Let's talk about the word "righteousness". According to the Word of God, who is righteous? What is the definition of the word righteousness? How does it apply to our lives as believers? What do we have to do to receive righteousness today? Do you know that as a believer, you have been given Jesus' righteousness the moment you confessed Him as your Lord and Savior? The truth is, He sees us righteous (in our born-again spirit) all the time!

Let's read what God says in His word about this righteousness. 2nd Corinthians 5:21, says "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. Jesus became what we were so we could become what He is. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. This scripture refutes the misunderstanding being taught that we have to earn our righteousness through our self-effort, by declaring, He took (past tense) our sin and made (past tense) us righteous. Who is righteous? This scripture says the born again believer is righteous, and the awesome truth is, He made us righteous (in our spirit). Righteousness means, "Right standing with God," and to be righteous is to be in right relationship with God. Sadly to say most churches today acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for their sin, but they don't believe they have become righteous. Religion will always tell you that once you have accepted Christ in your heart, you now have to earn your righteousness through your self-efforts, works and performance; this is a lie from the pit of hell! It is because of what Jesus did on that cross that allows us to receive His righteousness. John 6:63 says "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. No matter how hard you try, you'll never measure up to God's perfection through your own efforts in the physical, emotional or mental realm. You cannot approach God unless you come to Him through the righteousness and true holiness of who you are (in the spirit). John 4:24 says, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship Him in spirit and truth. The "Good News" is that when God is looking at us, He is always looking at you and me through His son's sacrifice, who is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is not looking at our imperfections, ever! All sin, imperfection, every fallen thing know to man was (past tense) put on the cross once for all.

What the cross represents is exactly who we are (in the Spirit): righteous, true holiness, blameless, accepted, adopted, and we are in fact; made alive together with Christ. Raised up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, the bible says in - Ephesians 2:5, 6. It's talking about (in our spirit) we sit with Him.

We need to recognize and acknowledge our true self in God's mirror. God's reflection of you and me in that mirror is who we are (in the spirit). 1st Corinthians 1:30 says "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto wisdom, and righteousness, sanctification and redemption. One-third of your being (your spirit) is completely righteous. God relates to us as believers (our spirit) only. Unlike your spirit, your body and soul are in the process. God can only accept you by who you are (in your born-again spirit), that is Perfect; Just at He is.

1st John 4:17, says Love has been perfected among us in this; we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is so are we in this world. It says we are as He is in this world, not the next. That love is already perfected now (in our spirit). We are as He is in this world (in our spirit). He sees His children perfect in (our born-again spirit) all the time. Saints this is awesome News! He is not looking at us in the flesh!

God doesn't look at us the way we look at ourselves. He looks at us (in our spirit) and sees that we are righteous and truly holy. This will make the religious person mad, when I say, "that the performance of you bodies and souls, either good or bad, has absolutely no bearing on whether or not God accepts us." We need to grab hold of this awesome truth! When you are born again, it doesn't matter if you've rebelled or just aren't everything you should be. God sees you and me as righteous and truly holy because He's looking at us (in our spirit). Since God sees us (in our spirit), God is pleased and accepts you and I. The word accepted is the same Greek word translated means "highly favored." He sees you and me as a brand-new creation, no longer having a sin nature. The fact is God is pleased with His workmanship! The good news is, what God has done (in the spirit) always remain constant and unchanging regardless of fluctuations in our performance! 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says " Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things become new." Saints we need to understand that the change took place (in our spirit) and the rest of the Christian life is renewing our minds to believe and release what God has already put inside us. Freedom comes when we approach God through (our born again spirit), not through our carnal nature.

We can enter the Holy of Holies, even in our imperfections. The curtain has been torn, the victory has been won!

Luke 2:14 says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards man, (from God)!" God is no longer mad at man; bringing us back into right standing and relationship with Him (in our Spirit), which is who we are:

RIGHTEOUSNESS!
&
TRUE HOLINESS!

AWESOME GOOD NEWS!