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Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 10
My salvation is secure. I firmly believe that, based on what I believe the Scriptures teach. My legal standing before God is predicated only on my faith in Jesus and His work on my behalf. I cannot earn salvation and my exercised faith in Him is what opens the door to Him and His salvation (and potential fellowship; Revelation 3:20). Once I exercise faith in Him and that finished work, God grants me salvation. The first step in that salvation process is for God to change my legal standing before Him, permanently. I literally go from being “unrighteous” to “righteous.” This is a determination, a legal declaration by God that can never change, theoretically, in spite of what I do, what I say, or how I act for the rest of my life. I am saved (present-tense, ongoing). Nothing can change that (Romans 8:31).
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 9
God’s Word – the Bible – is His final revelation to humanity (and this includes the revelation through His Son because the Bible represents that written record of Christ’s life, miracles, and redemptive work). It’s something He began writing through Moses and didn’t stop until all the “t’s” were crossed and “i’s” dotted by the apostle John. In that volume – the Bible – is what God wants us to know about Him. Is it all there is to know about God? Absolutely not, but it is all that God believes we need to know now, while we are in this life.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 7
Now, consider the couple that grows apart. This can happen to everyone. We marry under the delusion that those feelings of euphoria will always be there. Sleep? Who needs it. Food? Nah, I’ve got “love.” Those feelings fade and the hard work of life takes hold. For many couples, this hard work becomes intolerable and because it feels so much like actual work, one or both partners begins to chaff under it. Soon, they grow tired of the pressure created by the loss of feelings and start looking elsewhere to find them again. This means they might pour themselves into their work or have an affair. In either case, even though they haven’t argued, they have grown apart. The fellowship has stopped and one or both are looking elsewhere for “fellowship” that they should only be looking for and expecting with their lawfully wedded spouse.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 8
In short, unlike human beings with whom we are in relationship, we are in relationship with an invisible God who, though He has a human form (in God the Son), remains invisible to us because He does not physically live in this dimension. The only possible way we can get to know God and fellowship with Him is through His revelation we call the Bible. That’s it. Certainly, the Holy Spirit who indwells us, teaches us God’s truth from that source and does many other things as well, but chiefly, the Bible is our guide to our fellowship with God Almighty.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 5
While it is also absolutely true that there is nothing we can do to change our legal standing before God once He declares us righteous, there are things we can do that cause our fellowship with Him to be broken. This happens when we sin, when we adopt a rebellious attitude, when we do things that bring Him dishonor. These things break our fellowship with God and will remain so until we come to a point of recognizing our sin and in contrition, admitting it to God. It is only at that point can fellowship with us be restored. Short of that, we live outside of fellowship with Him, though we continue to be legally declared righteous.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 6
I need you to understand that it is God who grants us salvation. Christ’s sacrifice opens the door and through faith, we walk through that door to take hold of and gain salvation, which God freely gives to those who believe in Him. Salvation opens the door to fellowship with God and the quality (or lack) of fellowship is totally up to us. While the state of our salvation can never change, our fellowship is dependent upon us and how we long for God.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 4
Being born into this life marks us as condemned already (John 3:18). The goal is to find a way – if one exists – to legally and permanently change that status. What we are learning is that the legal status can only be changed by Christ and through our faith in Him so that our standing of “condemnation” is somehow changed to “righteous” before God in that same court of Law. This is exactly what salvation procures for us.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 3
There are two sides to our salvation. There is the legal judgment or ramifications of our salvation. This is where God is able to officially declare us righteous and this is based not on any works we have done, but purely on our faith – our ability to believe that Jesus has paid the price in full and He is all we need to gain salvation and a place with God for all eternity. We are saved by faith alone, because of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). Faith is not a work. It is an attitude, an understanding (however small) that God and only God can change our status from “CONDEMNED!” to “RIGHTEOUS!” Only God can do that. Our faith is what opens that door (Revelation 3:20).
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 2
That is the first part of the equation of once saved, always saved (OSAS). We have to ask the question, what are we saved from and how does that happen? Notice Jesus says that anyone who does not believe in the Son is already condemned? That literally means, God’s condemnation remains or continues to rest on that person. Jesus is saying that is the automatic position of every person. There is no such thing as universalism, whereby all people will eventually be saved. Jesus is very clear here in stating that in order to eliminate or come out from under that condemnation that exists on each and every person, that person must have something: belief in the Son’s Name.
Christ, Our Righteousness, Part 1
Consider this the introduction to this difficult subject regarding our salvation. I would implore you to love, love, love people – especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord – more than argue with them. I promise to try to do the same. State your case. Present your beliefs. Leave it there. Don’t harass or harangue people. Think about something. If you run across someone whom you believe is dead wrong about something, do you think God wants you to spend your days trying to prove it to those you meet who stand across the aisle from you or do you think He is simply more interested in you accepting them for who they are, loving them in spite of their obstinacy and error, and simply being there for them as people? I don’t believe to love someone means to set aside error or a rebellious attitude in a person. It doesn’t mean accepting it. It does mean understanding when to shut up, continue to pray, and support them. We need to start seeing people as people who need the Lord. Even Christians (especially) need more of the Lord. Though we have Him via salvation, there is much we have not appropriated. Beating people over the head doesn’t cause that to happen.
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