Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV) “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
The gospel reveals one of God’s central attributes: His righteousness. It shows how God dealt with the problem of sin—the very thing that separated humanity from Him—in a way that fully upheld His righteous character. His deliberate establishment of the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant demonstrates this righteousness, even in the face of human rebellion. God did not forcibly reclaim the authority Adam and Eve surrendered to Satan when they sinned. Though He had every right and all power to take it back, He chose not to act in a way that violated His own nature as just, righteous, and holy. Instead, He unfolded a plan to defeat Satan and redeem humanity in a manner perfectly consistent with His righteousness. This plan is revealed in the gospel, which offers salvation to all who believe.
Those who are not children of God belong to the kingdom of darkness. The sin nature controls their lives, and they are susceptible to demonic influence, depending on how much they have opened themselves to the spiritual realm and idol worship.
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
We are free moral agents, created by God with the ability to choose. This is why we need to confess with our mouths because it releases the authority of our lives to the One we profess. In this case, we profess belief in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Saviour.
We choose to believe that Jesus took our sins upon Himself, bore the curse of the law, was tortured, died, was buried, and rose again. Salvation becomes ours when we believe this truth in our hearts and confess it with our mouths. We have believed—and we have received salvation.
When you receive Jesus, you receive the position of righteousness, becoming the righteousness of God in Christ and entering into a right relationship with God. Righteousness enables you to stand in the presence of the Father God without guilt, condemnation or a sense of inferiority, as though sin had never existed.
Many people from other faiths have sought this position or attainment but have failed miserably. This is the treasure that God has given to His children—the ability to stand before God as though sin had never existed in our lives, because Jesus has redeemed us with His blood! Righteousness is a standing of uprightness with God. It is a positional truth. It doesn’t mean we are perfect, but rather that God has chosen to see us as righteous in Christ. That’s why death has lost its sting for us (1 Corinthians 15:55)!
Reflection: What does it mean to you to become the righteousness of God in Christ? How has this identity reshaped your relationship with Him?
Sermon Series：Jesus Ministers Through His Body After the Resurrection
帮助他人得着义
马可福音 16:15-16 他又对他们说：“你们往普天下去，传福音给万民[a]听。 16 信而受洗的必然得救，不信的必被定罪。
福音彰显了神其中一个核心属性——祂的公义。福音显明了神如何处理罪的问题，就是那使人类与祂隔绝的根源，并且在整个过程中完全维护了祂公义的本性。神刻意设立无条件的亚伯拉罕之约，正体现了祂的公义，即使在人类悖逆的情况下也是如此。当亚当和夏娃犯罪，把权柄交给撒但时，神并没有强行夺回那失去的权柄。虽然祂完全有权柄、也有能力这样做，但祂选择不以违背自己公正、公义、圣洁本性的方式行事。相反地，祂展开了一项救赎计划，以完全符合祂公义属性的方式击败撒但并救赎人类。这个计划就在福音中被启示出来，而福音也向一切相信的人提供救恩。
那些不是神儿女的人，仍属于黑暗的国度。罪性掌控着他们的生命；而他们向属灵领域和偶像崇拜开放得越多，就越容易受到邪灵的影响。
罗马书 10:9-10 你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信神叫他从死里复活，就必得救。因为人心里相信就可以称义，口里承认就可以得救。
神创造我们成为拥有自由意志的人，能够作出选择。这也是为什么我们需要口里承认，因为口中的宣告会把我们生命的主权交托给我们所承认的那一位。在这里，我们宣告相信耶稣基督，并接受祂作我们的救主。
我们选择相信：耶稣担当了我们的罪，背负了律法的咒诅，受尽折磨、死了、被埋葬，并且从死里复活。当我们心里相信，并口里承认这真理时，救恩就成为我们的了。我们因着相信，就领受了救恩。
当你接受耶稣时，你也领受了“义”的地位，成为在基督里神的义，并进入与神正确的关系之中。义使你能够坦然站在父神面前，没有罪疚、没有定罪、也没有自卑感，好像罪从未存在过一样。
许多其他宗教信仰中的人，一直努力追寻这样的地位或境界，却始终无法真正达到。这正是神赐给祂儿女的宝贵恩典——因着耶稣的宝血救赎，我们可以站在神面前，仿佛罪从未存在于我们的生命中！义，是人在神面前正直的身份与地位。这是一种属灵上的定位真理。它并不表示我们已经完全，而是神选择在基督里看我们为义。因此，对我们而言，死亡已经失去了它的毒钩（哥林多前书 15:55）！
默想：
成为“在基督里神的义”对你而言意味着什么？这样的身份认知，如何改变了你与神之间的关系？
讲章系列：复活的主，借着祂的身体继续作工