48. I'm Not Ashamed That I'm Righteous Apart from What I Do

Paul boldly declares in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ..." Why is he not ashamed?  What is this gospel (good news) that he is not ashamed of?  Many people don't know what he is truly talking about, because they quote Romans 1:16 without quoting the next verse along with it.  To many believers, being "not ashamed of the gospel" means "not ashamed to stand up for righteous, godly living.  While there's nothing wrong with that, that's not the gospel!  Paul explains in Romans 1:17, "For in it (in the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith..."  He goes on to explain in Romans 3:21-22 that this righteousness of God comes apart from the works of the law.  It comes "through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."

This is the gospel (good news) that Paul is not ashamed of.  He had formerly been quite proud of his own righteous performance, but then when the revelation of Jesus and the gospel came to him, he counted his own righteous performance as dung and rubbish so that he could be found in Christ alone.  He had formerly persecuted the church for saying that righteousness came from God apart from the works of the law, and now he himself was being persecuted for preaching that.  Paul was preaching the gospel - God's righteousness given freely as a gift to all who believe - and he was making a bold, unashamed stand for it.


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39. We're Righteous Through Christ's Performance, Not Ours

On a recent Growing in Grace podcast (#603) we talked about how believers are identified as righteous apart from their behavior. Faith-based righteousness isn't a matter of pursuing righteousness through what we do, but simply through believing what Christ has done.  Here I share a snippet from that podcast in which I talk about this.  We've been justified, cleansed, made righteous and made holy (sanctified) through the blood of Jesus, not through our own performance.  Do yourself a favor, and spare yourself the anxiety, depression and fear that can result from thinking that it's up to you to gain or maintain a certain level of righteousness.  Believe instead in the finished work of Christ.


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34. What Christ Became for Us

There are various things that many believers are trying to earn or gain by their efforts, that are really a gift that God has given us. In fact, Paul writes that Christ Himself became these things for us: Wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. In Christ's name we have been (past tense) washed, sanctified and justified, and it's not by our works or efforts but it's "by the Spirit of our God"!

This 2 minute podcast is a snippet from a past Growing in Grace podcast entitled "The Gift of Sanctification."


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33. The Gift of His Grace

Everything that we have in Christ is the result of the gift of God's grace. Apart from Christ we were all sinners, and even our righteous deeds counted as filthy rags to God. But God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ died for the ungodly. God Himself has justified us by the gift of His grace.


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28. Cleansed Once and for All

Do you think that there's something that you need to do to keep yourself cleansed from all sin? Is there even anything that you can do?

What about Christ's perfect sacrifice? Was it enough for some of your sins? Or for ALL of your sins, once and for all!


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