What Is The Righteousness Of God?
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
In the Greek, righteousness is an action performed by someone with “equity of character”. It is normally spoken of in Christian circles as “living right” or doing something in accordance with God’s Law…
If I do something out of a noble and loving heart, I am showing the righteousness of man, not the righteousness of God.
When God does something wonderful that demonstrates His amazing goodness and mercy, the Bible refers to that event as the righteousness of God.
-The place where God is doing His will is called in the scriptures
the Kingdom of God.
Most prayers that Christians pray are prayers for God to do something. They are in fact, requests for the righteousness of God.
(Note: Petty prayers (please help us to remember these three
points that I just preached…) are generally not directed to
God, but rather they are expressions of OUR desires and
wishes.)
The problem is that it is rare for God to respond to us with His righteousness.
-God’s people have always had this problem and a great deal of
the scriptures are given to help us find our way into the Kingdom
of God.
Let’s consider what the Bible tells us about why we don’t see the righteousness of God, and how we will see the righteousness of God:
Romans 9:30-33 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The Jews were very serious about getting God to move for them.
-They were very religious; always trying to do the right thing.
-They memorized scriptures and read the Bible constantly.
-They prayed and fasted and cried before God.
These are the very things that we Gentiles do to please God!! Certainly any serious Christian wants to avoid sin and live life according to the scriptures. ALL Christians love the scriptures and can converse about them from memory…
Yet the Jews were not successful in their attempts to get God to deliver them. They tried to persuade God to do what they wanted Him to do by carefully keeping His laws.
When Jesus tried to correct them, many rejected Jesus! We will see that even many Christians have tripped on this stumbling stone…
Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
You and I know that EVERY MOUTH and ALL THE WORLD includes each one of US! The purpose of the Law is to prove that we are all illegals and criminals and do not deserve to know God!
You may say that you are not that bad, but let’s face the truth: On your best day, you are not impressing God!
Imagine a man going to his neighbor to ask for some help:
Look, Bill;
-I haven’t lied to you today and I haven’t stolen from you all this
week.
-It’s been years since I’ve slept with your wife or beat your kids.
-I did lie to the police when I accused you for what I did that time,
but after all, I do feel bad about it.
Such a man has forgotten who he is… and yet, we have ALL done far worse to God and His children!
Romans 3:21-23 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We all need Jesus to take care of things. We want the glory of God (His love, power and righteousness), but we messed that up long ago… Saying we are sorry does not make us righteous. Neither does repentance. Repentance is an admission of guilt and inability to BE what God expects us to be.
What has Jesus done for us?
Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
What does it mean to have faith in Christ Jesus?
How do you have faith in His blood?
How do you believe unto His righteousness?
Consider a man in Phoenix, Arizona whose air conditioner has broken down. He has no idea what is wrong or how to fix it…
-The temperature in his house is at 110 degrees and climbing.
-His medications aren’t working and he is in serious trouble.
-His wife has gone to live with her folks…
He calls for an A/C technician to come to his home and repair it. What does he expect from the A/C tech? How can he trust the technician?
-The tech should have all the appropriate tools (and know how to use
them).
-The tech should know how the a/c should work and quickly identify
what the problem is.
-The tech should actually fix the a/c and make it work correctly!
This story is really a parable about what Jesus has done and how we can believe in Him:
If you will trust Jesus with your life; to do His will with you today and forever…
-Jesus has the tools needed to justify you and wash away the sins
that make you filthy before God. Jesus was born a son of man, lived
a sinless life, suffered and bled to death FOR YOU!
-Jesus knows what your life should be and knows what is wrong.
-Jesus will actually FIX your heart and life and give you the life that
God has always planned for you!
Now, some people never do get their air conditioners fixed. That’s because they either don’t trust the technician or won’t give the technician what he requires to fix the a/c… Perhaps the tech is asking too much: replacing a compressor or installing new ducts or upgrading the electrical system. If the man is unable to pay for such things, he cannot (at this time) get the repairs done.
Romans 3:24 says that we are justified freely. Jesus has cried out that what He offers us is without charge (Rev.22:17).
Salvation is free, but what should we expect from Jesus?
I mean, if you give your life to Him, what will He do with it?
Don’t think that if Jesus takes control of your life that you will just continue as you are (but happier?)…
Jesus has a definite plan and ministry.
Let’s consider what Jesus is up to:
Luke 4:16-21 And he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And what about us?
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Whoa!
Does this mean I will become one of those “scripture quoting, Bible toting” Christians? Probably, eventually, it does.
There are very few that actually do get born again (Matt.7:14), but if you do:
-You will see the righteousness of God and many will come to you
because they NEED the righteousness of God.
-You should expect to be seen in many odd places sharing the good
news of what Jesus has done for them.
Mark 16:15-20 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
If you want (or need) the righteousness of God, you may go to a church or to some sort of a “healing” service… Maybe God will touch you and deliver you from your difficulty.
A man named Nicodemus saw Jesus doing miracles and came to Him for help… Jesus answered Nicodemus:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus will show you His Kingdom today:
if you will just believe on Him!!
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
In the Greek, righteousness is an action performed by someone with “equity of character”. It is normally spoken of in Christian circles as “living right” or doing something in accordance with God’s Law…
If I do something out of a noble and loving heart, I am showing the righteousness of man, not the righteousness of God.
When God does something wonderful that demonstrates His amazing goodness and mercy, the Bible refers to that event as the righteousness of God.
-The place where God is doing His will is called in the scriptures
the Kingdom of God.
Most prayers that Christians pray are prayers for God to do something. They are in fact, requests for the righteousness of God.
(Note: Petty prayers (please help us to remember these three
points that I just preached…) are generally not directed to
God, but rather they are expressions of OUR desires and
wishes.)
The problem is that it is rare for God to respond to us with His righteousness.
-God’s people have always had this problem and a great deal of
the scriptures are given to help us find our way into the Kingdom
of God.
Let’s consider what the Bible tells us about why we don’t see the righteousness of God, and how we will see the righteousness of God:
Romans 9:30-33 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The Jews were very serious about getting God to move for them.
-They were very religious; always trying to do the right thing.
-They memorized scriptures and read the Bible constantly.
-They prayed and fasted and cried before God.
These are the very things that we Gentiles do to please God!! Certainly any serious Christian wants to avoid sin and live life according to the scriptures. ALL Christians love the scriptures and can converse about them from memory…
Yet the Jews were not successful in their attempts to get God to deliver them. They tried to persuade God to do what they wanted Him to do by carefully keeping His laws.
When Jesus tried to correct them, many rejected Jesus! We will see that even many Christians have tripped on this stumbling stone…
Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
You and I know that EVERY MOUTH and ALL THE WORLD includes each one of US! The purpose of the Law is to prove that we are all illegals and criminals and do not deserve to know God!
You may say that you are not that bad, but let’s face the truth: On your best day, you are not impressing God!
Imagine a man going to his neighbor to ask for some help:
Look, Bill;
-I haven’t lied to you today and I haven’t stolen from you all this
week.
-It’s been years since I’ve slept with your wife or beat your kids.
-I did lie to the police when I accused you for what I did that time,
but after all, I do feel bad about it.
Such a man has forgotten who he is… and yet, we have ALL done far worse to God and His children!
Romans 3:21-23 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We all need Jesus to take care of things. We want the glory of God (His love, power and righteousness), but we messed that up long ago… Saying we are sorry does not make us righteous. Neither does repentance. Repentance is an admission of guilt and inability to BE what God expects us to be.
What has Jesus done for us?
Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
What does it mean to have faith in Christ Jesus?
How do you have faith in His blood?
How do you believe unto His righteousness?
Consider a man in Phoenix, Arizona whose air conditioner has broken down. He has no idea what is wrong or how to fix it…
-The temperature in his house is at 110 degrees and climbing.
-His medications aren’t working and he is in serious trouble.
-His wife has gone to live with her folks…
He calls for an A/C technician to come to his home and repair it. What does he expect from the A/C tech? How can he trust the technician?
-The tech should have all the appropriate tools (and know how to use
them).
-The tech should know how the a/c should work and quickly identify
what the problem is.
-The tech should actually fix the a/c and make it work correctly!
This story is really a parable about what Jesus has done and how we can believe in Him:
If you will trust Jesus with your life; to do His will with you today and forever…
-Jesus has the tools needed to justify you and wash away the sins
that make you filthy before God. Jesus was born a son of man, lived
a sinless life, suffered and bled to death FOR YOU!
-Jesus knows what your life should be and knows what is wrong.
-Jesus will actually FIX your heart and life and give you the life that
God has always planned for you!
Now, some people never do get their air conditioners fixed. That’s because they either don’t trust the technician or won’t give the technician what he requires to fix the a/c… Perhaps the tech is asking too much: replacing a compressor or installing new ducts or upgrading the electrical system. If the man is unable to pay for such things, he cannot (at this time) get the repairs done.
Romans 3:24 says that we are justified freely. Jesus has cried out that what He offers us is without charge (Rev.22:17).
Salvation is free, but what should we expect from Jesus?
I mean, if you give your life to Him, what will He do with it?
Don’t think that if Jesus takes control of your life that you will just continue as you are (but happier?)…
Jesus has a definite plan and ministry.
Let’s consider what Jesus is up to:
Luke 4:16-21 And he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And what about us?
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Whoa!
Does this mean I will become one of those “scripture quoting, Bible toting” Christians? Probably, eventually, it does.
There are very few that actually do get born again (Matt.7:14), but if you do:
-You will see the righteousness of God and many will come to you
because they NEED the righteousness of God.
-You should expect to be seen in many odd places sharing the good
news of what Jesus has done for them.
Mark 16:15-20 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
If you want (or need) the righteousness of God, you may go to a church or to some sort of a “healing” service… Maybe God will touch you and deliver you from your difficulty.
A man named Nicodemus saw Jesus doing miracles and came to Him for help… Jesus answered Nicodemus:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus will show you His Kingdom today:
if you will just believe on Him!!
