1. New Life Christian Fellowship 6 January 2019
One Amazing Deal
New Life Christian Fellowship
6 January 2019

6. 2 Corinthians 5 v 17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

7. 2 Corinthians 5 v (cont)
21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

8. The good, the bad and the ugly
Christ is righteous; we are not
We are sinful; Christ is sinless
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2v22)
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3v23)
All our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64v6)

9. “Imputed righteousness”
To impute:
To represent something as being done or possessed by someone;
To ascribe a quality to someone by virtue of a similar quality in another.
A divine exchange:
The sinless Christ became sin for us;
so that in Him…
We, the unrighteous, become the righteousness of God
Through Christ, God declares us to be righteous!

10. What this means
When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end of all my sin Because the sinless Saviour died My sinful soul is counted free For God the Just is satisfied To look on Him and pardon me

11. (Some) Benefits of righteousness
The Lord loves the righteous (Psalm 146v8)
Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield (Psalm 5v12)
The Lord upholds the righteous (Psalm 37v17)
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92v12)
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer (1 Peter 3v12)
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles (Psalm 34v17)

12. Call to action (1) Stop striving to achieve righteousness
No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin (Romans 3v20)
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3v22)
To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4v5)

13. Call to action (2)  Stop doubting God’s grace in righteousness
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8v1)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2v8)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10v27-28)

14. NO condemnation!
So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, son of God, and where He is, there I shall be also!

15. Call to action (3)  Put on the breastplate of righteousness daily
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place (Ephesians 6v14)
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4v23)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4v7)

16. Call to action (4)  Live out the righteousness of God in practice
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God (1 Peter 2v16)
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you (Phil 2v12)
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (2 Corinthians 7v1)

17. Isaiah 61 v 10
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness