By Eleyitope Linus ARANNILEWA
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”
I John 3:7 NKJV
I remember that one of the sore points in campus fellowship in those days was the issue of new creation realities and in some churches till date.
We were taught, among other things, that we are not under the law but grace.
This was taken to the extreme where some claimed that once you profess faith in Christ, what we do is of no consequence.
They further claimed that Christ is now our righteousness and we need not stress ourselves in any way.
There are elements of truth in all these claims; but in order not to take liberty for license, it is good to understand that there are two sides to righteousness. First, it has to be viewed as the gift of God to mankind made possible by the sacrificial DEATH of Jesus Christ.
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” (Romans 5:17). Through the death of Jesus, we are able to experience righteousness. This is what is known as positional righteousness.
The second aspect is practical righteousness. Everyone who has been made righteous through the Blood of the Lamb is designed to express same through good works. Jesus spoke a parable concerning the coming judgment, where the sheep would be separated to the right hand and the goats to the left.
The sheep are the righteous, the children of God. Part of the reason they will be rewarded was that they have worked for Him.
Our text makes it clear who a righteous person is; it is not the one who claims to be one, but one who practically demonstrates righteousness.
Further Study: 1 John 3:1-10
Prayer: Father, help me to live out the righteousness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Good Morning God’s Holy People.
Grace to You.
MORNING DEW
Thursday, September 5, 2024
