The Beatitudes lead us on a journey from poverty of spirit and a mourning of sin to a life active in the advancement of God’s kingdom. The assumption throughout is that the goal of this “happy man” is righteousness, and because of that righteousness – a living relationship with God.
I want to think today about our relationship to righteousness. Is it important for the Christian, born again into a living relationship with Jesus, to live a holy life? If my righteousness is in fact imputed by God, why bother actually changing my behavior? The Apostle Paul leads us through this argument in Romans 5 & 6.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 5:20-6:14
You are now free from slavery to sin – so what are you going to do with your freedom? If you carry on as you were before, are you really free from sin? Has anything actually happened to you?
Righteousness is still in view. What has changed is how we attempt to achieve living a righteous life. Or as the theologians put it, sanctification. All that was available until Jesus was the Law. The list of stuff you should do and shouldn’t do if you wanted God’s blessing. The Law was given to the Israelites, as the chosen people of God so in living according to it they might be blessed and be a blessing.
It didn’t really happen. The problem was not with the Law but with the people. So we need to change the people, the Law is already perfect. Being born again is that change – a radical transformation, a new creature, something fundamental has happened. This new man has been given righteousness as a gift. The righteousness of Jesus, no-less. The blessings of God can now be upon His people due to their righteousness.
So back to the question. Do Christians need to live a holy life?
NEED – no. Not in terms of their righteous position before God. None of my actions can add to Jesus’ perfect righteousness. But it would be strange for someone living to God, born again and free from sin, not to desire to live righteously. Not by going back to the Law to try and live by it’s rules, but by living in relationship with Jesus.
It would be so strange in fact that if someone were to consistently live without regard to their behaviour, you would have to assume their faith wasn’t faith and that they didn’t actually have a relationship with God at all.