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Righteousness by Faith ~ from Ray E Horton’s Notes on Pastor Jim Dumont’s Message
[Brother Dumont, my former pastor, who founded Erie Christian Fellowship Church in Erie, Pa. is an excellent, spirit-filled Bible teacher. He recently retired and spends time with his wife Pam sharing how God miraculously raised him after having been dead for 13 minutes in Sept, 2018, including a documentary broadcast on CBN].
“Righteousness from God: The ability to stand in God’s presence without the sense of sin, shame or condemnation”
Righteousness from God: The ability to stand in God’s presence without the sense of sin, shame or condemnation. We see in the beginning concerning Adam and Eve that “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen 2:25); they were able to be totally vulnerable in the presence of God.
But after the fall, it all changed, as we see in Genesis 3:8-10: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.’”
Something happened as the result of sin: they gained a sense of shame and could no longer be vulnerable with God but hid.
It is no different with people today. People avoid or try to hide from God because of shame and a sense of condemnation. Jesus took our shame, all our sin, upon Himself at the cross, yet religion is still trying to manage guilt. But Christianity isn’t about managing the guilt that makes people ashamed in His presence. Because of the Blood of Jesus, we have been given His righteousness, which means we can stand in God’s presence as if we had never sinned.
The flesh and the devil want us to be ashamed, causing us to hesitate from vulnerably coming into His presence; and that is what can happen unless we are well grounded in the word of righteousness.
Right living does not produce righteousness; righteousness from Him produces right living
Right living does not produce righteousness; righteousness from Him produces right living. The fruit of righteousness is not something that we work up and perform, it is the spontaneous overflow of God’s righteousness in us. The more that we are aware of our righteousness in Christ Jesus, the more the fruit overflows. It comes from our relationship with God in Jesus.
We learn of our righteousness from the Word of God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2Tim. 3:16-17).
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:3-4).
With our understanding of our righteousness from God, we have a sense of peace, and we can be unashamed before Him, and things are better in every area of life.
He took our guilt and shame on the cross. We are now clean before God. I am not defined by my past, but by what God has done. This comes by revelation, and we must submit to it.
There is a big difference between Law Righteousness and Grace Righteousness
Law Righteousness Grace Righteousness
By Works Free Gift
Produces Bondage Produce Freedom
Limited Righteousness Unlimited Righteousness
Produces Servants Produces Sons
Brings condemnation No Condemnation
[This is from Ray E Horton’s notes and is not a transcript of Pastor Jim Dumont’s message, one of his “Righteousness by Faith” series of messages. Here is a link to the book that Jim and Pam wrote about their miraculous experience: See https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Let%27s+Pray+by+Jame+P+Dumont&ref=nb_sb_noss ]
