If I were to ask you what makes a person righteous a lot of people would probably think of someone they think is pretty righteous and think about all the good that person does in life that makes them "more righteous". The definition of the word righteous is "morally right or justifiable....or very good/excellent". So I think everyone would agree that if we considered someone to be pretty righteous then their life, and the things in their life, would reflect it. Their actions, the things they do and the things they don't do. But the more you start to describe it like this, the more righteousness starts to sound like "works". And we know the bible teaches us that our righteousness is not about works, but it is because of Jesus. Any and all righteousness that our life reflects is not because of what we do....but because He can be seen IN us. So I would challenge you with this thought....Are you righteous because of the things you do.....or do you do those things because you are righteous?
Works alone are worthless......and faith alone is not the answer either. However, if you read James 2:14-26 you will see that the bible says faith and works must go together. That faith without works is dead!
If you know the story of Abraham, then you know that he was called by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. And you also know that Abraham "stepped out"... in faith... to do just that (works and faith), but God stopped him and provided a different sacrifice. So was it the act that Abraham was going to perform that made him righteous.....or was it the fact that Abraham had become a righteous man that made him willing to do this act? We must realize that it is never our acts that make us righteous and when we believe that it is we are living in a very dangerous place. Because it is in that place we will start to see ourself as righteous, not humble. In Jeremiah 29:23-24 it warns about boasting in our own righteousness. It says the Lord delights when we see that everything that is good in us comes from Him. (yes, I paraphrased a little there) It is important for us to know that the only righteousness we have is because of Him and that the good that comes out of that is also because of Him. Our righteousness simply means that we stand "right" before the Lord. And without Jesus NONE of us could do that. God's standard is too perfect for us to ever stand right before Him. However, our righteousness is because of what we believe and receive....and that is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to cover our sin and make us right before God. It is ONLY because of Jesus that we can be made clean and stand before God!
So let me end with this.....and hopefully I don't lose anyone here! If our righteousness comes from Jesus, and we know the good we do comes out of that, then even though we are becoming more righteous, we can still mess up. So this means a righteous person can still do wrong.....And we also know that someone who has not been saved can also perform a good deed. So this means an unrighteous person can still do something good... What is the difference? God sees the heart of each of those people...that is the difference. God knows that you just did what you did because you are letting Christ shine through your life.....or you just did what you did because you want the glory. The glory is God's.....it always has been, it still is and it always needs to be. Any righteousness in our lives should bring honor and glory to Him...not ourselves!
God, please help us not get caught up in the "acts" of doing good things. Also help us to not say we have faith, but do nothing to show it. Help us show the world that when we fully trust in You, rely on You, believe in You our lives should look different. Help us fight off the temptation that enemy wants us to fall under where we boast about our "good deeds" and let everything we do be done to bring honor and glory to You. In Jesus name, Amen.
I have never done this at the end of a blog, but please come back tomorrow to read what I'm going to post about "Will sin send you to hell?" As I was writing today's blog I already felt God pressing the next one on me. I pray that He will pour His words through me on this topic tomorrow.
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