What
is Righteousness?
Righteousness is the state of being in right relationship
with God. It is doing things
God’s way. Righteousness is the
proper use of the gifts of Intimacy, Authority & Resources. The proper use or truth regarding these gifts is articulated
by the law.
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark 12:32-34 (Mark tells us that loving God & Man, is the righteousness, that the Law demands and that the Kingdom of God is experienced by.)
Jesus told the man that to love God and your neighbor was the
truest expression of the law, and that because he understood that, he was not far
from understanding the Kingdom of God. Paul
then says that:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 (Paul expresses that the Kingdom of God is not just living life "eating & drinking", but it is the proper use of the gifts of Intimacy, Authority & Resources with Righteousness, Peace & Joy.)
In essence, walking in love, is walking in the kingdom of God,
is walking in righteousness, is walking in the best use of the gifts of
Intimacy, Authority & Resources.
How does one experience
Righteousness?
Righteousness (as the state of being in right relationship
with God) comes by faith and hope (a positive action of your spirit and soul and
body toward God by believing and walking in his promises that have made the
provision for you to have right relationship with him).
This is the proper use of the gift of eternal life.
quote scriptures here
Righteousness (as the proper use of the gifts of Intimacy, Authority & Resources) comes by faith and hope (a positive action of your spirit and soul and body toward God) by believing and walking in his promises that have made the provision for you to walk in righteousness - the proper us of the gifts - the kingdom of God compared to the kingdom of Satan, (the ways of the world, the flesh, etc.); holiness (using the gifts God’s way) compared to unholiness (using the gifts Satan’s way, or misusing the gifts).
Righteousness is being and walking in unity and purity within the gift of Intimacy instead of being and walking in bitterness and impurity, is being and walking in humility within the gift of Authority instead of being and walking in pride & is being and walking in generosity within the gift of Resources instead of being and walking in greed and covetousness.
Can man still walk in
unrighteousness or wickedness?
And yet it is still possible for a man to accept Jesus’
gifts and still choose to live in the old ways of the world or the flesh.
In a parable, Jesus states that those who accept his word can still live
an unfruitful life if they do not allow Him to completely deliver him from these
conflicts.
“Still others,
like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life (conflicts in the gift of
Intimacy), the deceitfulness of wealth (conflicts
in the gift of Authority) and the
desires for other things (conflicts in the gift of Resources)
come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19 (Jesus
expresses that
John defines the world around the misuse of the gifts of
Intimacy, Authority & Resources and commands that believers not follow or
allow these conflicts to continue in their lives.
“Do not love the
world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For
everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man (immorality - a misuse of the gift of
intimacy),
the lust of his eyes (greed - a misuse of the gift of resources)
and the boasting of what he has and does (pride - a misuse of the
gift of authority)-- comes not from
the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for
ever.” 1 John 2:15-17
(John expresses that
Paul commands the believer to not conform to the world, but
to be transformed in their souls by the truth, God’s word.
Hebrews also commands the believer to not let Satan, through the old sinful
nature (understanding of evil), continue to control him, but rather to be the
new creation that he is.
“Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will
is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
(Paul expresses that
“For we know that our
old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin....In the
same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey
its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments
of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been
brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as
instruments of righteousness. For
sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under
grace.”
Romans 6:6-7, 11-14 (Paul
expresses that
How does man walk in
righteousness?
It is through the process of appropriating faith and hope in God’s promises (as discussed earlier) that man can experience God’s righteousness and thus his love. The truth or knowledge of the proper use of the gifts of life i.e. Eternal Life, Intimacy, Authority & Resources, are available to any human being that chooses to respond to God through his promises with a positive action of their spirit, soul, and body. In truth, these gifts are only understood and properly experienced in an intimate and personal relationship with the creator and giver of these gifts, God. God, the Father, sent Jesus, his Son, to give us his Holy Spirit, in order that man would experience life and all its wonders and gifts from now throughout eternity.