Faith Without Measure
Faith Without Measure
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMPC)
21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [[a]endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].
If you made a list showing all the things you are believing for, how long would that list be? And, if you spent time reviewing the list, would your faith be greater or smaller after you went over each item? Perhaps smaller because the list in its entirety seems overwhelming. A well-known minister of the gospel recently shared a message entitled “Faith for Everything.” The title sounds almost too good to be true. But after looking at your list, wouldn’t it be nice to cut to the chase and simply have faith for everything?
According to this minister that is quite doable. He says the key is found in what we focus our faith on. Our focus should be on the gift of righteousness that God has given us; perhaps it is the greatest gift (after Jesus) that we have ever been given by our Heavenly Father. Sadly, much of the Church either doesn’t know what righteousness is, or, does know what it is means, but does not believe it enough to receive all that it promises. Righteousness means “right-standing with God.” A term frequently used when discussing righteousness is “justify.” It means to remove all guilt. Together they mean being right with God because all guilt has been removed from our record. This perfectly describes what Jesus did on the Cross. He took our sins on Himself to absolve us of our guilt before God. One definition of justify is “just as if I never sinned.” Think how our faith would soar if we really believed that.
This minister notes that faith is mentioned 20 times in connection to righteousness in the New Testament. Surprisingly, faith is mentioned only four times in connection to salvation in the New Testament. He says that fact indicates where we are to focus our faith. Why the emphasis on righteousness? Because that is where the enemy attacks us most frequently – questioning our relationship with God. He is all too happy to remind us daily of all the ways we have failed, why we are unworthy before God. Everyday there are circumstances shouting at us reminding us all the places we missed it. We constantly need to be reminded that our righteousness is not because of how good we are but rather because of how good God is.
Matthew 6:33 is confirmation of everything this minister shared: The NASB 1995 translation says, “33 But [a]seek first [b]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [c]added to you.” When we focus on God’s righteousness (which He has freely given to us), we are reminded what a good heavenly Father we have. Resting in that knowledge places us in a position to receive “all these things.” That’s GRACE, and it is indeed AMAZING! 
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