When I first heard the statement “You are righteous” I was in a state of total disbelief and disapproval because I thought to myself how can someone say and believe such a thing and be so confident about it. In my small mind I perceived that to be prideful and running ahead of God to say or even believe that one could be righteous because for a long time I thought righteousness could only be attained by pastors, prophets or people who lived perfect holy lives everyday. My understanding of the term righteousness was distorted and fleshly simply because I was taught wrong by people who had little to no revelation of what it meant to be righteous according to the Word of God.
Somebody might ask what is Righteousness?
Righteousness in simple terms means the ability to stand before God without any consciousness of sin.
So whenever I came across the word righteous/righteousness in the Bible I saw it as something very far away and difficult to reach as in reserved only for the ones who were worthy to be finally called righteous after having done much for the Lord like prayer, fasting, every religious duty you can think of and so on but come to find out that’s not the case at all. We should always go back to the Word of God to finalize any opinion or statements made by people because the Word is our sure solid foundation. The Word of God has to be our filter because people have a lot of ideas and opinions about everything but it’s the Word that sets the standard for truth .
“For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 TPT
Jesus was made sin so that we can be made righteous. Jesus couldn’t sin in the same way we couldn’t be righteous on our own so there was a heavenly exchange on the cross when Jesus died. He became sin not by committing sins because Jesus the son of God could not sin so He did not commit to become sin but He was made to become sin. So in the same way we were made righteous not by praying, fasting, reading the Bible etc., but we were made righteous by the one powerful act of Jesus on the cross.
What a wonderful God we serve ! How amazing that we were made to become righteous simply by believing in what Jesus has done for us on the cross and receiving the gift of salvation whereby we have access to all the blessings of God. So many people think that to become righteous comes with a lot of work but the Bible tells us we only need to receive and walk in the gift that God has given us through Jesus . But this doesn’t mean that we neglect praying, fasting or reading the Bible but it simply means that we do all the others with an understanding and revelation of who we are according to the Bible .
The Bible tells us that we are already righteous so walk and act like who you really are . This revelation set me free to walk in liberty and authority as a child of God because it’s the truth that sets us free. Jesus became what He didn’t know so that we can become what we don’t know and that is the love and heart of our Father .
Religion wants to keep people in bondage but it’s a relationship with God that sets us free to walk in our real identity as a child of God and power. Religion offers no rest but it’s a true relationship with God that offers us rest and joy.
Many Christians often feel like they will never be good enough for God and feel the need to continually please Him without assurance but God loves you right now and He thought you were good enough to give His life for you to live an abundant life fulfilling His good plans for you. You are righteous because of what Jesus has done for you so stop wrestling to become righteous but receive the gift and just be instead of trying to be what was already paid for. Nature is a perfect example of resting as God’s creation. An apple tree is not trying to be an apple tree but it stays planted in what God created it to be and hence they produce fruits. As we stay planted in who God created us to be then we will also produce fruits in our life.
A wise man I know once said religion tells God how He needs to be served but relationship serves God out of His love for us. Religion tells us we will never be good enough to be righteous but relationship with God which is based on the Word of God tells us that we are already righteous not by our works but simply by receiving the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. So you are already righteous! Rejoice and walk in this truth starting today. Ask God to reveal to you more about this powerful Truth and let the Word set you free.