Good Morning Righteousness
1 Corinthians 15:34 NKJV
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
A bit of a play on words, as Paul is encouraging the church to awake to righteousness. Wake up to the fact that they have been made righteous in God’s sight through faith in Jesus Christ.
Notice that Paul did not charge the church at Corinth to become righteous. There is thought in the church that righteousness is something to be obtained that we must work our way to righteousness. But Paul did not say work for righteousness; he said wake up to it. In the first chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes that we are in Christ, who of God has been made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Paul was referencing what God has done for us in Christ. We were not righteous on our own. We could not be made right with God by our own efforts. Righteousness is a gift we were given the moment that we received Jesus as our Lord and our spirits were recreated. Jesus used the term born again. And the scriptures speak of the new birth. God did not make any mistakes in our new birth, and one of our new characteristics is being made right in God’s sight.
Instead of trying to be righteous, we are to awake to the fact that we are righteous. Please don’t check with your feelings or senses to determine if you are truly righteous. This is beyond the senses and feelings realm. This is a spiritual reality that exists apart from the senses. One of the ways we awake to righteousness is to acknowledge that truth. To acknowledge that we have been made righteous in Christ and can stand before the Lord as if sin had not existed.
Speaking of sin. One of the benefits to awakening to righteousness is that it curbs the sin nature we may still feel. By saying no to sin, we are living out the reality of what has been done in us. Again, the key is not waiting to feel righteous but acknowledging this is who we are. We are righteous in Christ and have the ability to live free from the law of sin and death. Christianity is not about struggling to be free but rather acknowledging the freedom that already belongs to us. Way too many are waiting to be completely free before we say that we are righteous. Instead, go ahead and buy into the fact that we are already free and clear in Christ. Because He has made us righteous, we can live free from sin.
When a person is awake, they are much more conscious of their surroundings. Waking up to the righteousness that we are in Christ is becoming more conscious of what is ours in Christ. As we learn what belongs to us, everything changes.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for making me righteous. Thank You for not leaving me at the mercy of sin.