THINK TOGETHER
Have you ever heard any of these big words before: righteousness, sanctification, redemption? Do you know what any of them mean?
READ TOGETHER
Jesus is everything to us. And when we have Jesus we have everything he has. Listen to how Paul says it to the Corinthian Christians here in 1 Corinthians chapter 1:
1 Corinthians 1:30. And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Paul uses three big words to tell us who we are in Christ Jesus: righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Let’s take a look at each of these words in reverse order.
First comes our redemption. To be redeemed means to be set free. Like a criminal who is let out of jail, or a slave that is given her freedom, Jesus sets us free from sin. He redeems us, he purchases us, he pays our debt so that we may no longer be locked up in our own selfishness. Jesus has paid for every sin, he has forgiven every sin, and he has even changed our hearts so that we will slowly want to stop sinning. Jesus is our redemption.
And then Jesus is our sanctification. Jesus doesn’t just set us free, he sets us apart to be used for a very special purpose. That’s what sanctification means – set apart. Do your mom and dad have anything that they only use on special occasions? Or maybe you have a special stuffed animal that you sleep with every night? That stuffed animal is “sanctified.” It has been set apart for a very special purpose – to be your sleeping friend. By his love, Jesus redeemed us and then he sanctified us. He set us apart for a special purpose – to love others and tell them about God and his love through Jesus.
Finally, Jesus is our righteousness. To be righteousness simply means to do the right thing. To be kind, and helpful. To do good for others. God wants us to be righteous by doing righteous things. Of course, none of us is perfectly righteous like God wants. So Jesus IS our righteousness. He was righteous for us. Jesus did everything that God requires and then gave the credit to us. Now we can do righteous things. We are redeemed from sin, we are set apart to do righteousness, and now we can actually do it. How? Because when you know that God isn’t keeping score you are free to simply love him and do your best without fear of failing.
Jesus doesn’t just tell us how to earn our redemption, or how to be sanctified, or how to be righteous. Jesus IS all these things for us. Now we can be all these things too. How? Because we are IN CHRIST. And that’s the best place to be.
Because of Jesus we are redeemed, sanctified, and righteous.
With Jesus we can live free from sinning, we can be set apart for God, and we can do righteousness.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Watch the movie Annie together (see trailer below). Annie is a great story of redemption from the orphanage/foster home, and sanctification in her new home, and righteousness as she helps the other children.
And/or listen to this great song together about Christ being our all in all.
PRAY TOGETHER.
Jesus,
You are my redemption from sin. You give me a special purpose. You make me good and help me do right. Thank you.
Amen.
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