Can you think of the richest man you know?

Now, picture this scenario: This rich man has a young son who knows nothing about his father or his father’s wealth. He fends for himself by begging for attention, food, and a place to sleep. He sleeps on the road among the homeless fellows in the city, is so skinny because he never has enough to eat, or does hectic manual labor just to get some money for little daily meals.

Anyone who knows his father’s status would be bewildered to see him in such a state, right?

Legally, this son is the heir to a large amount of wealth, but that doesn’t align with his reality, why? Because he is not aware of his identity as “the rich man’s son.”

This is, most times, the mental state of believers; we are not aware of who we are in Christ, so we live daily as the rest of the world does.

Yesterday, we learned about the transformation that occurred in our hearts at salvation— how we were made new creatures. And today, we are going to learn how this new identity we have in Christ should reflect in our character and conduct.

To do this, the first truth we need to establish is that our identity in Christ is not earned by works but has been bestowed upon us through faith in Christ. The Bible makes this clear in:

Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9
New King James Version
8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Salvation comes by believing in the finished work of Christ on Calvary— believing that Jesus lived, died, and rose all because of you, and when he died, your sins died with Him. Once you believe this, you are saved.

Your work can never save you— nothing you do can ever be enough. No amount of living right, doing good, helping the elderly, or gifting to charity can wash away your sins, only your faith in Christ can.

‭‭This is what the Apostle Paul emphasises in this text —salvation is by faith, and it is the gift of God. No one can ever boast that their work saved them because it can’t.

Now, there is something amazing and life-changing that salvation inputs in us —Righteousness.

You need to understand that you were deep in sin and unable to help yourself.

In fact, you were disconnected from God, unable to help yourself.

Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭
New King James Version‬‬
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

The Bible says this was our case; we were deep in sin, conducting ourselves according to our fleshy lust, doing as we were led by our sinful nature.

Righteousness is having the right standing with God. So, you need to understand that in this sinful state, you were in enmity with God, guilty before God. You were deep in sin with no way out.

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭
New King James Version
1 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

‭‭In this text, we can see that the Jews tried to gain righteousness by their many works, but Paul calls that “their own righteousness.” They didn’t submit to God’s righteousness. He says Christ brought an end to trying to attain righteousness by the law and now righteousness is imputed to anyone who has faith in him.

Romans 6:6 & 14
New King James Version
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Your old self– sinful nature– was crucified with Christ, a once-for-all event. Christ finished the process on the cross, and as a result, Paul says sin has no power over us.

What is the implication of this?

The man in Christ is free from sin. He is not a sinner! This is your reality. The Bible declares you free in Christ! This means that you are justified! You are no longer guilty in the sight of God. You won’t be condemned.

This is what being the righteousness of God means.

Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭10‬ ‭
New King James Version
10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

God has draped us in his righteousness at salvation, meaning that primarily, our right standing with God is not in our ability to abstain from sin but a gift as a result of Christ’s sacrifice.

‭‭But it doesn’t just stop there; you have the job to walk in this righteousness.

Although your works can’t give you salvation, you have been called to good works because of the salvation you have received. If you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, it has to show in your character, conduct and actions.

You cannot live a life that isn’t harmonious with who you are on the inside. Unlike the rich man’s son in our analogy, your outward expression must be influenced by who you are on the inside: your identity in Christ.

We are not just to declare that we have righteousness in Christ and stop there, it must show in our actions. We must do the work to bridge the gap between our legal position(who you are in Christ) and our daily experience(your actions and conduct).

And what is this action that we must do?

How do we set our affections and walk worthy?

The Bible answers this in:

Galatians 5:16
New King James Version
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

This is the way to set your affections— walking by the Spirit.

Living as the righteousness of God involves daily surrender to the Holy Spirit, allowing His guidance to shape your thoughts, words, and actions so you can reflect Christ in every aspect of your life.

God has not abandoned you to carry out these good works on your own; He has placed in you a mechanism by which, day by day, you are led to conform and transform your mind and actions to fit into His standards. This process is what is called sanctification—a work that is ongoing in every believer by the Spirit.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭25‬
New King James Version
22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

As you walk daily, led by the Spirit, you begin to see these fruits birthed in you. You would begin to act with love in all your conducts, stirring up joy from your inside daily and disciplining yourself to endure, to be gentle and to control your flesh— subjecting it to the Spirit. This is how a man of the Spirit walks daily, showing forth the fruits of the Spirit.

The only way you can live a life that shows your identity in Christ is by yielding to the Spirit.

Therefore, from today henceforth, you must make a decision to yield to the Spirit daily so that He can transform you from the inside out. Engage the Spirit on your inside through prayer and the Word and see your conduct and actions to align with His will and plan for your life. And, you would begin doing the right things and show fruits that are becoming of a follower of Christ.

Prayer Point: From today, it is evident in my life that I have been saved and transformed. I will no longer live a life of contradiction. I am helped by the Spirit. I allow His guidance to shape my thoughts, words, and actions, and I reflect Christ in every aspect of my life.