Difference between revisions of "Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 12"
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Latest revision as of 13:53, 4 May 2022
Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 12
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (I John 3:9—NIV)
No human being could ever in his or her own strength meet the requirements for righteous behavior that God has established. But the Lord Jesus can meet those requirements and therefore God is filling us with Christ. He is being formed in us.
The grace of God under the new covenant in its purest sense is Christ.
We cannot please God. The Lord Jesus can and shall please God in and through our personality if we will give attention each day to the development of the Life of Christ, the Divine Seed that has been planted in us.
There is abundant power contained in the riches of God's Glory in Christ to deliver each one of us from every sin of spirit, soul, and body.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (II Corinthians 7:1)
How do we cleanse ourselves? What do we do? We call upon the Lord! He reaches down and changes our personality by His unlimited power.
It does not matter whether the bondage is inherited, acquired, demonic in origin, how deeply entrenched, or how long we have been bound. God has the power through Christ to deliver us! Furthermore, God is willing to deliver us.
Our task is to believe, ask God for deliverance, and obey Him. It is not a case of our will power and moral strength but of believing, asking, and obeying the Lord. God shall deliver every person who comes to Him from any and every form of physical, mental, moral, or emotional bondage. He shall deliver you! Ask and you shall receive.
Your deliverance may or may not take place immediately. Time is not the issue. But be aware and confident that the moment you ask, the Divine machinery will go into operation. The Scripture cannot be broken! The promises of God are an anchor within the veil!
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24)
Every Divine covenant from the time of Adam has had precisely the same goal—that people be in the image of God, that is, that they act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
Two aspects change from covenant to covenant. The demands on the human personality to behave righteously are increased and the availability of God's Glory and assistance are increased. The goal, however, never changes for it is the moral image of the unchanging God.
The new covenant has the same goal as the old but the demands on the human personality have been vastly increased and the availability of God's Glory and assistance (grace) have been vastly increased.
The Jews have sometimes changed the goal of the old covenant from justice, mercy, and faith to slavish, blind adherence to the letter of human interpretations of the Law of Moses. They strain out the gnats of minuscule ceremonial observances and swallow camels of unrighteousness. When they do this God does not regard them favorably.
The Christians have sometimes changed the goal of the new covenant from justice, mercy, and faith to eternal residence in a mansion in Heaven. They too swallow camels of unrighteousness while proclaiming that their pass out of Hell into Heaven depends on "faith alone." When they do this God does not regard the Christians favorably either!
To be continued. Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 13