton, MA 02302 @ 1p.m prompt. Date: September 7th 2014.
Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe (Ps)
