“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Phil. 3:9).
In 1973 during a Bible study, I heard a lady say, “We are the righteousness of God.” When she said it, I responded by saying, “Our righteousness is as filthy rags.” She looked at me and said, “Yes Jeanne, our righteousness is as filthy rags, but I’m not talking about our righteousness. I’m talking about His righteousness, in us through Jesus Christ.”
I Learned My Lesson
I perceived immediately that I needed to shut my mouth because I was showing my spiritual ignorance!
The pitiful thing is, I really did not know that I was righteous in Christ Jesus. I thought I was an unworthy worm in the dust. In fact, I used to sing a song entitled, “Unworthy,” and could I ever get into that song! You see, in my mind I was unworthy, because in church I had been taught all my life that I was.
I don’t believe I ever heard a message taught that told me I had been made the righteousness of God. Therefore, I was sin-conscious, not righteousness-minded.
When you are sin-conscious, you sin. You also think sickness instead of health, weakness instead of strength, failure instead of success, poverty instead of prosperity, and defeat instead of victory.
Unfortunately, the Church has developed some wrong religious ideas about righteousness. Just what is righteousness and how do we get it? Do we work for it? Sacrifice for it? Fast for it? Believe for it? No!
Standing Without Guilt
Thank God, through Jesus and faith in Him we become righteous (see Rom. 5:17-19). It is a gift that cannot be earned. Righteousness is the ability to stand in the Father’s presence without the sense of guilt, condemnation, or inferiority.
When I found out that I was the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus, it utterly destroyed my sin-consciousness. I understood that it was His righteousness, not mine. I realized that I had been made righteous through Him. That was one revelation, if not the revelation that changed my life and set me free. He was in me. In me were His abilities, His strength, and His authority.
First Corinthians 15:34a says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not.” Well, I did wake up and I have been walking in His righteousness ever since! I know that I am in right standing with God and justified (just as if I had never sinned). It’s not that I deserve this gift—it was His grace, His love, and His unmerited favor.
A Joint-Heir with Christ
When you know who you are in God, it changes you. All of a sudden you feel accepted by Him, even with all your faults. You realize just how much He loves you and that He is for you, not against you.
Now I can come to Him with full assurance of that love and right standing. I walk with Him in that authority every day. I am a new creation, a conqueror, an overcomer, a join-heir with Jesus.
So friend, awake to righteousness! Get a revelation of what Jesus’ sacrifice did for you at Calvary. Put on your breastplate of righteousness and wear it victoriously!
by Jeanne Caldwell.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Pastor Emeritus, founders and pastors of Agape Church from its founding in 1979 to 2014. Happy and Jeanne Caldwell.
In 1979 God spoke to Happy & Jeanne Caldwell to build a spiritual production center in Little Rock, in order to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the city, state, nation and world. Together, they founded Agape Church, a strong spirit-filled body of believers. Through a deep sensitivity to the Spirit of God, and anointed teaching - the lost are saved, the sick healed, and thousands have been blessed.
In 1988 Happy and Jeanne answered a direct call from the Lord to take His message beyond Central Arkansas. They founded VTN - the Victory Television Network. This network of 3 full power TV stations is carried on over 200 cable systems and is bringing the Gospel into more than 1.2 million households.
Through his own daily program, Arkansas Alive, and Sunday program, Happy Caldwell, Happy presents the Word in profound simplicity, making the character of God a revelation to those who hear. His ministry is known for instilling Christian principles in strategic leadership. He was honored for this in 2005 with an invitation to participate in the US Army War College Strategic Leader Staff Ride at Gettysburg, PA.
Happy Caldwell is a recipient of the Peter J. Daniels Caleb Encourager Award, which has been bestowed upon such notable names as Norman Vincent Peale, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Oral Roberts. He has been recognized by the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission with The Salute to Greatness Community Service Award. He also serves on the Executive Board for Christians United for Israel, and is a Regional Director for CUFI.
Jeanne's ministry transcends nationality, race, culture, and generation as her passion to see women transformed into ladies who are pruned, polished, and perfected by the Word of God and her down-to-earth presentation assist others to have a personal encounter with God's Word.
The same life changing anointing that flows through Jeanne's personal ministry is also be appreciated by everyone who hears her anointed CDs or watches her weekly television program, In His Presence. In addition to her music and teaching ministry, Jeanne is the author of Learning to Trust God's Faithfulness, a compelling and effectual account of her life of faith, including her dramatic testimony of God's healing after a car accident left her with a broken back.
Happy and Jeanne Caldwell continue to travel delivering the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in churches, conferences, and on VTN.