Authentic – Part 1 – Righteous Lifestyle

WARM-UP

People often look for the AUTHENTIC stuff.  When we see our friends wearing jewelry, we usually think, “Is that authentic? Is that genuine?” If people wear branded shirt, we ask them if it’s original or authentic or just Triple A quality.  When we’re craving for a certain kind of food, we often go to restaurants that serve the authentic dish that we’re looking for.  Do you know that the same thing happens to us when we claim that we’re Christians? People around us are thinking, “Are they AUTHENTIC or not?” They observe us if we’re consistent to what we claim to be.

ONE BIG  IDEA

We need to be able to WALK THE WALK CONSISTENTLY than we can TALK THE TALK.

 STUDY (Romans 6:13 ESV)

“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

LEARN

We need to understand that God has called ALL OF US to a righteous life. There is no higher compliment that can be paid to a Christian, than to call him a “Righteous person”. He or she may be a passionate church worker, a conscientious parent, a faithful tither, a talented leader; but none of these things matter if, at the same time the person is not a righteous person. An authentic Christian is one who HUNGERS and THIRSTS for righteousness. Jesus calls these believers blessed. He also promises that He will fill those, and give us all of our desires if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. If we desire to live a righteous life, we have to study and live out the ELEMENTS OF GOD and RIGHTEOUSNESS.

ELEMENTS OF GOD

A.Godlike in Character (1 Peter 1:16)

Dove soap once claimed that it is made of moisturizing cream.

It is very happy to state that it is 99.44% pure. Pretty good by man’s standards, however, this would be an unacceptable statement about God. God is 100% Holy and Righteous; there is not one stain on His character.

To live a RIGHTEOUS LIFE, one would have to pursue a HOLY LIFE. I say pursue, because it is impossible for us to be 100% pure this side of heaven. That is why we must pursue to live a life that resembles God. God has set the standard. Peter tells us that we have been called to live a Holy Life. Any believer who is content, to live a life of their choosing, is missing the blessing of being an authentic Christian. Nowadays, there are plenty of ways Satan uses to attack our hearts to do damage to it. We live in a world that is destroying the sacred things. We need to know that our hearts have protection from Satan’s attacks. Only Christ’s righteousness as a breastplate is strong enough to protect our heart and life!

1. Godlike in Action (Hebrews 4:15)

What is Righteousness? It is simply defined as “Doing what is right! Without sin!” Now granted, we will never reach such a goal this side of heaven, however, it should be our goal in life, our supreme objective.

John said in (1 John 2:1). Most Christians seem content of not sinning very much but we should aim for not sinning at all. We tend to compare ourselves with those around us. We say, “I am more righteous than that person”, “I am a stronger believer then she is”, “I go to church more than him.” Comparing ourselves to other people will only result to us coming short of God’s standard. Our goal is not to look or act like other believers, but to look and act like Jesus Christ!

ELEMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

A.Convictions to live by (Romans 12:2)

The process of renewing our mind involves establishing new convictions. As we expose ourselves to the Word of God, as we allow the Holy Spirit to rule our lives, our minds will be transformed.

When God created the human body, he wired us in ways that confuse engineers. When we put our hand over an open flame, there is an alarm that goes off in our head that shouts, “HOT!” Our natural reaction is then to pull our hand away from the flame. The result is that we have prevented injury. Pain is a sign that things are not right. If there was no pain, like the flame felt pleasurable, then the skin on our hand would melt right off. Conviction is used in the same way. When we want to do something outside the parameters that God has laid out for us, the Holy Spirit says, “HOT!” “DON’T DO IT!” This is all done to protect us from spiritual injury. If we do not yield to our convictions, Spiritual destruction is for certain!

We develop convictions by spending time with God. Through daily devotion, prayer time, reading His Bible, fellowshipping with other believers, and going to church, these convictions are developed over time. As soon as you are convicted about one area that God has been dealing with you on, God will show you another area that does not look like Him.

1. Obedience to God (Psalm 119:4)

Someone once said: “A belief is what you hold, a conviction is what hold you!” A conviction is not a conviction unless you live by what you claim to believe. There has to be a commitment there. We cannot pick and choose what we want to believe and what we do not.

Stealing a small amount of money is just as much sin as robbing a bank An unforgiving spirit toward someone else is just as much sin as murder. This is not to say that all sin is equally offensive to God, however, all sin is offensive to God.

1. Discipline of my will (Titus 2:11-12)

To experience a righteous lifestyle, we must look at the DAILY CHOICES we make. Everyday, we are asked to live up to our convictions – to obey them or not. The choices we make on a daily basis will make or break our “Authentic Christian Life.” Not only saying NO to TEMPTATION, but saying YES to the POSITIVE STEPS that will draw us closer to God. Discipline is putting off MOMENTARY GRATIFICATION, for a LASTING SATISFACTION at a later moment. Being a disciplined Christian means putting off the momentary pleasures of sin, and having an eternal reward later.

1. Dependence on the Holy Spirit

We need to understand that we are both PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE and TOTALLY DEPENDENT in our pursuit of righteousness. We cannot change our hearts. That is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit. However, we need to avail ourselves of the means that He uses. Change is one thing. Even an unsaved person can change for the better. That is why there are a lot of nice people out there who think they are going to work their way to heaven. However, only the Holy Spirit can transform us from within, with new values and new desires. Acknowledging this will enable us to look for the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

1. God-centered desire

God does not honor self-centered desires. This is the one reason we do not experience God’s transforming power in our lives on a daily basis. God does not give us power so we can feel good about ourselves. He gives us power so we can obey Him for His sake, for His glory. The measure of sin is not how it made me feel, but how it makes God feel. Sin is a serious issue we must face if we are to be Authentic Christians. It is serious to God. We need to look at sin as something that grieves the heart of God. If we are going to live Authentic Christian Lives, we need to be REAL.

Grow:

Application Questions:

1.What is the most important thing that you’ve learned about being an authentic Christian?  How will you show to others that you really are an authentic Christian? Do they see in Christ in your life?

2.If someone told you it is ok to sin because, after all, God has to forgive you, how would you respond? 

3.Think of one sin that you really struggle with. What steps are you taking to deal with the sin so that you can be free from it and live a righteous life?

 PRAY FOR EACH OTHER IN YOUR GROUP