Rhapsody of Realities 6 July
SCRIPTURE: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1)
1 John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin….” Some have misunderstood this and ran off with the wrong idea that whatever they do is right, because as Christians, they can’t sin. Yes, for the Christian, sin isn’t compulsory, but we don’t judge righteousness by what a Christian does; we judge righteousness by the light of Christ and His Word.
The Bible talks about walking in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7). How consistent are your actions with the rightness of God? That’s how you know what’s right from what’s wrong. If you declare that whatever you do is right, that makes you the standard of rightness and of righteousness. But you’re not the standard of righteousness.
Read yesterday’s Rhapsody of Realities here
For example, we read in 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that “…we have the mind of Christ”; this doesn’t mean every thought of your heart, therefore, is always right. Yes, we have the rightness of God, but He tells us in Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transfigured by the renewing of your mind.” Even though you’re born again, your mind still needs to be renewed.
Let’s look at our theme verse again; it says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not….” If it weren’t possible for you to sin, He wouldn’t have said “I’m writing this to you so that you don’t sin.” But at the same time, He lets you know sin isn’t compulsory; you don’t have to sin. That’s the reason for the very next statement: “If any man sin”; instead of “When any man sins.” He creates a balance.
Don’t go from one extreme of “Sin is compulsory as long as we’re in this flesh” to the other extreme of “Whatever I do is right”; no! Your actions, thoughts, behaviour, responses and reactions must be consistent with the Word of God, with the righteousness of Christ, for He is the standard of righteousness. Hallelujah!
TODAY’S PRAYER: Dear Father, I thank you for your grace and the power of your righteousness at work in me! I live free from sin and sin-consciousness, producing fruits of righteousness and good works, manifesting the love of Christ today and always, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Romans 6:1-2; 1 John 2:29 AMPC; 2 Corinthians 5:21
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Acts 18:1-23; Job 9-11
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Galatians 1:1-9; Isaiah 26
Thanks for studying today’s Rhapsody of Realities – Christ: The Standard of Righteousness – by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.
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Rhapsody of Realities 6th July 2020
