Human beings will many times feel the guilt of their
sins. When this happens we want to do a good deed or some other self-made
sacrifice to make ourselves feel righteous instead of guilty. This type of
sacrifice is not a good practice for Christians. We must learn to rely on the
righteousness of our Savior. Because of what Jesus has done for us the Bible
says; And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. Heb 10:18
(NLT) This means
that there is nothing that we can do to be righteous, other than having
faith in the righteousness of Christ. Learning that our salvation is not
merely a legal transaction between God and man is vital. Salvation includes a
life-long spiritual renewal for each individual. The righteousness of Christ’s
atoning sacrifice extends itself through the Spirit into the source of our new
life. Our relationship with God is based on His grace and OUR FAITH. Here-in lays
our problem! Us.
Every
human has tried to be righteous at some time or another. Many times it involves
some generous act toward other people. Americans tend to think about doing good
deeds as a sacrifice for their sins. This is a situation where we really need
God’s understanding. So you see, (regular)
faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it
produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:17 (NLT) This Bible
passage is making it clear that Christian faith produces good deeds as a
bi-product. Our deeds are not planned by us but are spontaneous when we
are joined with the Lord and doing His will. The type of faith we are talking
about is only available to a person who relies on the Holy Spirit to become one
with their own spirit. When we join together with God’s Spirit our new nature
develops. This new nature, by design, will have the correct type of faith. Now
every part of God’s righteousness can be produced in our new life including
justification, sanctification and glorification. Our new robe of righteousness
is provided by Jesus Christ.
We could
say that for us to make a sacrifice that pleases God is impossible for many
different reasons. But a simple way to look at it is that the Spirit living
in us is turning us into the sacrifice (becoming one with Jesus) that God
is looking for. If we become the final sacrifice then how would we make another
sacrifice? This explains what Paul was saying; And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies
to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This
is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of
this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you
think. Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) God-like righteousness is our necessary goal.
There is no other way to live with God. Righteousness is the state commanded by
God and He has commanded that we find our righteousness in Jesus Christ.
The gift
of righteousness is greater than we can ever describe. The fact that there is
no other sacrifice that can be made to God with any meaning is one way of
stating the greatness of Christ’s righteousness. The covering of righteousness
for our life was sent down to us when the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside
of us. Faith in this righteous covering is necessary if we are to avail
ourselves of the free gifts of God. When we received the robe of righteousness
it was spotless but in this world we get dirty spots on it. Through our faith
we must ask Jesus and the Spirit to forgive us and remove the spots. This verse
gives us the idea; If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 (KJV) In the Old Testament people
were required to offer sacrifices for their sins but today it is essential that
we keep our robe clean in order to be right with God.
God has
always looked forward to the day when humans would find righteousness. When He
sent John the Baptist to preach repentance it was a beginning step we need to
find righteousness. When Jesus set us free from our past sins it was to find a
place that a new life of righteousness could increase. We seek to find the
perfection of God in our life. We become the sacrifice but we do not make
sacrifice. We must become truth and not merely find truth. John said it this
way; Dear children, don’t let anyone
deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are
righteous, even as Christ is righteous.
1 John 3:7 (NLT) This is all possible when the Holy Spirit becomes one with
our spirit. The Spirit makes Jesus real in us and “Christ is righteous. If we
allow our spirit to become one with Jesus today we will never have the need for
another sacrifice. (That is asking God for righteousness)
