The Difference

There is no room for works-righteousness in the Kingdom of God. Works-righteousness is the false idea that by our good works, we can establish righteousness before God. Those who try to do so will experience the wrath of God on Judgment Day. They acknowledged that God exists and that they must somehow be righteous before Him, but they rejected the righteousness that He provided through Jesus Christ.
You and I believe that Jesus is the ONLY righteousness there is before God. When He punished and crucified His Son for our sins and because of our sinful nature, the Father was not only atoning for the sins of the world, but He was also establishing a righteousness in His Son that could be transferred, or credited-to others. The link between the Savior and the saved is faith. It is the method by which His righteousness comes to us. Only through faith in Jesus Christ will we be able to stand on Judgment Day.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Lately, I have received sermons form the Lord about “pressing on” and “striving to with the prize.” We have spoken about degrees of glory in heaven, Paul’s encouragement that we “desire the greater gifts,” and Peter’s admonition to “make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, and to your goodness, knowledge…” I will acknowledge that this is new language for us in this church. Previously, the closest I ever came to encouraging you to do something was to say, “Just be. Just believe, or Just live by faith.”
But I have not gone back to the law. No, everything I am receiving from God and passing on to you is grace. But how is it, you may ask, that “pressing on,” “striving,” and “making every effort,” are not law? The answer is simply that you are no longer you. Because you have been born again, born of the Spirit, you have been enabled to do things that were previously not allowed by God. Furthermore, even if they had been allowed, you were completely powerless to do them. As a new creation in Christ, you have a relationship with the Father that you never had before. He calls you His son. Therefore, Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you.” Likewise, we now have the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and Teacher. We can, as never before, pray in Spirit and in Truth. We can pray according to our faith in Jesus Christ and by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We live miraculous lives. But praying this way doesn’t come automatically. Discerning the Spirit’s voice and His leading will not come easily. We have been in Satan’s world a long time. Our senses are tuned in to the constant noise of this world along with its temptations to our flesh and the split-second timing of it all. Hearing the Spirit takes training and discipline. We must press on to take hold of that for which Christ set us free and gave us His Spirit. We do not want this to be a one-way conversation. So many Christians say they never hear anything from God. It doesn’t have to be that way. So we begin by asking Him to teach us how to pray…