Is Jesus Influencing, Making, Any Measure of Difference in our Life? Colossians 1:1 – 8

Colossians 1:1-8Amplified Bible

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed) by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the ^[a]saints and faithful ^[b]believers in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father.

³We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray always for you, ⁴for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] ^[c]love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); ⁵because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] ⁶which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it]. ⁷You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf ⁸and he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Today we are going to examine some important questions.

Is Jesus making a difference in your life?

Does Jesus have any degree or meaningful measure of influence over your life

The answer to this question is important because the answer to this question will tell us where we are at with Jesus and just how important He really is to us.

This devotional message is not intended to beat anyone down; it is meant to “stop our world from spinning off into the depths of “who knows where and why and when,” to challenge us to soar to greater heights with our great God.

How many times have we seen a person in athletics not reach their potential?

The NFL is getting ready to kick off its 2022 season.

Each of the teams started training camp with 90 players on their roster.

Now, before the season starts next Sunday, teams must get down to a roster of 53 players who “made the team by their efforts to meet “what it takes to win.”

That means that a whole lot of players of all experience levels will not be on the playing field – they “did not reach their potential, did not make the teams cut.”

How many times have we seen students of all ages go through their schooling and never reaching their potential?

It is a sad experience to read of the scandals of students just being “passed.”

Parents, Educators and Teachers and Coaches losing influence over that child’s life and witnessing then the growing and maturing influence of the “streets.”

Belonging to “families” becomes belonging to “drugs, guns and street gangs.”

It is a sad sight to see isn’t it.

People around them whisper about the waste of talent and potential they see.

• I believe the 21st century church is at a critical crossroads; this church is at a crossroads.

Individually, we must all decide how much we are going to let Jesus be our Lord, we all have to determine if we are going to totally give ourselves over to Him or are we just going to barely influence, scratch the surface, to be happy with that.

Corporately, we must all decide how much and IF and HOW and WHEN and WHY we are going to let Jesus be our only INFLUENCER our ONLY SAVIOR.

• Where we are at with Jesus is where the church will be at with Jesus.

Are we going to be “Christian?

Are we going to be a church that is absolutely sold-out on Jesus or are we going to be a church that is happy with scratching the surface of what GOD can do?

• I hope that as we delve into, through the book of Colossians, we will all learn something, some things that will help to challenge us to go deeper with Jesus.

Apostle Paul is writing this letter to a church that is struggling with some false teachings that were prevalent at the time.

This letter is written with three major purposes in mind;

these purposes are still absolutely valid today.

o To encourage the readers not to go back to their former way of life.

o To direct the people’s attention to Jesus and to get them to fully trust and worship Him and to fully recognize who He is.

o To emphasize the influence and virtue of Christ’s forgiveness and kindness.

Today we are going to look at four indicators that prayerfully will tell us if we are letting Jesus be our primary influencer, the primary difference in our lives.

Colossians 1:1-8New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.^[a]

Paul Thanks God for the Colossians

³In our prayers for you we always thank God, the^[b] Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. ⁷This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our^[c] behalf, ⁸and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

I. IS JESUS THE CENTER OF YOUR FAITH?

I love the way this letter starts out.

It starts with the Apostle Paul in verse 2 saying that he is writing to the FAITHFUL brethren at Colossae.

Then he moves to telling the readers he is thankful for them and that he is praying for them always.

• Then he moves to what he is thankful for.

• He is thankful that he has heard of their faith in Jesus.

• When you think about it, this is an impressive statement.

The faith of the Church at Colossae is so great that it is known all around.

• Notice too that their faith is in Jesus; it is centered and based on Him.

• Their faith in Jesus made such an impact on the lives of those in the church that they gained a reputation for their faith.

• I wonder what people would say about the church as they walked around Colossae.

• I wonder what people say about the 21st century Christian Church when the subject comes up?

What are we known for?

If culture is the primary influencer, making the difference in our lives ….

• If Jesus is the primary influencer, making the difference in our lives,

will we then be known for our faith in our Master Rabbi, and Savior Jesus?

• The only way that our Master Rabbi Jesus, our Lord and Savior Jesus will be our influencer, the difference in our lives is if we have an undying faith in Him.

• I have seen too many people over the years play the church game.

We can get so caught up in things to the point that Jesus is not really the center of our faith.

For many the center of their faith is the status quo, it is their jobs, family or entertainment.

• Paul was not thankful for the church at Colossae because they had a really nice and diverse, inclusive, influential, politically correct and welcoming building.

He was not faithful because they sang a certain type of music or had a certain order of service, he was thankful for them in part because of their faith in Jesus!

• Faith means in part to trust.

Who do you trust?

Into whose hands do we really put your salvation?

Who do you turn to in times of trouble?

Who do you give the glory to when things go well?

• If Jesus is the center of your faith, your life will be different.

I hope that our church is known for our faith.

That will not ever happen unless two things happen.

First, our faith has to be evident in our lives and secondly, we need to be involved in the lives of other people so they can see our faith in action.

II. IS YOUR LOVE FOR THE BRETHREN EVIDENT?

The second thing Paul is thankful for is the love the church had for the brethren and for all the Saints (Christians)!

• Is Jesus making a difference in your life?

If He is, He will be the center of your faith.

The fact will manifest itself in how much love you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

• We have talked a lot about love in the past and we will continue to do it in the future.

This is an important issue.

IF you cannot love the most unlovely of us, then Jesus in not exerting any meaningful influence or making any measurable difference in your life.

• Jesus loved Judas?

He had plenty of reasons not to, but He did.

What is your excuse for NOT loving Judas?

• We cannot ask lost people to come in and love those we will not love.

If Jesus is influencing you, making a difference in your life, it will show by how you are able to love ALL of the brethren – WITHOUT EVEN ONE EXCEPTION!

1 John 2:9-11New American Standard Bible

⁹The one who says that he is in the Light and yet hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. ¹⁰The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. ¹¹But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

We can say how much we love Jesus all we want, tell Him how sold out we are to Him all we want, but if we do not love one another, they are empty statements.

• If Jesus is making a difference on our life, we will love the brethren!

III DOES YOUR FAITH REST IN YOUR HOPE IN HEAVEN?

• In verse 5 we find out why and how the Christians at Colossae had such a great faith.

⁵because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel

• Their hope was focused on what was laid out for them in heaven.

• If Jesus is making a difference in your life, you will be able to realize there is a big picture.

You will not want to get even or take vengeance on every injustice done to you.

• Paul is thankful for their hope; faith and hope are always tied together.

Faith is based in hope.

• There has to be a pot of gold if you will at the end of the rainbow.

1 Peter 1:4-5GOD’S WORD Translation

⁴We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that cannot be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵since you are guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.

If we have no hope of heaven, then we will not be able to persevere when we need to.

The things of the world will look too attractive to pass up if our faith does not rest in hope.

• One of the blessings of hope is it allows us to sacrifice the present on the altar of the future (Reverend Dr. John MacArthur Jr.)

• That runs contrary to human nature.

Young children, for example, have a difficult time waiting for something they want.

The world wants it and wants it now.

• The Christian has a different perspective.

He is willing to forsake the present glory, comfort, and satisfaction of this present world for the future glory that is his in Christ.

In contrast to the “buy now—pay later” attitude prevalent in the world, the Christian is willing to pay now and receive it later.

What makes Christians willing to make such sacrifices?

Hope, based on faith the future holds something far better than the present.

Romans 8:18-21GOD’S WORD Translation

God’s Spirit Helps Us

¹⁸I consider our present sufferings insignificant compared to the glory that will soon be revealed to us. ¹⁹All creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal who his children are. ²⁰Creation was subjected to frustration but not by its own choice. The one who subjected it to frustration did so in the hope ²¹that it would also be set free from slavery to decay in order to share the glorious freedom that the children of God will have.

If Jesus is influencing, is making a difference in our life, our hope in the future will truly allow us to sacrifice the present things for the future gain of heaven!

IV. IS GOD’S WORD PENETRATING YOUR LIFE?

⁵because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel

• Where did they get this hope, faith, and love?

Look at verse 5, they heard the word of truth, the gospel.

• They did not get their faith, hope, and love from the bottom of a cereal or Cracker Jack box; they believed it because they heard the word of God!

Romans 10:15-17New American Standard Bible

¹⁵But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who ^[a]bring good news of good things!”

¹⁶However, they did not all heed the ^[b]good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word ^[c]of Christ.

CONSTANTLY BEARING FRUIT

• Wherever the gospel seed is sown, fruit grows. If the gospel has penetrated your life, your life will be fruitful for God. The fruit production will never stop.

• I absolutely love strawberries!

Every summer, a farmer plants acres and acres of strawberry plants and every year I can remember from my youth I can remember the farmer said they would get so many strawberries off them throughout the season we would get sick.

• With the strawberry plant, there would come a season when it would quit producing fruit.

For the one who has had the gospel penetrate their life, they will produce fruit in every season of life!

• Paul says for those at Colossae, that the Word has been bearing fruit from the day they heard and understood the word!

• Maybe some are not producing fruit because they are do not understand the Gospel Word.

The more you read it, eat it, the more understandable it becomes!

Psalm 34:8-10New American Standard Bible

⁸Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
⁹Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
¹⁰The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

CONSTANTLY INCREASING

• Not only will our lives produce fruit, but it will be in the increase all the time! As you grow and mature, you WILL produce more and more fruit for God!

• The spiritual growth of individuals will lead to new converts being won to Christ.

That was the easily observable pattern of the early church. (Acts 2:43-47)

Acts 9:31New American Standard Bible

³¹So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria ^[a]enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it ^[b]continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.

You do not need some fancy program in order to grow; you need Jesus to make a difference in the lives of each one of us in the church!

• Part of the reason a church stops’ growing is because individuals within that church stop growing!

• If Jesus is making a difference in your life, the word of God will be penetrating your life and you will produce fruit for Him.

• Are you withering in the vine or are you feeding yourself with the Word daily?

V. ARE YOU AN EPAPHRAS?

⁵because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] ⁶which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it]. ⁷You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf

We do not know a lot about Epaphras except for the couple of times Paul mentions him in the letter and once in Philemon.

• He is called a fellow bondservant who is a faithful bondservant.

He was most likely an evangelist.

• Notice in verse 7 we are told they learned the gospel from Epaphras! He was producing fruit. He was not going to leave it to someone else to teach people.

• You cannot teach what you do not know, and you cannot know what you do not study!

We are told in Colossians 4:12 that he was one who labored hard for Jesus.

• If you were mentioned in the Bible, what would Paul say about you?

• I hope we could all strive to be like Epaphras.

He was most likely nothing special; he was just willing to let God use Him!

• If Jesus is making a difference in your life, you will be a changed person!

Colossians 1:4-6Amplified Bible

⁴for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] ^[a]love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); ⁵because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] ⁶which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it].

It’s wonderful when someone comes into the kingdom of God.

That person receives God’s gift of grace through faith in Jesus, and they begin a new life of walking with the Holy Spirit.

The new believer realizes that their old life of selfish pursuits offers nothing that will ever satisfy.

They have turned their back on the darkness and are enjoying the light of the world, Jesus.

Praise God for his love!

Paul is filled with thanks to hear that the people of Colossae have come to faith in Christ Jesus and are showing their love for all God’s people.

He even says, “We always thank God . . . when we pray for you . . .”

They have become wonderful examples of living by faith in Jesus.

They believe and trust, they love, and they hope in what God has already stored up in heaven for them.

Drawing all this together, we can say with Paul that the faith of the Colossian believers is rooted in Jesus Christ.

Friends, my prayer is you will have faith in Christ Jesus; my hope for you is that in Jesus’ name you are loving others, giving yourself up for them, and growing in hope in all that God has promised and is storing up for you in heaven.

Stay rooted in Christ,

Anticipating the immeasurable reality of God’s kingdom on earth as it most definitely and decisively is in heaven.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Faithful Father, thank you that you have plans for your church that are for our good and your glory. The Bible says the church is your house, you dwell in the midst of your people. Let us be built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. Let us be built together in a way that honors you. May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith so that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior. Amen.

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Covenant Obligation: To be Sharing our Faith Story Where Jesus Christ Is Not Known nor even Necessarily Desired. Romans 15:17-22

When I listen to the radio in my car, I often skip past music that I don’t like.

Some of it I simply don’t understand.

Some of it – based upon my age and upbringing, I would never call it “music.”

It spends far too much time glorifying a lifestyle which is fosters violence and counter cultural behaviors such as street gangs and illicit use of illegal drugs.

Yet even at my age, trying to understand the background of rap music or the anger of a Metallica song can give me helpful clues into the culture around me.

Paul learned how to take the cultural events and ideas of his day and connect them with the message of Jesus so that people of other faiths could understand.

If you have been a Christian for a long time and you are worshiping with others today, you can expect that the message you hear will be one you understand.

But is it a message that will also relate to guests who come for the first time?

In our churches are we speaking the language of the communities around us?

Many churches have become skilled at speaking the language of their culture.

They know that each Wednesday night or Sunday morning some people might show up who won’t understand all of their words, rituals, and ways of worship.

These churches try very hard to reach out, to be welcoming and also inclusive.

If you remember your first experience at being a first-time guest in a church or your own church, or you are a longtime believer, or whether you are a cradle to the grave member, remember that we do not need to understand everything.

We do not really need to know everything there is to know about everyone who is inside. We do not really need to know the denomination on the church sign.

We do not need to “google” the area churches for their consumer ratings.

We need to know if our experience in that Church will reveal God in Christ Jesus.

To know if our experience in that church only reveals the Gospel of our Culture.

There is no mystery in knowing and experiencing what influence culture has had on our church, on the message of Christ which “tickles our funny bones.”

There is always mystery in knowing what God has done, is doing, in the life of His church on a street corner, which is about tickling funny bones everywhere.

What we do understand, is the message of the Gospel of God truth though, is the language of welcome, acceptance, love, and grace but also of repentance.

We are covenanted by God with a holy and sacred obligation to preach the Gospel of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, a sacred duty to share our faith, influence the culture around us, not the other way.

It opens us up to the message from the Word that God wants us to hear today.

Romans 15:17-22Amplified Bible

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have found [legitimate] reason for boasting in things related [to my service] to God. ¹⁸For I will not [even] presume to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me [as an instrument in His hands], resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles [to the gospel], by word and deed, ¹⁹with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as ^[a]Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached]. ²⁰Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture],

“They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.”

²²This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The problem with many worldly Christians, and perhaps some of you in this blog room, is that to you, your Christianity, your “Christiana-lity” is just such an incredibly intimate and personal thing; you do not ever desire to share it.

You have your ticket to heaven, you have your eternal fire insurance, and frankly, you don’t really care whether anybody else goes to heaven or not.

Sometimes Christians remind me of the lady who was taking a CPR and first aid course with me and several other healthcare professionals several years ago.

In the process of the class, the students were asked to give examples of how they had already been able to use their CPR or first aid training.

One day this young lady said, “I got to use my first aid training the other day. I heard a terrible crash in front of my house. A car had run into my yard, hit a tree, and the car doors had flown open, and there were some injured people on my front lawn. Because I had taken this first aid class, I immediately knew what to do. I sat down and took breaths, put my head between my knees, so I wouldn’t pass out.”

That’s the problem.

With our Christianity, we are like a bunch of people using first aid on ourselves.

When there are hurting people all around us, we are seen or acting like we need to take several deep breaths, then finding any quiet, non-descript place to be alone, tucking our heads between our knees to keep ourselves from fainting.

If your intent is not to faint in public at the slightest possibility of sharing the Gospel, if you’re content to hang on to the gospel and not share it with anybody else, you probably don’t share the zealous missionary heart of the Apostle Paul.

¹⁹with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as ^[a]Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached]. ²⁰Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture],

“They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.” (Isaiah 52:15)

²²This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

Did you notice the three locations there?

Jerusalem was the beginning point of the Christian church.

Then he said, “I preached the gospel all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum.”

Now we would call that modern day Yugoslavia, all the way over to that part of Eastern Europe.

Then Paul says, “I’m probably going to come see you guys in Rome, but it’s only on my way to Spain.”

Had you looked at a map of the civilized world when Paul, in Corinth, wrote these words in about 56 or 57 A.D., you wouldn’t have found Spain on the map, because it was such an utter end-of-the-earth at that time.

In those days, they thought the earth was flat.

If you sailed much past Spain, you were going to drop off the end of the earth.

Paul says, “My heart’s desire is to go where Christ has never been preached, even if I have to go to the very ends of the earth.”

Fully Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ—Romans 15:17-19

“Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done- by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So, from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.”

What a marvelous thing to be able to exclaim that everywhere you went you fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ without even one ounce of reservation.

What a great feeling to know that your life was given for the good news of Jesus, which has the power to save (Romans 1:16).

This was the theme and mission of Paul’s life.

He boldly taught Christ, faced all opposition to the message and ran the race set before him unto a glorious finish.

What is most amazing about this declaration is that Paul would not boast in anything except what the Lord Jesus accomplished through him.

His mission was to “go to the furthest reaches” to lead the Gentiles to Christ, he was the apostle set apart from his birth for this specific purpose (Romans 1:1).

Nowadays, that might be to go into an inner-city church for the first time to see and experience for yourself whether our prejudices and biases are reality based.

Everywhere, every culture where Paul went people came to the Lord because of the Living Word he taught, the demonstration of power that accompanied him.

The Holy Spirit verified by signs and wonders that he spoke on behalf of God.

Paul was the willing participant and the instrument God used to herald His amazing news to the world.

This is a critically important truth to understand; God confirms his Word by demonstration of power through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus established this truth throughout the gospels. When people cornered him asking if he was the Messiah,

he would answer them like this, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me” (John 10:25).

He never answered them by his own testimony, because the works he did, did all of the testifying to exactly who he was (see John 5:36; John 10:38; Matthew 11:4; John 2:23; Matthew 13:17).

To answer them plainly would not have satisfied Jesus, because the works that Jesus did were the evidence and necessary credentials that he was indeed the Messiah promised and sent by God.

Every miracle, sign and wonder that Jesus preformed was a fulfillment of what the prophets had foretold about the promised Messiah.

They testify that he came on behalf of God.

Even in the Old Testament, the prophet of God demonstrated that he was God’s spokesperson by performing miracles.

Consider Moses as an example; he told Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go and demonstrated his command with the plagues because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart.

When Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go,

Moses parted the Red Sea,

he produced water from a rock, and

he led the Israelites through the desert following the pillar of fire and stood by while God fed them quail and manna for those many years.

This was the proof that Moses spoke on behalf of God alone, because the Lord alone verified His word by these signs and wonders.

Elijah the Prophet had similar experiences.

To prove that He was the prophet of the One and only true God, he challenged the prophets of Baal to a battle.

He drenched the alter in water and asked God to send fire down from heaven to consume the offering.

Immediately fire came down and burned up everything.

He also prayed that it would not rain, and it didn’t for over 3 years.

Then when he prayed again, the heavens opened up and poured down rain upon the earth.

This is the proof of the prophet, the words spoken were confirmed by miracles.

There are countless others who experienced the same verification; Joshua, Abraham, Elisha, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, just to name a few.

This is a great reminder for today.

Paul experienced many people coming to the Lord by the gospel he preached and the work of the Holy Spirit present to confirm that the Word was true.

We too are ministers of the good news of Christ Jesus.

We should also expect confirmation by the Holy Spirit of the words we speak in preaching the good news of Christ.

It is my hope at the end I will proudly boast of what has been accomplished by Jesus ALONE living through me.

I will always be ready to share the gospel with anyone who has an ear to hear, and I know that Holy Spirit will confirm the word spoken, because the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

Apostle Paul’s Ambition to Preach the Gospel Where Christ Was Not Known.

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you” (Romans 15:20-22)

Paul’s desire to share the gospel with people who previously had no knowledge of it, fueled three missionary journeys across the known world at that time.

Everywhere Paul, companions went they faced fiery, fierce, violent persecution because of the good news message of Christ as well as overwhelming response to it.

Paul acted upon the principal of what was written in Isaiah,

“For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand” (Isaiah 52:15).

His desire was to share Christ where this message was previously unknown so this foundation would not be built upon anything thing else but grace.

Paul’s revelation of grace was unmatched by anyone.

He received it by direct revelation from Jesus (Galatians 1:11-12).

He understood the finer points of the Law because of his background as a Pharisee and Jesus showed him how each one was fulfilled and accomplished by His life, death and resurrection on the cross.

Paul understood the complete gospel and the grace of God toward mankind in the person of Jesus Christ, so naturally his desire was to reveal this knowledge to the rest of the world.

It is interesting to think how Paul alone was the apostle to the Gentile nation.

The Jews had the twelve’s apostles specifically set apart to share the good news of Christ with them and show them how he was their promised Messiah.

But Paul was the only one sent for the Gentiles.

He not only wrote most of the New Testament, but the details and accounts of his life and missionary journeys where incredible.

This is because Paul was able to share the good news of Christ Jesus to those who had no preconceived notions about who the Messiah would be.

Most of the time, they didn’t even recognize that one had been promised, let alone identify their need for a Savior.

When he shared the gospel in these areas, Paul didn’t have to combat doctrines or fight against the teachings and traditions of men.

He didn’t have to overcome inflexible ideology and tear down philosophy in order to build on a new foundation of Christ.

What is awesome is that he went to areas that had never heard of Jesus and was able to share the good news on his revelation of grace.

In this sense, the good news was too good to pass up and multitudes believed in Jesus and learned about this amazing grace under the apostle to the Gentiles.

This is an amazing truth, when we open our hearts to the Living Word of God without bringing in traditions, doctrines and preconceived ideas of what it means to follow Christ then we will also get such an indescribably powerful revelation of grace by the Holy Spirit, that our entire lives will be affected.

Not only ours, but those around us will be impacted as well.

So many times, in too many ways, our ‘religion’ gets in the way of relationship.

Search the Gospels, Jesus never spoke well of religion.

He told the disciples: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6).

He was speaking against the established system that was corrupt and enslaving the people by rules, regulations and traditions that were meaningless.

These teachings kept them from God and finding true reconciliation with him by faith.

This is why, like Paul, our faith should be built on a revelation of grace through Christ Jesus.

Grace is what combats our meaningless traditions so that our lives stem out of relationship with Christ instead of “our connectional obligation” to religion.

The grace and mercy of Jesus is the cornerstone that holds it all together.

It is a firm foundation that cannot be shaken or removed by persecution or opposition to this message.

I am so thankful for Paul’s revelation of grace and his desire to share this great news to everyone who had an ear to hear it.

I am so thankful he wrote this amazing book of Romans inspired by the Holy Spirit so that we can understand the grace that we were called into through Christ Jesus. And to share our faith and live this grace all the days of our lives.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Mighty God, your Word is living and active. Help me to listen carefully to your voice as you give me wisdom and guide me through life. Your word is a lamp for my feet. When I don’t know where I am going, help me to look to you for understanding and follow the path that you show me. You are a light shining in the darkness. When I don’t know which way to turn, shine the light of your love into every corner of my life. Bring clarity to my thoughts. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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My Duty and Covenant obligation to You is this: I do not want you to be unaware of God’s Words for Me and You unaware of God’s Words for You too. Romans 1:13-15

Romans 1:13-15Amplified Bible

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, ^[a]brothers and sisters, that many times I have planned to come to you, (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit [of my labors] among you, even as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴I have a duty to perform and a debt to pay both to Greeks and to barbarians [the cultured and the uncultured], both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵So, for my part, I am ready and eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

If you were to ask or have someone, ask, “For whom is God’s Word written?” someone will usually reply, “For quite literally everyone who has a birthday.”

But when you enter into those moments of “insufficiency,” ask a few more poignant questions and specifically dig deeper into the deeper issues which make you who you are, you probably begin to see an answer is not so simple.

Is the Bible written for people who say, act: “I could or could not care less?”

Is it written for people who cannot read Hebrew or Greek or Latin or English?

Is it written for the aware and the unaware, the agnostics or the atheists?

In this techno driven age, is it written just for people with or without a Wi-Fi, an internet connection, an IP address, social media, an email, a ‘smartphone’?

Is it written for those individuals who cannot unglue themselves from their smart phone screens or hopelessly, zealously lost in “intense” video games?

For example,

if I took all the letters I wrote to my wife while we were dating, and made them into a book, and then asked for whom it was written, what would the answer be?

Paul’s letter is for Greeks and non-Greeks, wise and foolish. rich and poor, the healthy and the unhealthy, the educated and the uneducated, believer or non.

But somewhere in that mix I too am included. God’s “letter” is for me too—not based on my gender, skin color, ethnicity, nationality or amount of wisdom.

It is for me, and you because God loves us and calls us to belong to him in Jesus.

Here’s what this means:

If I lean toward the foolish end,

God’s Word is for me.

If I am already wise and seasoned,

God’s Word is for me.

Why? Because God is not interested in simply teaching me theology.

God wants me to know him and hear him and love him.

That’s the whole point of the Gospel.

And that is why God’s letter through Paul to the Romans is for you.

God’s desire, as with any letter, is that you open it and read it

—and to do so more than just once or twice or a few times in your life.

Obligated to Proclaim

Romans 1:14-17New American Standard Bible

¹⁴I am ^[a]under obligation both to Greeks and to the ^[b]uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed ^[c]from faith to faith; as it is written: “^[d]But the righteous one will live by faith.”

These verses in Romans are a powerful introduction to this Book.

As Paul says, I am in absolute love the Gospel of my Savior.

As Paul says, I am in absolute love with my Savior Jesus Christ!

I’m not the least bit ashamed of it, this the “absolute greatest possible” good news Jesus Christ came for me, has died on the cross and risen from the grave.

I absolutely positively, love the Gospel.

I absolutely, positively, want to proclaim it boldly in the world around me.

But then he says right before that, “Not only do I want to; I have a duty to God! I’m under covenant obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the unhealthy, to preach this gospel. That’s why I’m eager to preach to those of you who are in Rome.”

As a Pharisee, I’m sure Paul felt obligated to give instructions on how to live.

In fact, the Pharisees of his day were well known and thoroughly despised for preaching, teaching, heaping, a lot of extra obligations onto the Jewish Law.

So much so, the people were being “spiritually immobilized,” at a prolonged “spiritual standstill” and stood virtually little, no chance, of keeping the Law.

Even Rabbi Jesus commented on their behavior by saying, “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down” (Mark 7:13a).

This is why I find it so amazing that after only one encounter with Jesus, Paul exclaims, “I am obligated—to people—to everyone—to preach Jesus!

What a complete turnaround! Instead of insisting on rules and making the people miserable, Paul wanted everyone to know the person of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus changed Saul from a zealous persecutor of the followers into Apostle Paul, from someone who had every reason to be confident in his righteous actions to someone who discounted it all for the sake of Christ.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote,

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).

This is the power the gospel has in our lives.

It changes us from trying and coming up short to surrendering and gaining all.

On that Damascus Road, Jesus acted, changed Saul and renamed him Paul.

Understanding the gospel also transformed his passionate nature into a force in the early Church.

In the very same way, he zealously felt obligated to uphold the law, he was then obligated to preach about Christ to everyone, especially to those at the margins.

The beautiful thing is that we, too, can zealously let the gospel change us.

No matter where we start, the gospel has the power to transform us into new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). The rest of this letter is about this wonderful discovery.

These Verses from Romans Emphasizes our Need to Share the Gospel with all.

Zealously and Without Exception or Purpose of Evasion ……

Ownership of the Gospel creates a covenant obligation with the Gospel.

Acts 8:25-35New American Standard Bible

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go ^[a]south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (^[b]This is a desert road.) ²⁷So he got ready and went; and ^[c]there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of ^[d]Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and he was returning and sitting in his ^[e]chariot and was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this ^[f]chariot.” ³⁰Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter;
And like a lamb that is silent before its shearer,
So He does not open His mouth.
³³In humiliation His justice was taken away;
Who will ^[g]describe His ^[h]generation?
For His life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

We cannot pretend we do not have the Gospel.

We cannot pretend we have not heard it for ourselves.

We are under a duty and covenant obligation to preach and teach the Gospel to all the nations – Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8

And then Paul gets later in the book. He says, “I’m eager to get this gospel to Spain,” but he says these words, “I am under obligation.” (Romans 15:22-25)

Apparently in Paul’s mind, ownership of the gospel creates an obligation with the gospel because he knows the gospel; because he knows the good news of God’s grace in Christ, he owes it to God to make it known to all other people.

And so, I do pray! I want to encourage each of us to ponder and meditate about making the “genuine” effort to faithfully fulfill this sacred duty and obligation in each of our lives, for the souls of the uncountable billions who haven’t heard.

Romans 10:14-15New American Standard Bible

¹⁴How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? ¹⁵But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who ^[a]bring good news of good things!”

Now, we have the Gospel.

We have the good news of God’s grace in Christ.

We possess the Gospel.

It creates in us a duty, a holy and a sacred obligation unto God, with the Gospel, because we have knowledge of Christ, we owe knowledge about Christ to others.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

King of Kings, Lord of Lords, thank you that you are great and abundant in power, your understanding is beyond measure. In your wisdom, you have created the church, described as Christ’s body. May we work together as members of one body, using the gifts and abilities you have given us to faithfully love and serve one another. Would we find our strength from Jesus, the head of the body. May the Lord make us increase and abound in love for each other. May you establish our hearts as blameless in holiness before you. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.

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God’s Most Eager Desire for Me: To Most Eagerly Pray, To Most Eagerly Preach, To Most Eagerly Proclaim, HIS Gospel. Romans 1:8-15

Romans 1:8-15Amplified Bible

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith [your trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] is being proclaimed in all the world. ⁹For God, whom I serve with my spirit by preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how continuously I mention you ¹⁰in my prayers; always pleading that somehow, by God’s will, I may now at last come to you. ¹¹For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift, to strengthen and establish you; ¹²that is, that we may be mutually encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. ¹³I do not want you to be unaware, ^[a] brothers and sisters, that many times I have planned to come to you, (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit [of my labors] among you, even as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴I have a duty to perform and a debt to pay both to Greeks and to barbarians [the cultured and the uncultured], both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵So, for my part, I am ready and eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In my brief experience as a pastor, and now as a writer of these devotions, I would never try to describe preaching as either easy or boast as simply fun.

But it can be incredibly meaningful when you sense that something in your message of God’s love connects with your listeners.

So, I can appreciate that the Apostle Paul is indescribably eager to preach the gospel to the people he most adamantly cares about in Rome.

The Apostle Paul is eager not because he thinks he’s so good at what he does or because he desperately desires to become the headliner for a few performances before tens of thousands of Roman citizens in the empire’s great colosseum.

The reason for his eagerness comes from the fact the gospel is the power of God.

And it is power for a specific purpose – Salvation.

The gospel is not power to get a new bill of health, to gain a reputation, or to sell a specific bill of goods or services or to gain the friend or spouse you desire.

It’s not power for financial success or fault-free parenting. It’s not power to get into heaven when you die.

It is God’s power for salvation.

And salvation has absolutely everything to do with getting to where we most desperately desire to be in our connection, Koinonia, relationship with God.

Paul’s eagerness in all this is a reflection of God’s desire.

God wants me to belong to him as fully and as completely and as maximally as I can in the life I am now trying to live.

That’s the point of the gospel, and that is its power.

The challenge for me is to have the same eagerness for God that God has for me.

The same eagerness which Apostle Paul expresses in His Epistle to the Romans.

Introducing himself, Paul gives us concise statements of the Gospel of God.

• The good news has absolutely everything to do with Lord Jesus Christ, the descendant of David by birth and declared the Son of God by His resurrection.

• Jesus’ death and resurrection brought us into a new relationship with God.

In these few lines, Paul laid out the thrust of his letter – the message of the Gospel.

This letter of Romans is different from the other letters he wrote, which concern the churches and their problems and needs.

• Romans focuses on God and His plan of salvation for man, both Jews and Gentiles.

Why Romans?

• Paul wrote the letter while he was in Corinth during his 3rd missionary journey.

• He was on his way back to Jerusalem with the collections from the Gentiles churches.

• So, the practical reason for the Letter was to communicate to the Roman Christians that he was planning to visit them after this trip to Jerusalem.

More importantly, he writes to present a clear explanation of the Gospel, the message that he has been entrusted with and proclaiming all this while.

• This was called for because of the differences in understanding between the Jewish and Gentile believers, with regards to their salvation in Christ Jesus.

Is there not now, in these times and seasons of 2022 great differences and even greater divides and chasms among Christians with regards to their salvation?

Are there not, even today, great expressions among “the believers” of ……

“You take your ‘theology’ and go your way towards your salvation!” and

“I will take my ‘theology’ and go my way towards my salvation!” and

“In the end we will see who is right, know who’s wrong, by who is in Heaven!”

Paul set forth the Gospel to unite us theologically and present Christianity fully.

• Romans turn out to be the longest of Paul’s letters that we have and the most in-depth, comprehensive exposition of the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ.

That explains the introduction. He set the tone right.

• It is not about Paul’s message, or Peter’s message but the message of God; a message that is built upon the foundation of God’s revelation in the Scriptures.

• Salvation through Christ ALONE!

It is not any mere or meager afterthought but the plan of God all along and fulfilled in the Person and work of Jesus Christ – his death and resurrection.

• To bring lost humanity back to an eternally living relationship with Christ!

Romans 1:8-10Amplified Bible

A deep and abiding concern for the believers in Rome was reflected in Paul’s opening message of thankful praise for each of them.

Indeed, their faith in the Lord Jesus had been made known throughout the Roman Empire.

What a wonderful, inspiring testimony of these dear saints of God, and what an awesome message of encouragement to all of us to boldly proclaim the glorious gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

Paul desperately did not want any single part of this important epistle to be lightly received, or lightly taken for granted and so he laid emphasis on his calling, his apostleship, and his bond service for the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

But infinitely more than this Paul called upon the eternal God of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth, as witness to his own deep and loving concern for their planted by God, blossoming, growing and maturing spiritual wellbeing.

Like all who trust in Jesus Christ, Paul had been given a new nature – a new life in Christ which delighted to spread the good news of the glorious gospel of Christ in spirit and truth, which loved these believers with a Christ-like love.

Paul’s love for these believers was reflected in his deep and earnest concern for them, as he constantly made mention of them to the Lord Jesus in daily prayer.

Let us seek to develop the same eagerness to preach and proclaim the Gospel.

The most eager and deep and loving concern for ALL our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we, like Paul, lift them up in earnest prayer to our Father in heaven.

Imagine yourself being a part of a faith community that was famous around the world because of its active faith.

When I meditate and ponder upon this Epistle to the Romans, it’s interesting the Roman believers did not have a previous visit from one of the Apostles.

After the persecution broke out in Jerusalem and the true believers fanned out, they spread the gospel everywhere. They made it as far as Rome and their church was thriving, and soon reports of their faith made it back to Paul.

One of Paul’s main goals in life was to visit Rome for mutual encouragement (Romans 1:11-12).

Paul was actively praying for an opportunity to go, but later in this letter he explains why he hadn’t been able to come (Romans 15:20-22).

He was hindered because there were many places in between that needed the gospel, which delayed his trip.

Amazingly, Paul reveals a bit of his passionate nature in midst of his waiting, “I remember you in my prayers at all times.”

Paul is simply reminding the Romans that, in the same way he serves the Lord wholeheartedly, this is the same way he remembers them in prayer. He thanks God for them and their faith and asks that the way be opened for him to come.

We can learn much from Paul.

Today, if you and I genuinely want to pray for people and do not know where to start, then start thanking God for their faith and what He is doing in their lives.

When we can recognize the way, He is working in others, we will see how He’s working in us and then find mutual encouragement through the Gospel of God.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord my God, you are my shield and my strength. Help me to trust you with my decisions and my future. Let me lean on you and the message of your Gospel, with all my heart instead of relying on my own frail, faulty, failed understanding. Give me clear guidance in my life Lord. As I submit myself to your Gospel, I know that you will direct my paths and I can have confidence that your direction is always the best way to go. Lord, bless me and keep me, make your face shine upon me. Turn your face towards me and give me peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Alleluia! Amen.

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Power of God, the Righteousness of God, the “Just” just faithfully walking upright with their Savior God. Romans 1:13-17

How do I feel about faith?

How do you feel about faith?

How do we collectively, as the Church, feel about faith?

How do we collectively feel about ‘being just’ and living in faith?

How do we feel about ‘just living in faith’?

Many people think faith may be a helpful protection in case they need it—like a fully inflated spare tire for their car.

Many turn to faith when facing struggles, but then innately turn back to something more “reliable” when a crisis passes.

In the beginning it may have been easier to have faith in God. Adam and Eve spent time in person with God, and they could ask him anything.

But when they disobeyed God, yielded to the deceptive words of the serpent and fell into sin, everything changed – they became aware of good and aware of evil. (See Genesis 2-3.)

God came looking for them but could not “find them” where He expected them to be. God called out to them, but their response was neither good nor expected.

They were hiding from God, behind the bushes and in their nakedness.

To say the least, their Father God got ‘righteously mad’ at them.

Their Father God began to demand some serious answers to why they hid.

God’s wrath was made evident, and Adam and Eve were tossed from the Garden.

They lost their full relationship with God and became stuck in their own sin.

Then they could only catch glimpses of God’s presence and his work in this world as if by squinting with blurred vision or in cloudy darkness.

They needed God to reveal himself—and he often did that in the following ages—to Abraham and his descendants and ultimately in Jesus, who became the Savior from sin.

But many people turned away from God and put their faith only in things they could see, like the moon and stars, or idols that their hands made.

For thousands of years faith was common in human history, until the Age of Reason (Enlightenment) swept through Europe in the 18th century.

Then many people figured they could be faithless.

In the name of “science” and logic, modern thinkers stopped believing in anything they couldn’t see. So having a “just and living faith” became harder.

Do you and I have faith?

Would you and I like to learn more about what faith really is?

Would you and I like to learn more of the Power of God?

Would you and I like to learn more of what the Gospel is?

What about learning more of and about God’s Righteousness?

Romans 1:13-17Amplified Bible

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

So far in chapter one the Apostle Paul has introduced himself to the church in Rome, which remember was not in any one central place in Rome but was many individual house churches which are scattered throughout the city.

After introducing himself to the church he gave the purpose of his letter, to prepare them for his upcoming visit if it was God’s will.

Paul desired to visit them so they could mutually encourage one another in the faith. Paul also desired to preach the Gospel throughout the vast city of Rome.

Paul’s thankfulness for the faithfulness of the members of the church in Rome, his consistent prayers for them, his desire to meet them and his fellowship with them, and his desire to obtain some fruit among them by preaching the Gospel were Paul’s spiritual service of worship.

Thanksgiving and prayer brought him into the throne room of God, fellowship with other believers built him up in the faith, while their faith was being built up, and preaching the Gospel was the task to which he had been appointed to by God. All these together were Paul’s spiritual service which is worship.

Today, we are going to try to slow down a little bit and only look at two verses in which Paul gives us the theme of this letter he is writing to the church in Rome.

John MacArthur states about these two verses (16 and 17) that faithfully, they, “…express the theme of the book of Romans, and they contain the most life-transforming truth which God has put into men’s hands.”

To understand and positively respond to this truth is to have one’s time and eternity completely altered.

These words summarize the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul then proceeds to unfold and explain throughout the remainder of the epistle.”

The overarching theme of the book of Romans is the righteousness that comes from God, the glorious truth that God justifies guilty, condemned sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.

In the two verses that we are looking at today, the Apostle Paul will announce this overarching theme to us and give us a summary of what we have to look forward to in the rest of the book of Romans.

Paul makes four statements in these two verses that I want to examine this morning as he unfolds his theme for us.

Each statement begins with the little word “for” F-O-R.

FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED (Romans 1:16a)

Paul had just finished saying in verse 15 that he was eager to preach the Gospel in Rome, to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Now he opens up this verse by saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel…” (Romans 1:16a, NASB95)

What does Paul mean by this statement? He means that he is not only eager to preach the gospel in Rome, but when he comes, he will dare to preach it boldly.

Throughout Paul’s missionary journeys he had endured many hardships in preaching the gospel from both the Jews and the Gentiles.

If you want to read about his hardships and the persecution that he endured for the gospel you can find it in the Book of Acts chapters 13-23.

He was imprisoned, chased out of a couple of cities, smuggled out of some, he was beaten, he was stoned and left for dead, he was laughed at and considered a fool, but none of this stopped him, still boldly proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

When he stood before the Jewish Council in Jerusalem, he was not intimidated by them, nor was he intimidated by the cultured, educated Greeks in Corinth, or Ephesus, or Athens.

Paul was unashamed of the gospel, he never allowed opposition to stop him from boldly proclaiming the gospel.

God had appointed him to the role of apostle to the Gentiles and Paul took this appointment seriously.

Paul knowing the heart of man wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25,

“For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentile’s foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:22–25, NASB95)

Though this was true in the Apostle Paul’s day and remains still true even today, the gospel is the wisdom of God that has provided salvation for men.

Paul never shrunk from the task of preaching the Gospel, and I believe the prospect of preaching it in a city where he had never preached before just made him all the more daring and eager and bolder. He desired one thing and one thing only: to share Jesus Christ crucified, buried, resurrected from the dead.

Unfortunately for many of us today the words eager and bold do not come to mind when we think of sharing the gospel.

When God gives you and me an opportunity to share the gospel, how often do you and I, to the fullest extent possible, actually exercise that opportunity?

I will admit to you that this is even difficult for me when I am one on one with a person or in a small group of unbelievers.

Put me before a crowd of people and I will share the gospel boldly and eagerly, but when in a small group or one on one I must force myself to speak.

Why are we like this?

Because we know that to an unsaved person the gospel can be intimidating and “culturally” offensive and even, to the utmost degree imaginable, repulsive too.

It is so counterculture to the ungodly world that we live in.

Pray and think about it, before we can share the good news, we have to share the bad news and that exposes man’s sin and his lostness, and it shows that we must strip away our pride and it shows that works righteousness, all that we do to try and make ourselves right before God is worthless before Him.

Remember Isaiah’s words concerning man’s good works done in the flesh, he wrote in Isaiah 64:6,

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, NASB95)

What is that reality they want no part of?

For the sinner they do not want to hear about their sinfulness, they do not want to give up their pride and they do not want to hear or have revealed that all their alleged good works are worthless, so they respond to the gospel with contempt and then may attempt to rigorously argue against it or become very defensive.

I believe it is this response that keeps many people from sharing the gospel, for fear of what may be said of them, about them, to them, to their very faces, or for the abject and debilitating fear they can’t give one answer for their arguments.

Because of this unpopularity of the gospel many have tried to make it more culturally acceptable.

But if we water down the gospel, minimize its depth of meaning, relevance to our lives, remove the offense of the cross it renders the message of the gospel ineffective, we make light of the offense of sin, removes the need for a Savior.

Paul in his boldness and eagerness to preach the gospel never watered down or tried to minimize what he said about sin or about the Savior.

His heart’s desire was to see men saved, he did not care about his own comfort, safety, popularity, reputation, or even if people ridiculed or imprisoned him.

He did not compromise the gospel that he preached because he knew that the truth of the gospel was the only power available to change the lives of men, women and children for eternity. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because without it, men, women, and children would go into a Christ-less eternity.

FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD (Romans 1:16b)

Paul goes on in this verse to tell us why he is unashamed of the gospel and in doing so begins to give us the theme of his letter, he writes, “for it is the power of God…” (Romans 1:16b, NASB95)

The gospel contains the omnipotence of God, only the gospel has the power of God to transform lives.

Only God’s power can save men from sin and give them eternal life.

Paul says, this is why I am not ashamed, this is why I dare to proclaim the full measure of the gospel boldly, because it is the omnipotence of God.

People want to change, they want to feel fulfilled in life, they want their lives to count for something and they spend their whole life searching for, trying to fill that void that they feel in their life.

I know a woman who has been searching to fill that void for much longer than I have had the privilege to know her, she goes from job to job thinking that she will maybe find something that will fulfill her, something that will fill up that void in her life, something that will maybe make her good enough for her God.

What she doesn’t understand is that void can only be filled by the Holy Spirit when she comes in repentance to God and trusts in what Christ did for her on the cross, that He paid the penalty for her sin, that He was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead, triumphing over sin and death forever.

When she believes this the power of God will transform her life and she will find fulfillment for the first time, the void in her life will be filled and overflowing.

Only God’s power can accomplish that in a human life.

Jeremiah the prophet speaking the words of God wrote,

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23, NASB95)

The Lord is saying if the Ethiopian can change his skin color or the leopard his spots, then we who are used to doing evil can change and do good.

In other words, it is not possible for man to change his own nature, no more than an Ethiopian can change his skin or a leopard his spots.

It is only the omnipotence of God that can overcome a person’s sin nature and provide spiritual life.

The Bible is clear that people cannot be saved, cannot be spiritually changed by what they do, by good works, they cannot be spiritually changed by the church, or by some ritual or by any other human means.

People cannot even be saved by keeping God’s law because as sinners we can never keep it perfectly in our own power.

The law was given to show that we are sinners that fall short of God’s perfect standard.

It was given to show that we need a Savior, a powerful Savior to save us because we are powerless to do so.

What is so absolutely incredible is that God has chosen us, even though we are weak and imperfect, to be the channel of His redeeming and sustaining power when we serve Him in obedience. The gospel is the omnipotence of God to save.

FOR SALVATION (Romans 1:16c)

Paul goes on to tell us that God’s great power is, “for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16c, NASB95)

This is perhaps the greatest display of God’s power when He transforms man’s nature, forgiving his sins, loving him to the utmost (John 3:16-17) giving him eternal life through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation is a word that means “deliverance” or “rescue.”

Paul is pointing out to us that God’s power in salvation rescues or delivers man from his sin and from the ultimate penalty for sin which is separation from God in the lake of fire where the sinner is tormented forever.

Some would prefer that we do not use terms like “salvation” and “being saved” because in our generation they are virtually meaningless to our modern man,

and it is true when we are sharing the gospel, we might have to explain what we mean when we use these words,

but salvation is God’s word,

and I cannot think of one word that better describes what God offers to sinful mankind through the death of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through belief and confession in and of Jesus Christ, through Him alone men, women and children can be saved from sin, from Satan, from judgment, from God’s wrath against sin, and from spiritual death.

Paul says that God’s great power for salvation is available to everyone who believes, to that person who in faith believes the truth of the gospel.

What does it mean to believe, to have faith?

Think about your life you put a great amount of faith into many things.

Just now, as you began to read and absorb this devotional effort, you “sat down in the pew (your office chair, kitchen chair, lounge chair, bar stool) in faith.”

You sat down in the steadfast and immovable faith that it would hold you.

In the same way, you turn on a faucet and get a drink of water in faith that it is safe to drink, you drive across bridges in faith they won’t collapse under you.

Life requires this kind of natural faith.

But when Paul says this salvation is available to everyone who believes or has faith, he is referring to a supernatural faith, produced by God, a faith that is not of ourselves but is a gift of God.

Forgiveness of Sin, deliverance from sin and judgment, deliverance from wrath, and eternal life is gained and lived by faith from God in Jesus Christ.

Salvation is understanding that nothing within us or that we can do can make us right with God, but only what Jesus Christ did for us by taking the penalty for our sin on the cross, dying in our place, being buried, and rising from the dead, walking out of the tomb is the only thing providing salvation and eternal life.

Paul goes on to say that this salvation has no distinction, it is available to all people regardless of nationality, country or race.

God’s offer of salvation is extended to all people, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul uses the word Greek to refer to anyone who is not Jewish, any Gentile.

Why to the Jew first, because this is who the promise and the Person of salvation came through, so first only chronologically because God had chosen them as the people through whom the Savior, Jesus Christ would be born.

Through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection salvation was made available to all mankind and we can stand before God righteous through Christ.

FOR IN IT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS REVEALED (Romans 1:17)

Paul gives us one last great truth of his theme for this book.

He has already informed us that salvation is available to anyone who in faith trusts in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The one who does this in faith will have their life transformed by the power of God and be saved from sin, Satan, judgment, wrath, and eternal separation from God and will inherit eternal life.

But now Paul tells us that in all of this action of God saving us, His righteousness is revealed.

Paul writes, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17, NASB95)

Faith in Jesus Christ activates the power of God that brings salvation and, in that sovereign, act the righteousness of God is revealed.

This might be better translated the righteousness from God is revealed.

The righteousness spoken of here is not the divine attribute of God, it is not describing to us that God is righteous.

Paul is stating that at that moment of salvation God imparts His righteousness to us.

We are clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we can stand before God justified.

Paul described it this way to the church in Philippi in Philippians 3:8-9,

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,” (Philippians 3:8–9, NASB95)

Paul wants us to understand this overarching theme that righteousness comes from God when we repent of our sin and believe Jesus Christ died for us, taking upon Himself God’s wrath against our sin, He was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead proving that sin was paid for, and death was conquered.

When we believe this in faith God imparts His righteousness to us.

Paul explained it this way to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 5:21,

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB95)

Paul says this is from faith to faith, a phrase that preachers and theologians have debated for years.

I believe it parallels the phrase in verse 16, “to everyone who believes”

and if this is the case Paul is singling out each believer who has received the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

It is like he is saying from faith to faith to faith to faith.

Paul ends this passage with a quote from Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17b, NASB95)

Salvation by God’s grace through faith was the plan of God from the beginning.

As one will learn, praying and studying further in Romans,

Abraham was the father of the faithful, because he believed it was credited to him as righteousness,

this is the same with everyone who has exercised genuine faith, from before Abraham and after right up to today, that faith is credited as righteousness.

This statement made by the prophet Habakkuk emphasizes a continuousness of faith.

In other words, faith is not just a one-time act, but instead it is a way of life.

Faith in Savior Jesus Christ justifies us before God because of His righteousness imparted to us, then we live the rest of our life by faith in the Son of God and the promises of His Word to us who believe.

FINALLY:

In these two verses Paul has given us a summary of the theme of this letter that he is writing to the church in Rome.

The rest of this book is going to be an unfolding of this theme and a fuller explanation of this theme righteousness comes from God, God in His mercy justifies guilty, condemned sinners by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Paul began this passage by stating he was not ashamed of the gospel then in explaining why he wasn’t ashamed of it he summarized the theme of his letter.

His reason for not being ashamed is because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes and then becomes the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.

Paul made this statement and lived it out boldly every day.

Did that mean he was loved by everybody? No!

There were Jews and Gentiles who wanted to see him dead, did this stop him from boldly proclaiming the gospel? No!

Paul understood that more important than his own personal comfort was that as many people as possible needed to hear the gospel and have the opportunity to be saved from sin and the judgment that is going to come upon those who have not believed.

God’s challenge to you and to myself in these coming days and weeks is to step out of our comfort zone and share our Saviors gospel with at least one person.

Let me remind you that all you are to do is share the Gospel, you are not responsible for their response that is solely between that person and God.

Let’s pray for each other to “just” be bold, “justly” not ashamed of the gospel.

In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, I pray that, like Paul, I will boldly proclaim the gospel of Christ to all with whom I come in contact. Only in Him is there life and light, hope and love. I know that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, to all who believe on Him Who died and rose from the dead. To Him be all praise and glory, world without end, Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN

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Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness. Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5:6Amplified Bible

⁶“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

What is it we want more and more of from this life we are told we must live?

Many of us are hungry for approval.

Many of us are starving for approval.

We want our parents to tell us they are proud of us.

We constantly want our employer’s stamp of approval on our work.

We want our friends to think we are good enough to be their friends.

Deep down, this longing for acceptance comes from a longing to be found right and righteous in their eyes and perhaps, even to the same degree, in God’s eyes.

We are hungry for righteousness.

Sadly, we often try to satisfy our hunger by gorging on some kind of junk food.

We want approval from others so badly, so desperately, that we’re willing to compromise and even totally sacrifice even our very strongest convictions.

We want to prove ourselves through our job so badly that we burn out on our career, sacrificing our family, our friendships and our mental, physical health.

We want so badly to be morally acceptable that we build our lives on a system of rules, of looking down on others and sinking into a despair when even we don’t measure up. These foods cannot ever satisfy our hunger for true righteousness.

When was the last time you were hungry? Not just “I could eat something” hungry, but really, actually in need of something to eat?

Maybe it happened while you were in the middle of a long drive, on a long trip.

Or maybe you had just finished a long workday.

There were no Seven – Elevens, or Food Marts or Royal Farms.

Maybe you had no money left for food anyway.

Whatever the case, you know there is a big difference between wanting some food, longing for some food and then really needing it because you are hungry.

Jesus says we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when our longing for God’s will is more than just an interest—it’s all-consuming.

Hungering and starving and thirsting for righteousness means we are desperate to see sin uprooted, we are desperate for justice to flow like a wide raging river.

It means we are stirred up by a perception of “something is definitely not right, Kosher in our Kitchen. It means we cannot easily excuse these feelings away.

We don’t excuse our wrongdoing or try to shrug off the world’s problems, but instead we give all we have to make the world more like the kingdom of God.

We have this enormous sense of emptiness deep within our hearts and souls.

We have no idea what we can fill our hearts and souls with.

We open our refrigerator doors and come to realize – “isn’t nothing in there!”

Recipe books the wife, the mom, the grandma relied upon – are dusty, unused and the recipe’s inside are old and worn out, have long lost their taste appeal.

Old Mother Hubbard and her thrice empty cupboards – a new standard of life.

Not just in one household, but in the neighbors, in their neighbors, throughout their whole neighborhood – everywhere where we can visualize our horizons.

Then, says Rabbi Jesus, “blessed are those [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”

We can finally look forward to being filled, because God will be faithful in making things right.

He might not give us the house of our dreams or a big promotion, but he will bring justice and righteousness to every inch of his creation.

If that’s what we truly care about, we can’t help being satisfied as we partner with God in his work in this world.

As we look at the Sermon on the Mount, at these beatitudes, we find that it is a masterful presentation of the conditions for entering the Kingdom of God and the characteristics of those who are in His kingdom.

But His presentation is not exactly what the people expected.

He was offering them happiness in a way they had never heard in their lives and consequently it fascinated them, it quickened, and tickled their taste buds.

And by the time Rabbi Jesus was done with His radical words, they were more than fascinated. They were absolutely astonished at what He had said.

They were astonished with the authority he was bringing the message and the daring in preaching it within easy, obvious ear shot of the Temple Authorities.

And so, they taste what their Lord is offering: real happiness, real blessedness, but it is the kind of blessedness that only comes by being a part of His kingdom.

To hunger for the Kingdom, to enter the kingdom, you must be poor in spirit.

And as we live in the kingdom you continue recognize your spiritual poverty.

In order to enter the kingdom, you must mourn over your sin. And as you continue living in the kingdom as a son of God, you will mourn over your sin.

In order to enter the kingdom, you must come in meekness, not pride.

The reality, awareness that a proud, haughty man cannot enter, and once we are in God’s kingdom, meekness continues to be our attitude as you look at God and as God becomes more and more wonderful as you study and learn more.

Awareness, in order to enter the kingdom, you and I must hunger and thirst after God’s righteousness. Awareness my righteousness is woefully insufficient.

With this awareness, with this quickening, and once you’re in the kingdom, we will continue to hunger and thirst for far more of that same righteousness. So, it is both a condition for entrance and a characteristic of living in the kingdom.

Later in his earthly ministry, Rabbi Jesus illustrates how he satisfies hungry hearts. “I am the bread of life,” he says. “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

Jesus offers us his own righteousness, and God credits us with it (even though we do not deserve it) so we can enjoy the acceptance and approval we long for. (See Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-11.)

The man, Rabbi Jesus, in his teachings from the Beatitudes, offers all those who have gathered an opportunity to feast on the abundance of what He offers them.

Are we feeding on the only righteous food that satisfies our deepest longings?

Psalm 119:1-8Amplified Bible

Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.

^[a]Aleph.

119 How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless],
Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord.
²
Blessed and favored by God are those who keep His testimonies,
And who [consistently] seek Him and long for Him with all their heart.
³
They do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
⁴
You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should follow them with [careful] diligence.
⁵
Oh, that my ways may be established
To observe and keep Your statutes [obediently accepting and honoring them]!
⁶
Then I will not be ashamed
When I look [with respect] to all Your commandments [as my guide].
⁷
I will give thanks to You with an upright heart,
When I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions].
⁸
I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly abandon me [when I fail].

The Bible provides clear examples for right living. Abraham—in his better moments—provides a profound example of trust (Genesis 12:1-7).

Joseph provides a powerful example of faith and faithfulness in adversity (Genesis 39-47).

The author of Psalm 119 provides a vivid demonstration of passion for God’s Word.

The psalmist has treasured God’s words in his heart, and he seeks the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength to apply God’s commands to his life.

He does this despite the many complicated challenges he faces, including the fierce opposition of his enemies. But as the psalmist himself also declares, he is not perfect; he must continue to steadfastly dedicate his life to seeking God in his Living Word and striving to live everyday according to God’s righteousness.

Jesus—God’s Word in the flesh—uses language similar to the psalmist to commend people who want to follow’s God’s way:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

⁶“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.

Although we don’t know who wrote Psalm 119 or how his life turned out, Jesus’ words of blessing assure us the psalmist’s striving to please God is not in vain.

As Jesus promises, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness “will be filled,” “will be completely blessed with indescribable joy,” “will be nourished by the goodness of God – thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies – surely goodness and mercy will follow me – all the days of my life.” – “and I will dwell in the House of the Lord – forever and ever – ALLELUIA! AMEN!”

Are we, like the psalmist, hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness?

As much as we are, God will satisfy us.

As much as we strive for more – God will nourish us – Give us an IV of His blood.

We can never fully achieve it in our lifetimes – but our hunger will be satisfied.

The Lord is Jehovah Tsidkenu – Our Righteousness.

The Lord is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer.

The Lord is Jehovah Rohi, our Shepherd, and we have EVERYTHING we need!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Loving Father, I long for Christ more and more. I hunger and thirst for righteousness in this world and in my own life. I am so thankful that Jesus clothed me in His righteousness when I trusted in Him for salvation. Help me to nail my self-righteous efforts to the Cross and be guided, day by day, by the Holy Spirit into all truth, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

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Unrighteous Righteousness. Matthew 6:1-4 HCSB

Matthew 6:1-4Holman Christian Standard Bible

How to Give

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness^[a] in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ²So whenever you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They have got their reward! ³But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ^[b]

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Unrighteous Righteousness!

This sounds like an oxymoron – two totally incompatible concepts.

But that is the theme of this part of the Sermon on the Mount.

In the whole of this magnificent Sermon from the lips of Jesus one finds what it means to live the good Christian life the way God intends it to be lived.

The man, Rabbi Jesus introduces the issue in the text. It is the matter of righteousness.

The passage of Scripture that this verse introduces seems to focus primarily on four major concepts.

This devotional message will strive to deal with each of these as I believe they become self- evident in the passage.

1. Righteousness Defined.

What is meant by the word righteousness?

Briefly, it is nothing less nor more than rightness in one’s person, purposes, plans, procedures, practices, processes, and productions.

It is the outward expression of what one’s heart and soul is on the inside.

Two things need to be said about this word.

First, it is an attribute of God.

In other words, the Bible teaches us that God is righteous. (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

That means what He is, what He thinks, what He says, what He plans, and what He does have the characteristic of “rightness.”

Second, it is the anticipation of God relating to the human beings He made in His image.

The image of God is intended to be the image of His moral attributes, His righteousness evident in human beings.

There are many things about the image of God that are not a part of His image in human beings. Those fall into the category of His natural attributes.

For example, God is all powerful; people are not. God is all knowing; people are not. God is everywhere present; people are not.

God is pre-existent, had no beginning, not so with people. (Psalm 139:13-18)

Since there are things about God that are not true of human beings, it must be concluded that the image of God in human beings is very specific.

The focus then, is on the moral image of God that is the attribute of God and the anticipation of God for His moral creatures.

For example,

God is love! (1 John 4:7-11)

He expects people to possess and express love in appropriate ways.

God is kind and gentle, and He expects His people to be kind and gentle.

The righteousness of God is the expression of the nature or character of God, and that is summed up in the word holiness.

In other words, the moral image of God as the character of the human beings He made and is anticipated to be the character of His people is to be the expression of His holiness (divine character) and His righteousness (divine action.)

Ergo, therefore, “righteousness” is defined as the outward actions of what defines a “person.”

It includes his/her purposes, plans, procedures, practices, processes, and productions … whatever those may include.

2. Righteousness Depraved.

There is a serious problem.

Human beings are a big problem!

The Apostle Paul made this very clear: “There is no one righteous, not even one!” (Romans 3:10) This is Paul’s paraphrase of the last of Psalm 53:1.

So, what is the real problem?

The heart, the spiritual control center of a person!

The Prophet Jeremiah caught the issue:

“The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick – who can understand it? I, the LORD examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10) (HCSB)

Therefore, man’s spiritual control center, the “spiritual” heart is seriously infected.

This is what creates the problem that results in “unrighteous righteousness.”

And how does this happen?

The Bible makes it clear. Hear the counsel of King Solomon:

“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) (HCSB)

Again, Solomon speaks:

Proverbs 23:7NKJV

⁷For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.

Think of the space exploration program of the United States.

When our space shuttle was rocketed into space for whatever mission it was designed, there is an amazingly intricate internal control center on the shuttle which functions under the skilled and well-trained hands of the astronauts.

But there is also an equally amazingly intricate external control center.

We are acquainted with that external control center being in Houston, Texas.

The internal control center must comply with the instructions and directions of the external control center. If it does not, then serious complications can arise.

The problem in human beings is with the internal spiritual control center … the “spiritual heart” of people.

Since our own “spiritual control center” is badly infected with that disease called “sin,” one can expect that which comes out of the inner control center will reflect outwardly what is already inside there.

That is why the words of Jesus have meaning, when He said in the Sermon on the Mount, our text:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness before people, to be seen by them; for if you do, you will have no reward from your Father Who is in heaven.”

We were created to be righteous, but truth is, our track record is abysmal.

There is a vacuum between what we are and what we are supposed to be.

Self-righteousness is nothing but unrighteousness sort of dressed up to look like righteousness.

How did Rabbi Jesus address the “unrighteous righteousness” of His audience?

He spoke to four basic areas of life that can well be outward expressions of righteousness:

(1) compassion for others,

(2) crying out to God in prayer,

(3) constraint in lifestyle (self-denial), and

(4) cumulating wealth.

So, what did He say about these?

Notice the following teaching of Jesus in each of these four areas of life:

“When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.” (v 2)

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” (v 5)

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.” (v 16)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (v 19)

Jesus did not mention the Pharisees by name in this chapter.

But He undoubtedly had them in mind when He referred to the “hypocrites.”

In Matthew 23, shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus spoke seven woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.

In six of those “woes” He specifically referred to “teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” (Note Matthew 23: 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, and 29)

Six times Jesus went to the heart of the problem and “grabbed them by their collective throats and said: “You pretenders … you pretenders … you pretend to be spiritual, but you are not!”

Now what do we know about the Pharisees?

There is nothing absolute in writing, but the obvious result of Jewish activity speaks loudly.

It was during the intertestamental period, between Malachi and Matthew, that there was a group of Jewish leaders who sat together and reasoned:

“Why is it that God has promised to make us a great nation, but we have been constantly pushed around, nearly destroyed, and today we are as nothing? First it was the Babylonian Captivity, and then the Persian Empire. What is wrong?”

They concluded that Moses was correct.

After Moses had instructed the people as they traveled out of Egypt, they responded positively.

“When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the LORD has said we will do.’” (Exodus 24:3)

That group of “spiritual men” during the time between Malachi and Matthew read the Scriptures and believed what it said.

They knew Israel had failed in their commitment, and the result was tragic.

And so, the Pharisees were in the beginning a spiritual movement concerned with the holiness of people and the holiness of the nation of Israel.

What they were saying was:

“We need to get back to obeying all the words of God’s law and become the vehicle through which God’s purposes can be fulfilled.”

There was nothing wrong with that desire.

Holiness is God’s will for His people.

And there have been various “holiness” movements in history.

The powerful and effective ministry of John and Charles Wesley stands at the pinnacle of such movements.

Reverend John Wesley preached the Biblical truth of holiness of heart and life and quite literally, England was rescued from the brink of total destruction.

But here is the problem with the Pharisees, and in some respects with the holiness movements in general.

As “movements” they were all born as revival movements in times of desperate spiritual need. The great concern was that their hearts were right with God.

The problem with that group of “spiritual men,” quite similar to the problem in some in the holiness movement, was before long the emphasis moved from the inner holiness of one’s own heart to the outer conformity to practices deemed to be “righteous acts” to “prove” they were a part of the “holiness movement.”

They became “writers of the law” instead of “keepers of the law.”

The Pharisees wrote what they believed to be the interpretation of God’s Law and came up with 614 regulations they determined would be “righteous acts,” deemed to be holy because they were “justified” by the Words of the Torah.

The Word of God does have lifestyle standards that are to characterize every follower of Jesus Christ.

But the problem lies in defining “holiness” or “righteousness” by the length of a lady’s dress, or the style or length of their hair, their wearing of make-up or watching a movie, or dancing or buying a paper on Sunday or going out to eat on Sunday, or other such relatively mundane “family and friends” activities.

The Bible insists that the “goal of advancing God’s work by faith is love from a pure heart.” (1 Timothy 1:5)

The problem does not lie in the “rightness” or “wrongness” of some of the activities to which I just referred.

The problem is that these become the center issue.

People can do all these kinds of things and have no real concern with what is in their heart and what and whom is in charge of their soul.

Keeping rules is one thing but knowing nothing of the heart is the basic and tragic problem.

“Unrighteous righteousness” is prominently keeping the rules as a display on the near wall or an attempt to “show” our high level of spirituality to others.

That is precisely how Jesus dealt with the Pharisees in Matthew 23.

Outwardly everything looks right.

Yet, holiness has migrated from the inner life to the outer life.

That becomes our standardized measuring stick and concerns, and activities are external because that is exactly and exactingly where the holiness criteria have not so subtly migrated to from the heart. And that is righteousness depraved.

3. Righteousness Derived.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the desire that our lives become outward expressions of what is inside.

Righteousness – doing right things – for the right reasons, as the defining outward characteristic of one’s internal character becomes the observable (sometimes hypocritical) evidence of the reality of that person’s true nature.

What is the “source” of righteousness?

In this devotional message there is no intention of getting into the theological debate focused on “imputed righteousness” versus “imparted righteousness.”

Let’s just let the Scriptures speak plainly.

It is important to know that righteousness is not generated inherently just because a person is a moral creature having been made by God.

Righteousness is a gift from God.

Hear the Apostle Paul on this matter:

“Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

Of primary importance in this matter is that we each understand that when God exposes our unrighteousness it is not to humiliate or embarrass us.

It is always that when we recognize it, He might change us.

On the heels of this we need to also recognize that righteousness becomes ours because it is a gift from God through His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Righteousness does not begin with acts or doing.

It is so common for people to think by doing good things one can become good.

It is the reverse of that.

This is precisely why Jesus addressed His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount with the caution that forms the text for this devotional message.

Doing does not produce being, being produces doing!

That is, becoming the right person enables one to do the right things with the right attitude.

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote:

“He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Righteousness is primarily about what we are, and only then does it become what we do.

It is necessary that we come to the cross and in the words of the Apostle Paul, be “crucified with Christ” so that we might live!

But, you say, there are things we are supposed to “do” as Christians.

True. And now note it is in the same Sermon on the Mount that Jesus said:

“Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Now He says,

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them.” (Matthew 6:1)

Sounds like a contradiction?

On the surface, yes.

But there is something missing.

The difference lies not in the act of righteousness itself, but rather in the source of that act of righteousness.

If it is my righteousness the attention will be on me.

If it is God’s righteousness that is God’s gift placed within my heart, then the attention will be on Him and Him alone.

In other words, the origin of the act determines the object of the act.

This is precisely why the Apostle Paul wrote:

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

Note if you will, this is how Jesus in His humanity lived.

He was a real human being.

He was not simply disguised as a man.

John 1:14 states it clearly:

“The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us.”

It was in this humanity that He said:

“The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way.” (John 5:19)

In the same 5th chapter in John’s Gospel, we note Jesus saying, “I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.” (v 30)

What I believe Rabbi Jesus was saying is: “I am not trying to please myself; I am not trying to please the crowd. I seek only to please My Father.”

Therefore, it is not the object of our acts of righteousness but the origin that will determine WHO is the recipient of “praise.”

It is the nature of our heart and soul which lies behind the act of righteousness that make the difference.

4. Righteousness Delivered.

The word “delivered” is important in dealing with what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

It is a word that necessarily demands identification of two very specific focal points:

(1) delivered from and (2) delivered to.

In the context of the text passage for this devotional message note Rabbi Jesus focused on four areas of “righteous acts”:

1. Compassion for others, expressed in giving.

2. Crying out to God, expressed in praying.

3. Constraint of desire, expressed in fasting.

4. Cumulating wealth, expressed in gaining.

Rabbi Jesus did not condemn any of these acts.

There is no inherent sinfulness in giving out of a heart of compassion for others.

It is not sinful to call out to God in prayer.

There is no wickedness in expressing one’s personal lifestyle constraint relating to normal activities.

And there is nothing wrong with cumulating wealth in a legitimate manner.

The problem is the attitude of the heart related to these acts.

They may be acts that are truly righteous, or they may be acts that are very unrighteous.

The initial clue to having our righteousness delivered from being self-focused to being Jesus-focused is found in the closing verse of Matthew 5:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The form of the verb Jesus used is both a statement and an imperative.

Take either and you have what Jesus intended to disclose.

The object of the verb is the word that indicates “completeness.”

Some people want the noun to indicate “moral perfection” or “holiness” as that word is used in the theology of some movements.

Biblically the word is more than “holiness” as understood from the use of the word “hagios” or “holy” as it is usually translated.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mat/7/6/t_conc_936006

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g40/esv/mgnt/0-1/

The word “tevleio” as Jesus used it in verse 48 of Matthew 5 connotes the idea of “total complete-ness.”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/5/48/s_934048

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5046/kjv/tr/0-1/

Understood from Scripture then, it includes both that holiness of the heart to which Peter referred in Acts 15:9 and that “completeness” that is the result of being “conformed to image of His Son,” (Romans 8:29).

This is the result flowing from a pure heart that allows the refining, instructing, correcting, reproving work of the Holy Spirit to continue unhindered.

This is why “holiness” must be understood as a crisis within a process.

The process – doing righteousness – cannot become reality without first the crisis.

And the crisis – that instantaneous act of God purifying the heart – cannot be maintained apart from the process that flows from the “growing up” under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit.

God will not do through us what He does not first do in us!

When God works “in us” His cleansing, purifying work, then the truth of Jesus’ solutions for “unrighteous righteousness” will become reality.

He gave the divine solutions for each of the four areas He mentions in Matthew 5:3, 6, 17, and 20.

We must intentionally work hard and labor much to make very sure the inner spiritual control center is fully complete – pure – and then the outer control center – God’s power – will produce the evidence of “righteous righteousness.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord who is our Righteousness, I thank you because people look at the outside, but only you can see our inside. Please open our eyes to see that you are the God who’s watching in secret, so that we may be willing to follow your word in our daily life. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of my Savior Jesus, Alleluia! Amen!

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Choose this Day What Riches You Will Pursue and Serve! Pray! Choose this Day Whose Righteousness You Will Pursue and Will Serve? Proverbs 11:1-11

What is the true meaning of righteousness?

morally right or justifiable

1: acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin. 2a: morally right or justifiable a righteous decision. b: arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality righteous indignation.

What is the spiritual meaning of righteousness?

Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable.

It can be considered synonymous with “rightness” or being “upright”.

It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theological concept.

What are the principles of righteousness?

Righteousness is a composite of all that is good.

Righteousness embraces the principles of heavenly power and law by which all things of God are handled and controlled and governed.

In righteousness there is great simplicity. In every case that confronts us in life there is either a right way or a wrong way to proceed.

Who is a righteous person according to the Bible? (Psalm 1)

Bible says that a righteous person is someone who does not live in the counsel of the wicked and who leaves between his desires and God’s commands.

The one who drives himself to do good even when he does not feel like it, who will wait for justice rather than turning away from it- this man has integrity.

I continue my search of God’s Holy Scriptures so to compare and contrast, explore and also strive to understand: My Righteousness against My God’s.

Proverbs 11:1-11Authorized (King James) Version

11 A false balance is abomination to the Lord:
but a just weight is his delight.

²When pride cometh, then cometh shame:
but with the lowly is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them:
but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.

⁴Riches profit not in the day of wrath:
but righteousness delivereth from death.

⁵The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way:
but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them:
but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.

⁷When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish:
and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

⁸The righteous is delivered out of trouble,
and the wicked cometh in his stead.

⁹An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

¹⁰When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth:
and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted:
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Before standardized weights and measures, and a government department to enforce them, merchants were responsible for accurate scales and weights.

You bought and sold most of your commodities and foodstuffs by weight.

This was no small matter, as the integrity and prosperity of the nation’s economy depended on trustworthy transactions.

Business integrity is part of godliness.

God counts economic cheating or compromise to be an abomination.

This word means a combination of disgust and hatred, abhorrence, detestation, and loathing.

If you want to get ahead, then be careful in all your transactions, even making sure your motives are just and pure (Proverbs 11:3; 19:1; Proverbs 20:7,14),

and looking out with special care for widows, orphans, and the poor (Proverbs 23:10-11; 22:9). It is far better to be generous and liberal than to be cheap and stingy (Proverbs 11:24-27; Ecclesiastes 11:1-6; Isaiah 32:8).

The omniscient God, seeing and knowing all things, takes very close interest in the ounces and pounds, liters and pints, dollars and cents, of your daily life. Let every greedy and stingy thief beware! He does not watch from a distance

You will never get ahead cheating.

It is far better to pay and perform beyond expectations, than to cut corners or shortchange anyone.

Generosity is far superior to frugality.

It is a very small mind, motivated by a dead soul, which thinks cheating is how to get ahead (Proverbs 11:24-26; 28:8).

A large mind, directed by a loving and generous heart, is God’s delight. He will bless the righteous.

Godly men are perfectly honest.

They never take advantage of others.

They go beyond bare duty; they pay more than their share; they keep every term of a contract; they tip generously; they pay debts on time; they despise small thefts; they never lay out sick, when they are well; they disclose all problems with things they sell; they do not barter down a price, then call it a great deal; they communicate promptly and openly.

The Lord avenges any defrauding (1 Thessalonians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 6:8).

He measures every relationship and transaction with His holy and divine scales of perfect righteousness.

Have you been found wanting?

Your prayers will stop at the ceiling (Proverbs 15:29; Psalms 66:18);

He will blow against you (Proverbs 13:15; Psalms 34:16);

and you will never get ahead (Proverbs 13:11; 20:21; Jeremiah 17:11).

The Lord delights in honest men (Proverbs 12:22; Psalms 11:7; Luke 6:37-38).

What a glorious blessing indeed to have the Most-High God delighting in you for your daily integrity!

Watch every trade!

Owe no man anything! Be void of offence before God and men! Let the pure honesty and generosity of the Lord Jesus Christ be seen in your every action.

God is fair and right, and He expects you to be fair and right.

He is perfect, He hates cheating or compromise in your dealings; He loves honesty and integrity. He will ruin you professionally, if you cheat; but He will bless you abundantly, if you are just and fair. Solomon taught this lesson to his son more than once (Proverbs 16:11; 20:10,23).

Proverbs 11:2Authorized (King James) Version

²When pride cometh, then cometh shame:
but with the lowly is wisdom.

The proud hypocrite deceives himself into ignoring realities in the conduct of his life the meek and humble person quickly recognizes and takes into account.

The proud person’s vanity pushes him into conduct that will end in shame.

The humble person’s attitude stands in vivid contrast, for his wisdom prevents him from pursuing the same conduct.

This produces even more wisdom when good fruit is produced from good trees because it positively reinforces his right decision.

This pride seen in Proverbs 11:2 literally means “boiling up,” or we might say, “puffed up.”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/pro/11/2/t_conc_639002

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2087/kjv/wlc/0-1/

It can mean “to overstep the boundaries.”

The proud person has an inflated opinion of himself and/or his possessions, abilities, powers, and accomplishments.

This exists because pride has deceived him about his importance.

He is the center of the world! The day is coming soon when everyone’s proud ego will be deflated, and man’s haughty self-regard will be stripped away.

There is a safe way to live – obey the bible.

And there is a dangerous way to live – do what feels good and sounds good.

By committing to only obey the bible at all times, you will have clear direction for every situation, but they are not easy choices to make or to try to live by.

But living your life by your own feelings and choices will often lead you to confusion and difficulty, and it will certainly put you on a destructive path.

Now what is integrity?

It is the glorious character trait of always doing what is right, regardless of difficulties or consequences.

It is the upright who have integrity.

What is perverseness?

It is turning away from what is right to act contrary to law or nature.

It is transgressors, or sinners, who are perverse, for they choose to reject moral restrictions.

The upright always do what is right – they have integrity.

Their confusion in life is minimal, for they have chosen to follow what is right in every choice and dilemma.

They have a constant guide.

Transgressors do whatever they want – they are perverse.

They have no standards or parameters for their actions, and their perversity will surely lead them down a destructive path of moral and ethical confusion.

What is right?

Whatever the Bible says is right!

Anything to the contrary is perverse and wrong.

The Bible should be exalted on every subject, and all other opinions should be hated (Psalms 119:128).

Such a rule defines Bible Christianity.

It does not matter what a religious leader thinks, what is socially acceptable, what is traditional, or what will win you a promotion.

The wicked, perverse in their rejection of God’s word, are confused about the simplest matters and end up in destruction.

The rule of wisdom is to live by integrity – always obeying the bible – which gives a constant and continuous and decisively sound moral and ethical guide.

The blessed Lord Jesus Christ always did those things that pleased His Father.

He had perfect integrity and prudence in obeying the word of God and living a perfect life.

For those who confess Him with their whole hearts and believe on Him, He is the Source and Means of everlasting righteousness.

Proverbs 11:4Authorized (King James) Version

⁴Riches profit not in the day of wrath:
but righteousness delivereth from death.

If you asked most people if they would rather have riches or righteousness – most likely most would answer that they would like riches sprinkled with a pinch of God here another pinch of Jesus, there and a smidgeon of Holy Spirit.

That is due to two facts.

First, I believe it is related to the fact that mankind is lost and ignorant of their true position before God.

Second, I believe it is related to the fact that the rich man in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man – has not yet had his message broadcast out to the world as he himself would have wanted it written by himself with his own pen, in his style.

Proverbs tells us that riches do not profit us in the day of wrath.

If riches are all that we have – we are seriously in trouble.

Note that we read here of the day of wrath.

This refers to the day that God releases His wrath on those who have rejected His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That will be a sobering day indeed for the rich.

They have stored up their wealth when they should have used it for the glory of God and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On that day, their riches will mean nothing. Honored on earth among men – riches are despised in heaven – unless they have been used for the glory of God.

Two men would love to testify to this fact. The first is the rich man who did nothing to alleviate the pain and suffering of a poor beggar named Lazarus.

Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate; his only ministers were dogs that licked his sores. He longed to be fed with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.

He received nothing from him.

Both died and the rich man was cast into hell and Lazarus was taken into Abraham’s bosom.

– The rich man – suffering miserably – asked that someone be sent to tell his brothers of this place.

He knew that riches would not deliver him from hell – only righteousness would do.

The second man who would love to testify would be the rich farmer who thought he had it made because he had a bumper crop.

Faced with filled barns already, he wondered what to do with his bountiful harvest.

He decided to build bigger barns, fill them and then say to himself that he was set for life.

He trusted riches, not righteousness.

He lost.

The Lord called this man a fool and told him that he would die that night – and what would he do for his own soul.

Riches will not profit us in that day when we face the judgment of God.

Only righteousness will do.

Actually, only a certain kind of righteousness will do too.

That is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

That alone will stand in that awful day.

Nothing else will matter except we’ve repented, turned in faith to Jesus Christ.

What He did on the cross will pay for our sins – what He did will allow us to be credited with a perfect righteousness, will cause us to be accepted before God.

Only what He did – only His righteousness will matter.

It will save us from death.

In light of this truth – what are you trusting in on the day of God’s wrath?

You may think it is not coming – that God is too nice to judge anyone.

The fact of Scripture is to the contrary.

God will judge – He will call us to an accounting – and He will accept only one thing on that day to make us acceptable in His sight.

Only the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Only the blood will help us to escape the wrath of God. Now let me ask the question . . . On the day of God’s wrath what do you want to have – God’s riches or our own righteousness?

In Psalm 90, as Moses meditates on his own life’s shortness, he asks God,

“Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath (Psalm 90:11)?”

Death is the debt owed to God’s justice, not to nature.

Since God made man in His image, to be loved and to love, death is not “a part of life,” as materialists’ prattle, attempting to quiet their own fears. Because of sin, death unnaturally ends life, so that since sin entered the world, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).”

When one stands before God as our appointed judge (Acts 17:31), riches which he or she has accumulated in their lifetimes will not help at all.

In this life, riches command respect, buy the best lawyers, and may even bribe the judge.

But in the day of wrath, riches will not sway the Judge, nor remove the sting of God’s wrath.

The only help in the day of wrath is righteousness.

If God is for us, then who will be against us (Romans 8:31)?

The second death will not hurt us, so the judgment presaged by the first death will not alarm the righteous, whose goodness will deliver them from death.

Here the proverb ends, but since “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)” and “there is none that does good, no, not one (Romans 3:10, Psalm 14:1),” the proverb provokes within us a deep and serious question.

How can anyone be righteous before God and survive His Wrath and Judgment?

Jewish animal sacrifices ended when Rome destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D., and wherever news about Jesus Christ has gone, animal sacrifices for believers and non-believers alike have ceased.

Nevertheless, the Bible assures us often that God will mercifully forgive sin, or how could anyone stand before Him (Psalm 130)?

Only by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The news about Christ, proclaimed by the Church since the Day of Pentecost, announces the victory of the Son of David over sin and death.

As the Hebrew Scriptures prophesied, Jesus voluntarily died on a cross, the Lamb of God given for the sins of His People.

After three days, He rose to life again, appearing to many chosen witnesses.

His sacrifice on the cross bought us forgiveness for all who have repented and believe in Him. and also, they are imputed with righteousness, not ours, but Christ’s imputed righteousness was imparted as a free gift by faith alone.

This righteousness delivers from death on the day of wrath, when riches will be of no use.

Proverbs 11 Verse 5: “The righteousness of the perfect (the blameless) shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.”

The “perfect”—those who are morally upright—better translated “blameless,” will live by the standards of integrity and honesty.

A “blameless” person is one who is above reproach.

It does not mean that he must be sinless, but his life must be lived so nobly that there won’t be any loopholes for others to latch onto and criticize.

There are some irresponsible people who will accuse.

We might be unjustly blamed for wrong, but there must be nothing in our lives that could truthfully be used to bring minimal shame to the cause of Christ.

The “wicked” (those who have no respect for God and holy things) will fall beneath the load of their sins.

Proverbs 11 Verse 6: The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

One of the great principles of wisdom is the certain and sure consequences for both righteousness and wickedness.

Solomon repeated this rule many times to get the attention of his son and citizens. In this chapter alone, compare this proverb to others very similar in their wording, their lesson –Proverbs 11:3,4,5,7,8,10,12,19,20,21,23,27,28,31.

The repetition is not wasted.

Check your heart, dear reader.

Is there a tendency within us to think or believe Solomon’s proverbs like this one are boring or worse – irrelevant to our contemporary times and seasons?

Would you or I rather read and consider one about love, business, relationships, or wealth? Pray! Let’s be careful. The density and distribution of these proverbs are also by divine wisdom. The repetitions of the rule above are 100% necessary.

Love, business, relationships, and wealth will take care of themselves, if you live a wise life of righteousness.

Your heart is cold toward righteousness due to sin that is in your body.

And the devil himself suggests anything he can to distract you from learning and growing in righteousness.

Furthermore, the world only suggests and sells naughtiness; it never promotes righteousness. These foes conspire to destroy you. Solomon was not redundant.

An upright person does what is right, as defined by God, all the time, and with all the necessary and required zeal.

This is righteousness.

They are delivered or saved from the pain and trouble of sin, both in this world and in the next.

A transgressor is a person who breaks God’s laws, and he wallows and eventually drowns in the misery of their choice, in this world and the next.

Consider this world.

The upright man learns and applies the righteous laws of God to his life.

God and men favor him, and he is delivered from the delusions and dysfunction of others (Proverbs 3:1-4; Joshua 1:7-9; Psalms 1:1-6; Luke 2:52).

But the transgressor, blinded and deceived by his evil ways, falls into all sorts of avoidable trouble, for God, men, and natural laws are set together to crush him with its consequences (Proverbs 1:31; 8:36; 13:15).

Consider the next world.

The honorable and upright man, with good fruits of righteousness proving his regeneration and salvation, gains their entrance to heaven by God’s free grace in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4; 2 Peter 1:5-11).

But the unrepentant transgressor, wishing he had never been born, faces the dread sovereign Judge of the universe to be punished during an eternity in the lake of fire (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8).

Learn to relate, learn to connect the dots in your life, where the dots are the choices and events of your life. If you rebel against Bible wisdom and foolishly follow the world, you will surely suffer painful and punishing results. If you fear God and live by the Bible, you’ll be certainly protected and blessed by the Lord.

Joseph made many wise choices regarding his father, brothers, Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife and Pharaoh.

There likely were sometimes that he wondered if his straightforward honorable righteous living was worth it when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, and even more so when he was thrown into prison because of Potiphar’s evil wife…

But if you connect the dots, where did they end for Joseph?

He was made ruler of Egypt and able to save and provide for his whole family.

Samson was a young man like Joseph, but he would not listen to his parents and marry a girl from Israel.

He wanted a Philistine girl instead.

He had several providential victories in his life by his great strength.

He may have thought God was turning a blind eye to his sexual sins.

But if you connect the dots, where did they end for Samson? He was betrayed by his last Philistine lover, had both eyes put out, and then he committed suicide.

You are placing dots on the map of your life today.

If you reject God’s wisdom and the instruction of authorities in your life, your future will most certainly be painful and decisively, directly, full of trouble.

But if you are upright and live righteously today, there is an expected end for you that will be your honorable righteous living and the blessings of our God.

When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes… Proverbs 11:7 NKJV

The true test of a man and his choices is how he dies.

More accurately it is what happens to him after he dies.

That is what this proverb addresses today.

When a wicked man dies – everything dies with him.

He has no expectations beyond this world.

During his life he lived for the things of this world – and now that he is dead – he has to face the fact that he lost everything at the moment he died.

You leave it all behind. The wicked man’s expectation was centered in this world. He bet his entire life that this was all that there is – that there is no afterlife. He figured that all he did will adequately speak for him on that day.

All that he can look forward to from that moment on is the wrath of God.

In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Abraham spoke to the rich man who was in torment in flame after death.

He reminded him that he received his good things in this life.

He rejected God – rejected serving God

– and rejected living for God rather than for his own selfish agenda.

He thought that God did not exist – that heaven was just a state of mind

– that judgment day was just a device used by Christian preaches to get people to walk down the aisle during an altar call at church.

He was radically wrong!

God is real – and He is holy and just.

The strong man and the complete weakling are identical before the throne of God. The strong man does not want to humble himself before the Lord. But no matter what he does – his hope and his expectation perish before the Lord.

Proverbs 11 Verse 8: The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead

Let the wicked suffer instead of you! God will save you from trouble and punish the wicked instead, if you live righteously. He makes a difference among men by protecting those who live godly lives and judging the wicked in their place.

There is a reward for a righteous man (Psalms 58:11).

Psalm 58:11Authorized (King James) Version

¹¹So that a man shall say,
Verily there is a reward for the righteous:
verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

God delivers him from trouble. When a righteous man is saved out of a calamity, God redirects the judgment, trouble against wicked men (Proverbs 24:15-16).

The Lord loves the righteous, He sacrifices the wicked for him (Proverbs 21:18).

What is the lesson?

God blesses and favors those who obey Him, and He judges and punishes those who do not.

If you are on the Lord’s side, He will bless you, but He will despise and destroy His enemies.

This is the God of the Bible, though most do not know Him.

The crucial point is that you are convicted to live a godly life for Him.

The Lord has not promised the righteous will not have troubles, but He has promised to deliver them from those troubles (Job 5:17-27; Psalms 34:4-7,17-19; 50:14-15; 66:12; 91:14-16).

You can see Jacob, Joseph, David, Job, Daniel, Paul, and others delivered out of trouble (Genesis 39:1-3; 48:15-16; 2 Sam 22:1; Job 42:10-17; Daniel 1:17-21; 2 Timothy 4:17).

Pharaoh and Egypt thought they could abuse the Israelites living in their nation.

He tried to kill their children; he overworked them without compensation; he mocked Moses and Moses’ God.

What happened?

God moved Israel to Canaan, ravaged the nation by a variety of plagues, killed Pharaoh’s firstborn son the firstborn in every Egyptian family, confiscated the nation’s wealth for Israel’s back pay, and drowned the army in the Red Sea.

Haman plotted in hatred to hang Mordecai on gallows he had built for the purpose, but God delivered Mordecai, and Haman was hung in his place (Esther 7:9-10).

Instead of Mordecai twitching with a snapped neck, it was Haman.

Understanding Christians have rejoiced with smiles at this reversal of fortune for centuries. But that was not all; before he got to hang, Haman was ordered to lead Mordecai through the streets of the city for special honor.

Wicked Medes in the government of Darius conspired and had Daniel thrown in a den of lions for his faith in God and daily prayers.

But they and their families ended up being ravaged and eaten by the same lions that the previous night had no interest in Daniel (Daniel 6:24).

This is redirected violence perfectly suitable for families of the wicked.

Nebuchadnezzar’s best soldiers were burned alive by the very flames they had prepared for Daniel’s three friends (Daniel 3:22).

They overheated their furnace for capital crimes, and it burned them to death while not even singeing the hair of the three. The Hebrew youth had purposed they would not participate in false religion, and God delivered them for it.

Sixteen Roman soldiers died instead of Peter by the Lord’s glorious deliverance of him from prison (Acts 12:18-19).

The angel of God woke Peter during the night and saved him from his planned execution the next day, but the foolish soldiers loyal to Rome died in his place.

The proverbs being placed before us are very true.

Are you and I one of the righteous?

The righteous are so precious in God’s affections that He will gladly sacrifice the wicked for them (Isaiah 43:3-4).

Israel was very sure they were doomed when trapped against the Red Sea by Pharaoh’s armies (Exodus 14:10-12), but the LORD delivered them gloriously through it and drowned Pharaoh’s army in it (Exodus 14:21-31).

Consider the celebratory song and dance of Israel in light of the fulfillment of this proverb (Exodus 15:1-21).

There is a reward for the righteous.

There is no need to fret because of the prosperity or the persecutions of the wicked.

They do not see their day coming, but the righteous do.

The Lord laughs about what He will do to the wicked (Psalms 2:1-12; 37:12-13),

and the righteous should laugh with Him (Psalms 52:1-7; 58:6-11).

Are you one of the righteous?

Proverbs 11:9Authorized (King James) Version

⁹An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

When words fly like daggers through the air you can be assured that you are dealing with a godless man.

The godless man is the one who destroys his neighbor with his mouth.

The term godless here refers to a man who is impious, filthy, and godless.

The root of this word speaks of how he turns away, wants nothing to do with God.

As a result, we see in Scripture where one who is like this is morally unclean (Job 13:16) and whose character lacks any of the positive aspects of godliness.

Consider the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

This man, this transgressor has none of these qualities.

We also read in Scripture that because of this the transgressor often clashes with and is in almost constant and continuous conflict with the righteous.

We read here that the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

I believe this deliverance is two-fold.

First, we will be delivered from the godless who want to destroy us with their words.

Several times in the New Testament we are urged to let our behavior be such that when the wicked seek to destroy us with accusations and lies – our actions and lifestyle will be such that it will answer their lies.

The way we live consistently will be a rebuke to them.

We will not have to answer or come back with our own attacks, because those around us will laugh them to scorn.

They know us – and they will reject such attacks.

That deliverance comes through “knowledge.”

Knowledge means not just a head-knowledge, but one that truly results in discernment, insight, and wisdom.

We get such knowledge from God’s Word – and from a life spent seeking Him and walking with Him.

The second way I believe we will be delivered is that we will not be led into “the fight.”

When someone tries to destroy you with their mouth – the natural thing to experience is a strong desire to launch a counterattack.

They throw stones – we throw knives.

They shoot bullets – we drop bombs.

You can imagine where this all leads.

The righteous is delivered in part by “killing your opponent with kindness.”

Matthew 5:43-48Authorized (King James) Version

⁴³Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. ⁴⁴But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ⁴⁵that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? ⁴⁷And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? ⁴⁸Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

You do not respond in kind – you respond in kindness!

This changes everything.

They may continue to attack, and often will (sometimes kindness drives a person who is seeking to destroy you even crazier with anger).

But as those around us watch the proceedings – they see clearly the one who is acting godly – and the one who is spinning out of control.

In the end, we are delivered from our greatest foe – and that is not the one attacking us.

We are delivered from ourselves. Something deep within wants to rise up and take control – and by the way – that is our flesh.

Instead, we need to have Christ in us respond.

He will grant us power to respond with kindness and love – with mercy and forgiveness.

Know this – respond like this and two things will happen.

First, you will be delivered from your own worst aspects of your flesh.

Second, you will win in the end. Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter – and as a sheep before His shearers is silent – so He did not open His mouth.

That response, dear saints, won in the end.

It did at the cross – it most assuredly did when He walked out of His tomb!

And it will for everyone who embraces Him responding like that in their lives through His Holy Spirit now.

Proverbs 11:10Authorized (King James) Version

¹⁰When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth:
and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

King Solomon’s astute political observations and wisdom reveal that cities and nations much prefer policies which benefits godly men more so than those than those which benefit wicked men.

Exceptions to this general rule do not matter.

Support for godly leaders and policies will cause joy, and when wicked leaders, policies, or men die, there is also good reason for celebration.

There are two ways to improve the spirit of a political entity or an organization.

Either favor the cause of righteousness by helping and protecting good men or punish the way of wickedness by exposing and destroying evil men.

Any person in authority must remember both rules to enact and enforce policies that help the righteous and hurt the wicked.

Should good people celebrate the destruction of the wicked?

Should they rejoice at the promotion of the righteous?

Yes, and yes!

The difference between righteous and wicked men is enormous, and even citizens with little nobility or religion can appreciate the difference.

But God’s people know the difference even better and celebrate accordingly.

A nation’s citizens appreciate a benevolent, faithful, and wise ruler; they mourn a foolish, oppressing, and selfish ruler (Proverbs 29:2).

Egypt rejoiced to have Joseph, and Babylon to have Daniel.

Shushan, the capital of Persia, mourned when wicked Haman was promoted, but they rejoiced when Mordecai replaced him (Esther 4:15; 8:15).

Israel celebrated their great blessings to have David and Solomon as kings (2 Samuel 6:14-19; 1 Kings 4:20-25).

When King Asa initiated a revival in Judah, many left their homes in Israel and moved to be under such a good king (2 Chronicles 15:8-19).

It was the same under good King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:21-27).

Therefore, wise citizens will pray for their leaders, for in the prosperity of good rulers they will obtain their own blessing (Jeremiah 29:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Vengeance is the Lord’s; He will repay (Romans 12:19).

Both destruction, promotion come from the Lord (Psalm 75:6-7; Isaiah 13:6).

Those who fear the God of heaven know there are no accidents, coincidences, or acts of nature. They know He uses whirlwinds, hurricanes and tornadoes, and He uses waves, tsunamis and hurricane surges (Nahum 1:3).

When calamities and disasters strike the enemies of God, the people of God rejoice.

Israel danced at the Red Sea, when the bodies of Pharaoh and his army washed up on shore (Exodus 14:30-31; 15:1-21).

The psalmist wrote about the happy event of seeing Babylon’s children dashed against rocks (Psalms 137:8-9).

And the apostles and prophets of God also rejoice over the destruction of spiritual Babylon (Revelation 18:6,20).

Godly men make a difference between personal enemies and God’s enemies.

You have no right to rejoice when a personal enemy is in trouble (Proverbs 24:17-18; Job 31:29-30; Psalms 35:11-14).

Instead, you should pray for him and do what you can for him (Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:17-21).

You can only justify hating God’s enemies (Psalms 52:6-7; 139:22-23).

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down. Proverbs 11:11

The upright and the wicked have a way of affecting the cities in which they live.

The upright are said to exalt a city by the way they speak.

They bless the city.

The word for bless means to bestow favor upon something or speak well of it.

What is interesting about this word is that its root form has the idea of kneeling and blessing.

What I see here is that the upright man doesn’t just speak blessings over his city – he primarily blesses it when he falls to his knees and prays for it.

The blessing here is when a city has many praying, godly men within it.

The wicked though, have no such blessing.

They only tear a city down with their actions and words.

It is telling what this passage calls these people. They are called, “the wicked.”

The term refers to the wicked – and one of the ways they are described it as the “criminally wicked.”

These men not only do not bless the city – they are violently taking from it – and promoting a criminal and lawless lifestyle.

No wonder that the city is torn down by their actions. Their actions promote people disobeying the law and living a selfish and self-centered lifestyle.

The Indescribable Richness and Genuine Value of Righteousness

Jeremiah 23:5-6Authorized (King James) Version

⁵Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. ⁶In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ.

How often are the saints of God downcast and sad!

I do not think they ought to be.

I do not think they would be if they could always see their perfection in Christ.

There are some who are always talking about corruption and the depravity of the heart and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not risk it all and dare go a little bit further and remember that we are perfect in Christ Jesus.

It is no wonder that those who are dwelling upon their own corruption should wear such downcast looks; but surely if we call to mind “Christ Jesus, whom God made . . . our righteousness,” we shall be of good cheer.

What though distresses may afflict me, though Satan assault me, though there may be many distressing things to be experienced before I get to heaven,

those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; there is nothing wanting in my Lord–Christ has done it all.

On the cross He said, “It is finished!” and if it be finished,

then am I complete in Him, can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,

“Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:9)

You will not find on this side of heaven a holier people than those who receive into their hearts the doctrine of Christ’s righteousness.

When the believer says, “I live on Christ alone; I rest on Him solely for salvation; and I believe that, however unworthy, I am still saved in Jesus,”

then there rises up as a motive of gratitude this thought: “Shall I not live to Christ? Shall I not love Him and serve Him, seeing that I am saved by His merits?” “The love of Christ controls us,” “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

If saved by Christs’ imputed righteousness, we shall greatly value imparted righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

https://translate.google.com/

Striving to Remember the Righteous. That Difference between our “Roots and our Fruits.” Proverbs 11:3-11

Proverbs 11:3-11Authorized (King James) Version