1 Corinthians 1:30 "But you are of Him (God) in Christ Jesus, Who is caused to be our Wisdom (that is righteousness, and sanctification, and release from bondage [to sin]) by God," so, if we have Wisdom, that Wisdom is Jesus Christ, Himself. That Wisdom consists of righteousness, holiness, and redemption. So if we have any of these three, they are Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory. They are Jesus Christ, Who is our Life. God tells us, through Romans 5, that we shall be saved by His Life. We could just as well say that we shall be saved by Wisdom, which is Righteousness, Holiness, and Redemption, which is Life, which is Jesus Christ. Can you understand this?

Wisdom is not a collection of experience over a lifetime. Wisdom is Jesus Christ. Wisdom is the righteousness, sanctification/holiness, and redemption that Christ is. Righteousness, sanctification/holiness, and redemption are free gifts to us. He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20

Righteousness is a free gift. Self-generated righteousness consists of filthy rags no matter how sincerely a person wants to present them to God as an offering. True righteousness starts with God and ends with God. Our part is submission--allowing it to happen. So how does it happen. It starts with God speaking followed by the Faith coming. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word (Greek: rhema = utterance) of God. Keep in mnd that this isn't human-generated make-believe rationalized faith. This is the Faith of God which is a free gift lest any man should boast. Through Scripture, God tells us that it is Faith that gives us access into this grace and He also tells us that it is grace that does the works of God in us. God does the works through us. He does the works that He led us to do. These are the works that are by grace through faith. God tells us that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The thoughts, words, and deeds that are by grace through faith are righteousness, and nothing else is righteousness ever.

Scripture tells us that holiness comes out of righteousness. Righteousness is something you do (actually, God does within you). Each time we allow God to move within ourselves in this way, we are changed just a little bit in our minds. While righteousness is in the moment, holiness is a change to what we ARE. Holiness/sanctification is progressive, going from glory to glory, from faith to faith. The path of the just is as a shining light that shines more and more until that perfect day. As we go forward in this way, we are also set free from our slavery to the sinful nature. A slave set free is redeemed. We are redeemed as well, but you may have noticed, as I have, that it doesn't happen all at once. It goes from glory to glory as we are sanctified.

In the meantime, if we slip, Scripture is clear that we need only confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive them. However, sin has consequences. One of those consequences is that all sin is progressive and habit-forming. It re-crucifies Christ in us and puts us into deeper slavery to Satan. The part of our mind that is in slavery to the flesh, and thus under the influence of evil forces, is built up, while the part of our mind that has been transformed is weakened and partly dies off. So, living a double life keeps us from going forward. We take one step forward and two steps back so to speak.