What is the New Covenant answer to overcoming sin in our lives? It is becoming skilled in the word of righteousness. The word of righteousness is what the writer declares as maturity.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

A person skilled in the word of righteousness partakes of meat and milk. They have a broader diet in regards to what God can feed them. There are spiritual realities God wants to give us that we cannot enjoy unless we have become skilled in knowing that his work is FINISHED.

Question – Are we righteous (in right standing with God) because of what we do or what Jesus has done? Most of us know the correct theological answer (because of what Jesus has done), but, if you are like me, your emotional connection to God at times does not indicate you really believe this.

Our emotions are the litmus test for our thoughts. The thoughts you have lead to the emotions you have. The emotions you have lead to the actions you take. The actions you take indicate what you think about yourself.

Thoughts—> Emotions—>Actions

Be kind to yourself and the kindness will flow to others. You can only love others as you love yourself. Your self treatment is your world treatment. Your inner life affects the outer world and how it treats you.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews goes into deep theological truths in chapter five. He is talking about Melchizedek, an Old Testament picture of Jesus, but he cannot go on to progressive truth because the Hebrews have become “dull of hearing” and cannot spiritually comprehend what he is saying (Hebrews 5:11).

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Those “unskilled” in the word of righteousness are called babes and are dulled to the scriptural truths that will make them victorious in life. To stay fresh in the kingdom we need to keep feeding on his grace and rely on him. The unskilled are trying to establish their own righteousness rather than receive and keep the gift of righteousness from Christ.

If you don’t rely on grace, your spiritual senses are dulled. Grace “opens” up our senses to see, hear, taste, touch and feel the kingdom of God. Grace sharpens you.

“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

We could never become righteous on our own so the understanding of this truth and how to wield it is the measuring stick for maturity. We get to rely on Jesus and his goodness. We will be unfolding this grace into every area of our lives for years to come. For the successive ages of Heaven we will still be uncovering the grace of God.

Jesus Changed Everything

Everything changed because of Jesus. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It’s crazy to consider we have been given the “righteousness” of God. Just ponder that statement! It’s unbelievable in implication.

As we receive this abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, we not only become righteous, but we have the key to overcoming sin. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Grace (God’s unmerited and undeserved favor) is the key to overcome. The more we feed on the love of God and his kindness for us in our sin, the more we will see grace as a way to escape the decadent desires of the sinful life. That old life is dead as we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Whatever that current struggle is, if you view yourself as set free and persist (yes, it takes time) then you will experience freedom.

Faith (trust in God and his word) + Patience (Staying fixed on the promise in the midst of difficulties, contradictions and trials) = Experience of God’s promise.

Hebrews 11:1 TPT [1] Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.

What does it mean, to be skilled in the word of righteousness? How do I make sure I am feasting on the meat of God’s word? Here is the indicator: I will believe I am still righteous when I sin. I will refuse to believe I can sin away the righteousness I have in Jesus. I will refuse to try to establish my righteousness through my own efforts. I lean on his work in my life for my standing before God. God is the one who has established me. What God did I cannot undo because I am nowhere near as powerful as God.

Many preachers and teachers over-emphasize the Ten Commandments and Christian works when speaking of righteousness. Even though there is much wisdom that can be gained in these, making it the prominent teaching will actually create more sin. “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound” (Romans 5:20). If we focus more on what we need to do than what Christ has done, we are not rightly dividing the Old and New Testaments. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). There was a clear difference between the old and the new covenant.

Some would say, “This teaching will lead to more sin.” On the contrary, this teaching is the only teaching that can truly cause us to overcome sinful behaviors.

As we become skilled in the word of righteousness by continually believing we are righteous, we will start receiving the meat of God’s word which will cause us to reign in life. Yes, we may need help from gifted counselors and anointed people to minister to problem-causing root issues in our lives, but our belief that we are righteous will be the single most important thing to seeing righteousness manifest in us. You have to believe you are righteous before you can live righteous.

Right believing—→ Right living