Lay Hold of Your “Righteous” Identity & Live an Abundant Life!
God has a good plan for your life! And it starts the moment you receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior! At that moment, you receive a new “righteous” identity in Christ. And from that point on, as you listen to His voice and to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will find yourself effortlessly living an abundant life!
Let’s start first, though, getting rid of some rocks and weeds that might be threatening your new “righteous” foundation. Here’s one key:
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under Law but under Grace.”
—Romans 6:14 NKJV
“Dominion” — The Greek translation of this word is “kyrieuō”, which translates to “lord.” This means that sin will not lord over us or have power over us when we are under Grace.
Many think that the way out of sin is through trying to stop the act of sin, or by trying to do more of what is “right.” However, the reason many fall back into sin is because of wrong “believing.” We don’t know that when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we become brand new in our spirit (2 Cor. 5:17). We receive a “new righteous nature.” Our identity is NOW “in Christ.”
When we don’t understand this – when we don’t know our “old man” or “old sin nature” was crucified with Christ, problems arise. But what is our “old man?” The “old man” refers to our flesh and to the old nature that was driven to sin. Your “new nature” now will drive you towards righteousness as you believe and confess “I am the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”
As believers, this part of ourselves (the flesh) was crucified at the cross of Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:6). Today, as believers in Christ, we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:9)! However, watch out! The devil will always try to make us identify with our flesh; with our old nature. This is a FALSE IDENTITY! What’s really powerful is when you take on your new identity in Christ and confess with your mouth “I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.” Now, in your spirit, you are as righteous and as holy as you will ever be for all eternity (Eph. 4:24)!
Today focus on the Lord Jesus and the gift of righteousness and true holiness. You will find yourself effortlessly making the right choices. Praise God for what He has so graciously given us!
Grace is the answer to overcoming sin, and the way to lead a life that is truly righteous, holy and pleasing to the Lord. This is why the Gospel of Grace is so powerful, and it’s no wonder that the devil would want to cast doubts on this life-transforming teaching of grace!
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; you have fallen from Grace.” —Galatians 5:4 KJV
This means we fall from grace when we try to justify ourselves by keeping the Law in order to be righteous enough to have a relationship with God.
It is important for us to live our life to please God in every area but it will not come through our own self-efforts. It will come through the renewing of our mind in God’s Word (Rm. 12:2)! Not by trying to keep the Law. It was impossible for the Law to justify and make anyone righteous; to put anyone back into right relationship with God. That’s why Jesus had to come (2 Cor. 5:21). And praise God He did! Not only did He walk on this earth, but He also was buried in the grave, went to hell, and rose again freeing many who had been held captive with Him! In fact, there were 500 walking in the streets that had risen from the dead with Jesus! Think about that!
The enemy does not want anyone to enjoy the abundant life that our Lord Jesus came to give us. Instead, he wants to keep us in a place of defeat, self-condemnation, and guilt. The devil wants us to depend on our own efforts to deal with our “old man”, or our sinful nature, to obtain righteousness. However, when we do that, we end up experiencing the futility of our fleshly effort to keep the Law that the apostle Paul shares in Romans 7.
In order to lay hold of your righteous identity and live an abundant life, we would encourage you to download the pamphlet “What Happens When I Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.” You will it at https://www.newidinme.com/discipleshipsystem. Read it. Meditate on the scriptures throughout the day. As you do, we believe you will find a new fresh perspective. Start asking God what they mean. He will give you new fresh revelation; daily manna to lead and guide you every day. Put your Trust in Him! Know that it’s His desire that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers (3 Jn. 2). Why? Because God loves you!