DIG for Tuesday the 24th of October……that is an impossible pass mark…..James 2 v 10

I’m sure most of you remember the pain of sitting, and maybe failing, examinations at school.

I’ve even had to sit exams during my working life!

How would you feel if 100% was the only acceptable result, the only way to pass?

How would you feel if even 99.84% was not good enough?

Well, that is what it is exactly like if you try or want to achieve your own righteousness in the eyes of God.

If you want to be accepted by law (or religion and legalism) you have to fulfil the whole law; you cannot even fail in one item of it.

If you ‘fail’ in only one and ‘pass’ the other 612 this is simply not good enough.

The law requires absolute perfection, and we cannot achieve this in our own strength or through our own works.

However the good news is that because of Jesus we can be made perfect, made righteous, as a gift of grace through faith (Romans 9 v 30).

Because of Jesus it is as if He was ‘sat the exam’ for us, and His score was perfect.

We now, as a gift of grace through faith, benefit from this perfection, from this 100% pass, and in the eyes of God we are holy, perfect, sinless and righteous.

Now that seems to me to be a good result!

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord that I have been made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus”.

James 2 v 10…..For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all

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DIG for Tuesday the 17th of October…..our righteousness does exceed that of the Pharisees…..Matthew 5 v 20

The Bible contains what some class as ‘difficult’ passages and verses; many of these are in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.

Take Matthew 5 v 20 for example.

If this verse is taken out of context and not rightly divided with the rest of the Word (as many people seem to do) it can seem impossible to be good enough for God.

The trouble is that many think righteousness is about what you do, where we know that it is about who you are.

Righteousness is not about actions but position, your position in Christ.

The Pharisees and scribes were very zealous, they tried and tried to achieve righteousness through works of the law and they failed.

So how can we expect to be more righteous than them?

Well, we cannot, if we try in our own strength.

But the good news of the Gospel is that we are MADE righteous the second we become a new creature, the second we are born again (2 Corinthians 5 v 17 to 21).

So as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus our righteousness does exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes, as our righteousness is the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

And we have this as a gift of grace through faith, we were made as righteous as God not through our works but through the work of Jesus.

If you read this verse in context along with others it is of great encouragement and not difficult.

Because of Jesus you are righteous enough to enter into the Kingdom!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work”.

Matthew 5 v 20…..For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven

DIG for Thursday the 5th of October….more than just robed; MADE righteous…..Ephesians 6 v 14

Paul likens our Spiritual armour to that of a soldier. Have you ever thought of righteousness as armour?

A couple of years ago I did a teaching on the Old Testament High Priest’s garments and how his robe is a picture of the righteousness that He has clothed us in.

Isaiah 61:10 says that God has covered me in a robe of righteousness, but in the New Covenant our righteousness goes deeper than that.

When we put on a coat or a robe we only cover up what’s underneath. Being clothed or covered doesn’t change us on the inside.

But the righteousness of God goes right to our core. We aren’t just covered; we are MADE righteous. Not through our own efforts and good works, but ONLY through Jesus’ efforts and His Good Work (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

How is righteousness like armour? Righteousness is like truth. It is what it is whether we know it or not, and we only benefit from it when we know it!

Do you know you are righteous? If we know that we are right with God, not just skin deep, but right to our core, what can the enemy accuse us of?

‘Not good enough’…’failure’…’powerless’…’hopeless’…without His righteousness we are all these and more…but we are not without His righteousness, we have been made righteous…we just need to know it.

When we know that we are righteous it acts as a breastplate, and the enemy’s attacks of accusations and lies fall away, blunt and powerless against us.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am righteous to my core because I have put my faith in what Jesus has done for me, and thank you for the protection that gives me”.

Ephesians 6 v 14….Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

DIG for Friday the 8th of September…..do you want to see the real you…..James 1 v 25

Most of us will have a mirror in our bathroom.

What do you see when you look in the mirror in the morning, do you like what you see?

Many of us see something that is less than perfect!

However, what you see in the mirror is not the ‘real’ you.

If you are born again, and I am trusting and hoping that you are, then the ‘real’ you is your spirit part.

When you were born again your spirit was created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

So if you cannot see the ‘real’ you in the mirror where can you see it?

You can see the ‘real’ you in the Word.

The Word of God is like a mirror; James writes that you can look into the perfect law of liberty or Word of God (James 1 v 25).

If you look in the Word you can see that your spirit man is perfect, righteous, holy and pure.

You can see that your spirit man, the ‘real’ you, is a saint and not a sinner.

You will see that the real you is healed, whole and prosperous.

So next time you want to see what you ‘look like’ or who you are, look into the Word of God instead of a mirror.

I can assure you, you will see something a whole lot better!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that I can look into this perfect law of liberty to see who I really am”.

James 1 v 25…..But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed

DIG for Saturday the 19th of August…..righteousness is a gift of grace through faith…..2 Corinthians 5 v 21

All of us know that there is nothing we can personally do through works and deeds to save ourselves.

We know our salvation is received as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work.

As soon as we are born again we are made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

So there is also nothing we can do through works and deeds to make ourselves righteous.

It also holds therefore that there is nothing we can do through bad works and deeds (in other words sin) to remove that righteousness or reduce it.

In the eyes of God a man is either righteous or he is not.

Whether we are righteous or not has all to do with what a man believes with regard to Jesus; it has nothing to do with actions.

You cannot make your self more or less righteous; you are made righteous as a gift of grace through faith.

You cannot ‘sin away’ your right standing with God just as you cannot work your way into right standing.

Righteousness, or right standing with God, has absolutely nothing to do with your works, deeds or actions.

Righteousness is a state of being rather than a state of doing, and is dependant upon what you believe about Jesus and His finished work.

Any man can be made righteous through faith because of what Jesus has already done!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 21…..For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him

DIG for Friday the 4th of August…..you can actually receive through living by law…..Romans 6 v 14

The Bible is clear in that we receive all we need as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus.

We are forgiven through His blood (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

We are made righteous as a gift of grace through faith (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

We have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1 v 3) and have all we need for life and godliness through knowledge of Him, His finished work and of grace (2 Peter 1 v3).

We receive by grace through faith, not through our own works, through law.

We can however receive a couple of things if we want to and try to live by law.

If we seem to be successful for a while (this will not last) this will lead to pride.

If we fail (which will always happen eventually) this will lead to condemnation.

So, try and live by law if you wish, it will always lead to either pride and condemnation or both.

Grace does not involve your works or your efforts, so there is no such thing as your success or your failure, so living by grace cannot result in pride or condemnation.

If there is any pride or condemnation in your life there must be some area of your life that you are letting law in.

Living by grace is not about your successes or your failures; it is all about the amazing success of Jesus.

Living by grace removes pride and condemnation form your life, and as it is dependent upon the performance of Jesus can only result in blessings.

So, I strongly suggest you live by grace and not law!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under grace and not under law and thank you that I can live my life free from pride and condemnation”.

Romans 6 v 14…..For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace

DIG for Tuesday the 1st of August…..the best ‘swap’ ever…..2 Corinthians 5 v 21

When I was a young boy I used to collect stickers of football players with the aim of filling up and completing my album.

It got harder near the end and I remember swapping and exchanging stickers with my friends at school, trying to get rid of my doubles and find the ones I’d not got.

This was great fun, and this swapping took a great deal of time and effort!

I was strangely reminded about that this evening as I was reading my ‘all time’ favourite verse, 2 Corinthians 5 v 21.

This verse shows us the most important swap that has every taker place, a swap that occurred as a gift of grace through faith.

This swap took no effort on our behalf, as it simply required faith.

At the cross Jesus took all our sin on His body, and at our salvation we receive His righteousness.

Now that may not sound like a fair swap to you, Jesus suffering for our benefit.

But that was what the finished work of Jesus was all about!

He came to bring us life in abundance, He came so that we could live in health and prosperity, and He came so that we could be made righteous.

This was the plan!

And Jesus carried out the plan to perfection.

He went to the cross once and dealt with all sin for all men for all time (Hebrews 10 v 12).

And because of that we could be made righteous as a gift of grace through faith; what an amazing swap!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am righteous, made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus and His finished work”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 21…..For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him

DIG for Wednesday the 26th of July…..not “you will” but “I will” and now “I have”…..Hebrews 8 v 10

I hope you are as glad as I am that we live under grace rather than law, under the New Covenant rather then the Old.

The Old Covenant was all about what men had to do in order to be blessed, however the New Covenant is not about our religious performance or our good works.

The New Covenant is all about what Jesus and the Father has done.

Hebrews provides us with a wonderful description of the New Covenant in so many ways.

Hebrews 8 v 10 is a key verse and the two key words are “I will”.

The key of this covenant that we hear about in this verse is that God will do what is required.

He says “I will” rather than “you will”.

He will deal with sin through the finished work of His Son.

He will make us righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

He will provide the healing and prosperity that He desires we have.

And the really good news is that it is not even “I will” any more, it is “I have”.

It changed from “I will” to “I have” when Jesus said, “It is finished”.

The New Covenant now is not about us; it is about what Jesus has done for us, what we are made and what we have through Him.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I now live under grace and not under law”.

Hebrews 8 v 10…..For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people

DIG for Thursday the 29th of June…..do you really believe that you are righteous…..1 Corinthians 15 v 34

Do you want to live a more holy life?

Would you like to see less sin in your life?

I hope that as a born again believer you answered yes to both those questions.

Well, I can give you the answer this morning; I can tell you how to see less sin in your life and how to live a more holy life.

And the good news is you do not need to try, strive or achieve; you simply need to truly understand a Biblical truth about your identity.

YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS!

There you have it; it is that simple.

According to the Word you have been made righteous if you have faith and trust in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5 v 17 to 21 and Ephesians 4 v 24).

According to the Word if you wake up to or become aware of righteousness you will sin not (1 Corinthians 15 v 34).

What an amazing and simple truth.

If we believe we are righteous we will behave in a righteous manner.

You see there is another essential Biblical truth that is behind this; as a man thinketh so is he (Proverbs 23 v 7).

The way your mind goes is the way your life goes.

If you think you are a sinner you will behave like a sinner, but the good news is that you are not a sinner anymore, you are a saint and you are righteous.

You need to truly believe this truth!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus I am a saint and I am righteous”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 34…..Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame

 

DIG for Tuesday the 23rd of May…..who can you call upon for help this morning…..Psalm 18 v 3

David was a man who knew he was in covenant with God, at the same time as a man who was quite often troubled.

He made mistakes (as we all do) however he was sure that whatever he had done he was still in relationship with the Lord.

In times of trouble he turned to the Lord, even when he had made mistakes.

He did not hide himself from the Lord thinking he was unworthy.

He encouraged himself in the Lord his God during the darkest days (1 Samuel 30 v 6).

He wrote about the Lord being his rock, his fortress and his deliverer (among other things) (Psalm 18 v 2).

He wrote about calling upon the name of the Lord for his salvation (Psalm 18 v 3).

My friends, we are no different from David this morning.

We have all made mistakes, we have all done things unworthy in comparison to the Lord, however God will not turn away from you.

He is there waiting for you to call upon His name.

He can, and will be your salvation this morning if you let Him.

Turn your eyes upon the Lord this morning and seek His help, guidance and council, and you will not be disappointed.

Do not think yourself unworthy, not matter what you have done or are doing.

The finished work of Jesus Christ was far more powerful that any of your sin and the way is now always open for you to boldly approach the Lord and enter into His presence.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer”.

Psalm 18 v 3…..I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies