What Is Righteousness By Faith?

            In my last blog I used a term (Righteousness by Faith) that might not be entirely familiar to all readers.  By that I mean it may be a term you have heard, but there is a difference between hearing and actually knowing.  Especially knowing by intimate experience. 

            First of all, what is Righteousness?  Or stated another way, what does it mean to be Righteous, since Righteousness is that condition, or state, of being Righteous.  The word Righteous means Right, or Perfectly Correct  (primarily in relation to spiritual things). Therefore it means being right in the sight of God.  Webster defines it as:  "one who is holy in heart, and observant of the divine commands in practice".  In other words, "doing what is right", or stated another way, living in harmony with God. 

            God is Righteous, Right, in all He does;  but more importantly,  He is Right in His character.  "Righteous art Thou, O Lord, and upright are Thy Judgments."  (Psalm 119:137)  That is, He doesn't just do what is right, but He is Right.  If we are to live with Him in a holy heaven we must also be Righteous.  We must have the same Righteousness in order to live forever with Him.   So how do we, who are unrighteous, get to be Righteous in His sight?  How can we be like Him, in harmony with Him in everything we are?

            We first need to define our term.  Talking about Abraham:  "He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."  (Genesis 15:6) God tells us that He considered, or regarded Abraham as righteous because he believed God.  So first of all we must BELIEVE.  Here is where many stop in their ideas of Righteousness by Faith.  They think this term refers only to how we think in our minds.  In other words,  "I believe God has forgiven me and given me salvation.  There is nothing else that matters.  There is nothing left to say or do.  Just believe in your head and it is so." 

            Now look at Deuteronomy 6:25 - "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." Here we have the statement that our righteousness depends on us doing the things God tells us to do. "It shall be...if"....   Here is where other people stop in their understanding.  Their pride grasps the idea that they must do the right thing without falling in order to be Righteous.  But a problem arises when people find they cannot perfectly do God's will.  They either give up completely, or they turn to that idea of "just believe" and give up all thought of "doing" what is right. 

            What we need to understand is there is no "either/or" on this topic if our understanding is to be in accord with God.  We are to believe God in all things.  We believe He is right in every area, and because He is right,  (and I am wrong), then I will do whatever God says.  Belief comes first (faith), and as a result of that belief I then do what is right (the works being whatever God commands).  We cannot be Righteous before God if we only have one or the other.  We have to have both faith and works, believing and doing, in order to be what God wants us to be. This is what the Scriptures says:  "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."   (James 2:17)

            And yet here again this is not a complete understanding of Righteousness By Faith.  There are many who have this idea of both and think they therefore understand what is meant.  This was my condition till a month or so ago.  Have we done what we often warn others not to do?  i.e. - Put together some texts  which are correct in themselves, but do not bring all the Bible has to say on the topic into the picture?  Recently the Lord has brought forcefully to my thinking that mine was just a surface understanding.  It was not grounded and solid enough to save me.  There is much more we must know in order to have a saving understanding of Righteousness By Faith.  I am filled with this thought and will share more next time. 

Possessing Practical Peace

It had been a terrible day.  Filled with stress and bad news.  Things seemed to be going badly for Jesus.  People had expected Him to start to overthrow the established governments and announce Himself as a new king, maybe even the Messiah.  John the Baptist had been thrown into jail by Herod and it was expected that Jesus would deliver him and turn the tables on that wicked ruler.  Instead, they got word that day that John had been beheaded by Herod in one of his drunken orgies.  Jesus didn't seem to be doing anything to push forward their agenda.

Jesus knew the frustration and anger that was brewing against Him by the authorities and His erstwhile followers.  The disciples had all been so busy on their preaching tours they hadn't taken a break for a long time, and now as they returned they hadn't even had time to eat.  Wanting to get Himself and His followers away from the crowds for a break to rest and regroup, Mark picks up the story:  "Then He said to them, "Come away, all of you, to a quiet place, and rest awhile.  There were many coming and going so that they did not even have time for meals."  (6:31) 

They got into a little boat and went across the lake to a deserted area.  How they all must have looked forward to this opportunity for much needed rest. But it was not to be.  We pick up the story: "They went away in a boat to a deserted place, by themselves.  The multitudes saw them going away, and knew them, and went by foot on land out of all the cities, and got to the place where they were going before them." 

How would you react to this interruption of your much needed rest?  Frustration?  Anger?  Yell at the people to "leave me alone for a little while at least"?  Whisper under your breath how you really felt while smiling on the outside?  Jesus had none of these reactions.  His reaction was so different from our "normal" reaction.  We read: "When He saw the people He was moved with compassion for them..."  While this is the way I pray to be when faced with an unexpected situation, it is usually after I have reacted in one of the other ways listed above.

"But of course Jesus was perfect, He was divine after all".  Is that how we see it?  Do we just go on with the idea we are not expected to be like Jesus and so don't worry about it?  But Jesus did not react in love because He was the Son of God.  He lived as He did because He was living out Righteousness by Faith.  Jesus gave Himself completely into the hands of His Father. He made no plans for Himself, but committed Himself completely to our Heavenly Father.  He said so on a number of occasions.  "I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father Who sent me."  (John 5:30)  This was His constant guiding principle. 

In the book Ministry of Healing pg.479 we are told:  "Christ in His life on earth made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans."  Here is the secret for peace. This is the key for being at peace no matter what is happening around us.  Commit yourself to God first thing in the morning.  As you go about your daily duties keep your thoughts focused on God. Then whatever happens you can know that it is God's plan for you, so just rest in His care.  The quotation from MH continues: "So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will. As we commit our ways to Him, He will direct our steps."   

Sound familiar?  We read: "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him...."  (Psalm 37:5)  Commit, then trust.  We are so filled with self that we say we commit, but then don't trust God, but rather trust ourselves to know best.  We get angry because WE are thwarted.  Frustrated because WE are hindered.  The scriptures say the just shall live by faith.  But we instead "live by my plan".  We talk about Righteousness by Faith as a theory, but we do not know what it means as a practical way of life.  Jesus was the Word, the living out of the word that had been written.  So God wants us to live "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God".  

This is how we can possess peace in a practical, everyday life.  But this is a topic that requires more space, so it will be continued....

Peace Or Conflict?

Which do you really want, peace or conflict?  I am sure most of us would say we want peace.  We want our life to be smooth, carefree, no worries or struggles.  Just flowing along in peaceful rest and happiness.  Or so we think.  Many of the things we do are aimed at trying to achieve that peace that we think we need, a peace that is represented by a lack of conflict.  Whether it is in our homes, where so often one of the partners tends to try to placate the other to avoid conflict, or we divorce each other with the same goal in mind. 

Perhaps in the way we deal with our children, where so many parents seek to avoid conflict by letting the child do as they wish, catering to their varied desires.  Or maybe at work where changes or improvements are never suggested for fear of reprisal.  In these and many other ways we seek peace by trying to avoid conflict.

Yet, for us, conflict is normal.  While we say we want peace, much of what we do in our daily life is based on the idea that conflict is expected, it's the way things are.  Children are taught from an early age that competing (playing) in sports is good. How to be a "good sport", meaning how to compete and then be a "good loser" or "good winner".  Whether it is in books, video games, movies, or school work, the lesson is always that conflict is normal in life.

As adults we are bombarded with the idea that there is a "war between the sexes", homes are portrayed as places of conflict between husband and wife (if both are there at all), children against parents, bosses against employees, and on and on. 

We are set up from babyhood for conflict, yet we are also told that peace is desirable. We are urged to be at peace, yet we have no model for it.  So we search for something that we don't understand, haven't seen, with conflicting ideas as to what it is.  It's no wonder we are so mixed up.

There is only one source of peace.  There is only one model of peace.  There is only one way to have peace.  Our heavenly Father and God speaks to us through His Son Jesus Christ:  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."   You can read this promise for yourself in the Holy Bible in the book of John chapter 14 verse 27.  This precious gift of peace Jesus left for us to have.  Notice it is not the false peace the world offers, but a real peace, even  "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:7)

    

Notice that this peace comes from God, and is beyond our understanding.  We cannot explain everything about it, but we can experience it.  However, it only comes through Jesus Christ.  In order to have it we must focus on Jesus, and keep our focus on Him.  We look to Christ to see this peace modeled for us, but more than that, we receive it from Him.

"In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor dejected by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage.    Here we are shown Jesus at peace no matter what situation He was in.  We also see that it was because He was in perfect harmony with God.  The rest of the statement tells us why we don't have the same peace, and how we may obtain it.   "But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they cannot find peace."  {DA 330}   In this one paragraph we are shown the modeling of this peace in the life of Jesus, and we are told how to have it ourselves. 

Isaiah 26:3  gives us the key to the gift of perfect peace:  "You wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You."  We do not understand what it means to fully trust in God, to rest in His care.  Jesus wants us to learn His way, heaven's way, of living.  "If you have . . . given yourself to Christ, you are a member of the family of God, and everything in the Father's house is for you. All the treasures of God are open to you, both the world that now is and that which is to come... Even the enmity of the wicked will prove a blessing, by disciplining you for heaven."

Have you given yourself to God?  Then rest in His care, knowing that nothing will occur in your life that is not from God and is for your eternal good. 

There will be more on this in future blogs.