Still Standing

by Israel Houghton

LYRICS:

Verse One: You gave me courage to believe that all your goodness I will see and if it had not been for you standing on my side where would I be

Chorus: If not for your goodness if not for your grace I don't know where I would be today if not for your kindness I never could say I'm still standing if not for your mercy if not for your love I most likely would have given up if not for your favor I never could say I'm still standing but by the grace of God

Verse Two: To you I lift my offering and set my heart on higher things for if it had not been for you standing on my side where would I be

I'm still standing I'm standing I'm still standing but by the grace of God.

Self-Righteousness Or His Righteousness?

Religious people often come to the conclusion that, since they have not done big sins, they are good. And they happily condemn and judge the so-called big sinners. But the call is to seek His righteousness (right-standing with God), not ours.

Let us see how the Scripture views sin:

1. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” - James 2:10-11 NKJV

Some may scoff at this verse, saying that they have neither committed adultery nor murdered anyone. But Jesus said, “You have heard…You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matt 5:28). Jesus' definition of adultery is different from ours. And He was making this point to the self-righteous religious crowd who heavily gave weight to the external actions, when sin originates from within.

2. Jesus warned, “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,” (Matt 5:22). John says, “He who hates his brother is a murderer,” (1 John 3:15). As per the Scripture,  hatred in the heart is same as murder. It does not matter how justified we are in our sight.

3. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” - James 4:17

When was the last time we saw a broken down car on the highway and passed by them without offering a helping hand when we know that we should help them?

4. “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23

What is my point here?

This is not a post of condemnation for there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. The goal of this post is merely to pop the self-righteous bubble that we sometimes love to walk around in, while judging and condemning others. Not one of us are righteous by our own merits. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

In God’s eyes, there is no big or small sin. Sin is sin, even if it is a “white” lie or a cold-blooded murder. To be perfect in God’s eyes, we have to score 100 out of 100. There is no silver star for 99.999 out of 100. The truth is, not one of us can achieve this with our own effort, no matter how sincere we are in our effort. This is precisely the reason why we needed a Savior. His name is Jesus.

If the perfection that God requires of us to be in His right-standing could be achieved by our good works and by keeping the Law, Jesus did not have to go through the gruesome torture and crucifixion (see Gal 2:21). Since it is humanly impossible to reach God’s righteousness with our effort, Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and while we were sinners, Christ demonstrated the height of His love for us by paying the penalty for our sins with His own precious and sinless blood.

In the past, people sacrificed animals to temporarily cover their sins, but Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the Cross wiped away the sin - once and for all. We won't be able to experience this awesome grace for us in Christ Jesus, if we think we can earn and keep our salvation by our feeble efforts to keep the law.

Praise God for His gift that we cannot earn with our works. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 NKJV).

We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So let us  wholeheartedly stand each day in His righteousness. In Him, we are now made righteous.

Related post:

A Tale of Two White Shirts 

Bibles Unbound

In many countries, we have the luxury to debate on the different versions of the Bible, but that is not the case everywhere.

Visit BiblesUnbound.com, a ministry of Voice of the Martyrs, and see how you can can send a Bible to someone who desperately wants one!

FAQs

. If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?
. How can you Christians say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
. Don't all religions teach the same thing?
. How can a God of love send someone to hell?
. The reason I'm not a Christian is because there are so many hypocrites in the church.
. I tried church before, but it didn't work for me.

These frequently asked questions are addressed here.

God Is Here

God Is Here by Lara Martin

LYRICS:

In your presence, there is fullness of life
And healing flowing, for body soul and mind
God of miracles, God of the impossible is here
God is here

God is here
Let the broken hearted rejoice (lift up your head)
God is here
Let the sick say I am well (all sufficient One)
God is here
Let the weak say I am strong (let the weak say I am strong!)
God is here
His wonders to perform

In your presence, there is perfect peace
In the stillness, I behold your deity
God of wonders, God of power is here
God is here

[Chorus]

O His wonders, yes His wonders
His wonders to perform

Preach The Solution, Not The Problem

Article by Alexander Thomas, Word of Harvest Ministries

Romans 6:6-7

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. ⁷For he that is dead is freed from sin

When Jesus died on the cross, He did more than just die for your sins. He took your old man (your old self) or sin nature along with Him. Your old man or sin nature was dead and buried with Jesus. Your old man was dead and buried with Jesus 2000 years ago. That means your old man was dead even before you were physically born on the earth! This truth is not limited to you alone; it is applicable to every person who lived after the cross of Jesus. We may not be able to figure out this truth with our peanut brain. This is like trying to understand the verse “The Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8) with our mind. This is the spiritual reality, but it is hardly preached even after 2000 years.

In the beginning, God called light to remove the darkness, He did not talk about the darkness, He just called forth light. JESUS is the Light of the world and Gospel is about the Light and we are the carriers of that Light. Proclaim JESUS, the darkness will leave. The remedy for all kinds of sin and destruction is revealing JESUS to the world.

JESUS, His Cross, and the Resurrection are the most important subjects in the Bible. The greatest event that took place in the history of humanity is the crucifixion of Jesus and the greatest person ever lived in the history of humanity is Jesus. The whole Bible is a type and shadow of this great event and this great person Jesus. As human beings, our success in life is directly proportional to our knowledge about this great event, and relationship to this great person Jesus. Preaching of the Gospel is the proclamation of this great event and great person to the world. How can we preach a message without touching this great event and the great person, Oh, it is all about JESUS!

After the first century church era, layers of tradition and religion crept into christendom and buried the revelation of Cross and Jesus, and we are now engaged in revealing human wisdom. Preaching human wisdom such as 10 steps to prosperity, 11 steps to healing, 12 steps to peace, and 13 steps to build your faith backed with Bible verses excites people and is profitable. In reality, after the cross there is only ONE step to all your problems; which is, getting grafted with the true vine "JESUS". Believers are well-versed with all the Kingdom principles and techniques, but have absolutely no revelation knowledge about King Jesus. Books and tapes are sold in millions, and the preachers are building kingdoms for themselves. I am not against human wisdom or prosperity, but I am against anything that takes away the importance of Jesus. When are we going to realize that we have fallen from Grace and are separated from Jesus? Wake up!

Our sins are forgiven even before we ever committed them; if this is the truth, do you think sin is an issue for God? The sin issue is taken care of on the cross by HIS SON, once and for all. The world does not know about this great truth and the church rarely preach this truth. The church is still debating on the eternal redemption, not sure whether all sins are forgiven or part of the sin is forgiven. All your sins [Past, Present and Future] are forgiven forever. All your sins were in the future tense when Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago. If Jesus cannot forgive your future sins, you cannot get saved and your eternity is in the hell fire and damnation.

The church is still focusing on the sin problem; rather focusing on the solution "JESUS". The world has a Son problem, preaching the true gospel to the world is the solution to the son problem. The sin separates you from God, not God from you, and you may not be able to enjoy the abundance in Jesus.

Now if your question to me is, if the old man or the sin nature of the whole world was dead and buried 2000 years ago, why are we still seeing all kinds of sins in the earth? This is because, the new creation happened in the spirit realm and the physical realm has yet to experience this reality. This spiritual reality will be experienced individually when a person believes these spiritual truths. Those who believe these spiritual truths experiences it and those who do not believe it will never experience it. The preaching of the Gospel is to reveal this truth to the world. Shame to the preachers who are still preaching the sin issue without giving the solution to sin, which is JESUS.

Preach the Solution "JESUS", not the problem.