<html><head></head><body><div><div><div>Romans 10;5-9<div><br></div><div><b>5. &nbsp;Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it.</b></div><div><b>6. &nbsp;But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is to bring Christ down)&nbsp;</b></div><div><b>7. &nbsp;or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).</b></div><div><b>8. &nbsp;But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach);</b></div><div><b>9. &nbsp;because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Two kinds of righteousness are being examined here; <i>“ the righteousness which is based upon the law”</i><br><div>and <i>“the righteousness based on faith.”</i></div><div><br></div><div>Only one man was ever able to perfectly keep the law in both His flesh and in His spirit, Jesus.</div><div>He, perfectly kept the law of God and was Himself perfectly righteous.</div><div><br></div><div>The rest of us share in that perfect righteousness of God&nbsp;only by faith in Jesus, and Him indwelling us.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;We of ourselves have not the power to keep the law of God. &nbsp;We, who believe and are baptized, who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism, we now as the workmanship of God have a new existence in Christ. &nbsp;We are <i>“created in Christ.” </i>This is the <i>“inner man” </i>Paul refers to.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;By God’s grace, our ‘<i>inner man”&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;desires and wills to do God’s will, but&nbsp;the flesh (still infected by&nbsp;the law of sin),&nbsp;cannot keep the law, the flesh cannot create its’ own righteousness. &nbsp;Outward human acts of righteousness apart from Christ, done in human strength&nbsp;are not perfect in the sight of God, they are&nbsp;counterfeit&nbsp;righteousness, an offense to God.<i></i></div><div><br></div><div>Asking, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ is the wrong question. &nbsp;It&nbsp;implies that heaven is achieved by human efforts. &nbsp;We, by our own power do not ‘ascend ourselves into heaven.’&nbsp; But, we will be lifted into heaven by the grace and glory of God. &nbsp;Heaven itself has really already&nbsp;come down to us&nbsp;by the Word.&nbsp;<span></span></div><div><br></div><div>Paul teaches, <i>“The word is near you, on your lips, and in your heart” &nbsp;</i>that <i>“Word” </i>&nbsp;is Jesus. &nbsp;With Him and in Him, we are partakers&nbsp;of His own righteousness. Our&nbsp;lips and heart belong to God, they by His grace,&nbsp;speak according to the born-anew&nbsp;new nature created in baptism. &nbsp;They are God’s instruments, they are&nbsp;no longer ‘ours.’ &nbsp;What ever the new man does is truly God’s doing.</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Righteousness is a spiritual state of existence, not a human achievement. &nbsp;When we live out the <i>“obedience of the faith,” </i>we do it IN and WITH&nbsp;Christ and Christ IN us. &nbsp;Such righteousness is the display and manifestation of Christ indwelling us. &nbsp;It is&nbsp;not a human&nbsp;creation or achievement, but a display of the gift of faith and the new Life&nbsp;which God has worked in us.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we rejoice in You and in the Word of Life come to us in Christ by the Spirit.</div><div>Deliver us from seeking to ’create’ counterfeit righteousness by human strength, and bless us to believe in the righteousness already made our own as we are in Christ and He is in us. In a Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing children, are His.”</div><div><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>

Romans 10;5-9
5.  Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it.6.  But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is to bring Christ down) 7.  or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8.  But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach);9.  because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Two kinds of righteousness are being examined here; “ the righteousness which is based upon the law”
and “the righteousness based on faith.”
Only one man was ever able to perfectly keep the law in both His flesh and in His spirit, Jesus.He, perfectly kept the law of God and was Himself perfectly righteous.
The rest of us share in that perfect righteousness of God only by faith in Jesus, and Him indwelling us. 
 We of ourselves have not the power to keep the law of God.  We, who believe and are baptized, who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism, we now as the workmanship of God have a new existence in Christ.  We are “created in Christ.” This is the “inner man” Paul refers to. 
 By God’s grace, our ‘inner man”  desires and wills to do God’s will, but the flesh (still infected by the law of sin), cannot keep the law, the flesh cannot create its’ own righteousness.  Outward human acts of righteousness apart from Christ, done in human strength are not perfect in the sight of God, they are counterfeit righteousness, an offense to God.
Asking, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ is the wrong question.  It implies that heaven is achieved by human efforts.  We, by our own power do not ‘ascend ourselves into heaven.’  But, we will be lifted into heaven by the grace and glory of God.  Heaven itself has really already come down to us by the Word. 
Paul teaches, “The word is near you, on your lips, and in your heart”  that “Word”  is Jesus.  With Him and in Him, we are partakers of His own righteousness. Our lips and heart belong to God, they by His grace, speak according to the born-anew new nature created in baptism.  They are God’s instruments, they are no longer ‘ours.’  What ever the new man does is truly God’s doing.
 Righteousness is a spiritual state of existence, not a human achievement.  When we live out the “obedience of the faith,” we do it IN and WITH Christ and Christ IN us.  Such righteousness is the display and manifestation of Christ indwelling us.  It is not a human creation or achievement, but a display of the gift of faith and the new Life which God has worked in us.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we rejoice in You and in the Word of Life come to us in Christ by the Spirit.Deliver us from seeking to ’create’ counterfeit righteousness by human strength, and bless us to believe in the righteousness already made our own as we are in Christ and He is in us. In a Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing children, are His.”
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