REMAIN STEADFAST IN THE FAITH

When I was a teenager, I was taught that if I wanted to resist the devil, I had to rebuke him. So whenever an evil thought came to my mind or I was tempted, I found myself saying, “I resist you, devil, in Jesus’ name! I bind you, devil! Go away from me, devil! I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!”

This went on until God showed me one day that though I had “resisted” the devil, I had spent more time talking to him than to God! I was more conscious of the devil than of God throughout the day.

I checked the Word of God and realized that we resist the devil not by focusing on resisting him, but by being established in the faith that we are made right with God through Jesus’ blood, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Yes, the devil will continue to remind you of your mistakes, failures and sins. And he will tell you that because of these things, you cannot receive your healing, that you will have to pay for your mistakes or that something bad will happen to your family. He will accuse you, condemn you and try to persuade your heart to believe that he can do bad things to you.

But the truth is that the devil cannot enforce anything in your life if he cannot persuade your heart. And your heart cannot be persuaded if it is “steadfast in the faith,” if it is established in righteousness. God says that once you are established in righteousness, “You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you” (Isaiah 54:14).

So now that my heart is established in righteousness, I can boldly declare, “Yes, I may have these problems in my life, but I am not guilty in God’s eyes. I am justified in God’s eyes by faith because of what Christ has done. I am righteous by Jesus’ blood!” My friend, that is how you resist the devil and become undevourable! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH SPEAKS

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks.  Romans 10:5–6

Let me say something about faith. You cannot have faith without speaking it. When you study Romans 10, you will notice that it says that “the righteousness which is of the law.... does.... But the righteousness of faith speaks.” The law is about doing, whereas faith is about speaking. It is not enough to just know in your mind that you are righteous. It is not enough to just read this chapter or hear a sermon on righteousness and mentally agree that you are righteous. You need to open your mouth and say by faith, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:21). This is where many believers are missing out on the blessing of Abraham. They are not speaking their righteousness by faith.

Our first response to a trying situation is very important. Our first response when we discover a symptom in our body, when we receive a bad report or when we are faced with a trial, should always be to say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” Come on now, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is when we need to speak it. You need to not only know that you are righteous, you need to believe and speak your righteousness in Christ. It is not faith until you speak it! Paul said, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). The spirit of faith is clearly about believing and speaking. So it does not matter how many sermons or books on righteousness you have heard and read. You need to believe it and speak it.

When you fail and fall short of the law’s perfect standard, that is the time you should exercise your faith to say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” At that very moment when you are seething in anger at your spouse, or when you have just lost your cool on the road, it takes faith to say that you are righteous because you know that you have missed it. And you know what? The moment you say it, even if you are still in the midst of your anger, you will feel like you have ushered something good into that situation. You take a step back and start to relax, and the anger dissipates as you begin to realize your true identity in Christ.

Men, if you see a scantily clad woman on television or on the cover of a magazine and you are tempted, what is your first response? Are you sin-conscious or righteousness-conscious? Sin-consciousness will draw you to succumb to your temptation, whereas righteousness-consciousness gives you the power to overcome every temptation. That is why the enemy wants to keep you sin-conscious. Confessing your sins all the time keeps you sin-conscious. It is as if Jesus did not become your sin on the cross. Righteousness-consciousness keeps you conscious of Jesus. Every time you speak it, you magnify the work of Jesus on the cross. So believe and speak the truth: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” Then, you cannot help but see the results of magnifying the Lord Jesus and His finished work!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).