CONTINUE IN CHRIST - PART 4

THURSDAY 20 JUNE 2024

Righteousness is the likeness or image of God in you. To that effect, Ephesians 4:24 reads, "Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy (NLT). It is seat of the capacity for your fellowship with God, that guides your Christian life, having been quickened by the influence of the Holy Spirit. In the natural man, it is not so because His nature is quite Adamic. So the ability to practise righteousness implies that there is a new life and nature in you.

Reference: 1st John 2:28-29 English Standard Version (ESV)

"And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."

In continuation of how to practise righteousness, I present today's article with the purpose of instilling into you, the knowledge that will continually position you to function as a partaker of the nature of your parent (Supreme Deity). Therefore the manifestation of righteous living will ray out in you and through you as you:

3. Live as those made alive to God:

Paul stated in Ephesians chapter 2 saying: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Read Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV). Simply put, before you received Christ as LORD, you were a condemned sinner, but now that you've been made alive to God, live in obedience to God's will.

4. Put to death whatever belongs to earthly nature:

This includes abstinence from sexual immorality, impurity, evil desires, greed and idolatry. Because of these evil expressions, the wrath of God is coming. Paul stated that you used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now, you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self. Therefore, in keeping with righteous practices, you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, because you are being renewed in knowledge in the image of Christ (See Colossians 3:5-10 NKJV).

5. Fix your eyes on Jesus:

Isaiah 26:3 reads, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" (NLT). When your thought pattern is under the guidance of the Holy spirit because you've set your mind on Christ, perfect peace emanates or unfolds as a result. To that effect, Pauline epistolary expression reads, "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful" (Colossians 3:15 NLT).

6. Enrich your soul and spirit with the Word:

Pauline epistolary expression says, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts" In addition, Hebraic awakening wordings numbered as Hebrews 5:13 says, "For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child" (ESV). That means, aim to go beyond receiving the milk version of God's truth and step into feeding on solid food because milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's way, while solid food is for the mature, who have gained  the practical ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

Beloved, the Holy Spirit guides us with rewarding illumination into all truth concerning righteousness, and there is always an abiding favour of God at work when we are properly grounded in such practice. Stay tuned for more in part 5. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Romans 6:13; 2 Timothy 2:2; Roman's 6:18; 1 John 2:29.

Exuberant Declaration:

By partaking of the Word of God, I'm daily accustomed to the practice of righteousness, and I grow in the Lord as a result. Blessed be God!