Right On!

Romans 1:17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Righteousness literally means to be “right” with God; aligned with His Will, Statutes, Teachings and Commands, in a right relationship, and walking in the Spirit by faith, compared to self-righteousness which is sinful (Galatians 5:16-26). Webster’s Dictionary defines “righteous” as “Just, equitable; ruled by what is right in the eyes of God; blameless; upright, Godly, pious, guiltless, and pure.” To be “unrighteous” would then be the exact opposite of this definition: “Unjust, inequitable; ruled by what is right in their own eyes; with blame, iniquitous - wicked, ungodly, irreverent, guilty, and impure”, but Webster’s gives the antonym for “righteous” as: Evil, sinful, immoral, and unholy. Talking with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers; they take an honest look around at the unrighteous state of our culture & society today and come to the conclusion that we are “going to Hell in a handbasket” morally and spiritually. Wikipedia says: "Going to Hell in a handbasket" is an English alliterative phrase of unclear origin, which describes a situation headed for disaster without effort or in great haste. By godless, unrighteous living, we are literally cutting ourselves off and severing our relationship with our Just & Holy Creator/Father; putting a cleaver to the satisfyingly balanced, loving contentment, peaceful existence, and abundant life found only in the righteousness of a faithful heart towards God. The Bible tells us that we are all born with a Sin nature through Adam & Eve, but we are also nurtured (reared, cared for, educated, and trained) in a sinful world. But by the grace of God, though faith in the redeeming blood of Christ, our hearts and lives are changed; our eyes are opened and bent towards righteous living. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Faith is what you put your trust in. Trust in Christ and his work. Put your trust in the love of God, and live in the joy of righteousness and your salvation in Christ; for the child of God is in the world, but not of the world.

John 8:12 “Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." It is my prayer that we, with purpose and concerted effort, not only share the faith and love that dwells within our hearts, but reflect the light of Christ’s gospel into the darkness of an unbelieving world, that neither knows the truth or is deceived to follow paths of unrighteousness.

In Christ, Brian