Insert: What is Righteousness?
So after I finished the last post about the paths of righteousness, I realized I had SO MANY MORE scriptures in my notes that I didn't use. And I still felt inadequate in my description of righteousness. So today I'm just going to give you those scriptures, praying you understand God's definition of righteousness and ask Him to show you how to stay on the path of righteousness (Psalm 23:3).
(If you didn't read the post on the Paths of Righteousness, you can here.)
[All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted. Anything in italics is my own commentary or thoughts on the scriptures.]
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled," (Matthew 5:6).
Once you really know what righteousness is, you are thirsty for it. You realize you're parched and can't go on without righteousness.
"The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him," (Proverbs 20:7).
"Blameless" is not "perfect." We see in Psalm 19:12-13, "Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. May they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression." We are blameless when no sin rules over us. That's also a mark of someone thirsting for righteousness.
"...the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice," (John 10:3-4).
Though this passage doesn't contain the word righteousness, it is, like Psalm 23, about a Shepherd leading sheep. In Psalm 23 the Shepherd is God; in John 10 it's Jesus. And in both instances, we are led by our Shepherd if we hear His voice. You cannot stay on the Path of Righteousness if you don't hear Him and follow Him.
"I will guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths," (Proverbs 4:11).
A righteous person is wise. The path of the wise coincides with the path of righteousness. Wise is not boring. Wise is not old. Wise is choosing to believe God. You can be wise and still get a one-way ticket to a foreign country to be a missionary. You can still be wise and sky dive. But you make all your decisions after consulting the Word of God and seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance. Seeking God's wisdom is the same as seeking righteousness.
The following Psalms are all from the pen and heart of David, who also wrote the words to Psalm 23 about the Path of Righteousness. He definitely knew the importance of staying on God's Path:
"Lead me in a straight path," (Psalm 27:11)
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I," (Psalm 61:2)
"Lead me in the way everlasting," (Psalm 139:24)
"May your good Spirit lead me on level ground," (Psalm 143:10)
This is usually backward from my prayers, where I pretty much give God my plans and ask Him to make them happen. Psalm 23 reminds me that I need to pray God leads me and gives me the strength to follow.
And I would not be complete without giving you the full text of where we get real righteousness:
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood," (Romans 3:21-25).
You can't be righteous apart from Jesus. No matter how hard you try to DO the right thing, SAY the right thing, THINK the right thing, you can't apart from Jesus.
If He is not your Savior and your Lord, He can be today. Email me (myleslienotebook@gmail.com) if you want me to walk with you up to the beginning of the Path of Righteousness.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
(If you didn't read the post on the Paths of Righteousness, you can here.)
[All scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted. Anything in italics is my own commentary or thoughts on the scriptures.]
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled," (Matthew 5:6).
Once you really know what righteousness is, you are thirsty for it. You realize you're parched and can't go on without righteousness.
"The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him," (Proverbs 20:7).
"Blameless" is not "perfect." We see in Psalm 19:12-13, "Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. May they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression." We are blameless when no sin rules over us. That's also a mark of someone thirsting for righteousness.
"...the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice," (John 10:3-4).
Though this passage doesn't contain the word righteousness, it is, like Psalm 23, about a Shepherd leading sheep. In Psalm 23 the Shepherd is God; in John 10 it's Jesus. And in both instances, we are led by our Shepherd if we hear His voice. You cannot stay on the Path of Righteousness if you don't hear Him and follow Him.
"I will guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths," (Proverbs 4:11).
A righteous person is wise. The path of the wise coincides with the path of righteousness. Wise is not boring. Wise is not old. Wise is choosing to believe God. You can be wise and still get a one-way ticket to a foreign country to be a missionary. You can still be wise and sky dive. But you make all your decisions after consulting the Word of God and seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance. Seeking God's wisdom is the same as seeking righteousness.
The following Psalms are all from the pen and heart of David, who also wrote the words to Psalm 23 about the Path of Righteousness. He definitely knew the importance of staying on God's Path:
"Lead me in a straight path," (Psalm 27:11)
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I," (Psalm 61:2)
"Lead me in the way everlasting," (Psalm 139:24)
"May your good Spirit lead me on level ground," (Psalm 143:10)
This is usually backward from my prayers, where I pretty much give God my plans and ask Him to make them happen. Psalm 23 reminds me that I need to pray God leads me and gives me the strength to follow.
And I would not be complete without giving you the full text of where we get real righteousness:
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood," (Romans 3:21-25).
You can't be righteous apart from Jesus. No matter how hard you try to DO the right thing, SAY the right thing, THINK the right thing, you can't apart from Jesus.
If He is not your Savior and your Lord, He can be today. Email me (myleslienotebook@gmail.com) if you want me to walk with you up to the beginning of the Path of Righteousness.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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