For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. Hebrews 8:7, NIV We only emphasize that Christian life we are in is not based on another form of religious ritual but on a covenant. The question is what type of covenant are you in? Is it a covenant of religion or a covenant of love? It should be a covenant of love. Love is a person and that is God (see 1 John 4:16). The covenant we are in is a covenant based on who He is and not on who we are. It's based on what He has done and not on what we have done. When you sign an agreement form, you understand what type of covenant or agreement you are signing in. And this is the reason why still many Christians missed the true essence of Christianity. It's because they don't understand the covenant they are in. In result, many are so called Christians are still living a life like they don't have Christ. There's no real transformation happened. They think Christian...
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Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Romans 6:13 NIV
Being an instrument of righteousness seems like is not an easy task because it requires self-discipline but the truth is, its not. As we all know self-discipline or self-control is part of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). So it means being an instrument of righteousness is just a fruit of your inner identity. The Bible says, our bodies is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). From the time we believed and confessed the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we have been deposited the Spirit of God on the inside us. We are operating in righteousness because the righteous One lives on the inside of us.
The bible says, we were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We were once a sinner but now we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). No matter how dark our past was, in Christ we became righteous not because of what we've done but because of what Christ has done on the cross. That's what we are now. We are righteous in Christ. And once we realize that, you will never live in dirt again because you know you have been washed. So living righteously now is not an option to do but becomes a lifestyle that comes from our inner self which is Christ. Righteous living is a fruit of righteous identity that we have in Christ. It is not about changing our behavior but a continues process of changing our minds to what Christ has done on the cross for us. Once our mind is renewed, the way we live will also be renewed.
Thoughts Of The Day:
"Righteous living comes from my righteous identity that I have in Christ"