Mensa Otabil - Practicing Righteousness

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1 John chapter 2 verse 29: If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. Now, when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He imputes to us His righteousness. That means that He freely gives to us the gift of righteousness, so we become righteous, simply meaning that we are now standing before God without sin. And it’s not because we made an effort to be righteous, but because Christ Jesus, by His death on the cross, paid for our sins. Because He paid for our sins, God took away our sins, and we became right before God; we became righteous before God.

Now, that righteousness is a gift of righteousness, but that is not all that righteousness is about. It’s not just about receiving a gift of righteousness; we must then practice righteousness or live righteously. Because if you have been made a righteous person, then your actions must correspond with what you have been made. If you are made righteous, then you must live righteously.

So that’s what John is talking about. The reason he’s explaining it this way is that in the early church, people took righteousness as a gift for granted, and just took the gift but didn’t do anything with the gift. We must use the gift that we have received. The gift of righteousness must be exemplified in our actions and in our choices. So, every Christian, by virtue of what Christ did for us on the cross, has been made righteous. When we become righteous, we become the children of God, and every child lives like the parent. Of course, my parents were human beings, so I am a human being. If my parents were crocodiles, unfortunately, I would be a crocodile and live like a crocodile. But my parents are human beings, so I’m a human being; I live like a human being.

That is what it is. Our parent is God Almighty, and so we live like Him. We do His actions; we choose the things He chooses; we practice what He practices. So what is right for God is also right for us. God is holy, so we must be holy. God is kind; we are kind. God is gentle; we are gentle. God is loving; we are loving. And that is what John is talking about-that we must practice our Christian faith.

If a person says, «I know Jesus Christ; I go to church; I have received Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior; I proclaim it every day in church; I dance in church,» but nothing of their actions shows the nature they have received, then there has to be a little suspicion as to the genuineness of their faith in Christ Jesus. Because it’s not just about proclaiming it; it’s not just about going to church; it’s about having it. And if you truly have the gift of righteousness, then the fruit of righteousness, the lifestyle of righteousness, will be seen in our lives.

And that’s how John concludes with us in 1 John chapter 2. He has talked about the anointing that we have received, the grace of God that has been given to us, the nature of that grace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and how we must end up living our lives as Christians. I trust you’ve been blessed, and tomorrow we start another study altogether.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, You are a righteous God; may my life reflect the righteousness I have in Christ Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.