The word righteousness means justification (blameless), innocent (free from evil), and holy (set apart from the world and able to walk in God’s presence.) It’s very difficult at times to realize that God looks at us as blameless, innocent and holy in His sight every day, because we have to deal with being tempted to look at our faults and failures as we walk with the Lord. As we hunger and thirst after Him, the Holy Spirit reinforces our doubts of our permanent connection and the favor that God wants to lavish on us because of us being His children and how totally accepted we are by him. We need to come to understand what it is to be righteous in His sight in our daily decision making and thought life.

This constant reminding by Him of how highly He esteems us helps us to allow Him to search our hearts and give us a vision and a purpose for the calling He has put on our lives. As this takes place, we become more like Him in our characteristics and temperament. As we experience righteousness, it acts as seasoning or a spice to our daily walk, just as spices in our food enhance and create flavor to our palates. It makes us experience peace and joy in our walk with the Holy Spirit and in this way; it is acceptable and pleasing to God. It also makes our communication with people a lot better, because of our higher self-esteem. Scripture tells us that, “Unless we are skilled and have come to understand what righteousness is. We will continue to live as babes because we lack the skill of living in a righteousness mentality in Christ.”

Jesus was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds (or sins) and was raised from the dead to secure our justification (or put us in right standing and sinless in God’s sight). This act by Him absolved us from all guilt and the feeling of being punished as far as God is concerned.

It’s absolutely critical we understand that, we do not become more righteous by doing more things in God’s service or that we lose our righteousness by missing God’s will from time to time.

Jesus did not save us because of any works of our own that we had done or can do. God knew that man could not be trusted to help save himself. This was his sickness; he was self righteous within himself. It was the pity and mercy He had on us and it was His premeditated plan of uniting Himself to man without us doing anything to earn or deserve it. It was by our new birth experience in Jesus and being regenerated by the Holy Spirit that we became part of the eternal family of God. It is by His grace (unmerited favor) that we have His power ALIVE working within us. In turn, this enables us to conform to His will in purpose, thought and actions, and become heirs of eternal life. This becomes a greater reality in us as we experience His unconditional love.

Jesus said, “Greater love has no man then this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you.” Jesus laid down his life for us. (Think about this for a while, it will change you life forever.

We need to forever realize that Jesus himself is our righteousness. It’s the continuing revelation of this fact (being made more real to us every day) that gives us the spiritual understanding of God. As we become more like Him as his children, we grow to understand His plans for us. If we do not have a true understanding in our life about what being righteous is all about, the conclusion is nothing less than disastrous. We could have a real zeal and hunger for God to move in our lives and if what we were seeking was not His righteousness, our endeavors would be doomed to failure from the start. I have found as I walk and talk to the Lord everyday, it clears my mind of the (negative influences) bombarding my mind. I hope you can relate, but we live in a sick society. Righteousness is something that you have to be experiencing daily. It’s only by hanging out with God and receiving His pats on the back that can keep us free from condemning thoughts.

There are many examples in the Bible how the born again Christians got misled and lost their vision of what righteousness was all about. Unfortunately, human nature is still the same today. Some of our church assemblies have lost or never had a true vision of what righteousness represents.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:20, “Unless our righteousness goes beyond the righteous positions of the scribes and Pharisees we will not be able to enter God’s kingdom.” The Pharisees were the people who taught the rules of the Torah which embodied the Jewish teachings and spelled out God’s laws to the people. The scribes were like letter writers who put the laws down on paper so the law of God would be documented.

Jesus said here that, if we did not go beyond a concept of the Pharisees standard of having a righteous position with God, we could not enter His kingdom. This word enter is a verb and an action word of participation. Now just common sense tells me, if I have a desire to love the Lord and follow His leadings, and Jesus in scripture warns me of a condition that can take hold in my life that can hurt me in my relationship to getting to know him better, I‘d better stand up and take notice and understand how his righteousness works in my life.

The Pharisees were living by trying to obey the Ten Commandments.  Now that  seems like a good thing to do and the majority of born again and none born again assemblies are teaching this today.  It doesn’t make sense in our own understanding of anything being wrong with teaching this concept. However, Jesus said we have to go beyond that, if we want to participate in His Kingdom.

In Matthew 6:10 Jesus told the people what type of attitude they had to have when appealing to God and the understanding they needed to have in knowing their rights and the confidence they need for God to move on their behalf.  He said pray, “God thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is already being done in heaven”

The day we received Jesus into our hearts, the kingdom of God came into our very being and we became citizens of heaven right now and forever. If we really understand that the born again experience was a miracle of receiving all of God’s characteristics and our total inheritance from Him with the promise from Him that, we will receive the last part being our new glorified body, when we are raptured off this planet. This understanding must be deep rooted in our understanding if, we are going to enter or participate in God’s kingdom right now.

Kingdom rule is not a democracy or an individual concept of people praying and calling on God to bless their own endeavors of what they thing is the right way of following God. Most church assemblies believe and teach that after we die we will be living in God’s kingdom if, we have done enough good works or haven’t died with sin in our lives. That is totally contrary to scripture.

God set in motion His way with His word from the beginning of when ever, and we need to seek His face and stop living in ignorance by following man made concepts of what they think kingdom living is all about. If we are going to make Jesus our Lord and Master, we are going to have to do it his way. That is, God ruling His kingdom not a democracy and all these denominations coming up with their own rule of law.

Now I have been asked at times “aren’t we supposed to be living by the Ten Commandments”? Let me answer that and define from scripture how Jesus wants us to go beyond this concept of Law.

If you remember, Jesus was always talking about the heart. The religious leaders always dealt with the physical seen acts of men (the outward). Based upon what they saw by a person’s do or didn‘t do‘s, they executed judgment if a person violated the Levitical Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments. When we concentrate in our thought life and endeavor to live holy and try to live by obeying the commandments in our own strength, we live in guilt and condemnation and frustrate God’s grace in our lives of letting go and letting God be our righteousness for us.

The law was never designed or intended to give peace to the offender. When God gave Moses the law, or the Ten Commandments it was never given for us to try and keep them in the first place.

The law was to minister death to those who were kept under it, until Christ would come to reveal the true heart of God the Father. The law said, “The person or soul that sins and breaks one of God’s laws will die!” God the Fathers heart said, “I HAVE COME TO GIVE YOU LIFE (MY QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF LIFE, WITH THE JOY OF LIVING WHICH IS ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING NOW ) and because I am a jealous God who loves you I do not want you to condemn yourselves because, you find you are having a hard time trying to obey me.

We have to realize that it was an absolute joy for God the Father to offer up Christ so much so; it was absolutely hysterical in Heaven the day God declared his intentions toward us concerning our redemption. The very thought of Gods purpose was attractive to Him as something joyously desired, something not grievous. The Word declares that Jesus endured the cross for the Joy that was set before Him. He said,  Father Send Me! That’s why it pleased the Father that in Jesus Christ all the fullness of the Godhead would dwell in bodily form

The law of God can only be kept by us experiencing God’s love. The law was our stern schoolmaster to bring us to love. A schoolmaster is a type and shadow of a hireling. All hirelings want is blind obedience. This type of attitude was what the Pharisees were inflicting on the people in their judgments of their behavior. Their attitude was, do what you’re supposed to do or else suffer the consequences. Don’t make any waves or trouble for me I’m here for the paycheck and nothing else. If you need a friend, here’s a quarter to call somebody who cares. Any interaction with a hireling is usually initiated by the one who is under their subjection and domination. We need to understand that God was the first one to hold out a helping hand to humanity.

People who oppose themselves do so because, they were made by God and need to understand how to let God hold on to them and not be dominated by a person putting conditions on them in order to belong to any group or sect. Our intrinsic sense of dominion from God, struggles to be free from another persons control.  This is what fighting the good fight of faith is all about.

We were made to explore and search for the meaning of life and to recognize our weakness and our need for a power greater than our own.

A hireling or a person with a legalistic attitude cares nothing about the person as a unique individual. Did you ever notice how, cowboys or cowpunchers as they’re called in Texas drive and herd cattle together as if there is no distinction from animal to animal. A shepherd on the other hand, leads and calls his sheep and even names them. They know the sound of His voice and follow Him. A hireling or hired hand is incapable of relating to another’s weaknesses because, his pride of being right prevents the transparency needed to create the bond of peace needed to create healthy relationships.

Everybody is the same to him without any distinction. All they care about is being right and getting the cattle to obey because, all they seek is what they want. God on the other hand is the exact opposite. Everything He does is for the benefit of another. His holiness demanded justice because of sin. So, on our behalf He offered up Himself in the form of His own Son to satisfy the demands of the schoolmaster we were under subjection to.

Jesus fully satisfied the demands and legal requirements once and for all and as we walk in the understanding of this concept, we do not have to work so hard at trying to be good and feeling guilty when we miss God at times. Judgment was executed and wrath was satisfied when Christ was resurrected.

He was now free to love us unconditionally because there was no longer anything in front of him that legally had rights of judgment against us. The court was satisfied and adjourned. Christ’s work was complete and He was so intent on making sure of our security that His office as a High priest is one that’s always open, never in recess and always steadfast and sure. He always identifies himself with us and imputes his righteousness to us without measure. All who have put their trust in Him for righteousness sake have never been disappointed.

Christ is the end of us living by the Law. We live by the righteousness of Christ, which was imputed to us the day we came into the kingdom.

We have now become the workmanship of God in Christ as God created in us, a new species of man with a spirit created in True righteousness and Holiness.

In John 8:31 Jesus said, “if we would continue in HIS WORD than you will be My disciples indeed (visibly evident for all to recognize, even the lost) and are (Guaranteed) to know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free!” If we our going to be Jesus disciple, we need to stop having our behavior being controlled by us trying to obey God’s laws, not because of its intended purpose, but because of the fear of the consequences if we don’t.

No one can capture the favor of God by trying to keep his commandments.

In John 14:23, Jesus says, “If a person really loves me, he will keep my commandments.” Blind obedience without love will maintain order, but does nothing to enhance a loving relationship. Blind obedience without recognizing its value is destined for failure. Love gives the reason to obey and gives us value and worth. The hungering heart will seek with Passion the kingdom of God. The complacent heart will grow restless in it’s pursuit of God.

The Eternal security of the believer is central and core to walking in a healthy relationship with God. Unless we have a revelation of it in our spirit that goes beyond our intellect, we will walk as crippled and defeated believers who doubt the faithfulness of our King concerning His love and goodwill of heart towards us.

We have become performance oriented in our relationship towards Him because; we have been seeking to earn His graces. All this while, we have been ignorant of His free gift of grace that empowers us in our weakness by living on the faith of Christ Himself because, He was willingly to pay with His death the penalty for our sinful nature. God has credited His righteousness to all of us already. This is already a done deal as far as He is concerned.

The word of God tells us that we do not fight against physical opponents, but we fight against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural sphere.) Let’s get real and realize that if we’re living in our own self-righteousness, we will have no power to fight spirits at work behind the scenes; these evil spirits are causing pain, suffering and lack in our lives. This has to be the number one concern in our lives and our minds have to be focused on God’s spiritual perceptions for us.

Psalms 45:6 tells us, “God’s scepter or measuring stick in his kingdom is righteousness.” A scepter is something that endows a person with authority. The born again believer actually receives all of God’s characteristics the day He becomes born again through Jesus. Therefore, if we are not understanding and functioning in God’s characteristics or Righteous Spirit, we’re living in a self- righteous life style contrary to God’s will. Isaiah 64:6 tells us, “our own righteousness is like dirty filthy rags.” In our ignorance of not having a true knowledge of God, we in our own efforts end up substituting and mimicking God’s Spirit in our own emotions and fleshly soul. It is my firm belief though scripture and my experiences of life, that if we are ignorant of God’s word, we’re committing spiritual suicide. Psalms 119:130 says, “The entrance of God’s word into our hearts brings light and understanding to the straightforward and ordinary man.” It’s time for all of us to take this walk with God seriously. Living and functioning in God’s righteousness makes us pliable and able to flow with God in the new life which He gave us when we became a born again believer. We now have the freedom to explore our relationship with Him, and the fear of the consequences if we don‘t, will be put away because, we will no longer mistrust him.

Paul the Apostle when writing to the Corinthian church felt it necessary to remind and encourage them when he said, “awake from your stupor and return to sober sense in your right mind and sin no more. For some of you have not the right knowledge of God. You are willfully and disgracefully ignorant and continue to be so. You lack the good sense of God’s presence and the true knowledge of Him.”

This tells me we could be lulled into a lethargic condition in our seeking of God, if we do not continue to continue. The word of God tells us that living in righteousness is like a farmer planting a crop. We need to sew our lives in righteousness. If we do, we will reap mercy and loving kindness from God. So break up any uncultivated ground in your hearts, for it is time to seek the Lord, inquire for Him, and receive his favor. When this happens, we will be rained on with his presence.