Among believers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness may be hand picked. The majority are hungry and thirsty for money or material or various other things. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled” (Mt 5:6). In Nehemiah 9:15 we read that God gave the Israelites bread from heaven when they hungered in the wilderness and brought them water from the rock when they thirsted. When we compare this verse with John 6:35 which says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty,” we are struck by the beauty of the allegory. When we walk through the wilderness of life, if we are hungry and thirsty for holiness, Jesus keeps filling our cup all the time!
Many Christians are truly hungry and thirsty to grow in holiness at their inmost being. But they are so busy in life that they do not have the time to work at it. They are like the man who dreams that he is eating, but he awakens, and finds himself still
hungry; like a thirsty man who dreams that he is drinking, but he awakens faint, with his thirst unquenched (Isa 29:8). If we do not pay attention to the spiritual needs that cry from within, then the words of Jesus will become true of us: “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry” (Lk 6:25a).
An intelligent understanding about righteousness from the Scriptures will help us put on this breastplate of protection (Eph 6:14).
The first thing that encourages us is that more than our hunger and thirst, God is interested in guiding His children in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psa 23:3; Isa 62:1,2).
Next we must clearly understand that He alone is our righteousness. “The Lord our Righteousness” (Jer 23:6;33:16). Jehovah Tsidkanu. Apart from Him we have no righteousness. Our own righteousness is like soiled undergarments (the original Hebrew
expression). The parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector was aimed at those who were confident of their own righteousness. Paul hammers this truth again and again. “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom
from God — that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).
Even in the Old Testament, David had correctly understood the concept when he said, “My goodness is nothing apart from you” (Psa 16:2).
Does this mean we have nothing to do? Well, there are two aspects of righteousness. One is the faith aspect and the other is the work aspect.
First we’ll study the faith aspect. The one verse that repeats like a refrain in the Bible is, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3). The prophet Isaiah directs us to the faith of Abraham saying, “Listen to me, you
who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth” (Isa 51:1,2).
Paul picks up the Old Testament thread and goes on to assert that it is by faith and faith alone that one finds salvation in Christ. See how emphatically he nails his point in Romans 1:17: “In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” From the beginning to the end it is faith and faith alone. Paul devotes entire chapters in his letter to the Romans to stress this fact. In fact the theme of his letter to Romans is this.
Paul’s tug-of-war was with the Old Testament Christians who held on to Christ with one hand and the law with the other hand ‘to be on the safer side.’ We have our own laws of do’s and don’ts which we believe will earn our salvation. Paul thrashes all
such hopes. He argues that when a man works, his wages are not a gift but an obligation; but salvation is a free gift for which we do not labour (Rom 4:3-5). Study the whole letter of Romans to get your ideas about righteousness straight.
I always had difficulty understanding Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him, as righteousness,” until one day I thought like this: God asked Abraham: “Abraham will you go to heaven?” Abraham replied: “Lord, I believe You’ll
take me to heaven.” God was very happy Abraham totally trusted Him to do the job and said: “Right, you are very right.” So Abraham believed God and God counted it for him as righteousness. It is like depositing a paper cheque which gets converted to
money in the bank.
“The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom 4:23-25). Paul even ventures to call it, “The gift of righteousness!” (Rom 5:17). How wonderful that the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed John when he showed them the way of righteousness to enter the kingdom of God but the chief priests and elders missed the boat by not believing him (Mt 21:32).
Now, let’s see the other side of the coin— righteousness by works. Do we throw the entire responsibility on God’s shoulders and live as we please? God forbid!
Jesus Himself goes before us to prove this. Jesus said, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness,” and got baptized (Mt 3:13). He came all the way from Galilee to Judah to fulfill righteousness. Being righteous is doing what is right (1 Jn :7,10).
God laments, “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (Isa 48:18). Those who love God often put His commandments behind their backs. Jesus said, “If you love
Me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Many are those who count on the grace of God but neglect His commands. We have to be, “trained in righteousness” through the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16). The same Paul who outrightly says that it’s all by faith, counsels that we do not offer the parts of our body to sin but to Him as instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13). He recommends that we offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness (Rom 6:16-19). Words cannot be stronger!
So then what is it, faith or works? James clarifies our doubts: “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness; and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead so faith without deeds is dead” (Js 2:20-26).
We have to pursue righteousness (2 Tim 2:22); and seek righteousness (Zeph 2:3; Mt 6:33).
Growing in righteousness is not a pleasant process because it brings us under the whip of God. But later on it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:11). “The path of the righteous is level; O Upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth” (Isa 26:7). So don’t be discouraged. “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds” (Isa 3:10). Let this verse be an encouragement when you are criticized, persecuted and hated (Mt 5:10). You may even doubt yourself. Take heart, God is holding your hand. Those who desire to walk the path of holiness will suffer a lot. But the end is peace. “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults” (Isa 51:7). Eg. Mordecai did not bow down to Haman even after the decree to destroy the Jews had gone out because of his defiance.
For Abraham it was faith that was credited as righteousness. But there is one man to whom his courageous act was credited as righteousness. It was Phinehas. “Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. This was credited to him as
righteousness for endless generations to come” (Psa 106:30).
Psalm 85:13 makes our walk of righteousness very simple. Just follow the footsteps of Jesus and you will stroll along the path of righteousness! “Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps.”
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Among believers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness may be hand picked. The majority are hungry and thirsty for money or material or various other things. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled” (Mt 5:6). In Nehemiah 9:15 we read that God gave the Israelites bread from heaven when they hungered in the wilderness and brought them water from the rock when they thirsted. When we compare this verse with John 6:35 which says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty,” we are struck by the beauty of the allegory. When we walk through the wilderness of life, if we are hungry and thirsty for holiness, Jesus keeps filling our cup all the time!
Many Christians are truly hungry and thirsty to grow in holiness at their inmost being. But they are so busy in life that they do not have the time to work at it. They are like the man who dreams that he is eating, but he awakens, and finds himself still
hungry; like a thirsty man who dreams that he is drinking, but he awakens faint, with his thirst unquenched (Isa 29:8). If we do not pay attention to the spiritual needs that cry from within, then the words of Jesus will become true of us: “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry” (Lk 6:25a).
An intelligent understanding about righteousness from the Scriptures will help us put on this breastplate of protection (Eph 6:14).
The first thing that encourages us is that more than our hunger and thirst, God is interested in guiding His children in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psa 23:3; Isa 62:1,2).
Next we must clearly understand that He alone is our righteousness. “The Lord our Righteousness” (Jer 23:6;33:16). Jehovah Tsidkanu. Apart from Him we have no righteousness. Our own righteousness is like soiled undergarments (the original Hebrew
expression). The parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector was aimed at those who were confident of their own righteousness. Paul hammers this truth again and again. “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom
from God — that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).
Even in the Old Testament, David had correctly understood the concept when he said, “My goodness is nothing apart from you” (Psa 16:2).
Does this mean we have nothing to do? Well, there are two aspects of righteousness. One is the faith aspect and the other is the work aspect.
First we’ll study the faith aspect. The one verse that repeats like a refrain in the Bible is, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3). The prophet Isaiah directs us to the faith of Abraham saying, “Listen to me, you
who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth” (Isa 51:1,2).
Paul picks up the Old Testament thread and goes on to assert that it is by faith and faith alone that one finds salvation in Christ. See how emphatically he nails his point in Romans 1:17: “In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” From the beginning to the end it is faith and faith alone. Paul devotes entire chapters in his letter to the Romans to stress this fact. In fact the theme of his letter to Romans is this.
Paul’s tug-of-war was with the Old Testament Christians who held on to Christ with one hand and the law with the other hand ‘to be on the safer side.’ We have our own laws of do’s and don’ts which we believe will earn our salvation. Paul thrashes all
such hopes. He argues that when a man works, his wages are not a gift but an obligation; but salvation is a free gift for which we do not labour (Rom 4:3-5). Study the whole letter of Romans to get your ideas about righteousness straight.
I always had difficulty understanding Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him, as righteousness,” until one day I thought like this: God asked Abraham: “Abraham will you go to heaven?” Abraham replied: “Lord, I believe You’ll
take me to heaven.” God was very happy Abraham totally trusted Him to do the job and said: “Right, you are very right.” So Abraham believed God and God counted it for him as righteousness. It is like depositing a paper cheque which gets converted to
money in the bank.
“The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom 4:23-25). Paul even ventures to call it, “The gift of righteousness!” (Rom 5:17). How wonderful that the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed John when he showed them the way of righteousness to enter the kingdom of God but the chief priests and elders missed the boat by not believing him (Mt 21:32).
Now, let’s see the other side of the coin— righteousness by works. Do we throw the entire responsibility on God’s shoulders and live as we please? God forbid!
Jesus Himself goes before us to prove this. Jesus said, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness,” and got baptized (Mt 3:13). He came all the way from Galilee to Judah to fulfill righteousness. Being righteous is doing what is right (1 Jn :7,10).
God laments, “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (Isa 48:18). Those who love God often put His commandments behind their backs. Jesus said, “If you love
Me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Many are those who count on the grace of God but neglect His commands. We have to be, “trained in righteousness” through the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16). The same Paul who outrightly says that it’s all by faith, counsels that we do not offer the parts of our body to sin but to Him as instruments of righteousness (Rom 6:13). He recommends that we offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness (Rom 6:16-19). Words cannot be stronger!
So then what is it, faith or works? James clarifies our doubts: “You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness; and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead so faith without deeds is dead” (Js 2:20-26).
We have to pursue righteousness (2 Tim 2:22); and seek righteousness (Zeph 2:3; Mt 6:33).
Growing in righteousness is not a pleasant process because it brings us under the whip of God. But later on it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:11). “The path of the righteous is level; O Upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth” (Isa 26:7). So don’t be discouraged. “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds” (Isa 3:10). Let this verse be an encouragement when you are criticized, persecuted and hated (Mt 5:10). You may even doubt yourself. Take heart, God is holding your hand. Those who desire to walk the path of holiness will suffer a lot. But the end is peace. “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults” (Isa 51:7). Eg. Mordecai did not bow down to Haman even after the decree to destroy the Jews had gone out because of his defiance.
For Abraham it was faith that was credited as righteousness. But there is one man to whom his courageous act was credited as righteousness. It was Phinehas. “Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. This was credited to him as
righteousness for endless generations to come” (Psa 106:30).
Psalm 85:13 makes our walk of righteousness very simple. Just follow the footsteps of Jesus and you will stroll along the path of righteousness! “Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps.”
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
