REAL Men RoCK stands for Righteous, Encouraging, Accountable, Loving Men Rely on Christ's Kindness.
I have been in churches where being righteous meant you observed certain rules or kept the 10 Commandments. I have been in churches where the type of music you listened to or did not listen to was part of what made you righteous. I have been in churches where attending church, going to Bible studies and being involved in church activities several times a week were a sign of your righteousness. I have been in churches where nothing you did made you righteous.
What I want to look at in this post is what the Bible has to say about our righteousness.
Let's first look at Romans 3: 10-18
There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God.They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys.
No one’s living right; I can’t find a single one.
Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides.
Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air.
They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don’t know the first thing about living with others.
They never give God the time of day.
I believe Romans 3: 10 makes it fairly clear that none of us on our own is righteous.
So if that is true then what hope is there for any of us? The answer is found later in Romans 3.
21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity, he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
26 This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
Paul makes it clear that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that makes us Righteous. It is not our Righteousness but His that cleanse us from our sin.
I know what some of you are thinking, "Yeah but I have messed up so many times." Surely the Righteousness of Jesus is not mine.
If you are in Jesus then let's let Romans 8 speak to you.
Romans 8: 1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
Does this mean we can keep on sinning? NO! But we will. Is there a point where God will turn away? NO! What we will miss out on are blessings we could have had if we would have stopped trying to win the battle on our own instead of letting the Holy Spirit do our fighting.
I want to encourage you to study this deeper. But most of all I want you to be encouraged that if you believe Jesus is your Savior He has your back and will always be there when you need Him.
