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Righteousness in Christ Jesus

Psalm 17:15 World English Bible (WEB)
 15 As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness.
    I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.

This Psalm is a prayer from the mouth of King David who’s in the Old Testament. Now, what is the Holy Spirit trying to convey through this line of scripture?

First of all, you have to understand what it means to be righteous! To be righteous, means to be right with God. So, for the first line of the verse, David says there’s a time when He can see God’s face because he is righteous.

Remember, David was a man of faults, but a man after God’s heart, nevertheless; he had faith in the coming Messiah as is revealed in Psalm 22.

Our Righteousness? Or His Righteousness?

Now, for us, we are righteous (made right with God) because Jesus, the Messiah, was perfect and without sin, so that when He was punished despite being innocent, our wickedness was transferred to Him, while His righteousness was transferred to us!

2 Corinthians 5:21 World English Bible (WEB)
21 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Righteousness has nothing to do with your works or how you act. Your works are like filthy rags to God because your standard of morality fails in comparison to God’s perfect morality. So, the only way to be truly righteous is for you to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

Isaiah 64:6 King James Version (KJV)
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Romans 3:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Again, scripture makes it clear that if we know that we are righteous in Christ Jesus, we will not continue committing works of the flesh, but will manifest the righteousness God gave us, in our lives. We will never be able to stop committing works of the flesh, but Holy Spirit will strengthen you with His grace so you can live in freedom from sin.

Galatians 5:24-25 World English Bible (WEB)
24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.

Walking With God

Since we become righteous in Christ Jesus, we can then behold the face of God. His righteousness in us, allows us to live free from guilt. We can look straight into God’s face, without any guilt or shame, because we have been made right with God, and now, God considers you His friend!

Exodus 33:11 World English Bible (WEB)
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.

Moreover, the scripture reveals a sense of satisfaction with seeing God’s form. The Hebrew word for “form,” in this verse, is “Temunah,” which also means likeness.

God uses this same Hebrew word to describe His friendship with Moses, where Moses can see God in His true form.

This is simply wonderful because that means we can see God and talk to Him just like how Moses spent His time with God, only with a New Testament understanding!

Numbers 12:8 World English Bible (WEB)
8 With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see Yahweh’s form. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”

All in all, Holy Spirit wants you to know that when you accept Jesus, and understand you are righteous in Him, you can live a satisfying life with the Almighty God of this universe.

He paid the price so that you can live in relationship with Him; where you can constantly see His manifest presence all the days of your life.

Therefore, live in the understanding of your righteousness in Christ Jesus so you can live in a deep relationship with Him!

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What does the Bible say about depression?

Many people suffer from clinical depression. It is a mental disorder that latches onto one’s mood and tries to put one down for a consistently long time. It is not like any other sense of emotional sadness or sorrow.

Unlike other emotions of sorrow, depression lingers, it makes one sad for a long time, and tries to get one to be consistently sad so that they neglect all of the joys of life.

So, now that we know what depression is, does the Bible say anything about it?

First, what is associated with depression? Depression is often associated with constant thoughts of self worthlessness. A person struggling with depression usually believes or battles thoughts that their life is purposeless.

Romans 5:8 Good News Translation (GNT)
8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!

However, the Bible says while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. That means whether you have accepted Jesus Christ or not, God loves you very much. Furthermore, you are worth the price He paid.

And because He loves us so much, He wants us to accept Him so He can hold a relationship with us!

To God, you hold a worth, and if that meant He paid a price where Jesus Christ died to save your soul, you must be worth very much to Him!

So, if you are suffering from depression and battling thoughts that tell you that you’re worthless, speak audibly to yourself so that your whole being understands that you are priceless! Just say to yourself…

“I am worth the price Jesus paid for me; He loves me very much!”

Now, depression is characterized by a constant gloomy mood.

 But, according to the Bible, if we know how much God loves us, we can be glad no matter what. Challenges and issues may come our way, but He will give us the peace of mind and the strength to overcome challenges.

John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

And God showed mercy to us. What was God’s mercy? His mercy was when Jesus came to take away our sin so that He would endure the hell experience we deserved by living contrary to Him. So, when we know His mercy, His kindness, His tender love, we will by nature, rejoice and be glad all of our days!

Psalm 90:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

When we know that God loves us and His promise to us that we should have the mind of Christ, it is impossible for depression to linger, depression must leave.

So, in conclusion, if you struggle with depression, remind yourself that He loves you, remind yourself that He paid the price where His blood was shed and His body was broken so your mind can be healed.

If you realize how high He values you, then depression better stay away from you because the truth is that you are loved by God, you were chosen by Him, and you are healed by His endless grace.

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Where did mental illnesses come from according to the Bible? How is God justified from allowing such miseries to exist?

Now, where did depression even come from? Does the Bible mention anything about it? The Bible says that when God first made humans, they were perfectly healthy, both mentally and physically because they were created in God’s very own image and likeness.

Genesis 1:27 New King James Version (NKJV)
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In God’s image, humanity was assured mental peace and emotional satisfaction! There wasn’t a tint of suffering that could haunt a soul! But, when God warned the first humans not to eat of a certain tree that offered both the knowledge of good and evil lest they invite death; Adam and Eve, the first humans disobeyed His instruction.

They obeyed a talking serpent’s temptation. Now, this serpent did not represent a literal snake which just so happened to have a magical ability to talk, but this strange figure represented an external evil that sought to harm God’s beloved children.

And the serpent made God to be a liar in front of Adam and Eve, he called God’s warning a lie. This being was not just a snake, he was primarily a liar.

Genesis 3:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

So, when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they no longer reflected God, but reflected the image of this lying serpent. They became like the one they obeyed. God could no longer recognize them! And when God first asked Adam what had happened, Adam’s response gave evidence to a corrupt nature.

Genesis 3:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV)
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

When God asked Adam if he disobeyed Him, instead of humbly saying sorry to God, Adam blamed Him for making Eve as she was the one who encouraged Adam to eat of the forbidden tree.

This means that through that act of disobedience, Adam invited imperfection to the human nature. His mistake corrupted the human nature and thus, it became now possible for even mental illnesses to latch onto Adam’s descendants.

Yet, at the end of it all, God covered their nakedness with the skins of an animal. Blood had to be shed for God to cover them. This pointed to how one day God will provide, by shedding the blood of an innocent being who would bring restoration to what we lost, that innocent being is Jesus Christ, the God who sacrificed Himself for you.

Genesis 3:21 English Standard Version (ESV)
21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.