~ The Only True Goodness You Possess Is
That Which Is From God ~
Overview Scripture ~ “For
you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness,
righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:8-11).
Series Scripture ~ “But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is
no law. 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” (Galatians 5:22-25). It is
important to note that while this passage lists nine fruits of the Spirit it is
not a complete list—which includes “all
goodness, righteousness, and truth” as seen above in Ephesians 5.
Comment ~ All
religions of the world, except one, are based on works—performance, and the
goodness of one’s life. They are religions
of “do” versus Christianity which is based on “done” by Jesus Christ on the Cross
of Calvary. On the Cross He said “It (the
basis of our salvation) is finished!”
Natural Man
~ The key question is where do
you look for goodness? In your own performance
and from within? Or, do you realize the
truth of Scripture that no human is inherently good. When a person accepts the free gift of
salvation then God sees that person covered with the righteousness of His Son
Jesus Christ.
“As it is written: ‘There is
none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none
who seeks after God. They have all
turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their
tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction
and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ Now we know that whatever the law says, it
says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. Therefore
by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:10-20).
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
Be an insider! Sign up for his author NEWSLETTER and receive occasional
news and special offers. His books have
won national and international literary awards.
Subscribe today and receive a welcome gift. Your
email will never be sold, given, or used in any other way. You can easily unsubscribe at any time.
NOTES:
(1) The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very
bottom of this home page.
(2) There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by
scrolling down the left column.
(3) You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own
blog or website.
(4) You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by
prominently displaying the following statement: Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free
blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid
Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/
.
