"CHRISTLIKENESS FROM WITHIN"

“and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—“

Philippians 3:9

Being a Christian isn’t all about modifying one’s behavior to suit the standards of a certain religious group. This is where many people get confused. They think that if they behave this way or that way, they will earn God’s favor and secure a place in heaven. They fail to understand the reality that external behavior is only a result of an internal transformation. In other words, change on the outside is only a result of a change on the inside. 

Being a Christian starts from the heart. That’s because our corruption as fallen beings originated from within us. Sin is the problem, and unless we deal with our sin problem first, our good behavior will not do us any good in God’s sight.

Paul finally understood this truth when he encountered Jesus Christ and committed his life to Him. He used to rely on self-righteousness by adhering to the Old Testament Law and Jewish tradition. He was the premier persecutor of Christians, thinking that he was serving God when he was actually working against Him. Only when he realized the futility of his self-righteousness did he finally come to a saving faith in Christ.

Paul looked at himself and his efforts to gain God’s approval and saw nothing but bankruptcy. He was utterly helpless. When he looked at Christ and His sinless perfection, Paul knew that only Jesus could help him. This is the kind of faith necessary for sinners like you and me to truly get saved. It’s when we see ourselves falling short of Jesus’ righteousness do we gain self-awareness and a chance at redemption.

Faith makes the impossible possible. We can’t earn God’s favor and guarantee a spot in heaven. But when we understand our sinfulness and trust Jesus for our salvation, God forgives our sins and credits Christ’s righteousness to our account (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 3:24-26). This is how God gives us inner healing (Isaiah 53:5).

What comes after is the Holy Spirit’s work of making us more Christlike. As a result of our submission to Christ, God produces genuinely good things in us, also known as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Now good works resulting from a loving personal relationship with Jesus Christ are the true God-honoring fruits.

It is inevitable for a Christian to be Christlike because the root of the problem has already been taken away. Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness. This is Christlikeness from within and God gets all the credit, not us.

Pursue the Saviour today!