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Chosen To Be . . . RIGHTeous! (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the July 28, 2024 sermon, “Chosen To Be RIGHTeous!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: 1 Peter 4

“Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
Philippians 3:9 (NIV)

This morning’s message continued a series through 1 & 2 Peter with a theme of “Chosen To Be . . . “.  As God works the miracle of revival in our life, we discover He does so as the God who chooses us!  This is an important message to all who feel distant from God for whatever reason.  To those believers who are scattered around the known world, God communicates a message that they are known by Him, loved by Him, and chosen by Him.  As we gaze into God’s Word and examine what it means to be chosen by God, we find that we have been chosen to be . . .

  • Repentant:  1 Peter 4:1-4

    • Since we do not have a righteousness of our own, a change must take place for us to be declared righteous.  That change comes in the form of our repentance from all that is sinful.  When we choose to identify with the suffering of Christ, we choose to die to sin which means it has been rejected by us and we now live in a new way.  Our desire for sin is dead and our repentance leads us toward the righteousness which can be found in Christ.

  • Instructed:  1 Peter 4:5-7

    • In a world filled with information, it can be challenging to know what is good and right.  In fact, many will tell us to go by what we feel or by what makes us happy.  Unfortunately, going along with the world will never lead to righteousness simply because the world is caught up in a pursuit of evil desire.  It is when we turn to God’s Word for true instruction that we find ourselves being cleansed of all unrighteousness so that we are prepared for God to judge us according to the spirit.

  • Giving:  1 Peter 4:8-10

    • While the hallmark of unrighteousness is selfishness, the shining star of righteousness is love.  But the love defined by righteousness is not a love which is self-serving, but rather a love which is giving.  When we are declared righteous by God, we recognize that everything we have has come to us as a gift from God.  Our understanding of God as the owner of all things should lead us to be a more generous person as we seek to reflect the nature of God.

  • Humble:  1 Peter 4:11

    • Sometimes the temptation of being declared righteous is that we begin to think we are good enough to actually be righteous.  When we use the gifting of God in our life to serve others, we do so with the humility which gives God the credit for all the good being done.  It is a spirit of humility which helps us serve with an attitude that considers the needs of others to be more important than our own.

  • Tested:  1 Peter 4:12-19

    • Perhaps the most difficult part of being declared righteous is the testing that takes place in this world.  We want to think that being right with God should remove all trouble from our life, yet Jesus declared that in this world we would have trouble.  Just as a test in school is designed to confirm what we know, the testing of our faith through the trials and struggles of life serve to confirm the righteousness God has declared is ours.

Today, how will you live as one chosen to be RIGHTeous?