How to be PERFECT & RIGHTEOUS

You have been overwhelmed with the guilt of not having a perfect Christian life, thus not being able to please God . You have lost all hope ,and see yourself as the vilest sinner . You aren't that evil ,atleast you haven't murdered anyone . You try to do some good things yet it seems not good enough. Your soul is thronged with depression ,guilt ,low self esteem and even feel unworthy to come to God . You wondered if you could ever make it to heaven . You really wanted to stop sinning but then you find your self doing it again . Your Christian life is no more exciting . But all hope isn't lost .You May be feeling this way probably because you are trying to hard on your own . Its time to lean on the grace of God now .

Jesus Christ came to justify the ungodly ,he came for those who needed salvation ,for what is the use of a saviour to those already saved .He came so we May achieve something we haven't been able to do on our own ,to be made right with God,to be "perfect ".
Righteousness isn't about what you do or don't do . If it were then I shouldn't be born again , like Apostle Paul never deserved a second chance .You see when you view it so ,it no more becomes a free gift but something you deserve .That's the misconception people have . We are not and can never be righteous until we have faith in God .

Let's look at the definition of Righteousness .

It is the quality of being morally right and justifiable .Righteousness comes from the greek word Dike implying Justice (In other words, to justify means to declare righteous, to declare to be in the right, to vindicate. )
Therefore to be righteous means to be just .If man had failed at doing  anything  ,it will be attaining righteousness . It is our trust and faith In God that makes us righteous and not what we do .

The book of Romans affirms this claim .

Rom 4:5
However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

Okay so back to our topic ,how can you be perfect  before God ? No ! you can't be perfect , not even on this earth .So far as we live in our flesh ,perfection is something we can't attain .This stands to reason that we can never live a sin free life . The scripture above also denotes that our works can't give us the righteousness we need only Jesus can.It is him alone who justifies the ungodly . Bear in mind that the ungodly can't justify themselves and make themselves perfect enough before God,they will still look filthy .So there is a need for a justifier .This means that the only way we can reconcile God's command to be perfect and our imperfection is by grace . Through the grace of God we are justified .
It is a free but priceless gift God offers to imperfect people through the death of his son Jesus Christ .This grace however isn't a carte Blanche to sin for it is not the will of God for us to live in sin but to live in freedom .
So Paul can say in Phil 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

So stop being self - righteous ,you weren't able to achieve it neither can you ever achieve it on your own . God is the giver of righteousness ,by Faith in Jesus . He is the one who justifies(makes right ) the ungodly . This is the righteousness we can gain by faith .

This is the first part  on the series of Righteousness .

Murder !

I hate you ,you fool ,I wish you were dead ,stupid ,I wish you were not my parents ,worthless fool ,Empty headed foolish girl /boy etc ..
If you have said these words ever in your life, or wished someone had died ,then I am sorry to announce to you that you are guilty of murder, and guess what , you deserve to go to hell. Yeah hell ! please don't judge me just yet ,That is what Jesus said .
It's hard to believe but he did ,in Matthew 5:21

21 You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death will be in danger of being judged:
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be in danger of being judged; and he who says to his brother, Raca, will be in danger from the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, You foolish one, will be in danger of the hell of fire. Ponder over it very well .

Before you read on do this little exercise . Take your mind back when you were angry with that brother or sister ,how you were so bitter and filled with rage . At that very moment you thought of things you would do or say to hurt that fellow .
Yes ! that's what am talking about, you murdered, though Not physically .
Murder begins with a murderous attitude and wishful thought . If you think evil about someone,then you have committed murder .In the "law book of God", the purposing to do a thing, without actually doing it is tantamount to doing it. Don't be too surprised because Jesus traces sin not from the outward activity but from the very core of our hearts and our thoughts .
In the subsequent verses ,He made a statement that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery .
You see ,sin begins from the mind and the heart ,so even though you haven't touched a woman or physically killed your neighbour ,the mere thought of it makes you guilty and a sinner .

Besides this ,Jesus also warns us of what comes out of our mouth .

Proverbs 12: 18 says
" Reckless words pierce like sword ,but the words of the wise brings healing "..

Whether we like it or not our words carry power and what we say can alter people's lives negatively or positively .
Yeah ! so your guess is as good as mine ,we are all murderers . Only God knows how many people we have killed in our hearts and with our reckless words .
Anger is the bedrock of murder .Get angry and let me hand you a gun ,you will ,in a high probability pull the trigger.Jesus addresses how Christians are to confront anger that is by reconciliation . (Matt 5:23-25). Meanwhile ,anger in itself is not evil .
Paul enjoins us in Eph 4:26 with these words ;

In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.

Jesus also got angry sometimes . However ,his anger had the proper motivation. He was angry for the right reasons.
Secondly ,There was no selfishness involved.
His anger also had the proper focus.
He was not angry at God or at the “weaknesses” of others.
His anger targeted sinful behavior and true injustice.
Further more ,His anger had the proper control.
Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. He controlled His emotions; His emotions did not control Him. Besides that ,His anger had the proper duration. He did not allow His anger to turn into bitterness; He did not hold grudges. He dealt with each situation properly, and He handled anger in good time.
lastly His anger had the proper result.

I will end with the words in the book of James .

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” ( James 1:19-20 ).

The command is not to “avoid anger” (or suppress it or ignore it) but to deal with it properly, in a timely manner. learn to forgive and forget ..

From the thoughts of
Kenneth Bray .
~kennetics