1 year ago

Which kind of righteousness are you depending on?
In Mark 16:15-17 Jesus commissioned us to preach the Gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
But what is the gospel? Can we figure it out from the greek defintion alone? It is from the greek work euanggelion. Eu + angellion = Good + message. It is the the "good message". It is more accurately rendered as "the nearly too good to be true news". But what is the gospel? What makes it good news?

Romans 1:16-17 helps us to see it.

Romans 1:16-17
(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
(17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
The "gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to every one who believes." Verse sixteen tells us what the gospel does but it still doesn't tell us what the gospel IS. However, verse seventeen tells what the gospel IS. "For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, for "the righteous shall live by faith." Therefore, the gospel is the revelation that we are made righteous by faith in Jesus' finished work.

When you believe that you have received the righteousness of God, you will experience the power of God that makes you whole.

When we preach and share the good news that God has given us His righteousness purely on the basis of Jesus’ finished work. Therefore, when we believe that God made us righteous without our effort, we will experience the power of God unto salvation.

Salvation (sozo/soteria) in the greek means wholeness, health, healing, prosperity, preservation, soundness of spirit, soul, mind, and body.

When you believe that you have received the righteousness of God, you will experience the power of God that makes you whole.

In my earlier of ministry, I wanted to see people healed and made whole through the power of God. So I constantly I preached about the power of God, the presence of God, and what we needed to do to obtain it. However, I now put my trust entirely on the “nearly too good to be true news” that I am righteous simply be my trust in Jesus and His finished work.

Many believe that the gospel is the revelation that you are righteous by faith in Jesus, but you have to maintain your righteousness by your behavior. If you sin and mess up, you lose your righteousness. But the real gospel is about a righteousness that is from "faith to faith". It starts out by faith and continues by faith. It starts with my trust in Jesus and continues throughout eternity by my trust in Jesus.

Therefore, the gospel is the revelation that we are made righteous by faith in Jesus' finished work.

I don't maintain my salvation by behavior. The same faith that receives righteousness as a gift of grace, enjoys it throughout their lives. I don't start out by believing, but stay righteous by "behaving". It is from "faith to faith", not from "faith to works". This NEW KIND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS does not start by my good works, and it doesn't stay by my good works. However, it inspires and empowers me to live a life of good works.

The key to more of the power of God in your life, is to hear and believe the Gospel that you are perfectly righteous in Christ Jesus.

Holiness (good behavior) is not the root cause of righteousness. My righteousness in Christ is the root cause of my holiness (good behavior).

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