Righteousness consciousness versus sin consciousness

Righteousness consciousness versus sin consciousness

If you follow me on twitter for a while now, you will see that I always talk about how powerful your righteousness consciousness is compared to sin consciousness. I often roll my eyes when I see people discussing if something is sin or not sin. Do you know someone that is always talking about what is sin or isn’t sin? Or have you found yourself saying “I must be careful not to sin today, God help me not to sin” every day? This is being sin-conscious! You have not sinned yet but you are over-focused on the power of sin rather than the righteousness of God that you are as a believer.

Hebrews 10:2-3 (TPT) For if animal sacrifices could once and for all eliminate sin, they would have ceased to be offered and the worshipers would have clean consciences. Instead, once was not enough so by the repetitive sacrifices year after year, the worshipers were continually reminded of their sins, with their hearts still impure.

"Sin-consciousness" is being constantly reminded of sin, asking questions like “Is this sin” or “Is that sin” as a guide to righteousness. As a believer in Christ, you know that sin has no power over you. But having a sin conscious mindset shows that you may still think you are a slave to sin. Whereas we have received liberty from sin. We have been made right by God, this enables us to live right.

Galatians 5:1 (TPT) Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.

To be sin conscious is not the plan of God. God does not want Christians to be in bondage worried about sin at every point in time. Being sin conscious will always put you in a place of defeat, a place of feeling like you will never get out from it. You may even start believing that you may never change. It is a plan of the devil! Unfortunately, some of us may have heard teachings that talk about “believers will always continue in sin”. This rubbish statement is painted as a “fact of life” to believers. I am here to tell you to reject this notion and remember the sacrifice of Jesus that saved you from the debilitating power of sin and death. We have received the power from God Himself to stop sinning! It is completely possible by the grace of God.

A righteousness conscious person lives in freedom and liberty. He or she lives the way God wants everyone to live. He or she enjoys freedom from negative thoughts of not being good enough for God because they know that the grace of God has been made sufficient for them. Through Jesus, you are free from sin. His blood is the most expensive currency; it is far more expensive than sin. His blood didn’t cover your sins like the blood of goats and bulls did in the old testament, His blood removed every trace of sin in you like it never existed.

1 John 3:20 (AMP) whenever our heart convicts us [in guilt]; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things [nothing is hidden from Him because we are in His hands]

Anything that makes you feel guilty after sin is not the Holy Spirit, that thing wants you to crawl up in a ball feeling condemned is influenced by the contents of your heart. The devil capitalises on the way you see yourself, and he uses it to make you feel like you are a disappointment. The devils aim is make you hide from God like Adam and Eve did. The more you hide, the more it becomes difficult to go back to God.

So anytime you feel guilty, know its your heart and not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not minister guilt to you, he reminds you of your righteousness. He ministers to your spirit that you have done something wrong, something that does not align with your identity in Christ! He ministers that God is not angry with you, that you can go boldly to the throne of Grace and receive mercy. He won’t let you stay away from God too long, He will help you confess your sins and accept God’s forgiveness.

1 John 3:21 (AMP) Beloved, if our heart does not convict us [of guilt], we have confidence [complete assurance and boldness] before God;

The good news is that you can train your heart to not condemn you! You can choose to bask in your identity in Christ and strip away the feelings of guilt and unworthiness that wants to destroy your faith in God. You have to train your heart to see you the way God sees you. God sees you as Christ!

The trick of the devil through sin consciousness

As a believer in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have experienced true cleansing and freedom from the consciousness of sin. No matter what, there is still, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

A believer that is more conscious of sin than his/her righteous nature tends to dwell in condemnation when they make a mistake. Condemnation magnifies sin and tries to make it look like it greater than the sacrifice of Jesus! God is not condemning any believer, the devil does not have the power to condemn you, why do you condemn yourself?

Rather than focusing on sin, focus on the blood of Jesus that speaks better things that the blood of Abel. It speaks of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Rather than choosing to be focused on that mistake, you made last week, turn your attention to the cross. Focus on how the power of sin and death was destroyed because of God’s grace? Focusing on sin will continue to amplify your weakness but focusing on the fact that you have now become the very own righteousness of God because you are in Christ will free you from that sin and help you walk in Christ’s ability and power.

We are not under the law; Jesus came to fulfil the law!  So we don’t have to struggle but lay on His finished works of redemption. We should no longer be “sin conscious” but be conscious of the grace of God.

Here is a way to think about sin and forgiveness:

You offended your father by doing something he doesn’t like then one small insignificant person comes to meet you and tell you that you are in trouble. This person goes on to tell you never to return home because your father will kill you. He says the best thing for you is to move to the village and live there forever as a pauper. And you know that this person has been trying to undermine your father since before you were born. Come to think of it: what is the person’s business? Who called this person into the issue? Who told this person that his opinion is needed or required? After all, the issue is strictly between you and your dad. Why should an insignificant stranger try to get involved in the issue? This example above is an illustration of God, us and the devil when it comes to sin. At the end of the day, we have to see the devil for who he is. He is constantly trying to stop us from loving God.

Sin is not an issue for any believer. It is not a stumbling block either. The blood of Jesus has taken away the sins of the world. Every single sin was wiped off! His sacrifice was perfect, once and for all. Sin can only seem or appear to be an issue to an unbeliever that does not know his or her identity in Christ.

Check this out:

Ephesians 1:7-10 (MSG) Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

As believers, it is time for that mental shift. It is time to grow up! No more hot debates about what is sin or nor sin. I have seen people use scriptures to explain how drinking alcohol is not a sin. What a waste of time! Now the focus should be on “Does this action edify me?”, “Does this make my walk with God easier?”, “Is this action a stumbling block to young believers around me?”. It does not have to be listed in the 10 commandments for you to choose to abstain from it. Your sole focus should be on bearing righteous fruits as a result of your righteous nature.

When you make a mistake, God wants you to be Christ-conscious. He wants you to be conscious of the fact that you have an abundance in the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus. He wants you to know that He is not angry with you because of the cross. God wants you to understand that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that has taken away the sins of the world forever.

I challenge you to be righteousness-conscious today! You will see the peace of God that will flow into your heart effortlessly. Christ took all your sins and now you became His righteousness. When God looks at a believer, he sees you like you’ve never sinned and you always obey because of the cross.

So when you make a mistake, don’t be conscious of your failure and feel bad or condemned. Don’t let the devil magnify your error. Instead, be conscious of your identity in Christ, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue your walk with God!

Confession: Thank You, Jesus, for shedding your blood for me and removing my sin. Because of Your sacrifice, I am redeemed and free from all condemnation and sin consciousness. I am the righteousness of God in Christ, therefore, I command my mind to never give power to sin over my life! I command my mind to continually bask in the righteous nature because I believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With love,

Bibi