On several occasions, I have been in conversations where I have bluntly asked someone, “are you righteous in the sight of God?”, and then the person in question would hesitate, they would pause, and consider their life and their behaviors, and then with shakiness in their voice answer “I think so...”. This reveals the fact that when it comes to righteousness, such people as the ones I have spoken with, really have no confidence at all in their righteous standing before God; and it’s precisely for this reason that they aren’t standing on the proper foundation… they aren’t standing in Christ, but instead are looking at their own behaviors and performance and judging their righteousness and their standing before God based on that, instead of on the finished work of Christ.
This has a more damaging effect than you may imagine at first, because righteousness by faith in Christ is at the very core of our new identity, and it is very important to successful spiritual warfare; to the utilization of our power in Christ. As we studied last week, God has given us power; He wants us to have it and make use of it… but we will never have success, unless we stand on the proper foundation, and approach from the correct perspective.
So today in this study, we look at the importance of knowing, truly knowing beyond doubt that you are righteous.
When people say “Jesus is Risen.” they are making a statement. They are proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are testifying to His completed work for their atonement and justification which His resurrection brings. We often proclaim that He is risen with joy as we sing about the truth of this fact. However sometimes, this statement can become so cliché that the details of the events of His resurrection become lost.
That's why in this study today, we are going to examine the events of His resurrection, and in doing so, we will see a wonderful picture of His heart for us. Even His raising from the dead was done for us, and His love for us never fails.
What are you afraid of? Fear can be one of the most debilitating forces in our lives. Fear can cause a person to never venture out into the world, to stay at home, to avoid others, and to miss many great and wonderful opportunities. Fear can also cause us to miss many blessings from God, including salvation if we are too afraid of God to come to Him.
So in this study today, we are going to take a look at how Jesus frees us from fear, and how as we truly listen to His Words, the bondage of fear is broken in our lives.