Romans 1-4 - The Righteousness of God Revealed in the Gospel#
Romans 1-4 - The Righteousness of God Revealed in the Gospel
(JP Text Group - Organized by Yun Dan Feng Qing)
Let's pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for gathering us before Your throne of grace at this time to receive Your grace. Lord, sanctify this time, completely surrender our hearts to You, pour Your words into our hearts, place grace and truth within us, help us remember Your words, and always look to Jesus Christ for what He has accomplished for us. May the Holy Spirit guide everyone, and we are willing to open our hearts to receive Your words. Please guard our hearts and bless the following time. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Our sharing topic: The Righteousness of God Revealed in the Gospel
Romans 1:17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
Last time, we shared that Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, as long as you are willing to believe, you can receive the gospel of Christ and the salvation of God.
Why do we need the righteousness of God? Isn't it good to have our own righteousness?
Some people say that if we listen to God in everything and let Him arrange our lives, then what is the meaning of living? Doesn't that mean we have no personality? Don't we have our own opinions?
Many people live according to their own will and feel good about it. If one can live well on their own, God would not have given us His righteousness. Why should we accept the righteousness of God? It is because there are significant problems with our own righteousness; we have deviated from blessings and are gradually heading towards death. Self-righteousness often traps us in bitterness and places us under curses, so we need to understand the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. What does the gospel have to do with our righteousness? Is our righteousness opposed to the gospel? Today we will share about the righteousness of God and why we need it, and the righteousness of God clearly shows that each of us needs the gospel and needs the righteousness of God.
Sharing point one: Humanity lost the righteousness of God and began to live a self-righteous life.
God created Adam perfectly; his body was perfect, and his life was complete. God gave Adam the power of free choice, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Many people do not understand why God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. If God had not placed it there, Adam would not have eaten from it and could not have sinned.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents God's sovereignty, reminding us that all blessings come from God. Today, let’s share from another perspective: what does the tree of the knowledge of good and evil really represent?
First, you must believe that God is pleased for us to eat from the tree of life and has not forbidden it. However, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is forbidden. When both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil appeared, Adam had the freedom to choose.
If there were only one tree in the garden, how could Adam have a choice?
God said that apart from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they could eat freely. This proves that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not better than the fruit of other trees; rather, God gave Adam a choice. When choosing not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and freely eating from other trees, it represents choosing to obey God's words, which is choosing God's righteousness. Because you fully trust God, what He gives you must be the best. Why did Adam and Eve choose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
The serpent tempted them, saying, "Eat, and you will be like God..." At that moment, self-righteousness and unrighteousness arose in Eve's heart. God does not want us to have such righteousness, which is self-righteousness. Eve thought that by eating, she could be like God. The devil fell in this way; everything was good for him, but God discovered his unrighteousness. He became proud and wanted to be like God. The serpent tempted Eve again, telling her that by eating, she could be like God.
Since the serpent spoke these words, Eve looked at the fruit on the tree differently. She saw that it was pleasant to the eyes and thought that eating it would give her wisdom. At this moment, her self-righteousness had already arisen. She ate and also gave some to her husband Adam, which was a wrong choice.
She chose to disobey God's righteousness and establish her own righteousness. She wanted to be like God, but she was already like God; the devil deceived her.
Genesis 1:26: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Do you see? When God created them, He made them in His image and likeness. Unfortunately, they did not believe and insisted on becoming like God in their own way. This is not knowing oneself and not believing God's words, which is why they were deceived by the devil.
The devil's deception is very poor; we can discern it at a glance today. For example, you do not need to strive to become a human because you already are one. If you are a dog, no matter how hard you try, you cannot become a human. Adam did not understand this, and self-righteousness arose in his heart, thinking that by eating, he could be like God. This self-righteousness does not align with God's righteousness and does not want to live according to God's words.
From that moment on, he began to distinguish good and evil, centering on himself rather than on God. At first, they obeyed God's words, but after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, humans gained the ability to distinguish good and evil, and the standard was no longer God's words but themselves.
As Romans 10:3 says: "For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness."
At that time, he did not understand God's righteousness, did not understand God's love and mercy, did not understand God's grace, and did not realize that he was already in happiness. He wanted to obtain everything he desired through himself. Little did he know that he was already in happiness, in grace and love. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represent two kinds: one is God's righteousness, and the other is human righteousness.
When they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God announced the consequences, telling Adam that he would eat bread by the sweat of his brow. God had never told Adam that he must work hard to eat. God told him to eat freely without toil. However, since eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he must rely on his own efforts to eat.
This is when he began to live a self-centered life. This is a very tragic life. From that time on, humanity developed a self-centered mindset, living in self-effort. Without effort, there would be nothing to gain.
Many people are indoctrinated with this idea: there is no free lunch in the world, no love without reason, and no one will love you for nothing. We have accepted this erroneous idea, making it difficult to accept the righteousness that comes from God and hard to believe that God loves us this way because we do not understand God's righteousness and mistakenly establish our own righteousness, refusing to submit to God's righteousness.
When God says, "I freely give you my only begotten Son so that you may have eternal life," many people do not believe and reject the blessings that come from God. After humanity sinned, self-righteousness has always existed in their hearts, living a life based on sight rather than faith. If they do not see, they do not believe; it is a proud life, not a life of obedience. Human self-righteousness seeks to be accepted by God, accepted by others, and accepted by the world through their own righteousness.
Some people strive to become famous; if they cannot be the top in their class, they want to be the top in their school, then in their province, and finally the best in the country, and ultimately the best in the world... They desperately try to prove their value in the world through their own efforts. This is human righteousness, and many people live in this self-righteousness, which is not the life God wants us to live.
Many people say that if they do not behave well, God will not love them, or that God's love for them will be less. And those who give more to God in church, who are obedient and willing to serve the Lord, must be loved more by God... This is the thought of human self-righteousness, believing that they can please God through good behavior.
Little do they know that all of this is received from God. God's love for us has never diminished; He has never abandoned us because of bad behavior. Thank the Lord! Human self-righteousness leads to pride and disobedience. The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, allowing us to understand that the righteousness of Christ is upon us.
Exodus 19:4-6: "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.
God allowed the Israelites to accept such a blessing, saying, "I want to make you my people, I want to make you a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." There are no other conditions.
What does it mean to keep my covenant? It is the covenant of grace that God made with Abraham. However, when the people heard these words, they all answered together, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." The original meaning is: as long as it is what the Lord God has said, we can all obey.
When Moses told God the people's response, God changed His demeanor from that moment. God instructed the people to consecrate themselves for three days and then set boundaries. Lightning, thick clouds, and thunder began to appear on the mountain. The people began to tremble in fear. We do not understand why God changed His demeanor. It is because of the people's self-righteousness!
The Israelites meant: "God, you can say whatever you want; whatever you command us to do, we can do it. I want to be a holy nation; you want me to be a kingdom of priests? Just command me, and I can do anything. Through my actions, I will become a kingdom of priests." This is the self-righteousness of the people.
In this process, the law quietly crept in. Because this group of people did not understand God's righteousness, God revealed His righteousness through the Ten Commandments! Giving the law was not God's intention; it was merely due to the pride of the Israelites. God set down the standard of His righteousness, telling the people that if they truly wanted to become His people and be blessed by Him through their own actions, then He would tell them what His standard is: the Ten Commandments—just ten. Anyone who wants to achieve God's righteousness through their own actions must obey all the laws. Anyone who wants to be justified before God by the law must keep all the commandments.
When Jesus faced the self-righteous Pharisees and the hypocritical scribes, He told them: "You know the law..." and also told them: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Why did Jesus say this? Earlier, Jesus spoke about the Beatitudes, and then He said: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Although the scribes and Pharisees had such righteousness, they still could not enter the kingdom of heaven. Even if you surpass them, you still cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus was saying, "Give up your own righteousness." It is not through your self-righteousness that you can enter the kingdom of heaven. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven through self-righteousness and good behavior, there is simply no way to do so. Do you think you can surpass the scribes and Pharisees? Are you more devout than they are? Even if you surpass them, you still cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. This is the true message Jesus wants to convey to us: any human righteousness is incomplete before God.
Romans 3:5: "But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? I speak in a human way."
The meaning of this verse is that there is much unrighteousness in us, much pride, much self-righteousness, and many sins. When God inflicts wrath, it is not God's unrighteousness but rather the revelation of God's righteousness, because God Himself is righteous. When He is angry with us, He is proving His righteousness.
If a mother sees her child stealing and ignores it, praising the child, that mother is unrighteous. If that mother firmly rebukes the child for such behavior, harshly criticizing the child, it shows that the mother is righteous.
When God is angry with us and reproaches us, it reveals our unrighteousness and shows God's righteousness. The standard for judging right and wrong is not ourselves but God, because He is righteous.
Later in Romans 3, it says, "But if the truth of God abounds to His glory through my lie, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?"
We are no better than others; do not say we are much better than the unbelievers. In fact, your actions are not much different from theirs. We are not better than them; whether Jew or Gentile, we are all under sin. God's accurate definition of humanity is that there is no righteous person, not even one. This sounds very discouraging to us. Even though we think about doing good things, our actions are indeed terrible; they are always evil.
Psalm 14 tells us that the Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
As you read this, do you feel hopeless? God looks down from heaven and finds that there is no one who understands, no one who seeks Him; all have turned aside and become corrupt; there is no one who does good. Are we really worthless? Is there really no one who does good?
If you think carefully, even when people do good deeds, it is often to show their own righteousness. If you do a good deed and do not want others to know, as the Bible tells us, "Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing," this refers to doing good deeds.
When some major events occur, for example, fundraising, some people will hold charity performances and publish in the newspaper how much a certain celebrity donated... This is originally good, and we support good deeds, but in God's eyes, it is establishing one's own righteousness. If you truly did it for their good, you would not let others know.
Christians do many good deeds in this regard, only wanting God to know. Whether people know or not is irrelevant. Jesus said you have your reward. If doing good is not for the purpose of being praised by others, when you do these things quietly, your Father in heaven will reward you; He will surely bless you. This is the righteousness of God, a life centered on God, not showing one's own righteousness.
Earlier, I mentioned that humanity lost the righteousness of God and began to live in self-righteousness, which has become increasingly severe, especially in the last days when there is almost no genuine emotion between people, even familial bonds are thin, because humanity lost the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own righteousness.
"Man for himself, heaven and earth perish."
"If you do not think of yourself, aren't you a fool?"
Many people think this way because they do not understand God's righteousness. Many things from God are given freely. They do not believe, have not encountered, and have not received, living in self-righteousness and refusing to submit to God's righteousness. This is why we need the righteousness of God and the gospel.
What would the world be like without the gospel? Everyone would plan for themselves, living selfishly, and people would become disheartened. We expect love but are unwilling to give love. We want to receive love from others but are unwilling to love others. This is also self-righteousness. It does not mean that once we believe in the Lord, it disappears; it can still appear within us. God's righteousness, even when you are not good, He still loves you. Even if you are filthy and do not seek Him, He is still willing to seek you. Even if you resist Him and do not accept Him, He still provides for you. This is God's righteousness! We are blessed to possess the righteousness of God. Humanity lost the righteousness of God and does not understand it, remaining in self-righteousness.
Sharing point two: Accept the gospel, accept the righteousness of God.
Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
From faith for faith, what does this mean? The gospel reveals the righteousness of God; the righteousness of God is manifested in the gospel. We often say that God is righteous and just, that God is loving and merciful. How can God's mercy and justice be revealed? That is the gospel!
When you accept the gospel, you accept God's love and mercy, and you accept God's righteousness. You will understand that God is indeed a fair God, righteous, and entirely good; there is no evil in Him. It is because of the gospel that we see God's righteousness, which is perfectly revealed in this gospel.
The thoughts of human hearts are all evil. There is a saying that when a person thinks, the Lord laughs. Why? Because what you think is all evil; you have not truly considered what is beneficial for yourself. You are either scheming against others or falling into the pit you have dug for yourself; you are either caught in your own snare or trapped in someone else's.
God hopes that we love one another, but many people are calculating against each other. God wishes for us to help one another, yet we want to receive help from others without wanting to help others. Even though we are unrighteous, God still loves us and has given us His only begotten Son. When you see all this, you will know and understand the gospel, and you will understand God's righteousness. The gospel perfectly reveals God's righteousness and what I desire.
Let me share this in another way, and you will understand that this phrase means: Starting from faith and ending in faith. Jesus is the beginning of faith, and He is also the end of faith. The book of Hebrews specifically tells us that Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith.
From the moment you believe in Jesus, everything is received by faith, and everything you do is done by faith. We walk on the path of faith. If you lose faith and cannot see God's righteousness, cannot see His mercy, love, and justice, you may even doubt God.
Many people say, "Lord, my illness has lasted so long, and You have not healed me. You probably do not want to heal me anymore..."
You are wrong because you started with faith but did not end with faith. In the end, God is still victorious! God wants to bless you. Our outcome is never failure; in God, there is never failure.
Start with faith and end with faith. When you accept the gospel, you accept God's righteousness, which begins with faith. Look at some examples in the Old Testament. In Genesis 15, there was a man named Abraham. He believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. Why did God call Abraham righteous? It was not because he never made mistakes in his life, nor because he never sinned, nor because he did better than anyone else or was stronger than anyone else. No.
He also had moments of weakness and moments of sin, but he believed in his heart. He started with faith, and when he believed in God, God counted it as righteousness for Abraham. God placed His righteousness upon Abraham, counting him as righteous until Jesus Christ accomplished the work of redemption on the cross. All who believe in Jesus Christ are declared righteous.
Deuteronomy 9:5: "It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that He may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
The reason the later people could enter the land of Canaan was not because they were better than their parents, nor because they no longer sinned. They were the same as their parents. They could enter the promised land not because of their righteousness or uprightness but because of the wickedness of those nations. Therefore, God would drive them out. We have a covenant with God, just as the Israelites had a covenant with God.
Why did God lead them in and drive out those wicked people? It was because the Israelites had a covenant with God, which was that the Lord would confirm the promise He swore to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God promised Abraham that He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they would dwell in this land. At that time, Abraham was standing in the land of Canaan, and God said, "I will surely make your descendants inherit this land."
When it came to this group of people, God wanted to fulfill what He had said to Abraham because what He said will surely come to pass. This is God's righteousness! We do not need to establish any paper contracts with God. When you do business, you need to sign a contract with your clients because you do not trust them, and they do not trust you. If there is real trust between you, these things are unnecessary. What God says will surely come to pass.
He promised Abraham, "I will make your descendants inherit this land." When this group of Israelites was about to enter, it was not because they deserved this land but because God was willing to give His righteousness to you and lead you in.
When you understand that this generation is the same as their ancestors, their behavior is not good, but they entered the land of Canaan. Our salvation is not based on our own actions. We are not much different from the Israelites at that time; we may even have less faith than them. We may not behave as well as they did, but you are saved and blessed by God, not because of your righteousness or uprightness, nor because you sought the Lord for salvation, but because God had mercy on us and was willing to give us His righteousness.
In the age of grace, God gives salvation as a gift to us, regardless of how you behave. He gives Jesus as a gift to you. As long as you are willing, you can come. Do not think that your behavior is not good enough to qualify for this gift. You do not need any good behavior; as long as you are willing to receive it, you can have it. This is the manifestation of God's love, and God's righteousness is revealed here.
Some say, "I know a person who is very good and loves to help others. Such a person should be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven..." At the same time, they say, "My neighbor is terrible; he often bullies other people's children and steals from others. Such a person does not deserve to enter the kingdom of heaven..." This is our righteousness, our standard. God is not like this. God's intention is that whether it is a criminal, a general, a king, or someone who has done many good deeds, they can receive the righteousness of God, not your own righteousness. God gives His righteousness as a gift to you.
This way, you can have confidence before God. Do not say, "These past few days, my behavior has been terrible; I am unworthy to come before God." You are wrong. At any time, it is not based on your behavior that you pray to God, but by faith. It is starting from faith and ending in faith. You believe in God's righteousness, not your own.
You believe in how good God is, not how good you are. You believe in how much God loves you, not how much you love God. God is willing to give us His heart that loves us. We understand that God loves us so much. Understanding God's righteousness in you allows you to approach God boldly and pray to Him without fear.
I know that Jesus Christ absolutely keeps His word because He is a faithful God. The Bible says so; the promise is for me, so I believe that God will surely fulfill it for me. If you have this faith, God will give it to you. Start from faith and end in faith. This faith is not yours; it is Jesus Christ's. Remember: it is not your faith! When you hear this, do you feel faith rising in your heart? It is not based on your good behavior but on Jesus Christ coming before God to receive His grace and mercy, to receive all His blessings. God will surely give it to you.
At that time, the covenant between Abraham and God was the covenant of circumcision, but now Jesus has established a blood covenant with us, a covenant of life, and this covenant never changes. When you see the blessings in the Bible, these are meant for me because Jesus has fulfilled this covenant, and its validity is permanent. I will surely receive it because Your words are for me.
Romans 4:13: "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith."
God promised Abraham and his offspring that they would inherit the world. What does it mean to inherit the world? It means that God wants to bring the blessings of the world upon you. You are to inherit the blessings of the world that come from God. You inherit these blessings not because you obeyed the law, nor because of your righteousness, but because of the righteousness that comes from faith. You believe in Jesus Christ and receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Through His righteousness, you can inherit the world. All of this starts from faith and ends in faith.
Sharing the final point: Through the blood of Jesus Christ, God's righteousness is revealed, which is your righteousness.
Acts 13:38: "Let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."
The Israelites, in the past, tried every method under the law of Moses, working hard, but in the end, they still did not attain righteousness. However, now there is no need to strive so hard to obtain righteousness that comes from the law of Moses.
Now, believing in the way of forgiveness of sins comes from Jesus Christ. What was previously unattainable can now be received simply by believing in this person and trusting Him. You can be justified. When you believe in the blood of Jesus Christ, it establishes an eternal covenant between you and God, which is your covenant of righteousness. This covenant is eternally valid.
When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are justified by God. The righteousness you possess is not self-righteousness but the righteousness of Jesus Christ! You may have had self-confidence before, but now you have the faith of Jesus Christ. Do not say, "I can confidently say this or that." You should say, "I have the faith of Jesus Christ."
Romans 3:25-26:
"Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
This passage is very important. Jesus is our propitiation. What does propitiation mean? We have already done wrong and sinned, and there is nothing we can do to make it right on our own; regret does not help. Jesus Christ is the propitiation; He restores your original mistakes, forgives your transgressions, and makes up for the losses you have suffered.
How does He make up for it? He bears the part of your sins. He takes on all your sins and bears all your transgressions, so you no longer have these. The blood of Jesus Christ removes our iniquities, just as He completely uproots diseases from our bodies, so you no longer have diseases.
This salvation is accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ. How is it received? By faith.
Do you believe that what the Bible says is true?
Do you believe that the promises in the Bible are for you?
The Bible says: God loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. You may have recited this a thousand times, but do you not feel that this is for you? Have you tried reading it the other way around?
God loves me so much that He gave His only Son to me, so that I do not perish but have eternal life. When you read the Bible this way, you realize that God loves me like this. He restored my relationship with God through His Son. I believe that God loves me this way. By believing this, you receive it.
This reveals God's righteousness because He, with a patient heart, forgives the sins committed before, in order to show His righteousness at the present time, so that people may know He is righteous and also justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, do you know that you are righteous? If you are not sure, saying that today you are righteous and tomorrow you are a sinner is not how it works. You are either righteous or a sinner. In God's eyes, it is impossible to be righteous today and a sinner tomorrow.
The earlier verses specifically tell us that at the present time, God's righteousness is revealed, making people know that their self-righteousness is not righteousness. The righteousness of Jesus is upon you, and those who believe in Jesus are also justified. You are already righteous; this identity has been given to you and will not be taken back. Do not worry; no one can change your identity. Do not let anyone shake your faith or your identity. No matter what others say, you must know that God has declared you righteous. God has given you the righteousness of Jesus, and at all times, you are righteous.
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
What you possess is not self-righteousness but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Always remind yourself that I am righteous in Christ, because Jesus Christ has become sin for me, so that I might become the righteousness of God in Him. When you continually declare that you are righteous, you can overcome the evil in life. This is a power; it is declaring God's words and constantly reminding yourself, thus overcoming sin.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Many people do not understand this verse and say, "If there are people in the church doing these things, will they not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven?" Here it specifically mentions that thieves, the greedy, and drunkards cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Some people have already believed, but their behavior is still like this. What should they do? Can they not enter?
Here, let me briefly share what the kingdom of God is and what heaven is. Jesus did not say that all thieves, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. What is said here means: they cannot inherit the kingdom of God!
Heaven can be understood as paradise. The kingdom of God refers to the place where God reigns. When you have Jesus Christ in your heart, the kingdom of God is in you. Jesus specifically said, "Do not say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." This does not mean that heaven is in your heart.
To put it simply for understanding, heaven can be understood as paradise, but the kingdom of God can be understood as the blessings that come from heaven. We can all enter the kingdom of heaven now; we are people of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ said, "To all who receive Jesus Christ, He gives the right to become children of God." You are now part of God's family, which proves that you are already in heaven. Your body is still on earth, but your identity cannot change.
It is mentioned here: do not be deceived. Whether it is the sexually immoral or Christians who have engaged in sexual immorality, what should they do? They cannot inherit the blessings that come from the kingdom of heaven. What if they have committed idolatry? They will not be able to inherit the blessings that come from the kingdom of heaven, but they are still people of the kingdom of heaven! They have lost the blessings that originally come from the kingdom of heaven and cannot inherit those blessings. The blessings do not come upon them. For those who practice homosexuality, this refers to same-sex relationships. To put it bluntly, even if Christians engage in such actions, it does not mean they will be cast out of heaven. However, they will lose the blessings that God has for them. They could have received many blessings, but because they did these things, they lost those blessings.
Thieves do not mean that after believing in Jesus, if you emphasize not stealing, God will punish you and cast you out of heaven. This is a false teaching! Stealing is because you do not rely on God, do not believe that God can bless you, and resort to improper means. You have lost the blessings that God originally wanted to give you.
Greed is the same. Why be greedy? Because you do not believe that God will bless you, thus losing the abundant blessings that God originally wanted to give you. Drunkards, revilers, and swindlers cannot inherit the kingdom of God, meaning: such people can enter heaven, but on earth, they have lost the blessings that should come from heaven. They may see others being blessed by God, but they themselves do not receive it. The reason lies in their actions. God will not love you less because of your actions or punish you. You could have inherited blessings, but you have blocked them. Does this make sense to everyone?
Paul says: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
It does not mean that these Corinthian believers no longer sin. Paul is telling them that they have been washed by God, sanctified, and justified. They should live out the way they ought to. There is no need to do those things; they just need to look to God to receive blessings. They do not need to satisfy their bodies through immorality because God will provide them with a satisfying wife and a fulfilling family.
You have already been washed, sanctified, and justified. For those who are justified, special blessings from God follow. This is called the kingdom of God! You can inherit the kingdom of God on earth, and you can inherit the blessings that come from the kingdom of heaven. I hope brothers and sisters can understand this. Although we are talking about grace, it does not mean condoning sin. If you sin, God will not punish you, but you will lose the blessings you should have. May we strive to do what Jesus Christ teaches, and God is willing to let us do what we can to receive the 30-fold, 60-fold, and 100-fold blessings from God.
Let's pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. The righteousness of God is something everyone needs, and those who do not believe need the righteousness of God even more. Those who believe in the Lord need to know that we already possess the righteousness of God and no longer rely on self-righteousness or our own efforts to please You. Because You are already pleased with us, You have declared us righteous and holy.
Thank You, Lord. May more people understand the righteousness of God, for the gospel is the revelation of God's righteousness. The righteousness of God is revealed in this gospel, and everyone needs God's righteousness! In the gospel, God's love and mercy are revealed, His abundant blessings are revealed, and His glory is revealed. No matter how we are, You still love us and give us the opportunity to turn back to You.
Many times, when we sin, You still do not abandon us or become angry with us but pour Your mercy upon us, hoping we will turn back and understand Your righteousness in us. Please lead my life today. Help me live a righteous life, a victorious life, giving glory to our Father in heaven. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!