95 Theses on Righteousness by FaithRighteousnessThesis 1: A Christian does what is right because he is a Christian, never in order to be one.Thesis 2: Righteousness = Jesus. We have no righteousness apart from Him.Thesis 3: The only way to seek righteousness is to seek Jesus.Thesis 4: Christianity and Salvation are not based on what you do but on whom you know.Thesis 5: Doing right by not doing wrong is not doing right. Being good by not being bad is not being good.Thesis 6: Righteousness will make you moral, but morality will not make you righteous.Thesis 7: Our good works have nothing to do with causing us to be saved. Our bad works have nothing to do with causing us to be lost.SinThesis 8: Everyone is born sinful (or self-centered) because everyone is born separated from God. Thesis 9: God does not hold us accountable for being born sinful. Thesis 10: We sin because we are sinful. We are not sinful because we sin. Thesis 11: Sin (singular)-living apart from God, results in sins (plural)-doing wrong things. Thesis 12: Whoever lives life apart from God is living in sin. FaithThesis 13: The best definition for faith is trust. Trust is depending upon another. Thesis 14: Knowing God results in trusting God. If you don't know Him, you won't trust Him. If you don't trust Him, you don't know Him. Thesis 15: Faith is a fruit of the Spirit, not a fruit of the person. It is not something we work on, or work up.Thesis 16: Positive thinking does not produce genuine faith, but faith will produce positive thinking. SurrenderThesis 17: Surrender is giving up on ourselves, not giving up our sins. Giving up our sins is the result of giving up on ourselves and seeking God. Thesis 18: Working to give up our sins can keep us from giving up on ourselves. Thesis 19: No one can crucify himself or bring himself to surrender. Someone else must do that for him.Thesis 20: We are controlled by God or Satan. The only control we have is to choose who will control us.Thesis 21: The surrender of the will is the surrender of the power of choice, but we use our power of choice to surrender it. We give up our power of choice toward behavior; we keep our power of choice toward relationship. Thesis 22: The only deliberate effort in the Christian life is to seek God. Spontaneous effort toward other things will result. Thesis 23: Growing Christians experience on-again, off-again surrender. Sometimes they de-pend on God, sometimes on themselves. ConversionThesis 24: Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit, which produces a change of attitude toward God and creates a new capacity for knowing God. Thesis 25: Conversion leads to a changed life.Thesis 26: Conversion and repentance are continuing experiences, not once only. RepentanceThesis 27: Repentance is sorrow for sin and turning away from sins. Repentance is a gift. Therefore, sorrow for sin is a gift, and turning away from sins is a gift. Thesis 28: We do not change our lives in order to come to Christ. We come to Him just as we are, and He changes our lives. Thesis 29: God gives us repentance before He gives forgiveness. Thesis 30: Worldly sorrow is being sorry we broke a law and got caught. Godly sorrow is be-ing sorry we broke a heart and hurt our best Friend. ForgivenessThesis 31: The only known sin that can't be forgiven is the one for which we don't repent and ask forgiveness. Thesis 32: Forgiveness does the sinner no good unless he accepts it. Thesis 33: God's forgiveness is not limited, but our acceptance of His forgiveness can be. Thesis 34: Those who are forgiven much will love much. Those who love much will obey much. Thesis 35: Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. It cost the life of God's dear Son. The CrossThesis 36: God forgives sinners, not sins, but the Bible calls this the forgiveness of sins. Jesus died because sins could not be forgiven. Thesis 37: Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. Thesis 38: The cross made it possible for God to be just and yet to forgive anyone. Thesis 39: The death of Christ was necessary in order for us to be forgiven. Thesis 40: We can add nothing to what Jesus did at the cross, but God can add plenty. AssuranceThesis 41: Staying with Jesus is just as important as coming to Him. Thesis 42: Assurance of salvation continues through the daily personal relationship with Jesus. Thesis 43: Christians should know that they have the assurance of salvation today. Thesis 44: The Bible teaches once-saved always-saved as long as you keep saved.Thesis 45: Peace does not come from victory, but victory comes from peace. Thesis 46: One reason we keep sinning is that we don't believe we are forgiven. Assurance leads to victory. Uncertainty leads to defeat. RelationshipThesis 47: Righteousness by faith is an experience, not just a theory. Thesis 48: The Christian's devotional life is not optional. The relationship with God is the entire basis of the ongoing Christian life. Thesis 49: If we don't take time for the Bible and prayer we will die spiritually. Thesis 50: Just because you read the Bible and pray doesn't mean you'll have a relationship with God. But if you don't, you won't. Thesis 51: The primary purpose of prayer is not to get answers but to know Jesus. Thesis 52: The primary purpose of Bible study is not to get information but to know Jesus. Thesis 53: Things often go worse when we pray until we learn to seek Jesus for His sake, not ours. Thesis 54: Anyone who gets discouraged with his relationship because of his behavior is a legalist.ObedienceThesis 55: True obedience is a gift from God (the robe is free!).Thesis 56: Real obedience comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. Thesis 57: Genuine obedience is natural and spontaneous. It comes only through the faith relationship with Christ. Thesis 58: One who is depending on God for power doesn't have to try hard to obey. He would have to try hard not to. Thesis 59: Obedience that is only external is false obedience. Thesis 60: When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our lives will be lives of continual obedience. LawThesis 61: Anyone who tries to live the Christian life apart from Christ is not a Christian. He is a legalist, whether conservative or liberal. Thesis 62: There is no power for genuine obedience in the law. Mount Sinai is no good with-out Mount Calvary. Thesis 63: Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, but not the end of the law. WorksThesis 64: Good works done apart from Christ are bad works. Thesis 65: The purpose of good works is not to save us, but to bring glory to God. Thesis 66: When it comes to genuine faith and works, you can't have one without the other. GrowthThesis 67: Faith grows in quantity, not quality. Growth is in the constancy of dependence upon God. Thesis 68: You don't grow by trying to grow. Thesis 69: Christians grow stronger by realizing their weakness. When they are weak, then they are strong. Thesis 70: We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but without Him we can do nothing. AbidingThesis 71: Satan has no power to cause those who depend on God to sin, but those who depend on themselves are easily defeated. Thesis 72: The abiding daily relationship with God leads to abiding surrender, moment-by-moment dependence on Him. Thesis 73: Looking to self is always the point of separation from God and breaks the moment-by-moment dependence on Him. Thesis 74: God will never separate from us. But we can choose to separate from God. WitnessThesis 75: The reason God wants us to witness is primarily for our good. Thesis 76: The desire to share comes naturally for the genuine Christian (although methods may very). Thesis 77: The happiest person in the world is the one most involved in serving others. The most miserable person is the one most involved in serving self. Thesis 78: Christian service in the spiritual life corresponds to exercise in the physical life. Thesis 79: We cannot give to others that which we do not ourselves possess. TemptationThesis 80: The real issue in temptation is whether to live life apart from Christ. Thesis 81: Temptations become sins when we consent to them in our minds. Thesis 82: Jesus was tempted to do right, but in His own power, and so are we. Thesis 83: The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, but not the ungodly. Thesis 84: Temptations are not overcome at the time of temptation, but always before. VictoryThesis 85: Victory is not something we achieve. It is something we receive. Thesis 86: In the Christian warfare we are active toward the fight of faith and passive toward the fight of sins. Thesis 87: Real victory is getting the victory over trying to get the victory. PerfectionThesis 88: Perfection of character is not our work. It is God's work in us. Thesis 89: Perfection can be a dangerous topic if it focuses our attention on ourselves and our own works. JesusThesis 90: Jesus was like Adam before the fall in that He had a sinless nature–He was not born separated from God. Jesus was like Adam after the fall in physical strength, mental power, and moral worth (backbone). Thesis 91: Jesus had no advantage over us in overcoming temptation. Thesis 92: Jesus overcame temptation the same way we can overcome: by power from above rather than power from within. Thesis 93: Jesus found sins repulsive. So long as we depend on God, we also find sins repulsive. Thesis 94: We can never be as Jesus was, but we can do as Jesus did. Thesis 95: The problem of sin is a broken relationship between God and man. The goal of salvation is to restore the relationship between God and man.
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