Religion (even Christianity…there I said it) has presented a
God who is hungrily seeking to be appeased more like a “worship-maniac” kind of
God (a God that craves for worship). It has presented a God who is full of
wrath carrying a big humongous baton (chikwapu…remember that when we were kids?)
anxiously waiting for somebody to make a mistake so He can whip them. This is
why we have religious people who are trying hard, sweating blood, to build their
own righteousness by their good works (self-righteousness master builders) in order
to appease a higher power so He should spare them the big rod. Isaiah 64:6 has
the best description of this type of righteousness; it says our best deeds of
rightness and justice are as filthy rags or a polluted garment [For we have all become like one who is unclean
[ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of
rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade
like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God's
favor, hurrying us toward destruction] – Isaiah 64:6 (AMP))]
. This means that if we are to please God by our good deeds (which are as
filthy rags) then God has to be automatically angry with us because our own
righteousness stinks before Him. Well the
topic here is not “how stinky is your righteousness” but “God is not angry with
you” so let’s focus on that.
Now that we have established that our righteousness is as
filthy rags before God then don’t we deserve that God to be angry with us? Oh totally!!!
we deserve every cubit of anger from Him every second of our lives (24/7
partakers of God’s wrath). In His foreknowledge, God knew that our
righteousness will always fail us and that we will need a righteousness of
someone else who is perfect so God prepared a Lamb (Jesus) to be sacrificed. Jesus
came as an expression of how much God loves us not an expression of how much
God is angry with us. Whilst we deserved
all the storehouses of God’s wrath (anger) to be poured on us, Jesus deserved
all the storehouses of God’s Love to be poured out on Him for He pleased God [Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well
pleased – Luke 3:22].
Whilst we deserved to die an eternal death [For the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23], Jesus had eternal
life. Jesus’ sacrificial death brought so many spiritual implications (seriously,
why would someone with eternal life die? Doesn’t that make God crazy? He must
have been crazily in love with someone I guess).
On the cross, Jesus
stood in our place to take what we deserve so we can have what we deserve. So
the wrath (anger) that was supposed to be poured out on us was poured out on
Him (Jesus) so that the LOVE that was supposed to be poured out on Jesus should
be heavily poured out on us (more like standing on a waterfall of His Love) [Romans 5:8-9]. On the cross, God was
punishing Christ so we can be restored to Him [It
was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to
favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses
[but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of
the restoration to favor) – 2 Corinthians 5:19 (AMP)]. On the cross
God was exchanging our ragged (sticky) righteousness with the perfect
righteousness of Christ (righteousness that pleases God) [For
he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
– 2 Corinthians 5:21].
By believing in Christ, we have attained
the Righteousness of Christ (the right standing of Christ before God) meaning before
God we stand as righteous as Christ (we stand as Christ). So as God said to
Christ “Thou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased” He is saying the
same thing to us (can you hear Him saying that? Oh He is so sweet). With this
Righteousness we have attained in Christ, there’s no reason big enough (even if
you search the whole universe) for God to be angry with you because to do that
He has to be angry with Christ first (we know that can’t happen). It is too late
for God not to love you. The Bible says
on 1 Corinthians 5:17 [If any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new.], notice that it says “Be in Christ” as a present state meaning
every day you are becoming a new creature (God is constantly upgrading you in
Christ). So did you sin yesterday or before reading this article? Well God is
not mad at you (He’s not going to strike you with leprosy or something). If you are being in Christ, He is renewing
you (new creature) and the old thing are passed away now just put on this NEW
man [And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness – Ephesians 4:24] (also read Colossians
3:10). God is not angry with you even when you sin. Some may say “are you
saying we can sin since God won’t be angry with us?” Well I forgive your religious mentality.
Anyways, just try putting on the new man in Ephesians 4:24 and see if you will
have the appetite to sin. Again I tell thee Relax, God is not angry with thee.
Other Reference scriptures: Philippians
3:9, Ephesians 2:3-7, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Word!
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