Because This Is True, How Should I Live?
The Belt of Truth asks:
What does God say is true?
The Breastplate of Righteousness brings us to the next question:
Because this is true, how should I live?
But before we start examining our behavior, we need to understand something important.
Where does righteousness come from?
Is it something we earn?
Something Christ gives us?
Something we’re called to live out?
And what happens when we don’t?
It’s possible to fall into opposite errors.
We can become so focused on doing the right things that we begin trusting our behavior to make us acceptable to God.
Or we can become so comfortable with grace that we stop asking whether the way we live actually reflects the One we say we follow.
So rather than beginning with what we think righteousness means, let’s open Scripture and allow God’s Word to lead us.
We’re not looking for everything wrong with us.
We’re asking God to reveal where He is calling us into greater alignment with Him.
Before You Begin
Father, teach me through Your Word what righteousness really means. Show me where I may be trusting in my own goodness, where I may be excusing something You are asking me to change, and where I may be carrying shame You never asked me to carry. Give me humility to see myself honestly and courage to respond when Your Word calls me to change. Help me rest in what Christ has done and increasingly live like someone who belongs to Him. Amen.
1. What do I see?
Before we study righteousness, let’s look honestly at our lives.
Think about the last several days.
Not your intentions.
Not what you know Christians are supposed to do.
Your actual life.
Where have my reactions recently looked least like Jesus?
Maybe it was:
A conversation.
An argument.
Something you said or thought about another person.
Something you chose not to say.
The way you responded when someone hurt you.
A temptation.
Bitterness you’ve continued carrying.
Something hidden.
A decision you’ve avoided.
Something you know God has asked you to do.
A private habit no one else sees.
What situation comes to mind?
What did I actually say or do?
What was happening inside me?
Anger?
Fear?
Pride?
Jealousy?
Bitterness?
Self-protection?
A desire for approval?
A need to be right?
A desire to retaliate?
Something else?
What did I want in that moment?
To honor God?
To protect myself?
To prove myself?
To be understood?
To get my way?
To avoid discomfort?
To make someone feel what I felt?
Don’t explain it yet.
Just look at it honestly.
What Happens When I Know What Is Right—but Don’t Want to Do It?
Sometimes our struggle isn’t knowing what Scripture says.
Sometimes we already know.
The difficulty is that obedience may cost us something.
Maybe:
I know I should forgive, but part of me still wants them to hurt.
I know I should reconcile, but what if they hurt me again.
I know I need a boundary, but I’m afraid someone will be upset with me.
I know I should tell the truth, but I’m afraid of what will happen if I do.
I know I should apologize, but I don’t want to admit I was wrong.
I know gossip is wrong, but I want someone to validate my anger.
I know what Scripture says, but I still want what I want.
I know I should be generous, but what if it leaves me without enough?
Is there something I already know God wants me to do that I’ve been resisting?
What makes obedience difficult?
What am I afraid obedience might cost me?
Now finish this sentence honestly:
I know what God says, but ______________________________.
Don’t correct the answer.
We’re going to bring it with us into Scripture.
What Happens When I Fail?
Some of us struggle in the opposite direction.
We aren’t excusing our failures. We’re crushed by them.
Maybe our thoughts sound like:
I should be better than this.
God must be disappointed in me.
I keep failing.
Maybe God is tired of forgiving me.
I need to get myself together before I come back to Him.
Think about the last time you knew you had sinned.
What was my first instinct?
Hide?
Defend myself?
Blame someone else?
Minimize it?
Punish myself?
Promise to try harder?
Confess?
Return to God?
Now go deeper.
What do I believe makes me acceptable to God?
My behavior?
My good intentions?
Being better than someone else?
Religious activity?
My reputation?
How well I’ve performed lately?
Jesus Christ?
Deep down, do I believe God’s acceptance of me rises and falls with how well I performed today?
Hold those answers.
Now let’s see what Scripture says.
2. What does God say?
We’re bringing two questions to Scripture:
How am I made righteous before God?
And:
How should someone who belongs to Christ live?
Let’s read.
Where Does Righteousness Come From?
Read Philippians 3:3–11
Don’t begin with verse 9.
Read Paul’s whole argument.
What reasons did Paul once have for confidence in himself?
What had he previously valued?
What changed when Christ became the center?
Now look carefully at verse 9.
What kind of righteousness does Paul reject?
Where does the righteousness he desires come from?
According to this passage, where should my confidence before God rest?
Now read:
2 Corinthians 5:17–21
Pay particular attention to verses 18–21.
Who initiates reconciliation?
What does God do through Christ?
Now slow down at verse 21.
What does this verse say happened to Christ?
What does it say happens to us in Him?
What does this reveal about the source of our righteousness?
Now read:
Romans 3:21–26
Look for these words:
righteousness
faith
grace
redemption
Christ Jesus
How is righteousness received?
What role does grace play?
What role does Jesus play?
What do these passages leave me able to boast about?
Return to what you wrote earlier.
Have I been trusting anything besides Christ to make me right before God?
What Happens When I Fail?
Now read:
Romans 8:1–4
Don’t stop after verse 1.
Who is described as having no condemnation?
What was the law unable to accomplish?
What did God do?
Now continue with:
Romans 8:31–34
Who justifies?
Who can successfully bring a charge against those God has justified?
What is Christ doing in verse 34?
Return to your own response when you fail.
Does the way I respond to my sin align with these passages?
Do I confess and return to God—or do I behave as though my failure has made Christ’s work insufficient?
Am I carrying something God calls me to repent of—or something Christ has already forgiven?
Keep that question nearby.
We’ll return to it.
If Righteousness Comes Through Christ, Does the Way I Live Still Matter?
Again, don’t answer from memory.
Read Ephesians 4:17–32
Look for the movement in the passage.
What are believers told to put off?
What does Paul say should happen to the way they think?
What are they told to put on?
Now look at the practical instructions.
What behaviors are believers told to stop?
What are they told to do instead?
Notice how ordinary some of them are.
Truth instead of falsehood.
Useful work instead of stealing.
Words that build rather than destroy.
Kindness instead of bitterness.
Compassion instead of malice.
Forgiveness instead of resentment.
What does this passage suggest about the relationship between belonging to Christ and the way I actually live?
Now read:
Titus 2:11–14
Pay attention to grace.
What does grace bring?
What does grace teach us to say “No” to?
What does grace teach us to pursue?
Now compare that with your own understanding of grace.
Have I thought of grace primarily as forgiveness after I sin—or does Scripture show grace also teaching me how to live?
Is there anything I’ve called “grace” that Scripture may actually be asking me to change?
How Does Real Change Happen?
At this point, it would be easy to conclude:
I need to try harder.
But let’s see what Scripture says.
Read Galatians 5:16–26
Notice the contrast between the flesh and the Spirit.
What conflict does Paul describe?
What kinds of behaviors characterize the flesh?
What does the Spirit produce?
Write the fruit down slowly.
Now return to the situation you identified at the beginning.
Which of my responses look more like the flesh?
What would the fruit of the Spirit look like in this exact situation?
Maybe:
Love instead of retaliation.
Peace instead of control.
Patience instead of irritation.
Kindness instead of contempt.
Faithfulness when obedience is costly.
Gentleness when your words could wound.
Self-control when every emotion tells you to react.
Which fruit seems most noticeably absent from the way I’ve been responding?
Where can I already see God producing His fruit in me?
Now read:
Romans 8:12–14
According to verse 13, how are sinful practices put to death?
Who leads God’s children according to verse 14?
Now ask:
Have I been approaching change primarily as something I need to accomplish through willpower?
What does Scripture show me about God’s role in transforming the way I live?
3. Where don’t they align?
Return to what you wrote at the beginning.
Don’t think about someone else who needs to read this.
Stay with your own heart.
Your own choices.
Your own responses.
What I see, believe or do:
What God’s Word says:
Where they don’t align:
Maybe:
I know Scripture tells me to forgive, but I’m holding onto resentment because I believe they don’t deserve forgiveness.
Or:
I say my righteousness comes from Christ, but when I fail, I punish myself as though His grace depends upon my performance.
Or:
I know my words should build others up, but I’ve justified gossip because I’m hurt.
Or:
I say I trust God, but I’m willing to compromise obedience when doing the right thing might cost me approval.
Or:
I know something is sinful, but I’ve renamed it so I don’t have to confront it.
Maybe Scripture has exposed something completely different.
What did God’s Word reveal in me?
Is there anything I’m still trying to justify?
Sometimes we soften what we see.
It’s just my personality.
I’m stressed.
Everyone does it.
I’m just being honest.
They started it.
God knows my heart.
This is how I protect my peace.
Understanding why we behave a certain way can be helpful.
But explanation isn’t always justification.
Is there anything I’ve been explaining that God’s Word is asking me to confess?
What might I be protecting by refusing to change?
Pride?
Comfort?
Approval?
Control?
A relationship?
An image?
The right to stay angry?
Something else?
This isn’t about searching for reasons to condemn ourselves.
It’s about allowing God’s truth to expose the place where transformation is needed.
4. How do I align?
Return to the passage that challenged you most.
Read it again.
Then ask:
What is God showing me through His Word?
What specifically needs to change?
Now read:
1 John 1:5–10
What contrast does John make between darkness and light?
What does John say about claiming to have no sin?
What promise is connected with confession?
What would bringing this area fully into the light look like for me?
Maybe the first step isn’t fixing anything.
Maybe it’s simply calling something what God calls it.
God, this is sin.
No excuses.
No comparison.
No hiding.
And then receiving what Scripture says is true about confession and forgiveness.
What Does Obedience Look Like?
Read James 1:19–25
Pay particular attention to verses 22–25.
What warning does James give about hearing God’s Word without acting on it?
What comparison does he use?
What might I be seeing in the mirror of God’s Word right now?
Now ask:
What would obedience look like in my actual life?
Maybe:
Apologizing without adding “but.”
Forgiving.
Telling the truth.
Stopping gossip.
Ending a sinful behavior.
Keeping a commitment.
Changing how you speak to someone.
Establishing a boundary without bitterness.
Asking someone to forgive you.
Seeking accountability.
Doing something God has been asking you to do that you’ve continually postponed.
Don’t choose ten things.
Choose one faithful response.
Because God’s Word says ______________________________,
I will _______________________________________________.
When will I do it?
Then ask:
Where do I need God’s help to actually obey what His Word has shown me?
Conviction or Condemnation?
Sometimes when God exposes sin, we don’t move toward repentance.
We move toward shame.
So let’s examine the difference through Scripture.
Read 2 Corinthians 7:8–10
What does godly sorrow produce?
Where does it lead?
Now return to:
Romans 8:1
What does this verse say about those who are in Christ Jesus?
Put those truths beside each other.
Is what I’m experiencing leading me toward confession, repentance and God?
Or:
Is it driving me toward hiding, self-punishment and hopelessness?
Conviction doesn’t require us to pretend sin isn’t serious.
It brings sin into the light and leads us toward repentance.
Condemnation leaves us believing there is no way back.
Which direction am I moving?
What does Scripture tell me to do next?
If God has revealed sin:
Confess it.
Receive His forgiveness.
Turn from it.
Obey.
And keep walking with Him.
And Then Keep Growing
Righteous living isn’t one act of obedience.
And transformation isn’t completed when we finish this study.
Read Philippians 2:12–13
Read both verses together.
What responsibility do believers have?
Who does verse 13 say is working in us?
What is God working in us to do?
Now notice the tension Scripture holds together.
We are called to respond.
To obey.
To repent.
To put off what doesn’t belong.
To put on what reflects Christ.
And at the same time:
God is at work in us.
So ask:
Where am I tempted to believe my behavior doesn’t really matter because I’m under grace?
And:
Where am I tempted to believe everything depends upon me becoming good enough?
What does Scripture show me instead?
We don’t obey so that grace will save us.
And grace doesn’t leave us where it found us.
God continues His work in us as we learn to walk in obedience to Him.
5. Take it into real life.
Imagine tomorrow brings the same situation.
The same temptation.
The same person.
The same frustration.
The same wound gets touched.
The same opportunity to hide, gossip, retaliate, compromise, control or protect your pride appears.
Pause.
What does God’s Word say?
What is happening inside me?
What response would come naturally to me?
Does that response align with Scripture?
What would the fruit of the Spirit look like here?
What would obedience look like right now?
Am I willing to obey anyway?
Now think beyond one moment.
If God continued transforming this area of your life:
What might someone close to me begin to notice?
Would they see:
Quicker apologies?
More honesty?
Less bitterness?
More patience?
Greater self-control?
Healthier boundaries?
More forgiveness?
A willingness to admit when you’re wrong?
A different response when you’re hurt?
How might someone see more of Jesus in me because of the way I live?
ONE LAST LOOK
Return to:
Philippians 3:7–11
Then read:
Ephesians 4:22–24
And:
Galatians 5:16, 22–25
Don’t look for something new.
Look back at where you began.
What does Philippians 3 show me about where my righteousness comes from?
What does Ephesians 4 show me about how someone who belongs to Christ is called to live?
What does Galatians 5 show me about how God changes us?
Now return to the situation you identified at the beginning.
Was I excusing something God’s Word is asking me to change?
Was I carrying condemnation Christ has not given me?
What did Scripture show me about my standing before God?
What did Scripture show me about how I am called to live?
Where don’t those truths currently align with my life?
What is one thing I will actually do because of what God’s Word has shown me?
Don’t leave this study simply knowing more about righteousness.
And don’t leave believing transformation now depends entirely upon you.
Return to Christ.
Respond to what God has shown you.
Take the next faithful step.
And keep allowing Him to change you.
Prayer
Father, thank You that I don’t have to earn my place before You. My confidence is not in how well I performed today, but in what Christ has done for me. At the same time, don’t let me use grace as an excuse to remain unchanged. Show me where my life doesn’t align with Your Word. Give me humility to confess sin instead of explaining it away, faith to receive Your forgiveness instead of hiding in shame, and strength to obey when doing what is right costs me something. Continue Your work in me. Let the way I live increasingly reflect the One I say I follow. Amen.
EVEN IF, STILL
Even if God’s Word exposes something in me I don’t want to see, still, I will bring it into the light.
Even if obedience costs me pride, comfort or approval, still, I will choose to follow where God leads.
Even if I fail, still, I will return to Christ instead of hiding in shame.
Even if becoming more like Jesus requires me to change, still, I will trust God enough to let Him change me.
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