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Dead Men Have No Rights

Philippians 3:9
“And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
Many people assume they can get into heaven on good deeds alone. That if they are a good person and follow the lay of the land, then they have a free pass into eternal paradise. What they do not understand is that the Lord does not operate in that fashion. James chapter 2:24 states that, “a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” If we have good deeds and no faith, where is the Lord? To walk with the Lord is to live by His righteousness, by His law. It is to walk humbly, completing the task before you with steadfastness. When we do not walk by faith but instead in what we consider our own “righteousness” we have the choice to reject or to walk away. However, in Christ, we know that dead men have no rights and that whatever is asked of us we no longer have the option to say no. Some may look at this in wonder of why we would ever in our right mind give up our rights, but they do not see the freedom that follows. We are no longer slaves to the law of this world, but to a heavenly realm that has value and meaning. What was once our battle is no longer ours, but His and we can walk in the freedom of knowing that He has been victorious. I am the first to admit that I generally walk in my own righteousness without having faith in Christ. Of course, I assume I am a good person because I am not committing any worldly crimes, but then why do I continue to fail? Because I am relying on my flesh rather than His Spirit. This need to satisfy my flesh may appear outwardly to the world what is considered normal, but inwardly, I become irritable, envious, and worried. It is only when I am finally able to surrender my idea of righteousness to the Lord that He will be able to give me freedom from the bondage I experience from being a slave to my flesh. 

Application
Today, I will right “His righteousness” on my arm as a reminder that I need to be in constant surrender of myself to to the Lord. 

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