On Red Church today, Joseph Z and Pastor Josh teach about maturity in righteousness, and what we can do to mature in the righteousness of God. They started with the word of God taken from the Book of Hebrews 5:1-11, which highlights the compassion of God on those who are ignorant and going astray; while also acknowledging the priestly call of our Lord Jesus. Joseph points out how obedient Christ remained through the pains and suffering he bore for our sake; highlighting this virtue as a quality every Christian must possess. Josh supports this, recalling his experience as a missionary, and how he walked in the obedience of God even when the journey became difficult.
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Moving forward, Joseph makes us understand that through obedience, Christ became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him. He clarifies that obedience means aligning with God’s words, calling, and promises. He also points out that believers can become dull, and the only way to avoid this dullness is by praying in the spirit and reading the word of God until it starts talking back to us. On the other hand, Josh brings to our understanding that having a revelational knowledge of God’s forgiveness makes us remain compassionate toward those around us. As well, Joseph urges us to hate what God hates, and love what God loves; we can only know what God hates and loves through His word.
In like manner, Josh points out the importance of gazing upon the Lord instead of gazing upon our sins. Further, Joseph informs us that being unskilled in the righteousness of God makes us lose our identity in Christ Jesus, but being skilled in righteousness is having a grasp of the gift God gave us through Christ Jesus, and also identifying with it. Josh also echoes his support for this, revealing that wearing the righteousness of God erases the need to do more, and try harder, but rather rest in the finished work of Christ for us.
More importantly, Joseph explains that we can not move God with our fasting and our righteous deeds because God has already granted us His righteousness through His son’s death on the cross; that is to say, we can not earn our righteousness because we’re unworthy. What God expects from us is to receive the righteousness He has already paid for us through His son Jesus. Pastor Josh concludes with a prayer, asking that God reveals himself to those who are yet to accept the righteousness He offered us through His son Jesus, so that we may all encounter the goodness of God in our lives.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
04:16 Hebrews 5:1-6
07:04 Christ: A Priest Forever in Melchizedek’s Order
08:23 Obedience: Necessary Virtue for Loving God
12:29 Understanding Obedience in Christ
14:47 Dullness of Believers
17:02 How to Hear the Voice of God
20:40 Understanding Compassion
22:46 Righteousness: Meaning
28:47 What Righteousness is Not
41:55 Prayer & Conclusion