Living By Faith

RADICAL REVELATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
ROMANS 10:9, 10 (KJV)

What are you going to believe and speak?  You are going to believe and say you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ!  You quit struggling and trying.  You put your trust in God and you receive this free gift.  You believe with your heart that God loves you, God accepts you, and He has made you as righteous as Jesus.

Believing you have been made righteous and receiving the gift of righteousness is a radical, revolutionary revelation and can be difficult for some people to comprehend.  Sometimes people will not receive it because they think they’ve got to work for it.  Sometimes people get proud and think “I don’t want a handout.  You don’t have to give me that.”  But when it comes to this righteousness, you had better take it!

I once ate at a restaurant where some of the waiters worked who attended the church where I was preaching. I gave each one of them a hundred-dollar bill. Do you know only one worker took it?  The other three said, “No, that’s too much.  You don’t have to do that.”  It seems there is something about human nature that questions when God wants to give a gift, saying, “Are you sure about that?  That’s too much.  I don’t really think that’s necessary.”  What Jesus did for you is entirely too much, but you must receive it!

Confession: I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and I openly confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. Salvation is mine; righteousness is mine.

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UNDERSTANDING RIGHTEOUSNESS

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Romans 1:16-17

Understanding you have God’s divine approval on your life sets you free from the sense of rejection, inadequacy or inferiority.  You are confident you have God’s approval.  You are free to receive God’s best blessings and to follow His plan for your life.  This confidence in God sets you free from constantly seeking approval from others.


One of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible is righteousness. The Gospel of Christ is a revelation of the righteousness of God. The center of the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God.  I call righteousness a radical revelation, a revolutionary revelation. It is a reality that is produced for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Confession: The Gospel is the good news.  It is a weapon of might that begins with faith and produces faith.  God has made me righteous as He is . I am right with God!  I am whole and set free!

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THE WORD WORKS

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word will cut controlling influences off of your life.
Mark Hankins

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, will reach into your soul and cut things out that are hindering you from fulfilling the will of God. Nothing can separate your soul and your spirit but the Word. God says that you are a new creature in Christ and that you have been made righteous and triumphant, but your mind is in disagreement; your circumstances are in disagreement; your feelings are in disagreement. But the Word of God is like a sharp sword and it will cause your circumstances and feelings to agree with God.

The Word will cut things out of your soul that are not in agreement with God’s Word. What happens when you begin to acknowledge who you are in Christ? The Word will cut controlling influences off of your life!

Confession: I am who God says I am. I am an overcomer. I have been made righteous. I am the righteousness of God in Christ!

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TRIUMPH ALWAYS

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.
(2 Corinthians 2:14)

How do you get to be tough? By acknowledging who you are and what you have in Christ.
Mark Hankins

God’s plan for you is to triumph always. Paul did not say you would never have any tough times. I like what someone said years ago, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” Hallelujah! How do you get to be tough? By acknowledging who you are and what you have in Christ! Ephesians 6:10 tells us, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”

God never said the enemy wouldn’t try to come against you. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” He didn’t say you wouldn’t have any weapons formed against you, but He said the weapons couldn’t prosper! In other words, when adversity comes against you, you can declare, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” because your righteousness is of the Lord. You didn’t produce the righteousness you have — the Lord produced it! God produced it for you in Christ!

Confession: God always causes me to triumph in Christ. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! No weapon formed against me shall prosper!

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RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Being righteous means you are accepted by God, have right standing with God, and are pleasing to Him.
Mark Hankins

In most churches you wouldn’t have any trouble telling people, “Jesus died on the cross for you.” But they doubt the second half of that verse: “That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Being righteous means that you are accepted by God, have right standing with God, and are pleasing to Him. This gives you confidence in prayer and in facing the adversary, the accuser of the brethren.

The Bible says you are an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. When you are born again, a spiritual deposit is made in you. We have talked about some of this deposit: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The Apostle Paul begins all his letters by stating what God has done for you in Christ. After he declares what God has done for you in Christ, he declares who you are in Christ and what to do about it!

Confession: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

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