Newsletter

John David Hicks, Evangelist / Bible Teacher • Summer 2010 • Volume 14 Number 3

A Harvest of Righteousness

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Isaiah 32:17-18). “For the kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (Romans 14:17-18).

By John David Hicks

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, something amazing takes place: God forgives you of all your unrighteousness and sins; you are “born again” into the family of God and given eternal life. As a sign that you are not only loved but also accepted, God gives you the gift of righteousness. Righteousness is the ability to stand in the presence of God without condemnation, guilt, or shame. Romans 5:17 explains it like this: “How much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

In Hebrews 5:11-14, the writer tells us that when Christians are slow to learn about righteousness, they remain infants spiritually. They ought to be teachers, mature in the Lord, but instead they need someone to teach them the basics. Like babies they live on milk, not on solid food. Thus, they can’t distinguish good from evil or law from grace. However, the promise is, when they learn “the teaching about righteousness,” they will be mature in their faith and reap a harvest of blessings.

John Wesley declared that justification by faith (righteousness) was the essential doctrine by which the church stands or falls. Yet until his Aldersgate experience, Wesley said that he struggled with “faith and works,” until it pleased God to show him the “old way of salvation by faith only.” When Wesley found grace, he found victory through faith (1 John 5:4).

In the New Testament we are commanded to have the “obedience of faith.” The “obedience of faith” is to believe, accept, and receive what Christ has done for us by faith alone. When you receive in faith what God offers you through Christ, this is called the obedience of faith.

In Acts 6:7, “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” It was not the laws of Moses, but grace through faith that they were obedient to. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul closes Romans with “the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (16:26 NKJV). This obedience does not refer to obeying all that God has commanded. No one but Jesus has done that. Rather, it refers to obeying the command to believe the Gospel (Acts 16:31). If you’ve done that, you’ve exercised the “obedience of faith” that believes, accepts, and receives what Christ has done for you.

God has made you “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6) and holy. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? …for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are” (1 Cor. 3:16-17 NASB). As a Christian you are the temple of God. God is holy and indwells you. That makes you holy and acceptable. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:30-31). Our boast is in Jesus Christ for making us holy, righteous, and accepted before God. This witness of faith comes from the assurance of God’s Word that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Satan’s secret weapon to defeat you is to embrace religious rules. The Bible calls it the law. The law arouses a person’s passions to disobey (Rom. 7:5). “The power of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). The purpose of the law is to reveal your sin and to show you that you cannot save yourself.

Everyone who becomes a Christian knows that when you are saved, it is not by your works or performance (Eph. 2:8-9). So after you have accepted Christ as your Savior you will set yourself up for a lifestyle of failure if you are still bound by the law. “By observing the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16). “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Gal. 3:11). It is not what you do, but what Jesus has done. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law” (Gal. 5:18). The righteous live by faith in Jesus alone. God does not accept you as a good man or as a better man; He gives you His own righteousness.

Abiding in Christ means depending on Him alone for your strength (Phil. 4:13). A life of rules is driven by duty; a life of faith is driven by desire. Your motive reveals law or grace. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NASB). The apostle John said, “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The motive of love makes the difference.

When Jesus is asked, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” every sincere follower, then and now, eagerly awaits His answer. We all want to know what it takes to accomplish God’s will and to minister like Jesus did in miracles, healing, and deliverance. “This is the work of God,” He said, “that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29 NASB).

You mean it’s that simple? That the work of God is to be in Christ…to live in Him? Yes, you must abide in Christ to bear fruit: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me…for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5 NKJV).

The emphasis of the New Testament is not on trying to live for Christ, but on being in Christ by trusting Him. It is resting, not working. It is abiding, not struggling. It is obedience to the faith, not obedience to the law. It is grace, not legalism. It is freedom, not condemnation. It is faith, not your performance. It is Jesus, not you. You are an heir, not a servant.

But your flesh wants the law, wants to perform, wants to earn God’s righteousness. “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (2 Tim. 3:5 NLT). “I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ” (Galatians 3:5 NLT).

The gift of righteousness will cause you to reign in life (Rom. 5:17)! You will reign over sin, bad habits, sicknesses, and everything that holds you back from a victorious life! Look how the gift of righteousness produces peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

In your life the law or legalism will rule and reign, or God’s “abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness” will reign. The law tries to produce righteousness by what you do, by its performance. Grace is a gift from God and is based on what Christ has done for us.

Paul warns us, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal. 2:21). The only way that God could save you and me was to send Jesus to die for us. Righteousness has its source in the cross and resurrection of Christ.

Righteousness also means justification. Righteousness is the judicial act of God where all the demands of the law are fully met in Christ and God pardons you of all sin and accepts you as righteous in His sight (Rom. 5:1-10). This impartation of righteousness comes from being in Christ (Rom. 4:6-8; 8:3-4; 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus as your Savior was judged and punished in your place (1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24). The only condition is that you die to the law and your performance (Rom. 7:2-6; Gal. 2:19-21), and receive by faith God’s gift of righteousness (Rom.1:17; 3:25-26; 4:20, 22; Phil. 3:8-11; Gal. 2:16). You are now free in Christ to receive a harvest of righteousness (Rom. 3:24; 5:17; Gal. 5:1; Heb. 12:11).

Our text, Isaiah 32:17-18, is a prophecy of the gift of righteousness God gives His people in the New Testament. Notice what is in this gift:

1. RIGHTEOUSNESS PRODUCES PEACE. “The fruit of righteousness will be peace” (Isaiah 32:17). “For he himself is our peace” (Eph. 2:14). Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Without Him, you have no peace (John 15:5). He is the evidence of or the results of peace. The gift of righteousness is a relationship with Jesus himself, who IS our peace. Peace is a person, not a state of being. It’s the result of a relationship with the Prince of Peace that produces the state of being at peace.

Ephesians 2:13-18 says that Jesus has made peace by the sacrifice of Himself. He abolished in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. He is the basis for peace with God and for peace with men. So, when you by grace receive Jesus, trusting Him day by day, a confident assurance and peace will flow into your life. Peace is not about circumstances, but about a person, Jesus Christ.

When you pursue the law, your performance, you try to find peace by the conditions around you. You want the benefits of peace through your own works without the cost of relationship. It is by grace through faith that your union with Christ flows into peace. When your focus is on Jesus, not your circumstances, peace will come.

Let me illustrate: When a tornado sweeps through a county, it leaves destruction. But the uprooted trees, flattened barns, and overturned automobiles are not the tornado; they are the result of the tornado. Rest, absence of fear, and victory in the midst of conflict are the result of Jesus living in us, the result of peace already being our portion, the result of grace already at work in us. But circumstances are not peace, just like the uprooted tree is not the tornado. The state of being is evidence that peace (Jesus) is present. There is a progression here: righteousness produces peace and peace produces joy. “For the kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (Rom. 14:17-18). What a wonderful gift God has given you!

In John 14, as He was about to die on the cross, Jesus promised His disciples the Holy Spirit and peace. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 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.” This is your inheritance, the key to victorious living.

Jesus names two things that will defeat your peace: a troubled heart and fear of the future. Both are answered in the peace that Jesus gives: “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Pet. 5:7 AB).

What will the peace of God do for you? Jesus said that the world and Satan cannot defeat a Christian who has peace. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule [umpire or govern] in your hearts.” “Seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:11). When you have peace, the conviction of faith is there (Hebrews 11:1). Peace makes it easy to receive healing and miracles. “A heart at peace gives life to the body” (Proverbs 14:30).

Peace means no war (2 Cor. 5:20-21). You have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12). There is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). You and Jesus have won the victory (1 Cor. 15:57). Hebrews 4:1-11 describes the Spirit-filled life as entering into God’s rest. Peace (“shalom” in Hebrew) includes wholeness, health, and prosperity.

The absence of conflict is not necessarily peace or even always the evidence of peace. Peace is the presence of Jesus in the midst of conflict.

There are two kinds of peace: the world’s concept—an escape from the pain, trouble, and struggle; and Jesus’ peace—a confident rest that is manifested in conflict or battle. If you seek to escape the pain of trouble or struggle, you will miss His presence. Jesus does not give peace as the world gives. The world seeks pleasure, happiness, and absence of conflict from problems and trouble. The world’s peace leads to bondage and oppression. Jesus’ peace leads to freedom and His lordship.

Joy is the byproduct of peace that is joy unspeakable (1 Pet. 1:8). Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). “For the joy set before him,” Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2). “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

Whatever your problem is, the Lord wants you to go to Him in prayer, telling Him what you need and thanking Him for the answer. When you do that, His peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind from all worries, anxieties, and fears.

“Be anxious for nothing.” When Paul wrote that, he was a prisoner under house arrest in Rome. He had been sent to Rome because he had appealed to Caesar regarding his death sentence. The Jews in Jerusalem wanted him to be put to death (Acts 28:16-20). Yet, under those trying conditions, he wrote these words: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).

Paul reveals three blessings of this peace:

1. It transcends all understanding. No mind or intellect can comprehend it.

2. It guards your heart, your conscience, will, affections, and emotions. Only a deep, settled peace can keep your spirit calm and your body restful. Only the peace of God can keep your heart.

3. This peace also keeps your mind. The mind works with the body, soul, and spirit. It’s essential to have a quiet, peaceful, and restful mind. Negative thoughts upset your nervous system and harm the health of your body. But the peace of God prompts cheerful, hopeful, and encouraging thoughts, giving health and healing to soul and body.

When you know that you have received the “gift of righteousness,” the peace of God will govern and rule. But to live in peace and joy starts with knowing that you are righteous. “Those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17). Righteousness produces peace:

And the God of love and His peace will be with you (2 Cor. 13:11).

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:20).

Let the peace of God guard or govern your heart and mind (Phil. 4:7).

Let the peace of Christ rule in guidance (Col. 3:15).

Let the peace of God give you pure wisdom (James 3:17).

To be spiritually minded (righteous) is life and peace (Rom. 8:6).

2. RIGHTEOUSNESS RESULTS IN A QUIET CONFIDENCE IN GOD. “The effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17).

A harvest of righteousness is for those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:11). “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21 NKJV). You can stand before God in confidence, as if you never sinned, without guilt, fear, inferiority, or condemnation. “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2).

Grace and favor come through the revelation of your righteousness in Christ. You can say, “God’s favor surrounds me as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). Begin to declare God’s favor and live it. “The righteousness based on faith speaks” (Rom. 10:6 NASB). So start confessing, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:21).

“Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come…. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen…. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev. 1:4, 5, 6, 8 NKJV).

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).

“I will bring health and healing to the people there. I will heal them and let them enjoy great peace and safety” (Jer. 33:6 NCV).

Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” A recent study of more than 900 people who lived to be a hundred years old found that these people often say: “Don’t worry. It will all work out.” Maybe this is why they lived so long. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you…. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). As you put into practice the Word of God, the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:9).

3. RIGHTEOUSNESS GIVES YOU A RESTFUL DWELLING PLACE. “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Isaiah 32:18).

Remember when Elijah was running from Jezebel and hid in a mountain cave? He was downcast, discouraged, and confused, waiting on God. God did speak to him, but He was not in the earthquake or in the noise of thunder or in the flashing of lightning. This prophet of fire was not moved. Then a tornado came, tossing rocks down into the valley below. But even this did not move the man of God. With his exhausted and discouraged heart, he was finally in a place of rest in the Lord, hiding in the rock.

It was then that God spoke to him in a “still small voice,” or a “gentle whisper.” In tenderness the Lord ministered to Elijah. He listened to the voice of the Lord. I have found that when God speaks, the thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions are confirmed with peace and conviction. Only the gentle voice of God could heal Elijah’s heart and strengthen his spirit. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). From that place of rest in God, Elijah went forth in the strength of God.

The peace that comes from righteousness brings us to the quiet place where we can hear the voice of God. Peace, a deep rest in the grace of God, releases intimacy and a confident relationship. This grace silences all the fears, insecurities, and fleshly ambitions that so often drown out the voice of God in our lives. When we are frantically obsessed with getting it right, like it all depends on us, we badger God for directions lest we stray an inch to the left or right of some blueprint for our lives. But in our obsession for directions, we often forget that the right path is the path into His presence. And where we go is not as important as with whom we go. The road to Emmaus was not as important as the person who walked beside them and warmed their hearts with His presence.

But when “obedience to the faith” (trusting God alone) overflows out of thanksgiving for the free gift of righteousness, we enter into friendship with God—which like all true friendships means there is nothing to prove. True friends are comfortable with each other even in silence—being together is enough. But it’s also true that genuine friends share their secrets with each other like God did with Abraham who was called a friend of God. Out of relationship God shares His secrets with His friends—friends that can accept the gift of righteousness that gives us the peace to hang out together.

In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus talks about all the things in the world you could worry about, He gives God’s answer to worry and a troubled heart: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

The Lord answers fear by saying, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The kingdom is where the King rules. When Jesus rules you will have peace with God, peace with yourself, and peace with others, for righteousness produces peace, and peace flows into joy.

Your Need for God’s Righteousness

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict you of your need for righteousness. Not your righteousness, but your need for God’s gift of righteousness (John 16:8-11). Then you can stand in the presence of God without condemnation, guilt, or shame (Jude 24-25).

G. K. Chesterton said, “All men matter. You matter. I matter. It’s the hardest thing in theology to believe.”

The Bible says that God loves you and the whole world (John 3:16). That’s why God gave His son. But only when you receive the gift of righteousness will you believe that He accepts you. After that acceptance, you will have boldness with God and with man, for “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

“In righteousness you will be established” (Isaiah 54:14). To be established in something is to have that something as your foundation for security. “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:11-12).

Righteousness will provide you with peace, peace will produce joy, and joy will give you strength. I pray that you will have a “harvest of righteousness.”

Faith Encounter Report

As some of you remember, I have been to Rwanda in Africa on two separate occasions. During my time in Rwanda, I became acquainted with a wonderful young man of God who did some translating for me. His name is Evariste Nsabimana. Intelligent and eager to learn, Evariste has been accepted into Eastern University to study International Economic Development, a one-year Master's program developed by well-known author and speaker Tony Campolo. The program is designed to help poor communities in Third World countries climb out of their economic plight.

When Evariste completes his studies at Eastern, he will be a great asset to both his church and his community as he helps his fellow Rwandans rebuild their lives after so much tragedy and economic suffering. Evariste has been through his share of tragedy. He lived through the genocide that took the lives of some of his family members, including his father. I am amazed at his faith that remains strong even after he experienced one of the most brutal wars in modern history.

One of the best ways that we as Americans can help Third World countries like Rwanda is to help young men like Evariste become educated. Evariste's work in Rwanda will go so much further than what any of us would be able to do as outsiders. He speaks four languages and can relate to his people in their own cultural context.

As you know, however, education does not come without a price. But I am certain that the God who has called Evariste is able to make this a reality. He needs to raise a lot of money for travel expenses, books, and room and board. Please pray about this request to help Evariste, and if you feel called to give toward his education, I would greatly appreciate it. Your help is like a pebble thrown into a pond that ripples to benefit an untold number of people. This is how the kingdom of God is built on earth as it is in heaven.

Upcoming Meetings

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