“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17–21, ESV)
“Since, therefore, we have now been made righteous by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Romans 5:9)
A little exercise of confession: you are God’s righteousness.
Confession of Sin: Father, I have sinned against you in thought word and deed, _(confess silently whatever your conscience bothers you about now) __ Father please forgive me.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)
If you have been cleansed from unrighteousness, what does that make you??
REPEAT AFTER ME: I have been made Righteous by the Blood of Jesus. I have become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, I AM Righteous.
How do you FEEL??? Do you feel righteous? Or like a sinner?
If He says you are righteous, you are! For whatever God says is: He said light be and it was. His Word cannot come back to him void. It doesn’t matter how you FEEL. You many not feel righteous, that doesn’t matter. You are his righteousness in Jesus Christ.
Who Lives in You?
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11, ESV)
Did God give you a dirty Holy Spirit? Or did he breath into you His HOLY Spirit. Who lives in you? Is God righteous? If he who is righteous lives in you, what does that make you? Not in your flesh but in your spirit? Your new nature; your new man?
The Battle is in the Mind and for the Mind.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)
The Devil constantly lies to you and tells you that you are not righteous, that Jesus’ work on the Cross and his blood had no effect on you. He reminds you of your past. He wants to rob you of your relationship with Jesus so that you will be ineffective.
“And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”” (Hebrews 8:11–12, ESV)
If God doesn’t remember your sins, for those of you in Christ (born again), they don’t exist. Jesus became your sin on the cross. In God’s eyes, your sins never happened. They were placed upon Jesus AS IF He had done them! You have nothing to be ashamed of before God. You are declared innocent of all charges. You are HIS righteousness for His Glory! He has made you the Emblem of His Name; His signet ring impressed upon the earth!
Background: Courtroom vs. Father and Children EO vs RC
In Greek, the word we translate as justified, also means be made righteous and found innocent. It means to be in right relationship with God. Latin Rome tended to look upon these passages in a juridical (legal) context, but the Greek Orthodox church sees justification as a relationship with God without the hindrance of sin. We are no longer enemies; we are friends on good terms. We have fellowship with each other.
“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to righteousness and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:17–19)