Difference between revisions of "Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . ., 4"

Revision as of 13:43, 4 May 2022

Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 6

Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (I Corinthians 15:34—NIV)

The doctrine that we are saved by faith apart from righteous behavior is unscriptural and totally destructive of all God intends for man.

Let us define righteousness as the Scriptures define the term. Imputed righteousness and righteous behavior often become confused in our mind when we say righteousness. The confusion and the bias regarding imputed righteousness and righteous behavior are so pronounced we have the Amplified Bible inserting the word "imputed" when there is no basis in the inspired text for such an alteration.

Two excerpts from The Amplified Bible follow, regarding Isaiah 62:1,2:

". . . until her imputed righteousness and vindication go forth as

brightness, . . . ."

"And the nations shall see your righteousness and vindication—your righteousness and justice [not your own, but His ascribed to you] . . . ."

(The Amplified Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965).

Notice the original text:

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. (Isaiah 62:1,2)

No modern translation we have seen indicates that the Hebrew term for "righteousness" implies it is an imputed, ascribed righteousness.

Also, an imputed righteousness is a legal state and not something that can go forth or be seen by the nations.

If we are correct, then we have confusion and a destructive bias here. It comprises an outrageous alteration of God's Word even though the translator's intentions undoubtedly were pure!

Had the translator inserted, "His righteousness created in you," he or she would have support both from the New Testament and from logic.

The difference between imputed righteousness and righteous behavior is very great. In the one instance God sees us as righteous while we are yet sinning. In the second instance we are actually righteous in personality and behavior.

Can you imagine the Lord Jesus saying, "Let your light so shine that men may see your imputed good works, not your own but His ascribed to you, and glorify God"?

Can you imagine people seeing us act violently, lie, and fornicate, and then glorify God because He has imputed righteousness to us?

If the world will not glorify God until they see us behave in a godly manner, and we are being taught that the only good works we have are those ascribed to us by the Lord, that is, we are still behaving sinfully but God calls us righteous because of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, then the bias indeed is destructive and deadly! The world will never glorify God until we start revealing in our behavior the righteous Nature of the Lord Jesus.

It is a fact that we cannot save ourselves by attempting to live a righteous life apart from Christ. It is a fact also that when we first receive the Lord His righteousness is ascribed to us. This is so we can forget the past and get a fresh start. God is willing, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, to wink at our sins of the past. God does this so He can change us into His moral image.

To be continued. Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 7

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-====Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 5====
+====Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 6====
-I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!  (Galatians 2:21)
+Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (I Corinthians 15:34—NIV)
-Whereas the Apostle Paul presented Divine grace as an alternative to the Law of Moses, we of today are viewing Divine grace as an alternative to righteous behavior. In so doing we have totally misunderstood the Apostle Paul and have created moral shipwreck.
+The doctrine that we are saved by faith apart from righteous behavior is unscriptural and totally destructive of all God intends for man.
-Constructed on this unscriptural foundation has been the excessive emphasis on the love of God, the pre-tribulation "rapture" of the believers, the "faith" and "prosperity" messages, and now the doctrine of "reconstructionism"—the notion that Christians are to establish the Kingdom of God on earth before the Lord returns (but the world will not be changed to righteous behavior until the Christians are changed to righteous behavior!).
+Let us define righteousness as the Scriptures define the term. Imputed righteousness and righteous behavior often become confused in our mind when we say righteousness. The confusion and the bias regarding imputed righteousness and righteous behavior are so pronounced we have the Amplified Bible inserting the word "imputed" when there is no basis in the inspired text for such an alteration.
-The current error, that the Christian salvation is a set of beliefs and confessions that provide release from Hell and entrance into Paradise after one's death has one objective, as seen from the standpoint of Satan: to prevent the believers from understanding that when we truly are abiding in Christ we will bear the fruit of righteous behavior. Also, that if we do not bear the fruit of righteous behavior we will be cut out of Christ, out of the Vine of God.
+Two excerpts from The Amplified Bible follow, regarding Isaiah 62:1,2:
-Salvation is our change from the old man to the new man, a new creature. The old man was Adam. The new man is the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from this transformation there is no salvation. In fact, salvation is the change from unrighteousness to righteousness.
+". . . until her imputed righteousness and vindication go forth as
-To question whether we can keep on sinning and still "go to Heaven by grace" is to reveal that the one asking the question is ignorant of the goal and program of salvation.
+brightness, . . . ."
-The issue is not whether or not we will go to Paradise when we die. The issue is whether we will or will not be a part of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do not abide in Christ now, in this life, and bring forth the righteous fruit of the new creation, we will be removed from the Vine by the Father.
+"And the nations shall see your righteousness and vindication—your righteousness and justice [not your own, but His ascribed to you] . . . ."
-Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:2)
+(The Amplified Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965).
-John 15:2 alone destroys the basis of the current teaching of grace. For this reason some teachers of today are insisting we are not bound by the Words of the Lord in the four Gospels because they were spoken before His crucifixion and resurrection, and that the teachings of the Apostle Paul supersede the teachings of the Son of God.
+Notice the original text:
-It could never be true that the words of a human apostle would supersede the words of the Lord Jesus. The truth is, Paul's teaching and the teaching of the Lord Jesus are identical. There is no difference between them. How could there be when the Lord Jesus was living in Paul? It is just that we have misunderstood Paul.
+For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. (Isaiah 62:1,2)
-Notice also:
+No modern translation we have seen indicates that the Hebrew term for "righteousness" implies it is an imputed, ascribed righteousness.
-For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (Hebrews 3:14)
+Also, an imputed righteousness is a legal state and not something that can go forth or be seen by the nations.
-The issue is not Paradise, it is being made a partaker of Christ. Being made a partaker of Christ depends on whether we place our trust in the Lord Jesus and then walk every day in Him until the end of our discipleship on earth.
+If we are correct, then we have confusion and a destructive bias here. It comprises an outrageous alteration of God's Word even though the translator's intentions undoubtedly were pure!
-How could anything be clearer? Yet today's teaching is presenting a legal state of ascribed righteousness that makes salvation primarily a mental adherence to doctrinal principles instead of a transformation of the human being from unrighteous behavior to righteous behavior.
+Had the translator inserted, "His righteousness created in you," he or she would have support both from the New Testament and from logic.
-To be continued. [[Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 6]]
+The difference between imputed righteousness and righteous behavior is very great. In the one instance God sees us as righteous while we are yet sinning. In the second instance we are actually righteous in personality and behavior.
+Can you imagine the Lord Jesus saying, "Let your light so shine that men may see your imputed good works, not your own but His ascribed to you, and glorify God"?
+Can you imagine people seeing us act violently, lie, and fornicate, and then glorify God because He has imputed righteousness to us?
+If the world will not glorify God until they see us behave in a godly manner, and we are being taught that the only good works we have are those ascribed to us by the Lord, that is, we are still behaving sinfully but God calls us righteous because of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, then the bias indeed is destructive and deadly! The world will never glorify God until we start revealing in our behavior the righteous Nature of the Lord Jesus.
+It is a fact that we cannot save ourselves by attempting to live a righteous life apart from Christ. It is a fact also that when we first receive the Lord His righteousness is ascribed to us. This is so we can forget the past and get a fresh start. God is willing, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, to wink at our sins of the past. God does this so He can change us into His moral image.
+To be continued. [[Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 7]]