Paul made it clear in his letter to the Romans that no one can be justified by their own personal character or conduct (Romans 3:20). Quoting Psalm 14:1-3 and 53:1-3, Paul said, “No one is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” Paul explained in his letter to the Galatians that to be justified by faith we must believe in Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:16). Paul went on to explain that believers are not only justified by faith but must live by faith in order to please God. Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4, stating, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). The Greek word that is translated righteous, dikaios (dikˊ-ah-yos) means “innocent, holy” (G1342). Dikaios is spoken, “especially of those whose hearts are right with God: righteous, pious, godly (Matthew 13:43; 23:29; 25:45; Mark 6:20; Luke 14:14; Romans 2:13; 3:10).” Justification is the act that results in a person being made righteous. God declares a person innocent, holy (justified) when by faith he accepts Jesus Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross as payment for the penalty of his sins.

Paul said in Galatians 2:20 that he had been crucified with Christ and it was no longer he who was living, but Christ who was living in him. Paul concluded, “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Living by faith is necessary because we don’t go to heaven immediately after accepting Christ as our Savior. When believers live by faith, their lives have no ending; what they are doing now and will be doing after they die transforms into one continuous eternal existence. Paul wrote about this in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul compared the difference between being alive or dead to the difference between being awake or asleep. Paul said, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

Paul indicated that we could live with Christ even though he is physically in heaven and we are physically on earth (1 Thessalonians 5:10). The way that happens is for us to put on Christ. What Paul meant by putting on Christ is something similar to getting dressed each day. In the same way that we put on clothes to cover our physical nakedness we must put on Christ to cover our flesh, the part of us that is displeasing to God. Paul described the process of putting on Christ in Ephesians 6:13-18 as putting on the whole armor of God. When we are living with Christ, we are protected from the schemes of the devil and can pray effectively for other believers and the accomplishment of God’s will in our lives.

Paul instructed believers in Romans 13:14 to not gratify the desires or passions of the flesh. Paul said that believers must, “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). The Apostle Peter wrote about the passions of the flesh being at war against our soul in his first letter (1 Peter 2:11). Paul elaborated on this point in Galatians 5:17 where he said, “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things that you want to do.” The reason why believers must put on Christ is because the battle between our flesh and the Spirit of God cannot be won by us doing the right thing. We must constantly wage war against the schemes of the devil by diligently putting on each piece of the armor that Christ provided through his death, burial, and resurrection.