Most people think they are their body and it’s easier to see now more than ever how the money-making machine out there aims to keep people focused on who they are in their flesh.

“Do you know that 99% of Americans believe tonight that they are their body?” says my pastor (Richard Jordan). “If I was the devil, I’d try to convince you you were your body so you’d pamper it, bathe it, clothe it, exercise it, feed it, educate it, make investments for it and live for it. That’s what I’d do if I was the devil; I’d teach you you are your body.”

Satan’s program is to keep a person’s life so busy with things that don’t make a difference that people don’t devote the time to even consider the things that do make a difference for eternity.

Jordan reminds, “Satan’s got 6,000 years of experience dealing with people like you and me. You don’t want to get cocky when you mess with him. He knows the Bible from one end to the other.”

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God’s integrity is made up His attribute of righteousness and it’s a characteristic of God to always be in the state of being right.

“God’s righteousness is the standard of His integrity of His holiness and His justice is the part of His nature that looks at what’s going on and measures what people do against the standard of His righteousness,” explains Jordan. “Every time God’s righteousness is offended the justice of God holds Him accountable, so it’s the justice of God that is the enforcing element of God’s nature—the unrelenting forcing element that enforces the righteous standard.”

What happens through the ‘justification’ of sinners (who make the decision to believe in Jesus Christ) is the justice of God is satisfied. It measures the person and says, ‘You match up now.’

“Imputed righteousness,” as Paul defines it, is God taking His righteousness and giving it to us precisely so we measure up.

Here’s a great passage on all this from Jordan:

“You know what God's saying? ‘You can't argue with me. As far as I’m concerned, you're just as righteous as my Son.’ Now, has that ever really sunk into you?! Paul says, ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.’

“You know what Jesus Christ thought? ‘I'm as righteous as God is. I am God.’ Now, you're not God, but you're in Christ and you've been made the righteousness of God in Him. You're as righteous as He is and He tells you to remember that! Think about that—before God you have a complete and adequate standing!

“God Almighty considers you as righteous as Jesus Christ and therefore you deserve— and are worthy—to receive everything Jesus Christ receives. Now who's going to charge you with anything when it's God Himself who settled it, and that's how God looks at it?

“Paul says, ‘Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.’ He says, ‘Who is he that condemneth?’ Somebody will come along and try and tell you, ‘Well you did such and such, so you don't deserve it,’ and he said, ‘It's Christ that died who maketh intercession for us.’

“The idea here is His sacrifice at Calvary is eternally and forever effective. It lasts forever. He’s the receipt PAID IN FULL. The justice of God is on your side because God justified you.

“Paul says, ‘Let me show you how to get rid of all your self-pity. There isn't anything to pity yourself for—look what you're in for! You've got an ace in the hole! There's glory in the end and anything that happens to you is only going to make that glory all the much better.

“Romans 8:32 says, ‘He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’

“That's a reference to the grace of God. Folks, do you think if God turned His Son over in order to save you He'd hold anything back?

“What's more valuable than His Son? You know what Paul’s saying? He's saying, ‘Hey, you got this thing by grace and, brother, you're going to get that up there (in heaven) by grace to, man.’ That's the justice of God coming into play. Who's going to charge you with anything? It's God who justifies, and when somebody comes along and says, ‘You're not good enough to obtain the inheritance,’ He says, ‘Hey, I justified you!’ ”

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John Verstegen, a preacher in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., says, “God promises in His Word to preserve the w-o-r-d-s. The words! Friends, the words are the issue! Not just the thoughts, and ideas, and concepts; not just the general message, but the very words! Remember, God’s Word was already settled in heaven before He ever began to communicate those words to mankind! God takes those words, communicates them to mankind, they’re written down; that’s what Scripture is!”