YOU NEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS

Righteousness is a matter that is exclusive to God. Righteousness is only granted by God. For is only of God to be righteous. It is only acquired by faith in Jesus Christ. In light of this then, any righteousness that is so (if at all it is) besides Jesus is what we can term as self-righteousness. 

Rather it means one who is righteous in their own eyes, and may be in the public eye. Yet righteousness is not simply an act. It is a matter of the mind and the heart. On that therefore, God is more intent on what you are in the heart than what you do. It is Jesus alone who can make us good in the heart. That is; you surrender your life to Jesus and your own life is no more but that of the all righteous Jesus Christ is in you.

Any "good" works besides faith in Jesus Christ is simply human effort to please God. Man by himself can never please God. If it had been so, there wouldn't have been the need for Jesus to come. By simply performing good works, we can appear to have the picture of God, but that is not what counts (Romans 3:20), (Galatians 2:16). What counts is the state of the heart. True goodness is only of God. If therefore you are to be counted to have done anything good, you must have had your roots in God by accepting Jesus Christ.

For when many people are preached to, they will always respond that; I don't kill, I don't steal, I give a tithe of all my income, I pray, I fast, I keep the law, what is therefore the need for me to believe what you are saying? Yet is not about what we have or haven't done. It is about what we are in us. If you have not been seen fornicating, it doesn't mean you haven't done so (Matthew 5:27-28). For we are answerable to the Omnipresent God. And it this God who is the rewarder of us all (Hebrews 11:6).

It isn't therefore about what you have or haven't done, it is about submission to Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ makes us acceptable to God. In Christ Jesus, the likeness of Adam is taken away. Adam disobeyed God and  and his disobedience was imputed on all of his offspring of which we are. Upon this, to be accepted of God once more, it is imperative that we assume the righteousness of Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ is the only true acceptable sacrifice for the remission of sin. As that, your spiritual security is only guaranteed in Jesus Christ not in your efforts to appear to be righteous.

The Bible says much about self- righteousness as we can envisage below:

Jesus teaches that we should not do good for the public eye, but for the building of a relationship with God (Matthew 6:1-18). For God is the rewarder of all that seek Him diligently (Hebrews 11:6). We should therefore love to avoid to appear opportunistically righteous. Righteousness should never be used so as to gain praise from people, but to keep oneself tuned with God. Rather it should be to create a  flourishing relationship with God.

Jesus said to the scribes and the Pharisees that they were like whitewashed tombs which appear clean on the outside yet inside, they are full of dead bones (Matthew 23:27). He in fact called them hypocrites. For they did whatever they did simply to be appraised by the public and never minding about what God thought of them. For someone to perceive themselves righteous, they simply want to disregard the role of Jesus Christ in their lives. Such just can't be! True acceptable righteousness before God is only through Jesus Christ.

Jesus teaches of the Pharisee who had perceived himself righteous by giving the tithe and fasting two times a week, and the tax collector who knew himself for a sinner (Luke 18:9-14).

The Pharisee only went before God to boast of his ability to appease God. He was only proud and had self assurance. The tax collector on the other hand knew what he was and he admitted it. He knew he was a sinner. Once you understand what status you are, it gives you the proper way to pray. The tax collector prayed according to what he was. It is therefore the tax collector who went justified not the Pharisee.

On account of all the above, we learn that to be counted righteous is not simply wishful. It is not simply to say I am righteous. Only God declares who is righteous and who is not.

How are we then not to be self-righteous and to be counted righteous?

First step is to repent. Avoid making any excuses when you repent. Simply humble yourself and submit to God through Jesus Christ His Son. For the Bible teaches that the fact that Adam sinned, it is counted on all humans for unrighteousness (Luke 13:1-5), (Romans 3:23), (1 John 1:8-9). You make no point when you stand to excuse yourself. For it is not about what position you are, it is about a relationship with God. A relationship with God will never come by way of what position you are. It is all about submission to Jesus Christ.

Allow to be transformed. For there should be proof and evidence in us of the work of salvation of Jesus. When Mary Magdalene met Jesus, she never remained the same. Her life was totally transformed for the better (Luke 8:1-3).

Be obedient to God's call and obey His commands (John 15:14), (Luke 6:46), (Romans 2:6-8), (Ephesians 5:6). Many a time, disobedience is aimed at trying to prove a point to God. For by doing so, one intends to ignite a reaction from God. Many people are tempted to perceive God in human terms. No never. God is not like we are. And He will never react how you intend Him to. For He is the righteous Lord. The excellence of God is all above the excellence of mere men.

God acts independently. He (God) is the sovereign Lord. For He is the Potter and we are the clay. He will mould us how He wants us to be. On that therefore, to obey without question is to make it easier for you than to disobey. If you obey in sincere terms, prepare to be counted righteous. And with righteousness, heaven is wide open.

Righteousness or unrighteousness is the state of the heart. If therefore we mean to be counted righteous, our hearts must be upright. If we pray, fast, read the Bible, give or help others, let us do so with the intent to build a good relationship with God not men. 

Do not therefore look back on who has and who hasn't thanked you for your good deeds. We only be concerned if God has received it that we have done so. People may or may not appreciate your good deeds, but the rewarder is God.

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RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness is exclusive to God (Matthew 19:16-17). We therefore can only be counted righteous on permission from Him (God). It is extended to all who come to God by the grace which is only provided for  through God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

On account of that therefore, there is no way that we can be righteous minus Jesus. No one is ever counted righteous without ever getting to accept God and His will. God's will is only revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. Once more, righteousness is exclusively of God and God alone.

As to define what the meaning of  righteousness is; can be done in a range of versions depending on how we would want to approach it and what we are aiming to achieve out of the question. Yet all in all, it is an item that can't be owned using money. It required Jesus to come so as to make it affordable to all who come to Jesus Christ who is God's only Son. The following are some of the versions:

In one sense, we could say; righteousness is the mind of God. The mind of God is all good intentioned. God is never moved by emotions. When God makes decisions, He does so independently. Rather God is the sovereign Lord. God is never compromised nor is He influenced in any way when He does anything.

God never favors anybody on account of mere friendship, proximity, looks, or biological relationship. He looks out for those who have a mind like His own. Righteousness is the only point where from everyone who love God could derive their spiritual strength (Isaiah 54:14).

Righteousness is the point where we connect with God. It is by righteousness that we are identified for God. It only comes by the grace granted to us through Jesus Christ. It is the ultimate product of our acceptance of Jesus Christ. For righteousness is the ultimate proof that we have been cleansed from our sinful nature. Thus the sinful man of Adam is gone, and the new man of Jesus is in place (2Coritnhians 5:17). That new man only is by and in Christ.

In another way, righteousness can be defined to mean standing right with God and true goodness (1 Timothy 6:11). By being righteous, God is ever loving, caring, peaceful, faithful, bearing. As mortal men, we are more often than not influenced by a number of factors when we make decisions some of which are; biological closeness, tribe, family, friendship etc. On the other hand, God is influenced by none of such. God's excellence is above the excellence of men.

We are also counted righteous when we are upright and in right standing with God (1 Peter 3:12, (Hosea 10:12). How are we upright and in right standing with God? Most of what manifests in our body is more often than not manufactured in the heart and decided in the mind. If our heart and mind are influenced by other factors rather than to do the right thing, we produce results similar to what has crossed our mind.

For example, in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the visible action is not what is counted as sin, but where it originates or manufactured from and that is the heart and the mind (Matthew 5:28). Jesus also taught that what defiles a man is not what comes from outside of him. What defiles man comes from within him (Mark 7:14-15). For it comes right from his heart (Mark 7:18-19). Things as evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, pride, foolishness, blasphemy, and the like all come from the heart and it is these which do defile man (Mark 7:20-23).

But if we yearn for righteousness, we will make decisions which may not necessarily favor us but keep us standing right with God. To choose not to steal even when conditions dictate that you should is out of the desire to be right with God. It is the heart and the mind which agree to that and it is therefore counted righteousness to choose the way of God despite causing suffering to the physical man.

Righteousness is choosing to do God's will by accepting all He may have asked you to do and do just that (James 3:18). The Prophet Isaiah was commanded by God to walk naked and did just that, he was being righteous by accepting and doing the command of God (Isaiah 20:2). He didn't question God's command nor did he attempt to reason with God, despite knowing that walking naked is shameful to the observers.

Why did Isaiah not question God when He (God) instructed him to undergo such a shaming act?

Isaiah was well aware that God is all holy and all righteous. He knew that God is supreme. Whatever God tells you to do, He knows exactly what He wants to achieve out of it, for He is Omniscient. We can never reason with God. He is God because He is unimaginable, unpredictable. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. He does as He wishes. We keep on misunderstanding God basically because we want to reason with Him. Yet we terribly can't. For we are mere mortals. We can never disapprove God (Isaiah 55:9).

Righteousness thus could be defined as fulfilling God's will wherever we may be and that is it! For the Lord God is the very reason we are. Rather the Lord God is our everything.

Righteousness is also obedience to God. Thus we learn that it is people who heed God's word who are counted righteous. Equally so, everybody who stood to challenge God (if at all one could), were always counted unfitting for God (Matthew 22:37-40), (Luke 6:46), (John 8:44), (Acts 5:29).

No one can ever receive any revelation from God if they keep reasoning and seek to challenge Him. For if you carry on seeking to challenge God, it directly implies that you have made yourself an entity (if at all you can). Yet all this will only add on your desperation.

Rather it can only translate into self defeat. You will only further (rather dangerously) isolate yourself from God. But if you submit to God, He will readily avail Himself to you. For God can never reveal Himself to you out of your unbelief or at the worst; atheism. Let me assure you that; the disobedient are doomed to hell.

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HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

What is Holiness?

Holiness is uniqueness in character which is solely in honor of or to God. To be holy is to be set apart. To be consecrated, sanctified, or hallowed. A holy person is faultless and pure. God is holy because He is not subjected to any faults and impurities.

Where is holiness sourced?

Holiness is sourced in righteousness. Thus holiness is the fruit of righteousness.  If to say, righteousness is the fertile ground from which holiness germinates.

That is righteousness breeds holiness. Holiness is powered by righteousness. For it is pretty true that one can be holy but not righteous. And holiness and righteousness comes only by the spirit Galatians 5:22-23. Holiness is therefore living with and belonging to God.

On the other hand, righteousness is the mind of God. Righteousness is God's way. For it is exclusively of God to be righteous. On this account therefore, no human is counted righteous if not to submit to God's Son Jesus Christ (the God man). Everyone therefore must declare their faith in Jesus Christ if to live.For no one will see God without righteousness (Hebrews 12:14), (1Peter 1:15-16).

Why is it only through Jesus Christ that we are counted righteous?

When the first man sinned (and it is counted on all of us by way of being his descendants), he lost his right of righteousness. For man had been created in God's image by way of having been counted righteous. For God is righteous, we ought to be righteous. But man lost it by way of disobeying God. It is on this account that man lost his sense of identity and belonging.

But God in His provision, He gave His Son for a holistic sacrifice so that by and through Him (Jesus Christ), we can regain the image of God which is righteousness. Having been created in God's image, righteousness is the true identity and belonging of man. An upright heart and a rightful mind is our true origin which is only of God. 

Thus scripture admonishes that is only through Jesus that man can regain his lost glory. For Jesus is God and we need a man with the person of God if to be saved. That man is Jesus Christ (the God man) (Matthew 2:2, 14:33), (John 5:18, 8:24, 8:58, 10:30-33, 20:28).

How therefore we are like God or in God's own image is not that we have similar/alike physical attributes with God. It is the heart and the mind of humans which God requires to be like His. The state in which these two are is what connects with or separates us from God. For if there is anything that God loves from us, it is the heart (Jeremiah 17:10), (Luke 16:15), (Psalms 44:21). Christ loves your heart not your actions. For more often than not, actions are predetermined in the heart.

Jesus' target is the heart

How are we only counted righteous by accepting Jesus?

Jesus is the Son of God. The blood of Jesus is therefore the blood of God. Only the shedding of the blood of God could set free and save man. All the human blood was infested with sin. The blood of animals could only cover upon sin (Hebrews 10:2-4). Yet sin is not only to be covered upon but to be washed and cleansed away. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away entire sins.

God's presence in you brings you joy and happiness

Jesus by His will offered Himself for a truthful sacrifice which made it possible for sin to be washed and cleansed away. Jesus was blameless, there shouldn't have been one reason therefore for Him to indulge Himself in the affairs of man. Yet His innocence is the very reason it had to be Him. For His innocence makes His offer just the perfect and justifiable one for the remit the world of sin. Thus, Jesus had a choice not to do what He did, but He did it because it was supposed to be Him. Only His sacrifice would be as perfect. For a perfect sacrifice was required. On this account therefore, it is only through Jesus that every human can be declared righteous (Romans 3:22), (2Corinthians 5:21), (Philippians 3:9), (Isaiah 53:11), (Galatians 2:16).

Only Jesus can create such a heart in you

For righteousness is only granted, it is never worked for. For example, it is the bride who dresses in a wedding gown. Thus to say, a wedding gown is not for everyone to dress. That is, it is not an ordinary dress. Yet to get it, you have to have paid for it, or someone else must have bought it and donated it to you. For there is a price somewhere somehow to pay.

And this is what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. Rather Jesus paid for our righteousness. And when we accept Him, we cease to live our own lives but the life of Jesus (Galatians 2:20-21). Rather His righteousness has to be imputed on us (2Corinthians 5:21). He paid the penalty for us. All that is required of us is submission to Him. Only this way, can we escape God's anger and judgment on us.

Yet with righteousness, it can't be acquired with the price of a mere human. Thus, it required Jesus Christ who is the only one with the pure heart and a rightful mind and thereby well befitting to pay the appropriate price for it. And after He paid for it by heading to and pinning the sin on the cross, He now has the power to grant it to us free of charge upon accepting Him.

The heart wholly for Christ

For when Jesus Christ came, if you accept Him, you do not have to ask if you are righteous or not, for it is already granted to you. For God doesn't demand from us what we can not afford, if need be, He will always be there to take us through. Without Jesus' righteousness, we can't see God.

You need the righteousness of Jesus Christ

How does righteousness compare or contrast with Holiness?

Well as righteousness is solely sourced in God Himself, holiness is a fruit of righteousness. For righteousness is the upright heart and a rightful mind, but holiness is the character. On this account therefore, righteousness can't be seen by the human eye, for it is about the inner man, but holiness can be observable. As that, well as we can manipulate each other to appear holy, we can't do the same of righteousness. For righteousness is only examined and granted by God.

There is no true holiness without righteousness. For all we manifest in the literal sense is a product of what we have decided in our heart and mind, except for reflex actions. Impurity is a fruit of a faulty heart, so is purity a fruit of an upright heart and a rightful mind. What we do therefore is not what counts, but the intent (Proverbs 4:23), (Matthew 12:34), (Luke 6:45).

GUARD THEREFORE YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR ACTIONS. God is not interested in humanism, but obedience.

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