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

Latest revision as of 13:45, 4 May 2022

Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 4

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The clearest testimony a Christian can give concerning His Lord is righteous behavior. It seems no true Christian would argue with this.

The tree that does not bear the fruit of righteous conduct will be cut down eventually.

Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:7-9)

The Lord Jesus warned us clearly that if we do not bear the fruit of righteous character we will be cut out of the Vine—out of Christ.

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)

If an experienced Christian does not begin to live righteously he is facing Divine judgment.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:7,8)

The purpose of the old covenant was that human beings live uprightly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In many cases the Israelites did not mix faith with the Law of Moses. They strained over the letter of the Law and ignored justice, mercy, and faith.

The purpose of the new covenant is that human beings live uprightly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In many instances Christians do not mix faith with the grace of God. They present the "four steps of salvation" as an escape from Hell and a ticket to Heaven and ignore the importance God always places on justice, mercy, and faith. The believers of today often view righteous behavior as "works" that must not be "added to God's grace."

Divine grace is being presented as an alternative to righteous behavior instead of what it is in actuality—an alternative to the Law of Moses.

The hand of Satan is evident in this frustrating of God's desire to produce righteous people.

We all understand that the Pharisees strained over the tithing of herbs, vaunted themselves, robbed widows, and performed other acts of wickedness culminating in the crucifixion of Christ.

We exclaim, "How terrible!"

But we of the new covenant are doing the same thing, with some differences. We have made the Divine salvation a release from Hell and entrance into Paradise by means of "grace" instead of what God means it to be—the instrument to create righteous people.

In many instances (perhaps the majority of cases) the Christian people of today are ignorant of the relationship of God's salvation to righteous behavior. While all sincere believers in the Lord Jesus would claim that Christians ought to behave righteously, the concept is emphasized again and again that basically we are saved by "grace" and not by our righteous behavior.

To be continued. Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 5

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-====Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 6====
+====Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 4====
-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)
+Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
-The doctrine that we are saved by faith apart from righteous behavior is unscriptural and totally destructive of all God intends for man.
+The clearest testimony a Christian can give concerning His Lord is righteous behavior. It seems no true Christian would argue with this.
-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 tree that does not bear the fruit of righteous conduct will be cut down eventually.
-Two excerpts from The Amplified Bible follow, regarding Isaiah 62:1,2:
+Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:7-9)
-". . . until her imputed righteousness and vindication go forth as
+The Lord Jesus warned us clearly that if we do not bear the fruit of righteous character we will be cut out of the Vine—out of Christ.
-brightness, . . . ."
+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)
-"And the nations shall see your righteousness and vindication—your righteousness and justice [not your own, but His ascribed to you] . . . ."
+If an experienced Christian does not begin to live righteously he is facing Divine judgment.
-(The Amplified Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965).
+For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:7,8)
-Notice the original text:
+The purpose of the old covenant was that human beings live uprightly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In many cases the Israelites did not mix faith with the Law of Moses. They strained over the letter of the Law and ignored justice, mercy, and faith.
-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)
+The purpose of the new covenant is that human beings live uprightly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In many instances Christians do not mix faith with the grace of God. They present the "four steps of salvation" as an escape from Hell and a ticket to Heaven and ignore the importance God always places on justice, mercy, and faith. The believers of today often view righteous behavior as "works" that must not be "added to God's grace."
-No modern translation we have seen indicates that the Hebrew term for "righteousness" implies it is an imputed, ascribed righteousness.
+Divine grace is being presented as an alternative to righteous behavior instead of what it is in actuality—an alternative to the Law of Moses.
-Also, an imputed righteousness is a legal state and not something that can go forth or be seen by the nations.
+The hand of Satan is evident in this frustrating of God's desire to produce righteous people.
-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!
+We all understand that the Pharisees strained over the tithing of herbs, vaunted themselves, robbed widows, and performed other acts of wickedness culminating in the crucifixion of Christ.
-Had the translator inserted, "His righteousness created in you," he or she would have support both from the New Testament and from logic.
+We exclaim, "How terrible!"
-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.
+But we of the new covenant are doing the same thing, with some differences. We have made the Divine salvation a release from Hell and entrance into Paradise by means of "grace" instead of what God means it to be—the instrument to create righteous people.
-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"?
+In many instances (perhaps the majority of cases) the Christian people of today are ignorant of the relationship of God's salvation to righteous behavior. While all sincere believers in the Lord Jesus would claim that Christians ought to behave righteously, the concept is emphasized again and again that basically we are saved by "grace" and not by our righteous behavior.
-Can you imagine people seeing us act violently, lie, and fornicate, and then glorify God because He has imputed righteousness to us?
+To be continued. [[Except Your Righteousness Shall Exceed . . . 5]]
-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]]