THE BOLDNESS OF A LION
Jesus Christ has left me an inheritance and I claim it as mine. Scripture says, "The righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1). If you can accept this truth of the perfect righteousness of Christ, you will have the boldness of a lion. You will never again fear any person or look at someone else's life and feel unworthy. You can say, "I have the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to me by faith. No, it's not mine, it's His, but it's accounted to me by Jesus Himself, so I may call it my own!"
It is time to stop your struggling. If the devil comes to you and says, "You're no good, you have no righteousness," you can answer, "I know I'm no good. I have no righteousness in myself but I do have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I've failed God but I have an Advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous!"
When you stand before the Lord, you will not have to tremble, thinking, "What am I going to offer Him? What did I do right or wrong?" No, you will be thinking, "I have nothing in myself to offer Him because I have His righteousness — by faith."
Does this mean Christians are not obligated to do good works? Not at all. Justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ sets the soul free to walk in holiness and do good works. Good works done in slavish fear bring no glory to God — they must flow out of a loving heart. Walking in true holiness is possible only to those who have laid hold of their inheritance — Christ's perfect righteousness — because they are no longer imprisoned by fear and condemnation.
His perfect righteousness is mine by faith and now I am free and released to serve Him as a bondservant of love. Now, by the power of the Holy Spirit promised in the New Covenant, He turns me from all iniquity and empowers me to live out the righteousness He credits to me.
It is time to stop your struggling. If the devil comes to you and says, "You're no good, you have no righteousness," you can answer, "I know I'm no good. I have no righteousness in myself but I do have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I've failed God but I have an Advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous!"
When you stand before the Lord, you will not have to tremble, thinking, "What am I going to offer Him? What did I do right or wrong?" No, you will be thinking, "I have nothing in myself to offer Him because I have His righteousness — by faith."
Does this mean Christians are not obligated to do good works? Not at all. Justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ sets the soul free to walk in holiness and do good works. Good works done in slavish fear bring no glory to God — they must flow out of a loving heart. Walking in true holiness is possible only to those who have laid hold of their inheritance — Christ's perfect righteousness — because they are no longer imprisoned by fear and condemnation.
His perfect righteousness is mine by faith and now I am free and released to serve Him as a bondservant of love. Now, by the power of the Holy Spirit promised in the New Covenant, He turns me from all iniquity and empowers me to live out the righteousness He credits to me.