2Cor.5:17(Amp) says, "Therefore, if any person is ingrafted in Christ Jesus (the Messiah), he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old previous moral and Spiritual condition has come. Behold, the fresh and new HAS COME."
Heb.11:6 (Amp) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out."
Everything we do in developing the new creation we've become, is based on our faith in what Jesus has already done for us. We must accept God's Gift of Righteousness, in order to be pleasing to Him and to come near to Him. We cannot establish our own righteousness or right standing before God, by our good deeds, rituals or works. We must have faith in Jesus' Sacrifice and receive His Righteousness.
Jesus said in Matt.6:33(Amp), "But seek, aim at and strive after first of all, His Kingdom and His Righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and all these things taken together will be given you besides." God's way of doing and being right or His Righteousness, comes by faith in His Gift of Righteousness. Those under the Law were trying to establish righteousness by the blood of goats and bulls they sacrificed and by observing rituals and traditions. Rom.3:10,23-24,22(Amp) says, "As it is written, None is righteous (just and truthful and upright and conscientious), no not one." Those under the Law weren't righteous and their sins were only covered by the blood of bulls and goats. Paul continues teaching about righteousness in Verses23-24, saying, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and Glory which God bestows and receives. All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His Grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the Redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
Verse22 tells us, "Namely, the Righteousness of God which comes BY BELIEVING WITH PERSONAL TRUST AND CONFIDENT RELIANCE ON JESUS CHRIST (THE MESSIAH), and it (this righteousness) is meant for all who believe, for there is no distinction." God has reconciled Himself to mankind through Jesus, but we must by faith, reconcile ourselves to Him and receive what He has done for us through Jesus. 2Cor.5:20(Amp) says, "So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We, as Christ's personal representatives beg you for His sake to lay hold of the Divine favor now offered you, and be reconciled to God."
In order to be reconciled to God, we must by faith, accept what He has offered us through Jesus and receive by faith, believing He has done all that needs to be done to reconcile God and mankind for eternity. Through Jesus, God has made us righteous by faith and reconciled us to Himself. We must stop trying to be righteous on our own and reconcile ourselves to the Truth of what He has already done for us, so we can have faith to enter into His Presence.
Heb.11:6(Amp) tells us that, "Without faith [faith in what He has already done for us) it is impossible to be pleasing and be satisfactory to Him without first being reconciled by faith in what He Himself has provided for us to be righteous (in His standing)." Trying to be righteous by our own standards, isn't God's way of doing and being right or righteous. We must reconcile ourselves to Him by faith and believe what He has done for us, so we can freely enter in.
This doesn't mean that we can live any way we please, but we must follow God's way of doing and being right, which is being obedient to His Word and adjusting our lifestyles to match His Word. Everything God has is already ours, when we were born-again, through faith in Jesus. We must reconcile ourselves to God's way and not the world's or our own way of doing, in order to receive what God has given us through Jesus.
We keep trying to earn what has already been given, instead of reconciling ourselves to God's Word and His way of doing and being right. Many find it difficult to believe that all God has Promised, has been given to us without our having to work for it. This is contrary to the world's way of thinking, which says that we don't get anything we don't deserve or work for. We don't deserve anything in God's Kingdom, but through His Great Love, Jesus has done what no man could do. He has made us heirs of God and joint heirs with Himself, without our having done anything to deserve it.
We must renew our minds by God's Word, in order to reconcile ourselves to God's great mercy, Love and Grace. Our natural minds can't be reconciled to God's way of doing and being right. Rom.8:7(Amp) says, "That is because the mind of the flesh, with its carnal thoughts and purposes is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law (indeed it cannot)." Reconciling ourselves to the Power of God's Grace, requires our renewing our minds to how we thought before being born-again and created new. We must put on the Mind of Christ, so we can see ourselves after He has made us to be, instead of who we were before being saved.
If we could become righteous and justified by our own works, then Jesus would never needed go to the cross for us. When we deny that we can only be righteous before God, through Jesus. Trying to be righteous on our own is not having faith and Heb.11:6 says that, "Without faith it is impossible to please or be satisfactory to God." We can't boldly enter into God's Throne Room of Grace, without fear or shame, unless we have renewed our minds by God's Word and reconciled ourselves to the Truth of His Word.
No comments:
Post a Comment