Michael writes: According to Ecclesiastes 1:9, there is nothing new under the sun. The devil is up to his old tricks. Our sin nature keeps raising its ugly head. We’re all judged according to the standard of the truth of the Word of God. How can we sit in a seat of judgement to judge others? We ourselves are judged according to God’s righteous standard. In Matthew 7 Jesus continued his sermon on the mount.
declaring, ask and keep asking, seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened unto you. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. God, our loving Heavenly Father has in store only that which is good for his children. His nature is to abundantly bless those who come to Him with a heart to love Him above all.
Jesus sums up his sermon in Matthew 7:12, “As you would that men should do unto you, do you also to them. Treat others as you would have them treat you.” The context of this “golden rule” is hypocrisy. Being nice to others doesn’t guarantee that they will reciprocate, but makes the chances more likely. Matthew 7:1-5 states that if you want to bless and encourage others, if you want to correct others, then get the log out of your own eye. The log is the 2 x 4 of judgementalism. If we think that we can judge others because we’re superior, then the attitude of self-righteousness is the plank in your own eye. Before you can see clearly and take the splinter out of your brother’s eye, you need to yank the plank of self-righteousness. But, Matthew 7:6 plainly states that you are to judge “right from wrong”, good from evil, and godly from ungodly”.
You cannot legislate righteousness ... true righteousness is only in Christ. We were all born sinners … it’s part of the nature of the flesh we inherited from Adam. Without righteous men and women, you cannot keep the peace. President George Washington stated: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.” Why? Because our Creator God is our moral compass to navigate through life. You cannot hire enough police if religion [which consists in the performance of the duties we owe directly to God, from a principle of obedience to his will] and morality [the conformity of an act to the divine law, or to the principles of rectitude. This conformity implies that the act must be performed by a free agent, and from a motive of obedience to the divine will] cease. True righteousness is through salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. For He who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
The world is obsessed with self. There are over two hundred words in English that begin with the prefix “self.” There is selfish, self-centeredness, self-aggrandizement, self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction, and self-actualization. There are only two commandments that sum up all of the commandments in the Old Testament law. The first commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. Only in keeping this first commandment can we keep the second great commandment: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The keeping of the Moral Law starts with loving God above all.
Let's continue Michael's message on righteousness in the next post. In Christ, Brian
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