There is no other way to have a
real life than living by faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. Man desires to fulfill
life no matter what they young or old, rich or poor, learned or not, primitive
or civilized, humble or noble. This world boldly and loftily offers so much
with a rosy promise to fulfill life but delivers nothing. King Solomon was the
man who had everything we can imagine. There has never been any human being
wealthier, wiser, more powerful and experienced than him on the face of the
earth. Listen what he concluded of life after all? “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:2) Everything is vanity, he says. At the end of the discourse,
he says this, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes
12:13) Living by the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is fearing God who is
invisible and yet reigns everything under his authority and sovereignty. It is
the way to a life worthy of God for those who are made righteous through the
blood of Jesus Christ.
“For in the gospel the
righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17)
The righteous shall live by
faith. It is the theme of the Epistle of Romans and of the Scripture. What is
righteousness? It is the sense of worth. How many people are suffering from the
lack of worth and confidence? Countless! Many a Christian is not an exception. It
causes depression, weakness, emptiness, meaninglessness, void, dullness, powerlessness,
and all kinds of psychological and social problems. The evidence is easily
found in the psychiatric hospitals and institutions. It seems so hopeless and
powerless to cure psychiatric diseases that the doctors are forced to rely on
heavy dose of drugs. All humanity is suffering from so-called ‘destination
sickness.’ Where they thought they could stand atop of the world ironically turns
out to be the place they don’t like at all but hate.
Nicodemus, a Samaritan woman, a
blind man, Simon the leper, Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the shepherds in the
field, the Magi, the twelve disciples, and all mankind wanted to fulfill their
lives. People are tired of inadequacy and insufficiency in handling lives. Look
the young men and women in the Olympic Games. They have reached to the top of
the world in each area of competition. How inadequate and insufficient they
are! They are the representatives of the fallen race, Adam. So, our God sent
the Son Jesus who is the righteousness of God from heaven. “For God so loved
the world that he sent his begotten Son and whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Anyone who believes in him shall be
clothed with the adequacy and sufficiency of God. It was so from the beginning
to the end. Man was made and intended to live in the righteousness of God
before the creation of the world.
Adam was made righteous when
God made the garments of skin for him. The animal sacrifice is the symbol of
the death of Christ Jesus. Abraham was made righteous when he believed in God
who gave him the promise. The disciples were made righteous by the word of
Jesus Christ. “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
(John 15:3) There is no other way to have true and eternal life without being cleansed
and clothed with the blood of Christ, the righteousness of God. Prophet
Habakkuk prophesied that the righteous shall live by faith.
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his
desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”
(Habakkuk 2:4)
Both the Old and New saints
live under the same terms that the righteous shall live by faith. It never be
by works but by the gift of God because there is no one who can live by the
law.
“For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Since we have been made
righteous in the sight of God through the blood of Christ Jesus the Lord, we
shall continue to live by the faith which enabled us to respond to the divine
invitation of God.
“Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat
with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
It is not an automatic cruise
to live in the righteousness of God after conversion. The prerequisite of
walking and following Christ continually is to deny oneself which is the death
of old self. No death, no resurrection. That’s the law of life under the new
covenant. The old must die to put on the new. This we shall continue to put off
the old self in order to put on the new now and forevermore.
“That, however, is not the way
of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in
accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by
its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:20-24)
Jesus Christ is the
righteousness of God and he lives within us forever. He is the giver of life
from the beginning to the end. Our Lord Jesus offers eternal life to anyone who
takes it by faith. We live in him now. We live always by means of Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Jesus said to them, “Very truly
I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and
my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in
me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the
Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread
that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever
feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58)
October 1, 2015
©2015 David Lee Ministries - All rights
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