Bob Cassell, Messenger
When you stand before God in eternity you will be fully clothed in the righteousness of Christ, or you will be blind, naked, and undone.
The very moment a person believes in Christ and is born again he is clothed in the very righteousness of Christ and nothing can be charged against him to alter that high and exalted position.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isa 61:10).
If a person has not believed on Christ, he may think he is rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing; But…
Know you not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind and naked Revelation 3:17.
In contrast to the unbeliever, the high standing of the believer is fully realized the moment Jesus Christ is received as Savior. Children born into a royal family are taught, trained, and exhorted to conduct themselves as royalty which they assumed by birth. They are an honor to the King only as they conduct themselves as royalty. There are many things they are not allowed to do that are not forbidden to other children. Likewise, the children of God are exhorted to live their lives in harmony with their exalted position which is imputation of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
It would be most inconsistent for those who have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God to continue living according to the practices of their former unredeemed state. Therefore, the appeal to them is…
For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord; walk as children of light…. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but he rather reprove them (Eph. 5:8-11).
All who have been saved have been redeemed from the penalty of the law by the payment of a ransom price, even by the blood of Jesus Christ. To live in obedience is a most reasonable thing to do as all who have been saved have been bought with a price.
For you are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor 6:20).
It might be contrary to human reason to comprehend that God gave His Own Son in death to redeem mankind from the death penalty of the law. But this amazing expression of grace can be explained only on the basis of his immeasurable love. Therefore, it is most reasonable to expect one who has been redeemed and given an eternal position in Christ to spend the remaining days of their earthly life to Glorify God. This is not a duty or requirement in order to appropriate eternal life, but it most certainly should be the desire of the heart of any believer. Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome stated:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1,2).
Please notice this urging from Paul is called a reasonable service. This is no incidental matter. Its reasonableness is because of the mercies of God! Just what are these great mercies?
These great mercies are from all that is related to justification by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus because He was set forth as a propitiation for sin.
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God (Romans 3:24-26).
Certainly, one whose every sin has been forgiven and to whom God has freely imputed divine righteousness should present himself to God and be determined to live consistently for the whole of his Christian life.
In reconciliation, those who are saved and were afar off from God are made nigh by Him. But many who have been reconciled are not living as though they have been cleansed and accepted by a righteous and holy God. The believer is not only made nigh by His grace but is admonished to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering… and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Heb. 10:22-24).
The born-again child of God has been brought forth from above by the Holy Spirit of God; therefore, the Spirit of God dwells within him. Because of this exalted condition Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth;
What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).
The amazing reality is that the born-again believer is a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; (creation) old things are passed away; behold all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The old things here do not refer to the old corrupt life of the new believer. It is a reference to the condemnation that man received from the imputed and condemned sin nature of Adam. Because the work that is finished by Jesus Christ has perfected us in Him, we are to serve and behave like the royalty we are and …
That you put off concerning the former manner of life, the old man (the old sin nature) which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:22, 24).
Putting off the old man and putting on the new is accomplished when we, as believers, are walking by means of the controlling power of the Holy Spirit and are not being controlled by the old sin nature. One of the most compelling motivations in the word of God is to see that as believers in Christ we have the blessed hope of seeing Jesus Christ and being changed into His image. This future reality is one of the strongest scriptural appeals for living a productive Christ centered life.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure (1 John 3:2,3).
The unconditional promise that all believers will become like the Son of God should be the greatest possible incentive to live a Christ centered life. The unsaved and many who are saved think of conduct only in terms of a strict compliance to a moral/legal code. Please notice… none of the above appeals are in the form of such legalistic compliances. They are appeals to a new life from a God centered orientation while the saved remain on planet earth. Only as a person realizes and is in possession of the things which are included in salvation can these appeals have any meaning at all. This is another reason that human conduct is not a matter of consideration until a person had been saved.
Confusion has reigned because of the absence of distinguishing between the law of Moses and the perfect position that is realized when a believer has trusted in Christ alone for his salvation. Under the law of Moses, man’s standing before God was always conditioned upon his performance. If his behavior fulfilled the law (none did) he was blessed. If he failed to fulfill the law, he became subject to severe curses. Under the conditions of blessing and cursing the motive for good behavior became one of fear of punishment. As a result of these performance-based requirements, it is only natural that the unsaved should think that fear is the motive for acceptable conduct. However, when the saved individual continues to think of fear as the motive for good behavior there is much confusion and loss in that particular life. The prime motivator in true Christian conduct is love from God in Christ and not fear. The love of Christ constrains us (2 Cor, 5:14).
It was from the perfect love of God that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life (John 3:16). It was from the love of Christ that He gave Himself to save the lost. It is the love of God by which all who are saved are called the children of God. For you are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (1 John 3:1). It is the amazing love of God as demonstrated in all that has been done to save man and all that is being done and shall be done to consummate the work of Salvation.
Fear is not the motive for Christian conduct and such is clearly stated in the word of God.
For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7).
A believers conduct is the result of what God does in providing salvation to him… Love, not fear, is the true motive for Christian obedience and performance. These two are contrary one from the other.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear; because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).
If you were face to face with the King of Glory and asked Him, “what must I do to be saved?” His response would be identical to the message given by Paul and Silas to the Philippian jailer … Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Act 16:31). Why not you… and why not now? A simple act of faith that rests totally in the person of Jesus Christ will secure your eternal destiny and all will be settled between you and God.
