Changing Your World

Under the law, the people constantly toiled to become righteous through their own efforts. Any blessings they received were conditional and based on their performance; they had to work for God’s approval. Under grace, everything has flipped: because of the finished works of Jesus and our faith in them, we’re no longer working for righteousness but from righteousness. When the world pressures us to fall in with its principles, we must make the effort to agree with the salvation God has given us.

Under the law, the people constantly toiled to become righteous through their own efforts. Any blessings they received were conditional and based on their performance; they had to work for God’s approval. Under grace, everything has flipped: because of the finished works of Jesus and our faith in them, we’re no longer working for righteousness but from righteousness. When the world pressures us to fall in with its principles, we must make the effort to agree with the salvation God has given us.

Under the law, the people constantly toiled to become righteous through their own efforts. Any blessings they received were conditional and based on their performance; they had to work for God’s approval. Under grace, everything has flipped: because of the finished works of Jesus and our faith in them, we’re no longer working for righteousness but from righteousness. When the world pressures us to fall in with its principles, we must make the effort to agree with the salvation God has given us.

Under the covenant of grace, we no longer need to depend on our own efforts to earn God’s approval like the people had to do under the law. Because of our belief in Jesus and in His finished works, God has already approved of us and declared us righteous. All that remains for us to do now is to respond to what has already been done. The new covenant calls for the effort to stay rooted in grace when everything around us tries to pull us back into performance.

Under the covenant of grace, we no longer need to depend on our own efforts to earn God’s approval like the people had to do under the law. Because of our belief in Jesus and in His finished works, God has already approved of us and declared us righteous. All that remains for us to do now is to respond to what has already been done. The new covenant calls for the effort to stay rooted in grace when everything around us tries to pull us back into performance.

When we first get saved, one of the biggest changes we undergo is a shift in mindset. Until we learn to begin renewing our minds, we tend to think we must continue striving through our own efforts to follow a list of rules. This was okay under the old covenant, but we are now living under the new covenant. Religion has trained most people according to the law, which requires people to work hard to try to be righteous before God.

When we first get saved, one of the biggest changes we undergo is a shift in mindset. Until we learn to begin renewing our minds, we tend to think we must continue striving through our own efforts to follow a list of rules. This was okay under the old covenant, but we are now living under the new covenant. Religion has trained most people according to the law, which requires people to work hard to try to be righteous before God.

When we first get saved, one of the biggest changes we undergo is a shift in mindset. Until we learn to begin renewing our minds, we tend to think we must continue striving through our own efforts to follow a list of rules. This was okay under the old covenant, but we are now living under the new covenant. Religion has trained most people according to the law, which requires people to work hard to try to be righteous before God.

Believers have been made right with God. He sees us as righteous not because of anything good we have done, but because of what Jesus did and our faith in that. This is a significant departure from Old-Testament law, which demanded strict obedience and constant self-effort to earn righteousness. Our right-standing with God is the result of being born again; at that point, He immediately saw us as holy, perfect, and redeemed.

Believers have been made right with God. He sees us as righteous not because of anything good we have done, but because of what Jesus did and our faith in that. This is a significant departure from Old-Testament law, which demanded strict obedience and constant self-effort to earn righteousness. Our right-standing with God is the result of being born again; at that point, He immediately saw us as holy, perfect, and redeemed.

Believers have been made right with God. He sees us as righteous not because of anything good we have done, but because of what Jesus did and our faith in that. This is a significant departure from Old-Testament law, which demanded strict obedience and constant self-effort to earn righteousness. Our right-standing with God is the result of being born again; at that point, He immediately saw us as holy, perfect, and redeemed.

Believers have been made right with God, regardless of their actions. As Christians, we’re righteous because God says so and we believe it; this is our stance, which is permanent. By contrast, our state is continually changing as we progress through our earthly lives, making mistakes but gradually becoming more and more like Christ. The world offers us plenty of choices of foundations to build our lives on; any foundation other than Jesus Christ will crumble and fall when trouble hits.

Believers have been made right with God, regardless of their actions. As Christians, we’re righteous because God says so and we believe it; this is our stance, which is permanent. By contrast, our state is continually changing as we progress through our earthly lives, making mistakes but gradually becoming more and more like Christ. The world offers us plenty of choices of foundations to build our lives on; any foundation other than Jesus Christ will crumble and fall when trouble hits.

Believers have been made right with God, regardless of their actions. As Christians, we’re righteous because God says so and we believe it; this is our stance, which is permanent. By contrast, our state is continually changing as we progress through our earthly lives, making mistakes but gradually becoming more and more like Christ. The world offers us plenty of choices of foundations to build our lives on; any foundation other than Jesus Christ will crumble and fall when trouble hits.

Believers are God’s children. Knowing who we are impacts our daily living in everything concerning us as well as how we should see ourselves. We’re no longer our old selves, but are now righteous, redeemed, holy, and perfect in Christ. Believing this changes the way we think, which in turn changes our behavior for the better. Because of what God did, we can now dispense with struggling through self-effort to become what we already are right now and simply embrace it.