“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

We all have those moments where we are convinced we will never become the man or woman that God wants us to be. We all struggle with the evil thoughts that creep up on us and fill our minds. We have all said to ourselves, “righteousness is out of my reach!” Well, I want to share something very important with you today: When you put your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you are made righteousness. There are no two ways about it; that is who you are! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (as well as most of chapters 3 & 4 in the book of Romans) explains to us that Christ is the one who makes us righteous. And if he did the work, then you can be guaranteed that work is done!

So, what are we to do with those evil thoughts? Well, those are what I like to view as the flaming darts of our enemy, Satan. In Ephesians chapter 6, Scripture explains the armor of God to us. Two important pieces of that armor are the shield of faith and the breastplate of righteousness. You see, the point of the flaming darts from Satan is to make us believe that we are still the same old evil person we always were. The only protection from that attack is to remember faith in Christ has made us righteous; we are not the same old evil person we used to be. We are a new creation in Christ! So, remember, those evil thoughts are not you. They come from outside of you. They are the enemy hoping to thwart the great work that God is doing in you. Remember, you are righteous through your faith in Christ. No evil thought Satan can throw at you will ever change that because Christ is the one who accomplished it!

Heavenly Father, let us always be mindful of the work that You have done in us through Jesus. Give us the wisdom and clarity to see the attacks from the enemy as the dirty lies they are. Give us confidence in the work that Jesus has accomplished.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon