Firmly Established in Righteousness
ICS Daily Devotions
Ephesians 4:24 (NKJV) and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Righteousness does not mean being perfect because righteousness is a positional truth about how God sees us in Christ, despite our imperfections. Perfection will only be achieved when we reach heaven. This verse shows us that our new creation in the spirit man is made in righteousness and holiness. Therefore, we can act righteously and behave with holiness in our actions when we understand who we are and what we are capable of through this new creation. In the past, we tried to use the law to perfect ourselves, but we failed miserably trying to live from the outside in. The external law cannot fix the issue of the sin nature in our hearts, but believers have a new heart through the born-again experience, enabling us to begin a new life by living from the inside out.
We can start living in holiness and practising righteousness in our daily lives. We have the choice to either yield to the Spirit or the flesh. It will free us from oppression and fear.
Isaiah 54:14 (NKJV) In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
When we are firmly established in righteousness, we are secure, steady, and fearless. We boast about what the Lord has done. Perfect love casts out all fear because fear creates torment. When we understand how God has granted us the positional truth of being considered righteous and has established peace with God for us, we are freed from oppression and fear, because if God has justified us, nobody is against us since God is for us.
Romans 8:31-35 (NKJV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
If we think that God is the cause of our problems or that He is against us, we can be filled with doubt and unbelief. Therefore, we have to deal with our misconceptions about God’s truth. When we are firmly established in God’s righteousness, it will give us freedom and boldness to enter God’s presence, revolutionising our prayer life and empowering us to do great exploits for God.
Sermon Series: Righteousness: Religion or Reality
