The Necessity of Righteousness
So the Lord hit me hard with this one. Righteousness is involved in a lot of scriptures concerning promise, and is used many times to describe what the life of a Christian should look like. I was in a leadership meeting with my pastor this week and he challenged us to think critically and deductively about what our Christian walk individually and as a ministry should look like. Although his point didn't focus on righteousness on purpose, it still stood out to me because the Lord already placed the subject in my heart and he referred to Mathew 25:31-40. In it is described the day when the Lord will separate the righteous(sheep) from the ungodly(goats). The way in which he decides who is his and who is not is by their compassion for those in need. Pastor continued to describe what he would like to see in his ministry leaders, and he read Colossians 2:6 several times that says "...Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him." So in essence pastor described righteousness as walking in Jesus
Put that description of righteousness along with II Corinthians 5:21 which says "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Do you see the connection yet? We were made righteous through Christ, and our only concern is to choose to walk in that. The first step in the righteous direction is salvation through Jesus Christ, but many of us don't realize that to choose salvation is to take on the mind and heart of Christ as he renews us through his spirit. If we attempt to reject the mind and heart of Christ then we will end up on the wrong side of things and spend eternity apart from God. In Mathew 25:40 God tells all of those who did not show compassion to depart from him and they are sent to hell while he welcomed the righteous to go into heaven. We aren't talking about murder, or adultery here; we are talking about people who just didn't help people in need. OUCH!!!
This is just one example of the powerful effect of righteousness or a lack thereof in our lives. Even before I heard this powerful teaching on Mathew 25 the Lord showed me how critical righteousness is for the believer. Let's look at some of the promises of God.
Mathew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." -this is spoken of concerning provisions for living
James 5:15-16 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Psalms 37:29-31 "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide."
This is just the beginning of a long list of scriptural road signs leading us to a life of righteousness. I am overwhelmed by the flood of scripture. This study might take me all year. Feel free to dig in also. Be blessed people of God.
Put that description of righteousness along with II Corinthians 5:21 which says "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Do you see the connection yet? We were made righteous through Christ, and our only concern is to choose to walk in that. The first step in the righteous direction is salvation through Jesus Christ, but many of us don't realize that to choose salvation is to take on the mind and heart of Christ as he renews us through his spirit. If we attempt to reject the mind and heart of Christ then we will end up on the wrong side of things and spend eternity apart from God. In Mathew 25:40 God tells all of those who did not show compassion to depart from him and they are sent to hell while he welcomed the righteous to go into heaven. We aren't talking about murder, or adultery here; we are talking about people who just didn't help people in need. OUCH!!!
This is just one example of the powerful effect of righteousness or a lack thereof in our lives. Even before I heard this powerful teaching on Mathew 25 the Lord showed me how critical righteousness is for the believer. Let's look at some of the promises of God.
Mathew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." -this is spoken of concerning provisions for living
James 5:15-16 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Psalms 37:29-31 "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide."
This is just the beginning of a long list of scriptural road signs leading us to a life of righteousness. I am overwhelmed by the flood of scripture. This study might take me all year. Feel free to dig in also. Be blessed people of God.
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