Religious Christians Vs Righteous Christians ~ PART 2
So last week Monday, we studied the life of religious Christians: who they are, their characteristics and how to identify them. If you missed it, heređŸ‘‡ is a link to read it up quickly, then come back to read this.
Like I mentioned last week, today we'll be looking at the life of righteous Christians: who they are and their characteristics/how to identify them.
Side note: if you know their characteristics, you can easily identify them.
Righteous Christians are simply Christians who have been made right with God; they have been reconciled with God through the shed blood of Jesus. They have cast off self-righteousness and clothed themselves with the righteousness of God that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God. These Christians no longer possess the sin nature all human beings inherited from Adam - they have a new nature - the righteous nature of God. This is why they no longer live a life of sin, but a life of righteousness.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
The Bible says this about them: "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:9
They no longer live in sin. They no longer serve sin. They have been freed from slavery to sin and have become servants of righteousness (and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness- Romans 6:18). They have been born again by God's Spirit and have become children of God indeed (so now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God- 1 John 3:10).
These are TRUE CHRISTIANS. Religious Christians are FALSE CHRISTIANS. And only those who belong to the category of righteous Christians will be privileged to spend eternity in heaven. "Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 AMP
Have you become a righteous christian? I was once a religious Christian. I became a righteous Christian in 2012. I do believe that almost everyone born into a Christian family or nation starts off as a religious Christian. It is at some point that they choose to become righteous Christians. This does not happen on its own. It is a deliberate act. The religious Christian must on his own choose to become a righteous christian by genuinely repenting from sin, understanding what Jesus did on the cross and accepting Jesus' payment for their sin and deciding to now live righteously in honor of the One (Jesus) who saved him from eternal damnation in hell.
Unfortunately, not all religious Christians experience this transformation because they do not want to. They're okay being religious Christians because it gives them the false 'freedom' to live in sin, enjoy worldly pleasures, and to live without total submission to God's will and absolute obedience to God's word. And so, many of them have died and ended up in hell and multitude are still on the broad path of religion that leads to eternal damnation. I pray for you that you'll not die a religious Christian but a righteous Christian that'll serve God faithfully till death or rapture in Jesus' Name.
Now, let's take a closer look at the life of righteous Christians.
The Characteristics of Righteous Christians or how to identify Righteous Christians:
•They are born again by faith in Christ Jesus.
•They do not live in sin nor live a sinful lifestyle. They can fall into sin out of carelessness or failure to be watchful and prayerful, but they do not remain in their fallen state - they quickly get back on their feet and continue walking on the path of righteousness, purity and sanctification.
•They do not accomodate secret sins because it deprives them of peace, joy, and the ability to fellowship freely with their Heavenly Father who is holy and cannot stand iniquity, sin and unrighteousness. They confess their sins and faults, repent and forsake them.
•They do not forsake the assembly of brethren, in other words, they meet constantly with other children of God to pray and worship God together in church, in their homes...and serve in God's vineyard/kingdom in their different capacities, giftings, abilities, and enablement, because they love God and passionately seek to advance His kingdom on the earth.
•They are holy. They live holy lives because "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." 1 Thessalonians 4:7
•They preach the Gospel of Jesus and redirect lost souls to Christ Jesus their Saviour because they have been saved; and out of compassion and love do not want others to perish, but to be rescued like they have been rescued from spending eternity in hell. They pray and intercede for the salvation of lost souls.
•They practice Matthew 6:33, believing its reality in toto.
•They have the Holy Spirit living in them. They're possessed by the Holy Spirit. They're filled with the Holy Spirit, this is why they cannot live any other kind of lifestyle except a holy lifestyle for they have been possessed by the Spirit of holiness.
•They know how to pray and they pray to their Heavenly Father daily and constantly, for they know that they cannot do anything without His help. They also receive answers to their prayers because "The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29. "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 1 Peter 3:12
•They have personal relationship with God the Father. They commune with God in prayer. They talk with God in prayers. They fellowship with God in prayers. Prayer is not a monologue to them but a dialogue - two way communication. They talk to God, wait for His response, and receive His reply.
•They believe in the existence of heaven and hell and the reality of the rapture of the saints happening anytime soon, so they live rapture-ready.
• They are citizens of heaven. They are not sinners. They are saints. They were formerly sinners as religious christians having the sin nature of Adam, but after receiving Jesus and His payment for their sins, they became righteous Christians who are heaven-bound.
•They do not have self-righteousness, but possess the righteousness of God which qualifies them to enter the kingdom of heaven.
•They often fast and pray to receive more power, strength and boldness to preach the gospel of Jesus and to work miracles, signs and wonders. Also, to do good deeds and to strengthen their relationship with God.
• They are cheerful givers because they're aware that all they have on earth is given to them by God, and know that it is more blessed to give than to receive. They give to God, to worship Him and to promote His kingdom on the earth. They give also to bless humanity.
These are some of the primal characteristics of Righteous Christians. Are you one of them? If you're not, I beseech you by the mercies of God to surrender your life totally to Jesus today and be made righteous by faith in Jesus. Jesus will soon return to take the saints. Don't miss being taken.
I leave you with this scripture - read and meditate on it: "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." Romans 3:21-26
God bless you. Check back again on this blog next week Monday for another piece that will mightily bless you.
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