The pastor's son John Wesley also had great problems with this, although he read the Bible in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He went to the Indians in America as a missionary. On a voyage home from America to England, his ship got caught in a bad storm. He was afraid for his life. There were other Christians on board, but they sang songs of faith and praised God in the middle of the storm. John Wesley thought, what have they did what I did not do?

That's why he went to their church in London. There he heard a lecture on justification by faith, which Martin Luther had written as an introduction to the Letter to the Romans. There he realised that we are saved by God's grace, which we can accept in faith.

Previously, John Wesley had struggled because he tried to earn God's grace through his good works. It was only there in this church that his eyes were opened to the fact that he was already saved because he trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour. That made him overjoyed. He later founded the Methodist Church.

What was his problem? John Wesley wanted to obey God in his own strength. He thought he had to earn eternal life. This attitude is tedious, exhausting and never brings peace. Nor does it get us anywhere. This shows us that you can be a great Bible scholar and still be completely wrong on a basic topic.

Sin is the opposite of „righteousness“ We are all sinners, everyone without exception. Paul writes in Romans 3:10: „There is no one who is just, not even one.“

As the first humans - our ancestors - transgressed his law out of mistrust of God, they were banished from paradise. This was the consequence one Sin. This shows us that there is no access to the kingdom of God for sinners, i.e. for the unrighteous, even if it were only a sin. If God were to allow this, then sin and all its consequences would remain for all eternity. God would then have perpetuated evil for all and forever. God does not want that. And of course we don't want that either. Because „but we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth according to his promise, in which righteousness dwells“ (2 Peter 3:13). That is why God requires everyone who wants to enter the kingdom of God to keep his rules. Only those who live in full harmony with God's rules can come close to him. But unfortunately, things look bad for us. God's word says in Isaiah 64:5 „all our righteousness is like a stained garment“ (EN Isaiah 64:6).

But there was one who also lived perfectly obediently as a human being. The only righteous one is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:8.9 says of the Son: „God, your throne endures from eternity to eternity, and the sceptre of Justice is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, O God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness like none of your equals.“

This was already predicted in the messianic promises about Christ: „And this will be his name by which he will be called: The Lord our righteousness.“ (Jeremiah 3:23, cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; see on Messianic prophecies Andreasbriefe 1 u and 8).

He wrote in Romans 1:16-17: „Because I am ashamed of the Gospel not; for it is the power of God that saves all who believe in it, the Jews first and also the Greeks, for in it (in the Gospel) is revealed the righteousness that is before God, which is by faith in faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.“

The gospel is a Power of God, which makes all who believe in it blessed. What is the main thing about the gospel that saves us? Answer: That we can become God's children. John shows us how we can become children of God.

John 1:12, 13 GNB: „But all of them, who took him in and believed him, He gave them the right to become children of God. They do not become children through natural birth or human will and action, but because God gives them a new life.“ („Born of God“ LU)

Before this important statement, John shows us who Jesus is, whose acceptance into our lives is at stake:

Verse 1: God (God was the word), Verse 3: Creator (all things are made by the same), Verse 4: Giver of life (Life was in him). When we recognise who Jesus is, we realise that he will only come into our lives if we give him dominion in our lives.

In verses 12 and 13, which we have just read, we have the biblical passage that shows us most clearly how we become God's children: It is about accepting Jesus into our lives, trusting him and receiving new life through him. It is incredible: our God, our creator, our giver of life wants to connect his life with our lives. He wants to live his life in and through us. Then his righteousness applies to me. It is clear that there is no better life for me than to live under his guidance. He is love, he is omnipotent, omniscient. He wants me to have the new life here, a life in abundance (John 10:10) and eternal life in glory (1 Peter 5:10).

But John also shows us that there were such foolish people who preferred to determine their own lives. He says in John 1:11: „He came into his own, and his own did not receive him.“ Unfortunately, this problem is also present in the church at the end of time, because Jesus says in Revelation 3:20: „Behold, I stand before the [Heart]door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and take communion with him, and he with me.“

New life follows from receiving Jesus and thus, step by step, a new lifestyle. In a conversation with the theologian Nicodemus, Jesus explained to us in very different words and terms how we receive this new life. It is good if we look at these important questions in different ways.

John 3:3: Jesus answered and said to him: „Verily, verily, I say to you, unless someone born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.“

Jesus repeated this in other words: John 3:5: „Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.“

John 3:6,7: „That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I have told you: You must be born again.“

This refers to biblical baptism by immersion. We read about this in Romans 6:3, 4:

„Or do you not know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? For we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.“

Biblical baptism by immersion is therefore intended to show that our old man has been buried with Christ and that the new man has risen with Christ. The following is therefore required for baptism, that I have given up my old life by trustingly surrendering my life with all that I am and have to Jesus and thereby being resurrected with him to new life. It means that I have accepted Jesus as my Saviour and Lord and let him rule my life from now on. Ideally, you decide to take this fundamental step before being baptised, and the symbolic act of water baptism demonstrates this publicly. Unfortunately, I myself only took this step years after my baptism.

For a better understanding, here are Jesus' thoughts from Luke 9:23-25: „Then he said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Because who be life, he will lose it; but he who be He who loses life for my sake will keep it.
For what use would it be to man if he were to gain the whole world and lose himself or suffer damage to himself?“

Jesus explains that our Succession a daily affair is. Our whole life is subject to the daily rhythm of 24 hours. In modern terms, we can say that we are „programmed daily“. We eat and drink daily, we exercise daily, we sleep daily and the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:16 „the inner man is renewed from day to day“.

It is also about renewing our surrender to Jesus every morning with all that we are and have, and praying for and receiving the Holy Spirit daily with a promise. When we pray with a promise, we know that we have been heard (1 John 5:14, 15; 2 Peter 1:4). This helps us to firmly believe that it has happened.

What does „denying oneself" mean? “ It means saying to your own ego: You no longer have control over my life. Jesus is now my Lord.

What does it mean to take up your cross? It means the same, but with the addition that I also accept hardships, problems and disadvantages for the sake of faith.

It is easy for us to submit our will to God's will when we trust in God's love and pray every morning: Lord, make me willing to do whatever you want (Hebrews 13:21).

Jesus makes it very clear that we give up our own selfish plans and desires as we daily receive him into ourselves through his Spirit and allow him to counsel and guide us. Is there a better exchange? NO! It is incredible what the grace of God does for us.

Doesn't Jesus' expectation that I give up my own life go too far? From a human, selfish point of view, a lot is being demanded here.

But fortunately, God does not deal with us according to these human criteria. God's motivation for inviting us to fully surrender to Jesus is his love. Christ gave his life completely for us out of an incomprehensible love. And he asks us to entrust our lives completely to him so that he can make us happy for this life and for eternal life. He wants to give us a life of fullness here (John 10:10) and a life of glory in the kingdom of God (2 Timothy 2:10).

The Bible compares our relationship with Jesus to marriage (cf. Ephesians 5:32). Let's think of marriage: at a wedding, the bride entrusts her entire life to her groom and vice versa. This is a matter of course for lovers. Nobody sees it as a demand. No one would get married if their partner wanted to reserve one day of the week for a fling.

Love gives itself completely and expects the same from others. It is so important for us to realise that God's actions towards us are determined by pure divine love.

The main point of the gospel is to have the new life. It is about being born again by surrendering or giving our lives to Jesus Christ and by „the renewal in the Holy Spirit“: Being born of water therefore refers to the surrender of our life to Jesus; it is witnessed through baptism.

The term „Spirit“ refers to renewal and transformation by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:4.5 HFA explains:

„But then the goodness of God, our deliverer, and his love for us humans became visible. He saved us - not because we had done anything to deserve his love, but out of sheer goodness. In his mercy, he made us into new people through a new birth, which is like a cleansing bath. This is what the Holy Spirit did.“

(LU „…through the bath of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit“)

Also in Romans 8:1,2 the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is mentioned: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit who gives life in Christ Jesus, has set you free from the law of sin and death.

When we are born again, we are „in Christ“. Those who are „in Christ“ are already living in a new life and those who are „apart from Christ“ are still in death. How are we in Christ? Because the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit was able to make us alive through our wholehearted surrender, i.e. it brought about the new birth. In addition, we have been set free from the power of sin, which means that we no longer have to sin and no longer want to sin. But we can still fail through rashness, carelessness or foolish decisions (cf. 1 John 2:1).

John 15:1-8 shows that we are to remain in this relationship, in the new life, after the new birth: „Remain in me and I in you“, says Jesus. How do you do that? In the book The life of Jesus 676.2 by E.G. White explains how to do it.

This means

Through these two elements or relationships - surrender to Jesus and renewal in the Holy Spirit - we are born anew. By constantly living in the basic relationship with Jesus and the subsequent relationship with the Holy Spirit, our new life is maintained by renewing them every morning. May I put it this way: after marriage you live together.

The Bible says: The righteous will live by faith.

It presents Abraham as an example. He was a man who, through his trust in God, was given the righteousness that is valid before God. Romans 4:3: „Abraham believed God and this was reckoned to him as righteousness.“

In Genesis 12, Abraham is mentioned for the first time under his old name Abram. God tells him: „Go from your fatherland and of thy kindred and of thy father's house to a land that I will show you ... So Abram left, as the Lord had said to him.“ (verses 1+4).

In chapter 15, the childless Abram is promised by God that he will have countless descendants - like the stars in the sky. Verse 6: „Abram believed the Lord and he reckoned this to him as righteousness.“ After many years, his son Isaac is born.

When Isaac is a young man, God gives Abram a shocking task:

„Take Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice it there for a burnt offering on a mountain I will tell you. Abraham got up early in the morning and girded his donkey and took with him two servants and his son Isaac and split wood for the burnt offering, arose and went to the place God had told him about.” (Chapter 22:1-3)

These examples show that Abraham acted in complete surrender to God. In between, he sometimes had doubts and wanted to „help“ God with his own actions. (see Genesis 12:10-20; Genesis 15:1-16) But the basic tenor of his life was complete trust in God. Genesis 15:6: „Abram believed the Lord and he reckoned this to him as righteousness.“

Personally, studying Romans chapter 8 has helped me to understand righteousness by faith.

Romans 8 is a message of victorious life. It is a great source of encouragement. The Holy Spirit comes to the fore there: He is mentioned 21 times and described as the power that enables the believer to triumph over the power of sin (cf. verse 2) and verse 37 „But in all this we overcome far through him who loved us.“

Romans 8:1: „So now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Christ Jesus?

This expression „in Christ“ occurs 170 times in the NT. It points to the intimacy of the personal connection between the Christian and Christ. It describes a daily, living connection with Christ through the Holy Spirit. We surrender to Him every morning with all that we are and have - with the willingness to follow HIM in everything (John 14:20; 15:4-7).

John describes this oneness as „be in him“ (1 John 2:5, 6, 28; 3:24; 5:20). Peter, like Paul, speaks of „Being in Christ“
(1 Peter 3:16; 5:14). Jesus emphasised the intimacy of this union through his parable of the vine and the branches in John 15:1-8; example verse 4: „Abide in me and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.“

If someone does not experience this transforming oneness with Christ because of a lack of surrender or a lack of the Holy Spirit, then they have not yet understood deliverance from condemnation. Saving faith, which brings reconciliation and justification (Romans 3:22-26), refers to a life that is „in Christ Jesus“. „In the Lord“ “In the Lord“ I have righteousness and strength. (Isa 45:24).

Romans 8:2: „Because the law of the spirit, who gives life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.“

The „law of the spirit“ is the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, who works like a law in the lives of those who are filled with him. The expression „who gives life in Christ Jesus“ shows that the Holy Spirit realises in our lives what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

The Holy Spirit ensures that the treasure of grace that Christ acquired on the cross is realised in us. In contrast to this is the law of sin, which only brings about death and condemnation (see Romans 7:21-24).

This is the power exercised by sin. It ends in death. For those who have been freed from the power of sin, it is no longer the dominant and controlling power. The indwelling Spirit of life empowers obedience and gives strength to „put to death the deeds of the flesh“ (verse 13), that is, to overcome selfish, unloving and evil desires, thoughts, words and deeds. It is a wonderful message. Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice brings us acquittal and his Holy Spirit breaks the chains of evil.

Romans 8:3 Hfa: „How did it come to this? The law could not help us to live in a way that pleases God. It proved to be powerless against our sinful nature. That is why God sent his Son to us. He became man and, like us, was exposed to the power of sin. In our place, he took God's judgement of sin upon himself and thereby disempowered it.“

What has become possible as a result?

Romans 8:4 LU: „So that justice is demanded by the law in us would be fulfilled, which we now not after the meat but according to the spirit.“

This expresses a wonderful truth about life with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The required righteousness is not accomplished by ourselves, but through Jesus in us.

This shows that if Jesus is in me through the Holy Spirit, then his righteousness also applies to me through his presence in my life.

The Bible compares our relationship with Jesus to marriage. Example: A young woman has 50,000 euros in debt. She marries a billionaire. Now she also owns what belongs to her husband. The husband will gladly pay these debts to his wife so that she is finally free from this burden of debt. That's what it's like when we „marry Jesus“.

1 Corinthians 1:30 shows that „Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.“

It is impossible to fulfil the necessary requirements of God to enter the kingdom of God in our own strength. But all this is fulfilled in us through Jesus Christ if we live in full devotion to him and in the Holy Spirit.

It is so important to be in Christ and to live in the new life that Paul writes to the young Timothy: „Hunt for justice.“ (1 Timothy 6:11)

By trusting in Jesus, we can give ourselves into complete, joyful and wonderful dependence on God. This relationship of love also means that I listen to God's advice and do what he says. After all, Christ in me wants to keep God's commandments.

We must not overlook an important connection. Jesus was also made for our sanctification. This means that his indwelling has a justifying side (righteousness) and a sanctifying side (made for sanctification).

The meaning is: God's grace gives me Jesus' righteousness. This is fully imputed to me. I do not need to and cannot do anything about it. At the moment of my full surrender to Jesus and if I remain in him, I am and remain justified and am entitled to be accepted into the kingdom of God.

Jesus brings about sanctification in us through the Holy Spirit so that I can live a life of obedience. If I am willing to be obedient, then the Holy Spirit is ready to give me the strength, joy and success to do so.

Acts 1:8: „But you will receive strength when the Holy Spirit descends upon you....“

A few more important texts:

Ephesians 4:22-24: „With regard to your former way of life, put off the old man who walks the path of corruption in his deceitful desires, and become new in spirit and mind, so that you may put on the new man who has been created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.“

This is exactly the problem we are dealing with. It's about getting a new character and losing the joy of sin, in short, it's about obedience bringing me joy.

Here the Holy Spirit helps me to achieve the impossible. Paul writes in
1 Thessalonians 4:7,8: „For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to sanctification. Whoever therefore despises these things does not despise men, but God, who puts his Holy Spirit within you.“

The effectiveness of the Holy Spirit has lasting effects.

Galatians 5:22: „But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, chastity; the law is not all these things.“

We can summarise this fruit of the Spirit in the one word HORSE.