RIGHTEOUSNESS

What does it mean, to be righteous?  There are many scriptures that speak of God's righteousness and there are many scripture that speak about our righteousness.  How can we, as mere human beings, made of dust and dirt, ever be righteous before our Creator who is righteousness himself?  We are fallen creatures with selfish desires and filled with sin. So many times in our lives all we want to do is what we want to do and hardly even look at God, let alone know who He is and how righteous He is.  We seek our "self" most of our lives.  We are very selfish created beings.

 

So why do the scriptures tell us over and over again to be righteous? 

 

Proverbs 21:21 (NLT)

Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

 

Ephesians 5:8-10 (NKJV)

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

 

Matthew 5:20 (NKJV)

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Webster Dictionary defines righteous as:

acting in accord with divine or moral law

free from guilt or sin

morally right or justifiable

acting rightly

upright

according to what is right

righteous actions

a sense of what is right

 

Being morally right can be different in the eyes of each person depending on what their convictions are.  One person's idea of what is right many times does not match another persons idea of what is right.  Look at the comparison of what the criminal believes in and what the law abiding citizen believes in.  A criminal may believe that he can take whatever he wants from whomever he wants to take from while the law abiding citizen believes that it is illegal and is a crime and should be punished.  Each person makes a determination of what they believe is right and just for themselves.  Each person has their own idea of what truth is.  We live in a world where truth can be whatever you want it to be regardless of the reality of it.

 

But God is a spiritual being.  He is not a created being. He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is the Beginning and the End.  He is I AM.  He always was.  He always is.  Our finite minds have a hard time thinking about our Spiritual Father who is infinite.  His righteousness is compete.  It is without flaw.  It is perfect just as He is.  We are not.  So again, how can we be righteous in His eyes?  How can we ever meet that expectation?  How can we ever be like Him in righteousness?

 

Isaiah 55:9 - For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

 

Romans 11:33 - Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

 

Psalms 113:4 - For the LORD is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens.

 

Being right in the eyes of God is based upon His standards and not man's standards. He has given us teachings on how to be righteousness over and over in the Bible.  He has set the law down in writing and tells us to follow these laws.  His laws are not man's laws.  His ways are not man's ways.  Our conduct in the world is taught in scripture.  Our attitude towards others is taught in scripture.  Our use of words in the world is taught scripture.  Everything on how to go through day by day life on earth is taught in the scriptures.  We chose whether or not to live by those teachings or should I say, His law.  

 

Isaiah 33:22 - For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

 

When we choose to follow Jesus as our Lord, king and savior we choose to follow His laws. 

 

John 10:30 - I and my Father are one.

 

We choose to walk as He walked and talk as He talked.  We choose to do things His way and not the way of the world.  We come to the point where we know we are not of this world and are separated from the ways of this world.  We understand that the prince of this world is the evil one who seeks to steal, kill and destroy all things of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  The devil is filled with rebellion and wants to make us rebel against the laws of God.  We understand the battle is between good and evil and a fight for the souls of the people born into this world.  We understand that the devil wants to lead us away from God and His righteousness.  He wants us to be in rebellion to God so that our souls will be judged against God's law.  He does not want us to have any part of God's righteousness.

 

Every day we make choices to follow God and his righteousness or follow the ways of the world.  We have been given free will to determine the outcome of our lives.  We choose what to pursue in life.

 

Proverbs 21:21 - Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

 

I Am Free

Here in the United States of America we value our freedom.  This nation was formed by people who were under the rule of the king of England who would not let the people choose in many areas of their lives.  They were under a huge burden of taxation and were not allowed to worship freely.  The king decided how the common people would live their lives and if they did not follow his commands they were imprisoned or killed.  There was not a choice for the people.  They were slaves to the king.

 

Slavery in one form or another has been the plight of mankind from early on.  Early on even Adam and Eve and their children were slaves to the earth.  After their fall in the garden nothing was easy and they had to produce the food they would eat to live.  In the times of Noah there was great wickedness on earth so we should only assume that the strong used the weak as their slaves.  After the flood the same happened again.  Noah's son, Ham, sinned against his father Noah and his linage was cursed. A grandson of Ham, Nimrod declared himself king and decided to take his cousins (children of Shem and Japheth) as slaves for the city and tower (Babel) he was building in honor of his gods. He had forsaken the One True God. The stories of slavery continue until this day.

 

In our day owning a slave is detestable yet many workers in many industries will tell you they are a slave to their job.  Today people are slaves to their possessions.  They are slaves to their family.  They are slaves to their friends.  They are slaves to their sins.  Slavery is bondage to something or someone.  All who are held in some kind of bondage (slavery) know it yet somehow are unable or unwilling to break the chains.  They live in it for their entire lives and many die in it.

 

But there is hope for all of mankind held in any kind of slavery.  That hope is Jesus Christ who saves us from the trials, tribulations, and sins of this life.  He promises us an eternal life free from sin and slavery. He offers this free gift of forgiveness and salvation for eternity in a new world without sin and slavery.  He came to earth specifically to pay the price for us to be free from this worldly life filled with fear, wickedness, and bondage.  He promised to never leave us and to always be with us if we come to him and accept his saving gift of  forgiveness and to honor his commands to love one another and be gentle in spirit, words and deeds. 

 

We will still have to live in this fallen world even when we have come to the saving grace of Jesus.  We will still feel many time that we are not free from the wickedness of this world and the bondages it places on us as humans.  We still have to find a way to bring food to the table for our family.  We still have to live in a world where people choose other gods and idols.  As long as we are in this human body on this fallen earth we will have to deal with it's sinful ways.  The evil ruler of this earth is still going to try to place the people in bondage and slavery. He is still going to try to place chains of conviction on all of God's chosen people.  He is still going to try to place God's people in some kind of prison to keep them from the freedom that God gives to those who call upon His name.  He is still going to place doubts of our freedom from sin.  He will never give up trying to convince us we are not worthy enough to be free.

 

There are promises on promises throughout the Bible telling us that the Lord God Almighty will set us free from this world and all of the chains that bind us.  All we have to do is believe His word and His promises.

 

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) - Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

 

John 8:31-32 (NIV) - To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 

John 8:36 (NIV) - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.