Three Kinds of Righteousness

Imputed, Imparted, and Self

Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

Marsha Deveaux Johnson

 

# 1:  Imputed Righteousness

When you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life a most wonderful thing happens.  You are instantly  translated  into the Kingdom of God. Your human spirit  (the part of you that is God conscious) is instantly changed and desires to follow the truth of God’s word.  Your soul (mind, will, emotions) is positioned to start receiving the truth of God’s word as you read and study it. Your body then has to start doing the Word of God for the new creation life of Christ (2^nd Corinthians 5:17). 

 

Simply because you received Jesus Christ as Savior and subsequent Lord of your life, He releases all the blessings that were purchased for you when He shed His blood on the cross.   You did nothing to earn these blessings, after  accepting Him you did nothing to merit these blessings.  You were simply entitled to these blessings/benefits because He freely gave, imputed, bestowed, graced, and lavished them upon you.  You became a son of the Most-High God (John 1:12, 1^st John 3:2).  You became the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus (2^nd Corinthians 5:21).  Listed below are the primary benefits of this imputed righteousness.

 

·         My past, present, & future sins are forgiven. (Romans 10:9-13)

·         I have the favor of God (Grace). (John 1:16)

·         I have been “imputed” or given righteousness by God through faith in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:9)

·         I have been born a new creation In Christ Jesus. (2^nd Corinthians 5:17)

·         I am redeemed from the Curse. (Galatians Chapter 5)

·         My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27)

·         I spend Eternity with God. (Revelation 21:27)

·         My spirit is now God-conscious & lives under the law of the “Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ”.  (Roman’s 8^th   Chapter)

 

#2:  Imparted Righteousness

After receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life another most wonderful thing begins to happen.  God’s Holy Spirit comes to lead you to the truth of God ‘s word, God’s power, and God’s plan for your life (John 16:13).  The Holy Spirit is the Guide, the Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete called alongside of you to guide you into the God-life (Zoe).  Following the lead of the Holy Spirit brings you to embrace the following truths.

 

·         I am “imparted righteousness” daily as I make right choices and follow God’s word.

·         My soul (mind, will, & emotions) and body are being daily renewed by the practice of the word of God in my life. I am being freed daily from the law of “Sin & Death”. (Roman’s 8^th Chapter)

·         This “daily dying” and constant renewing of my soul and body is led by the Holy Spirit as I yield myself to His guidance.  This is the “Imparted Righteousness” which continually conforms me to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29, 1^st Corinthians 15:31).

 

# 3:  Self-Righteousness

Isaiah 64:6 “…for all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment.. “

 

The third kind of righteousness is sadly a place where some good intended Believers find themselves after  deviating from the imparted righteousness of the Holy Spirit.  A self-righteous person is a person who believes they have higher morals than others, that they are morally superior, and more righteous than others.  Some Believers in an attempt to secure commitment to righteousness for themselves and others,  enter into self-righteousness.  This is a most dangerous place. 

 

We must see what the Word of God says about self-righteousness.  It is in God’s word that we must find out what God thinks of self-righteousness and self-righteous people.

 

First of all, self-righteousness is based in what a person believes about themselves.  They inherently believe that they have spiritual authority in places where they do not have spiritual authority.  Believers have been given spiritual authority over principalities, powers, might, dominion, serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:18-20).  There is no spiritual authority given to Believers over man (Genesis 1:26).  

 

God Himself asks man to come to Him by choice (Revelation 22:17, John 7:37).  Our Father becomes Lord only over a life that has been surrendered to Him.  From the very beginning God knew man would disobey and bring sin into the world. God  allowed this to happen.   Adam’s disobedience brought the fall of man (Genesis Chapter 3).  This fall gave man a choice of who he would serve.  The death of the Son of God placed man in the position to choose to serve God rather than being bound to serve Him and having no choice.   Righteousness Himself (God) gives man a choice.  Self-righteousness demands submission and no choice.

 

Characteristics  of Self-righteousness

The Bible speaks of Spiritual Strongmen (Mark 3:27, Matthew 12:29) that  try to execute authority over man.  The two strongmen that govern self-righteousness are:

 

Spirit of Haughtiness:  A demonic spirit that causes a person or groups of people to display superior attitudes toward others, pride, arrogance, overbearing, and scorn for people they perceive inferior. 

Religious Spirit:   A type of demonic spirit that influences a person or groups of people to replace a genuine relationship with God with works, traditions, and teachings.

(2^nd Corinthians 11:13-14).

 

Characterization of Self-righteous People

Pride, close-mindedness, lacking love for others, hypocrite, know-it-all, make their righteousness known, make their good works known, harsh, can’t be wrong, superior to others, unforgiving, exacting, narrow-minded, lack of patience, value self above all, punitive, negative, and  put down other races (racism)

Proverbs 21:2 (Ways of a man right in his own eyes, God knows the heart)

Proverbs 1:7 (Fools despise wisdom and instruction from God)

Proverbs 10:14 (The wise store knowledge)

Matthew 7:1-5 (Judging others)

Ephesians 2:8-9 (No boasting of self)

Romans 3:10 (No self-righteousness)

Ecclesiastes 7:16 Self-righteous)

When Christians become self-righteous, they step into a role that God never intended for them.  God in the book of Genesis did not give man dominion over another man.  God was very specific in His deliberation of the authority He delegated to man.  It is specified in His word.  When Jesus died on the cross, His death and resurrection extended sonship to every human born into the world.  It was not a mandate to serve Him.  It was an invitation.  Today almost two thousand years afterwards it is still an invitation. 

 

Jesus takes away no one’s right to choose to serve Him.   One dying thief on the cross wanted to follow Him and was granted entry into His kingdom.  The other made no such commitment.  It is critical to understand that the demonic religious spirit takes away a man’s right to choose life or death.  God offers life to every man.  Every man will not choose to receive life nor should he be made to receive it.   A heart change sets a man in right order.  If murder is in a man’s heart, he will murder regardless.  If murder is not in his heart, he will not murder.

 

I have searched God’s word and am Pro/Life -Pro/Choice because I believe that hypocrisy rules when we take away a person’s right to decide for themselves.  God doesn’t take away a man’s free will to sin and neither should self-righteous hypocrites.  His word is clear and does not change.  The wages of sin are death and no one escapes ( Romans 6:23 ).  It is however God’s place to judge and punish (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35) the people He created in His image and likeness.  I believe we should leave the fate of those who commit murder by abortion to the same fate of the liars, whoremongers, idolators, drunks, adulterers, murderers, witchcraft practitioners, homosexuality, haters, racists, fornicators, and all other works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-26).

 

It is our responsibility to reach all sinners in love regardless of their sin.  No sin is more acceptable in God’s eyes than another.  God says all unrighteousness is sin (1^st John 5:17).  It is the ultimate of hypocrisy to scream abortion is sin (it is) and remain silent when racism (also sin) is accepted in its entirety  by those who name the name of Christ.  Because we are not judgers of another man’s servant (Romans 14:4), it is incumbent upon all of us to reach out to make disciples of those who do not know Christ and those who know Him but not in His fullness. 

 

We labor to love and lead others to the One who changes hearts.  A heart change is the only thing that can set a man on the righteousness imparted path led by the Holy Spirit.  Laws will be broken, circumvented, ignored, and changed, but a man’s decision to be Holy Spirit led will  allow him to serve God and make right (Biblical) choices every day of his life.

 

When God instructed me to write this article, this is what He said to me:

“Speak truth to my people and those who receive it will live.  Those who do not receive it will die on the vine.”

 

Ask Father to speak His heart to you.

In Love,

Marsha Deveaux Johnson