For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment - Isaiah 64:6
In this Hebrew month, that represents the, “Righteous One”, we’ve been invited to an Identity Reveal Party! A party for two so that we can come to know who we really are and the riches of His glory through His righteousness which was already ours from the moment we said, “YES,” to Him. May we be the generation who not only knows who we are in Christ but who does great exploits for our God.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
If we have been born again by the Spirit of God, we are a new creature in Christ. He is our covering, our glory - the glory that was lost by Adam and Eve in the garden when they disobeyed. We no longer need to hang onto those fig leaves of self-righteousness because our righteousness, our identity, is found in Him alone.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help. - Job 29:14
A struggle occurs when we try to live as Christ-like ones, but hang on to our old nature based on self-righteousness. The identity we embrace is the one we will live out of. We can’t live out of two ideals at the same time. That is why Paul wrote,
Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing indeed: Forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the things ahead. - Philippians 3:13
Self-righteousness is a deceiving foe. It causes us to focus on our outward actions. We feed it when we do well, but when we fail, we enter into self-pity. Either one is a trap to draw attention to self and performance. Jesus warns us of the dangers of self-righteousness.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. - Matthew 5:20
… having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. - 2 Timothy 3:5
May we never forget who we are and in pressing into this, we make our Father proud!
I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. - Isaiah 61:10